Coringa mangroves

Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary protects mangrove forest in the Godavari estuary, on the edge of Kakinada Bay, where creeks of the delta meet the sea. The state declared it a sanctuary on 5 July 1978. It covers about 235 sq km of mangroves, tidal creeks and mudflats, along with the sand spit of Hope Island. Official records list about 35 plant species, including Avicennia, Rhizophora and Sonneratia mangroves, and more than 120 kinds of birds. Fishing cats, smooth-coated otters and jackals live here. Olive ridley turtles nest on the sand spit between January and March.

Visitors enter at Chollangi, just off the Kakinada–Yanam road (NH216), about 11 km south of Kakinada town. From the gate, a wooden boardwalk winds through the mangroves to a watch tower, a small aquarium and a jetty, where boats take visitors out on the water. Walk slowly and look down at low tide. Crabs and mudskippers work the mud among the stilt roots and breathing roots.