It was the 73rd Independence Day of India, and we were on our way to Araku Valley for a day trip from Vizag. We started early morning from Vizag and planned to reach Araku Valley first and then to stop at other sightseeing points while coming back. After a delicious breakfast in Kothavalasa, it was another hour drive until we started ascending the Eastern Ghat roads. Though it was mid-monsoon yet the roads were in very good condition.
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The weather was an absolute show-stealer. It was drizzling outside and the hills of Eastern Ghats were seemed to be covered in lush green carpet. The evergreen Hindi songs of Kishore Kumar were playing in perfect tune in the music system of our car. At times, the rolling up cloud from the valley made everything disappear behind the dense mist. And then after driving a few kilometres through the fog things got cleared gradually and we could see the little tribal villages in the valley.
Undoubtedly, Our monsoon road trip to Araku Valley was the best experience we had during our Vizag trip.
About Araku Valley
Araku Valley is a popular tourist destination and the most frequently visited hill station in Andhra Pradesh. The valley expands over an area of 40 km at an altitude of 900 metres from sea level. Bordering with the state of Odisha, Araku Valley is home to many indigenous tribes of Eastern India. It is situated at a distance of 120 km from Vizag city.
Booking.comBlessed with beautiful streams, lonely waterfalls, sprawling coffee plantations and rich landscape, Araku Valley is a perfect place for a day trip from Vizag. Tourists who visit Vizag usually go to Araku to experience the beauty of this less explored valley. Araku is also famous for its coffee plantation and held the distinction of producing the first organic coffee brand grown by Adivasi farmers in India.
Read More: Best Tourist Places in Vizag That You Can See in 2 Days
How to Travel to Araku Valley from Vizag
Araku Valley Tour by Train
The train journey from Vizag to Araku Valley is one of the most beautiful train journeys in India. En route, you will go through many tunnels with enchanting views of the Eastern Ghats from the train.
It takes approximately five hours to reach Araku from Vizag by train. Visakhapatnam-Kirandul Passenger (58501 VSKP-KRDL Passenger) with a vista dome coach is the perfect option to experience this journey.
Araku Valley tour by road
If you can’t manage the reservation on the train, then don’t be upset. The road journey to Araku Valley is nothing less spectacular, and you always have the freedom to stop anywhere. As they say, “sometimes the journey is more beautiful than the destination” is so appropriate for your road trip to Araku Valley.
There are several APSRTC buses available from Vizag that will take you to Araku valley in 3 hours. You can also hire a cab for your entire trip. Every day from 7 am to 9 pm, APTDC conducts a day tour to Araku Valley from Vizag in non a/c buses.
Rail-cum-road tour to Araku Valley
If you want to experience both the train and the road journey, the best plan would be to reach Araku by train. After exploring the valley, come back by road and visit Anathgiri coffee plantation, Galikonda viewpoint and Borra Caves en route. During peak season (November to February), APTDC arrange a daily rail cum road trip to Araku Valley from Vizag. If you plan to visit Vizag during that time, check the APTDC website before you make the trip yourself.
List of tourist places to see during your Day trip to Araku Valley
- Araku Tribal Museum
- Padmapuram Botanical Garden
- Ananthagiri Coffee Plantation
- Galikonda View Point
- Borra Caves
- Katiki Waterfalls
Araku Valley Tourist Map
Back to Our Day Trip to Araku Valley
The ghat roads gradually opened to a wide valley with a pitch-black road running at the centre. The railway track, which was not visible during most parts of our journey in the ghat roads, was now running parallel to our road. Long stretches of green paddy fields with small patches of red soil in between seemed extended till the Eastern Ghats’ foothills, which slowly receded far, far away from us. Finally, we saw Haritha Valley Resort’s large compound on our right, which indicated that we had entered Araku town.
After driving another 500 metres, we reached the centre of Araku market, and on our left side, there was the entry gate of Araku Tribal Museum. The space in front of the museum’s boundary wall was occupied by roadside stalls selling the famous Bongulo Chicken of Araku Valley. The spicy aroma of Bongulo Chicken was really alluring, but we decided to visit the museum first as we were already quite late to begin our sightseeing tour.
Araku Tribal Museum
Araku Tribal Museum is where the lifestyle, culture and traditions of the local tribes are beautifully depicted with life-size clay models. As soon as we entered through the gate, we saw a large pool in front with boating facilities in it. On its right side, there were rows of souvenir shops. After buying a few wooden toys for my son, we entered a hut where there was a collection of locally cultivated rice, pulses, spices and seeds.
When we exited the hut, we saw a red coloured building on the right-hand corner. This is the main museum building where the interior is designed like a tribal house, and their day-to-day activities are beautifully demonstrated inside. There is a collection of tribal paintings, masks used by tribes, and photographs of the Araku valley.
