Araku Valley, a quaint hill station around 115 KM north of Visakhapatnam (Vizag) and bordering the states of Andhra Pradesh and Orissa, is a paradise for nature lovers. Nestled in the lap of the Eastern Ghats mountain range, it boasts of its verdant valleys, lush green vegetation, sprawling coffee plantations, pristine streams and an amazing weather. Mostly inhibited by the tribal people, Araku (along with Borra Caves) also provides every visitor a chance to learn about a rich tribal culture. It was the Christmas weekend of 2022 that we went for the Araku Valley trip (along with Visakhapatnam).
How to plan for a trip of Araku Valley?
Every tourist travelling to Visakhapatnam (Vizag) makes it a point to visit Araku Valley. But many of them opt for a same-day round trip from Vizag, which becomes very hectic. Instead, I would recommend everyone to stay at Araku for the night and then either return to Visakhapatnam or proceed onwards to Jagdalpur-Chitrakote or Koraput.
Araku Valley has its own railway station, and is connected to Visakhapatnam (in the south) and Jagdalpur/ Koraput (in the north) by daily trains. Apart from that, there is a regular bus service between Araku and Vizag. If you prefer to travel privately, the Car rentals agencies would be there to help.
I would suggest that you travel from Vizag to Araku by the early morning train, and then return by car. Both the journeys have their own charm. And, if you can manage to buy the tickets of the wide-glassed Vistadome coach of the Kirandul Passenger, it would surely be an experience of your lifetime.
Andhra Pradesh Tourism also arranges for a day trip to Araku Valley and Borra Caves. The bus journey commences from and ends at the Haritha Vizag Hotel.
Our itinerary:
- Day 1: Reach Visakhapatnam early in the morning. Sightseeing in Vizag.
- Day 2: Board the Kirandul Passenger at 6.45 AM to Araku Valley. Visit the Araku Tribal Museum, Padmapuram Botanical Garden and Coffee Museum. Enjoy the local tribal food – Bamboo Chicken.
- Day 3: Travel from Araku to Vizag by car. On the way, visit Borra Caves, Galikonda View Point, Ananthagiri Coffee Plantations, Tatiguda Waterfall and Dumuku View Point.
- Day 4: Remaining sightseeing of Visakhapatnam.
Day 1 morning:
We woke up early in the morning, as we had to catch the train at 6.45 AM from the Visakhapatnam Railway station.
This train has 3 types of reserved coaches – the AC Vistadome coach, the non-AC Second Seating and non-AC Sleeper rakes. The state-of-the-art Vistadome coaches have large glass windows and glass ceilings, and offer a breathtaking 360-degree view during the course of the journey through numerous tunnels and along hills and green valleys. The last Vistadome coach also has a gallery at the back, where you can sit and enjoy nature as the train moves ahead. But the tickets of the Vistadome coaches are in high demand. So, I would suggest to plan ahead and book the tickets as soon as the reservation window opens.
In case you don’t get a ticket of the Vistadome coach, don’t get disheartened. The non-AC coaches will bring you closer to nature, as there won’t be any glass barrier between the two of you.
The Train journey:
As we arrived at the station platform around 6.30 AM, the train was chugging in. We purchased hot idly and vada for breakfast and got into our compartment – EV2. This being the last Vistadome coach of the train, there was also a gallery cum watching deck at the back.
Super excited for the upcoming journey, we quickly settled into our seats and finished our breakfast. The train started 15 minutes late, and the first one and half hours of the train journey was monotonous. So we started wondering whether the exhilaration was at-all worth.
But the landscape gradually started changing after Shrungavarapukota railway station once the train entered the Eastern Ghats range. With hills on one side and green forests & valleys on the other, the journey started becoming exciting.
Once we crossed the Boddavara station, the voyage became even more enthralling, with the train passing through pitch-dark tunnels one after another. Everyone inside our compartment, children and adults alike, started counting the tunnels. There were more than 50, till we stopped counting.
The seats in these modern Vistadome coaches are themselves interesting. We could turn them 90 degrees either way to face the glass windows and enjoy the beauty outside. The train tracks, at places have huge turns, and it was mind blowing to see all the compartments of the train from the last coach.
After a journey of more than 3 hours, we reached the Borra Guhalu station, famous for the Borra Caves. Many tourists got down here, as they wanted to first visit the Cave and then proceed to Araku by road. But I would not recommend that, as till now, it was just half of the fascinating journey.
After the Borra, we experienced another dramatic change in the landscape – the tunnels through the hills and dense forests were now replaced by far-spread valleys with different tinges of green, interspersed by small tribal hamlets.
