Sri Kanakamahalakshmi Temple, Visakhapatnam :
Goddess Sri Kanakamalalakshmi is the presiding deity of the Visakhapatnam locals. It is believed that Goddess Sri Kanakamalahshmi is considered the family deity of rulers of this area and the present location of the temple was in the rampars of their fort. People believe that the area gained the name of Burujupeta since it is in this area that the ramparts of the fort existed in the past. The idol (bust of Goddess) was located in the middle of a narrow street in Burujupeta. Unlike in other temples in Andhra Pradesh, if not in South India, that the devotees can directly worship the deity. It is a practice completely different from any other temple where the devotees can only come up to the sanctum sanctorum but cannot enter it. A devotee can break a coconut and pour the water on the idol, apply kumkum and turmeric himself or herself. It is common that milk abishekam being performed by devotees. The temple priest do perform the daily puja and other rituals but the devotees worship the Goddess on their own. Thursday is the most auspicious day for the Goddess and thousands throng the temple every Thursday.
The month of Margasira according to Hindu calendar (observed as Margasira Masam) that generally comes during November-December every year is considered the most auspicious one and perhaps this is why the annual celebrations of Goddess Sri Kanakamalalakshmi said to be an incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi are organized at the temple. The festivities began with fervor on the morning with the traditional nadaswar followed by panchamrutabhishekam and sahasranama kumkum puja. Later, the abishekam to the Goddess was performed with milk, followed by pujas in the after afternoon and evening. Recital of Lalitha Sahasranamam in the morning, rendering of Annamayya kritis, Harikahtha and devotional music programme in the evening were organized. Thousands of devotees offered worship on the opening day and the devotional fervor continues for the rest of the month. Especially on Thursday nearly two lakh devotees throng the temple to have darshan. Besides, panchamruthabhishekam and ksheerabhisheka seva, special programmes like recital of the Bhagavad-Gita, Sapthasathi and Mahavidya, Lakshmi homam and Srichakrapuja are being conducted during the month.
A unique feature this year is the Ashtalakshmi alankaram from December 22 to 30 at the temple premises. This year, the Ashtalakshmi idols at the Anivetti Mandapam have comes as a pleasant surprise. Moulded in concrete, they are set up close to the roof in two rows on either side of the sanctum sanctorum. There are ten new idols. Besides the beautiful Ashtalakshmis, there is an idol of Sri Kanakamalalakshmi towards north and facing Her is Sri Rajarajeswari Devi on the south beginning form the sanctum sanctorum and the eight Lakshmi idols are distributed equally beside the two idols.
Simhachalam temple is well connected from Vizag city centers and there is a local station stop for trains. Long distance express trains usually do not stop here. From Vizag Railway station it is 45 minutes drive by road and 30 minutes from airport. Frequent buses available locally for hill top. There is a Trekking route available for trekking lovers from Madhavadhara side, two hours climbing to temple premises with steep natural stone steps and a beautiful view of Vizag city and at the other side the temple view from hill top.
Simhachalam - the hill of the lion is located at a distance of 18 km from Visakhapatnam refers to the 11th century temple of Lord Narasimha - an incarnation of Vishnu. Millions of devotees from round the world visit this temple every year. The presiding deity here is Varaha Lakshminarasimha, combining the iconographic features of Varaha and Narasimha. The image resembles a Shivalingam covered with sandal paste. It is only once a year, during the Chandana Visarjana that the sandal paste is removed, and the image is seen by pilgrims. The artwork here has elements of similarity with that of Konark. Elephants, flowers and plants are portrayed in plenty. The outer walls of the sanctum depict images of a royal personality (said to be King Narasimha) in various postures. The Kalyana Mandapa within the temple has 16 pillars with bas relief depicting the incarnations of Vishnu.
Giri Pradakshina
It is a 32 KM long walk around the Simhachalam hill done by the devotes in Giri Purnima day ( full moon day of Ashada Masam ). This full night walk is considered very scared.
From Simhachalam temple one can go towards Kailasagiri hill located after Andhra University and MVP colony . There are two routes available to reach. Come back to NAD Kotharoad junction and proceed towards city on highway and continue upto Kailasagiri. One more way is to take the road at the back side of the hill going through the New Central Jail of Visakhapatnam. The second one is the shortest way. Devotees willing to visit Annavaram can board the bus which is arranged by APSRTC running between Simhachalam and Annavaram.