After a long gap of nearly a year due to COVID-19 pandemic, scuba diving has resumed in Visakhapatnam. As per the reports, scuba divers of Visakhapatnam have recently discovered a natural arch underwater when they plunged into the sea off Rushikonda Beach.
Reportedly, a team of four scuba divers from Livein Adventures chanced upon a rare arch-shaped rock formation around 30 ft below sea level when they plunged to explore diving sites near Rushikonda. As per the founder of Livein Adventures Balaram Naidu, the reason behind the appeal of this spot is its accessibility to scuba divers. He added “This is the first time I have seen such an arch in this part of the coast. There is a good presence of underwater life surrounding the arch,” he says.
Reports have it that the natural arch is around a metre high and 1.5 m in width. Referring to this, the scuba divers are of the view that people would be easily wade through it. The discovery of the arch will make for an excellent frame for wide-angle diver shots.
The site, located at a shallow depth is easily accessible for even non swimmers and novice scuba divers. Naida added that a 15-min breathing practice in shallow waters is enough to take the dive at Rushikonda Coast to get a glimpse of this fascinating rock formation. The said natural arch is said to be similar to the famous arch at Mangamaripeta beach which, as per the geologists, dates back to the last Ice Age, i.e., around 10000 years ago.
To enjoy good visibility of the natural arch, winter is said to be the best time. As such, now is a perfect time to explore this arch. Here, one will be able to explore underwater life that consists of stone fish, barracuda, goliath groupers, puffer fish, sweetlips fish, parrot fish, star fish, moray eels, Napoleon fish, lionfish, and feather stars among other species.