Eco-friendly tourism initiatives in Visakhapatnam and Eastern Ghats change travel habits

UPDATE - follow-up to Sustainable tourism in Visakhapatnam: Travel beyond the checklist: Ahead of World Tourism Day, local initiatives in Visakhapatnam and the Eastern Ghats are changing travel by focusing on nature, communities, and low-impact experiences. At Pravaham, an eco-stay in Mettavalasa village near Araku, founder V Samved built nearly 90% of the property using local soil, hay, timber, and bamboo. Mud, cob, and hydrated lime plaster keep indoor temperatures naturally regulated. The stay sources food, staff, and activities from nearby villages and runs a Black Box digital detox program to encourage slow living. Practices include waste management, composting, reduced single-use plastic, restrained energy use, and carpooling. Meanwhile, trek leader Ravi Teja and the group EcoHikes have reduced trek group sizes from 30 people to about 12. Over nine years, the group has run more than 600 treks for over 8,000 participants in the Eastern Ghats. They use gas stoves instead of firewood, serve home-cooked food on banana or Bauhinia leaves, and close some trails to prevent excessive footfall from viral social media reels. Along the coast, the East Coast Conservation Team, led by Deepu Visweswar and Priyanka Vedula, conducts tidepool walks. Groups are limited to eight participants per instructor, and visitors are told not to touch animals but instead photograph them and upload findings to citizen science platforms like iNaturalist. Additionally, Platypus Escapes, founded by Subhash Chandran, combines recreational scuba diving with conservation dives and underwater clean-ups to address marine pollution along the Visakhapatnam coast.