The coastal village of Baruva in Andhra Pradesh’s Srikakulam district is waking as much as a tide of transformation. Once recognized solely to a few off-the-grid travellers, this city is within the highlight with the current go to of Union Minister of Civil Aviation Okay Rammohan Naidu who unveiled plans to show it in to a tourism hub.
During the recently-concluded Baruva Beach Festival, Naidu introduced a slew of initiatives that promise to reshape the area’s identification and open up new horizons for tourism and livelihood. “We are working towards making Baruva a mini Goa,” the Minister says. “Youth will be trained in scuba diving, guiding and event management, creating local employment opportunities rooted in this region’s natural strengths.”
Participants on the Baruva Beach Festival.
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The announcement has infused hope within the fishing village, which is positioned close to Sompeta and cradles centuries of untapped tales. Among its intriguing options is a British-era wreck of ship SS Chilka, mendacity on the ocean flooring, a relic that would quickly draw scuba diving fans from throughout the nation.
Forgotten historical past
The shipwreck was first found by a workforce of scuba divers from Livein Adventures, a Visakhapatnam-based scuba diving institute, in 2020. The SS Chilka, stated to be operated by the British India Steam Navigation Company, was en path to Rangoon (now Yangon) when that sank in 1917, reportedly after a devastating fireplace. At that point, the ship was carrying 1,600 passengers on board. Around 80 crew and passengers perished, making this a tragic footnote of World War I-era maritime historical past.
Baruva has an attention-grabbing maritime historical past. Once a minor port city underneath the British, it was used for exporting commodities like rice and coconut. The presence of a lighthouse stands testomony to its navigational significance throughout colonial occasions.
Old information clippings of the SS Chilka incident had been shared by John Castellas, a fifth era Anglo-Indian who was born and introduced up in Visakhapatnam and is at the moment primarily based in Australia. John has been doing in depth analysis on the area’s historical past and heritage. According to him, as there have been no harbours with berths in the course of the time, it was fishermen who used their masula boats to ferry cargo and passengers to steamers. They additionally carried out the dramatic rescue of the 1600 passengers onboard the SS Chilka at Baruva on that fateful day.
Though largely forgotten, the ship has lived on in native lore, resurfacing now within the conversations of marine fans, heritage conservationists and adventure tourism operators. The current buzz round Baruva has introduced the highlight again on this area, which adventure tourism organisations really feel has the potential to grow to be Andhra Pradesh’s first devoted wreck diving vacation spot. The 150-metre-long ship rests simply six metres under the floor, making it good for newbie divers.
People kayaking at Baruva seashore.
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“Wreck diving is one of the most thrilling underwater experiences. It blends exploration, history, and the unexpected,” says Balaram Naidu, founding father of Livein Adventures, one among Andhra Pradesh’s main scuba diving organisations. “Baruva’s shipwreck site is a gem. It’s got everything; a compelling backstory, accessible depths and thriving marine life. With the right support, it can put Baruva on the national diving map.”
The shallow shipwrecks act as pure synthetic reefs, fostering biodiversity and providing alternatives for marine images. Divers and snorkellers incessantly encounter lionfish, groupers and bannerfish weaving by means of the beams, whereas moray eels, nudibranchs and octopuses tuck themselves into hidden crevices. Brightly colored parrotfish and spiny sea urchins will also be noticed on this underwater panorama.
Permanent dive base
Livein Adventures is organising a everlasting dive base at Baruva to advertise marine heritage, together with entry to shallow shipwreck positioned simply 5 to seven metres under the floor. “Its location makes it ideal even for non-swimmers and first-time divers to explore,” provides Balaram, a retired Indian Navy submariner and licensed scuba diving teacher.
Livein Adventures is organising guided underwater discovery trails of the shipwrecks, brief ‘Try Dive’ programmes with underwater images and movies, coaching of native youth as licensed dive guides and lifeguards, community-led marine clean-ups and underwater consciousness drives. At current, Baruva seashore is provided with six operational kayaks and two all-terrain autos (ATVs) for customer use. The greatest time to expertise Baruva’s marine magnificence is from October to April, when ocean visibility improves and wave circumstances are calm.
Getting There
Baruva is positioned in Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh, round 120 km from Visakhapatnam.
By highway: Well related by NH-16; non-public taxis and buses ply commonly from Visakhapatnam.
By practice: The nearest railway station is Palasa (about 20 km away).
Best Time to Dive
October to April supply the calmest sea circumstances and the most effective visibility.
Avoid monsoon months (June–September) resulting from tough seas and poor visibility.
Published – May 15, 2025 05:10 pm IST
