Vacationers getting into the Lighthouse on Dolphin Hill in Visakhapatnam on Friday, August 21, 20266. The Lighthouse operated by Directorate of Lighthouses and Lightships of Ministry of Delivery is open to public between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.
| Picture Credit score: KR DEEPAK
The street to Dolphin Hill adjustments the character of Visakhapatnam in a method. As I drove in direction of the lighthouse, the acquainted metropolis steadily gave option to stretches of hill, industrial installations and glimpses of the ocean. The route in direction of Yarada Seashore passes via an space the place the presence of the Navy and the port is difficult to overlook, including a way of function to what in any other case seems like a leisurely drive.
I’m right here to go to the Dolphin’s Nostril Lighthouse, perched on the hill prime beside Yarada seashore. The headland will get its title from its distinctive form, which resembles a dolphin’s nostril. The lighthouse stands excessive above the coast and stays an essential navigational landmark for vessels approaching Visakhapatnam Port.
Contained in the compound, the lighthouse seems pretty understated. A landscaped house surrounds the construction, offering a spot to sit down earlier than or after the climb. I make my method in direction of the tower and start climbing the slim staircase. With each flip, the surface world seems in short glimpses via the openings. The upper I’m going, the extra the view opens up.
A panoramic view of Visakhapatnam’s shoreline from the Dolphin’s Nostril Lighthouse on Friday, August 21, 2026. Operated by the Directorate of Lighthouses and Lightships underneath the Ministry of Ports, Delivery and Waterways, the lighthouse is open to guests every day between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., providing sweeping views of the town, harbour and the Bay of Bengal.
| Picture Credit score:
KR DEEPAK
On the prime, the dimensions of Visakhapatnam turns into obvious. The harbour stretches under me, with ships and port infrastructure occupying the seaward aspect. Past it, the Bay of Bengal extends in direction of the horizon, whereas the hills and the town unfold throughout the opposite aspect. From this top, the port, shoreline and metropolis seem as one steady panorama.
The breeze is stronger right here, and I linger for some time merely taking within the view. The lighthouse gives a perspective of Visakhapatnam that’s troublesome to get from the town’s seashores or roads.
A lightweight with a protracted historical past
The story of the lighthouse started nicely earlier than the current tower. A show on the lighthouse data a flagstaff being erected on the fort in 1902 to lift storm warning indicators. A lightweight is subsequently positioned on a 15-metre round masonry tower close to the flagstaff. In 1926, lighthouse knowledgeable Alan D. Stevenson examined Dolphin’s Nostril as a potential location for a serious lighthouse. Dolphin’s Nostril was advisable due to its place overlooking the harbour entrance.
The primary gentle at this time website got here into operation in 1940. The current lighthouse was commissioned on June 15, 1957, and inaugurated by Lal Bahadur Shastri, who was then the Minister of Transport and Communications. The tower is a 19-metre sq. masonry construction painted in black and white bands. Its highly effective beacon guides ships getting into Visakhapatnam Port and has a luminous vary of about 32 nautical miles.
The lighthouse can be greater than a lightweight tower. The knowledge panel data a sequence of technological additions over time. Radio beacon tools from Japan grew to become operational right here in 1961. A solid-state model changed it later and the station started transmitting Differential International Positioning System corrections in 1998. Radar transponder tools, Automated Identification System expertise and different trendy aids to navigation had been subsequently added.
The hill remembers extra
Dolphin Hill carries a navy historical past as nicely. The British Military used the hill as a navy camp earlier than Independence. The world can be related to the Battle of Vizagapatam in 1804, when British and French forces clashed close to the hill.
The go to is particularly gratifying for many who like to mix a bit historical past with a view. The open house across the lighthouse makes it potential to decelerate and spend a while right here. Pictures is one other apparent draw, significantly from the upper ranges the place the harbour and shoreline present a large backdrop. Nevertheless, guests ought to do not forget that Dolphin Hill lies in a security-sensitive space and observe the directions given on the entry level.
The lighthouse works finest as a part of a half-day outing. I’d mix it with Yarada Seashore, which lies additional alongside the identical route. The 2 experiences are fairly completely different: the lighthouse provides a excessive vantage level over the coast, whereas Yarada brings you right down to the water.
Location: Dolphin’s Nostril Lighthouse, Dolphin Hill, on the path to Yarada Seashore
Visiting hours: 3pm to 5pm. The restricted window is value holding in thoughts whereas planning the journey.
Entry price: ₹10 per individual
Printed – September 08, 2026 10:14 am IST