Our train was late by an hour, and it was around 12 noon when we reached the Araku Railway station. But this is probably my first train journey where I enjoyed the train running late. Even we wished that the train gets more delayed so that we can prolong our enjoyment. It was surely a trip I would cherish in years to come.
Day 1 afternoon:
We had our reservation in the Mayuri Haritha Hill Resort, run by the Andhra Pradesh Tourism. We had booked a Deluxe AC Room. The room had an attached balcony, which offered an engrossing view of the green Valley. The railway line lies just outside the resort complex, and occasional sirens of the train engines (mostly goods carriages) disturbing the silence made the surrounding even more appealing.
The Araku town has only few places of interest – the Tribal Museum, Coffee Museum and Padmapuram Botanical Garden. The 2 museums are centrally located, at a walking distance from Mayuri Haritha and open till late evening. So, after lunch at our resort, we decided to first go to the Padmapuram Botanical Garden located at a distance of around 2.5 KM. We booked a local auto-rickshaw, which charged us Rs. 100.
Padmapuram Botanical Garden:
Spread across a huge area, the Botanical Garden is home to various species of plants and trees. You can spend your time relaxing in one of the many manicured and well maintained gardens. The authorities have erected many beautiful statues and structures, ranging from Gautama Buddha and tribal women to dinosaurs and tiger.f
Another popular attraction here is the Toy Train, which will take you around the entire circumference of the garden.
Coffee Museum:
Our next stop was at the Coffee Museum. It is a small place, with a gallery that traces the origin and history of coffee plantations around the world. The in-house shop sells a wide variety of locally produced coffee and chocolates. There is also a cafe where you can buy a hot cuppa and sip it along with a brownie.
After exiting the Coffee Museum and while walking towards the Tribal Museum, we ordered for 500 grams of Bamboo chicken from a roadside shop. This local delicacy is a must try if you are in Araku or Borra Caves. The local shop-owners marinate the chicken with local spices, put them inside bamboo stems and get them slowly cooked over fire. It takes 45 – 60 minutes to get fully cooked, and it was ready by the time came out of the Tribal museum. And it was really delicious.
Tribal Museum:
Our last stop for the day was at the Tribal Museum. Spread across a large sprawling campus, the actual museum building is at the far end. It houses numerous enclosures containing life-size figures depicting the tribal life like hunting, fishing, farming, cooking, worshipping, marriage ceremony, marketplace etc. These figures are so real that you might get confused with actual tribal people. I have visited many tribal museums across the country, but this one was the best. You must visit the place if you are in Araku.
Apart from the main museum building, there are a couple of more huts. One of them is a gallery of paintings and photographs. The other one exhibits the artefacts that portray the socio-economic life and culture of the tribal people.
There are a few shops inside the campus, where you can buy locally made handicrafts. Also, if you are an adventure sports enthusiast, then this is a place where you can also spend a couple of extra hours, enjoying sky cycling, wall climbing, boating, kayaking, commando net climbing, arrow shooting etc.
It was getting chilly by now. We came back to our resort, had dinner along with the Bamboo chicken.
One place that we didn’t visit is the Chaparai water cascade, located around 14 KM from the Araku town. You can travel by a local auto, and can be covered as part of Araku sightseeing. Here, a stream of water flows along a bed of huge rocky surface.
Day 2:
We woke up early in the morning and came to the adjoining balcony. It was cold and fog had engulfed the entire area.
After freshening up, we came down and roamed around the large resort compound. The blanket of fog had started getting clear by now, and we sat in the garden area and enjoyed a hot cup of coffee.
We had booked our car from a rental agency of Visakhapatnam, and our driver reported at Haritha Mayuri around 8.30 AM. After the complementary breakfast of Idly, Upma and Utthapam, we bid goodbye to Araku and started our journey.
Our first stopover was at the Galikonda View Point in the Ananthagiri Hills. It provides a spectacular view of the lush green valley and hills, rivers and the railway track.
After a brief halt at Galikonda, we moved further towards the Borra Caves. This ride through winding roads is appealing with beautiful scenery throughout.
On the way, we stopped at the Ananthagiri Coffee Plantation. Coffee is cultivated on the slopes of the Ananthagiri Hills, and the local people have setup their shops here to sell variety of coffee and locally produced spices.
Tatiguda Waterfall is a must-visit place if you are visiting Araku. From the main road, we had to travel around 1.5 KM along a village road to reach this majestic location. Surrounded by lush green forest, the water flows through the gentle slope of a huge rock-face, creating a beautiful cascade.
From the car parking space, we first came to the viewing deck that provides a panoramic view of the surrounding vegetation and the waterfall. We then climbed down around 120 steps to reach the base of the falls. There was not much water at this time of the year. But during monsoons or immediately after that, the beauty must be getting magnified.
