Enveloped in a thick veil of mist, the virgin valleys of Lammasingi have been attracting campers and bikers in large numbers with the place recording 3 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, the lowest recoded this season.
According to officials of Regional Agricultural Research Station that has its own equipment for recording of temperatures at Chintapalle, conditions are favourable for further drop in temperatures in the next couple of days. Chintapalle recorded 6 degrees Celsius on Wednesday.
Intense foggy conditions persisted at Lammasingi till 10.30 a.m. in the mornings in the past two to three days. “We could see a faint ray of sunlight only after 11 in the morning. In such harsh conditions, we have to set out for work. It is particularly difficult for the children to attend schools and colleges in such cold climate,” said Bala Mohan, native of Lammasingi. The drop in temperatures is being attributed to cold winds from northern directions. The tiny hamlet of Lammasingi in the Eastern Ghats, 110 km from Visakhapatnam city, typically witnesses a steep fall in temperatures from the middle of December till January 20. In 2012, it dropped to a record low of -1 degree Celsius which earned it the sobriquet of ‘Kashmir of Andhra Pradesh’.
With lack of tourist facilities in Lammasingi, many travellers are staying at Tajangi, located at a distance of 7 km from Lammasingi, at tented accommodations. Others are opting to stay at Narsipatnam for the night and drive down to Lammasingi in the early hours to experience the foggy climate.
The tourist crowd swells to hundreds over the weekends with adventurous youngsters braving the chill and low visibility on the ghat road to reach the place.
While there is little to do there but sit around a bonfire and admire the mist-enveloped trees, it is a photographer’s delight. Kishore Taneti, a passionate photographer who visited Lammasingi recently, said: “It is a rare experience photographing the thick fog and the village life in the early mornings at Lammasingi. When I went couple of days ago, the fog conditions were so intense that I had to clean up lenses every five minutes. My camera was dripping with dew.”