Borra Cave:
Considered as one of the largest and deepest caves in India, Borra Caves is located at a distance of 87 KM from Visakhapatnam and 36 KM from Araku town. Borra is famous for the stunning formations of stalactite and stalagmite, that date back to more than 150 million years. These formations are of varied nature and have given rise to many interesting shapes. There is also a naturally formed Shiva-linga like structure that is worshipped by the local tribes especially during Shiva-ratri festival.
As per geological studies, the Gosthani River flowing over limestone deposits led to the formation of the caves. It was discovered by British geologist William King George in 1807.
Borra Caves being a must-visit place for every traveler and the time being the peak season, there were lots of tourists when we reached around 11.30 AM. The parking space was already full and we had to walk a distance. The approach road to the Ticket counter is flanked by shops selling handicrafts, souvenirs and of-course the mouth-watering Chicken kababs and Bamboo chicken. The Ticket counter also had a huge queue and it took us some time before we could enter through the main gate.
Once inside, we walked over a paved path, with trees on both sides, to reach the entrance of the main cave. As we could see from above, it was teeming with people.
After climbing down around 100 steps, we came to a large flat rocky surface. For the elderly and for persons with ailments in lower limbs, I would suggest to rest here. There is a viewing area from where you can have a good sight of the deeper parts of the cave.
We explored further down. Most of the walking path has proper stairs and steps with railings. At places, there were no proper step and it was difficult to walk. In fact, I can remember a couple of instances where we had to turn side-ways and glide between two rocks to move forward. But this was worth every penny. We were amazed by the unique formations in different parts of the cave, beautifully lit by continuously changing colours. It was a real visual treat for us. We took more than 1 hour to explore the entire depth of the cave and come back to the entrance.
Just outside the main gate, we found a government-run Haritha restaurant. We were very hungry by now, and had our lunch here. But the choice of food was very limited, and also the taste was not that great. There are few small restaurants near the car parking, which you can try if you are visiting Borra.
The Borra Cave is open from 10 AM to 5 PM, with Lunch break from 1 PM to 2 PM. So, you need to plan your visit accordingly.
Dumuku View Point was our last stop in the Ananthagiri range. It also caters to enchanting views of the surrounding hills and forest, but I felt that the view from Galikonda was better.
One sightseeing point that we did not cover is the Katiki Waterfall. You have to ride a separate jeep for around 5 KM and then another half Kilometer trek to reach the falls. The condition of this road is bad.
We entered Vizag around 4 PM and visited the Simhachalam Temple, before checking into the Andhra Pradesh Tourism run Yatrinivas Haritha Hotel.
Some useful information and tips:
What is the best time to visit Araku:
Araku maintains a pleasant climate all through the year, with the winters being a little more chilly. It being a hill station, I would suggest that you visit Araku any time except during the peak monsoon.
Review of Mayuri Haritha Hill Resort:
The Andhra Pradesh Tourism run Mayuri Haritha Hill Resort is located at a magnificent location in the Araku Valley. Almost every room in the main building has an adjoining balcony which offers a splendid view of the valley (There are also few cottages in the resort compound, but they lack the view of the valley).
We had booked a Delux AC Room (AC was not needed in winter, but the non-AC Delux rooms were already booked more than 4 months in advance). The room was large, with a big King-sized bed and a clean attached toilet.
The resort complex is also well maintained, with manicured gardens. It is strategically located, with the Bus stand, Tribal Museum and Coffee Museum all at a stone’s throw distance.
Haritha Mayuri also has an in-house restaurant, which serves tasty food. The breakfast is complementary.
You can book the rooms directly from the website of the Andhra Pradesh Tourism.
Car Rental Details:
For our journey from Araku to Visakhapatnam, we contacted Sai Ganapathi Travels (+91- 90009-10567). They are based out of Visakhapatnam, and the driver was punctual enough to report at our resort at 8.30 AM. For this journey, Sai Ganapathi Travels charged us Rs. 4500 for a Sedan car; and an extra Rs. 500 for Simhachalam.
Another Visakhapatnam based Car rental agency is the Amazing Taxi Service (Contact: +91-80089-19136, 75696-00619). We availed their service for a day-trip in Visakhapatnam.
While making the booking for this trip, I had called up a few Car rentals based out of Araku also. But their rates were higher – they were asking for a minimum of Rs. 6000 for a Sedan car, a difference of Rs. 1500. So, I felt it is better to book a car from Vizag, as any agency (be it based out of Vizag or Araku) will charge you for a 2-way fare.
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Very nice and descriptive.