Time: 9 am – 7 pm
Ticket: Adult – ₹40 / Child – ₹20
Padmapuram Botanical Garden
Padmapuram Botanical Garden was our next destination on our day trip to Araku Valley. It was built during the second world war to grow vegetables for soldiers. Now this garden also houses a horticulture nursery with exotic species of trees and flowers. There is a large rose garden inside, which become a place to visit during winter when the roses are in full bloom. You can also ride the toy train, which gives a tour of the entire garden.
After visiting Padmapuram Botanical Garden, we were starving and went to Haritha Valley resort for lunch. When we finished our lunch, we explored the resort campus, which seemed a fantastic place for a stay of one or two days. It has nice two-storied cottages with a well-maintained lawn, a children’s park, and a large swimming pool inside.
Read More: Shillong to Cherrapunjee Road Trip – A Virtual Photo Journey
Time: 8:30 am – 6 pm
Ticket: Adult – ₹40 / Child – ₹20
Ananthagiri Coffee Plantation
Ananthagiri coffee plantation was on our way back from Araku. There were large stretches of coffee gardens at the slopes of Ananthagiri Hills, where one can enter inside the garden and see locals working inside. The first organic coffee in India was produced in these gardens on Ananthagiri Hills.
We stopped in front of one such garden but did not enter inside as it was raining heavily. Rather we had a cup of freshly brewed Araku coffee from one of the roadside coffee stall. The coffee was excellent, and we instantly bought two 100 ml coffee jar from them. Then we drove towards the Galikonda viewpoint.
Just a word of caution – Be careful while buying the ground coffee powder from these roadside stalls. The jars which we bought found to be mixed with some adulterants.
Galikonda View Point
Galikonda is the second highest peak of Eastern Ghats. The roadside viewpoint offers a panoramic view of Eastern Ghat Hills and the valley below. We did not get a clear view of the valley due to the cloud, but we enjoyed the moment of walking in a light shower with dense fog surrounding us.
Borra Caves
Borra Cave was our next stop and the prime attraction of our day trip to Araku Valley. It was still raining when we reached there. We started walking towards the cave from the parking lot. On the way, we ordered Bongulo Chicken from one of the roadside stalls. It usually takes 45 minutes to 1 hour to prepare this dish.
So after placing the order, we went towards the cave. There are three tiers of Borra Caves, of which tourists are only allowed to enter the middle one. The upper part is covered with jungle, while the lower level of the cave is close to the origin of the Gosthani river. From the ticket counter, the stairs go down to the mouth of the cave.
The cave was full of local and tourists as it was a holiday. The colourful lights that were installed to make the inside visible made the cave look more attractive. Although there were places in between that were dark and slippery due to rain. Carrying a torch would be a good idea, but we forgot to have one with us.
There is a small temple at the end of the cave, until which point tourists can go. The stalactite and stalagmite formations inside the cave were quite amazing. Borra cave is also known as Borra Guhalu (Borra means a hole in Odia language, and Guhalu means caves in Telegu language).
It took almost an hour to explore the entire cave. When we came back, our Bongulo Chicken was ready. It was simply mouth-watering. We thought of ordering more, but it was impossible to wait for another hour as we wanted to reach the plains till there was daylight.
Time: 10 am – 5 pm
Ticket: Adult – ₹40 / Child – ₹30
An advice for all the non-vegetarians who are going to visit Araku valley, do not miss Bongulo Chicken at any cost even if you have to skip one sightseeing place like us. 😉
Katiki Waterfalls
By now, you can already guess that we had missed Katiki waterfalls. Yes, we could not visit Katiki waterfalls as we were already quite late and Bongulo Chicken finished our last possibility of visiting it.
For your information, you can trek to Katiki falls which is an easy hike and takes 20-30 minutes to reach the falls. Or you can go for a shared jeep ride from Borra Caves parking lot. The falls is within 1 km of distance from Borra caves. Falling from approximately 50 feet in height, this waterfalls is a top-rated weekend destination among city dwellers.
We reached Vizag around 8 pm and stopped once on our way back for a tea break.
Where to Eat
Every resort and hotel in Araku has a house restaurant. You can have your lunch in one of them. We had lunch in Haritha Valley resort which is run by APTDC.
I usually search for restaurants where Bengali food is available whenever I travel with my parents. Even in the remotest place like Araku Valley, there were two roadside eateries where we could get Bengali food – Hotel Amantran and Dada Boudir Hotel (you will always get one such restaurant in all the popular Bengali tourist destinations). But both of them were closed during our visit. When I asked locals, they told me that these restaurants only get operational during peak season.
Bongulo Chicken is a famous local tribal delicacy of Araku. It is prepared inside a green bamboo stalk with local herbs and without any oil. You will get plenty of roadside stalls run by tribal people near the Tribal Museum and Borra Caves, where you can taste this delectable chicken preparation.
Booking.comAraku Valley AP Tourism Hotels
There are two state government (APTDC) run resorts in Araku – Araku Haritha Valley Resort and Araku Haritha Hill Resort (Mayuri). The Tyda Haritha Jungle Bells is another resort located on Vizag-Araku road, approximately 40 km before reaching Araku.
When to Visit Araku Valley
You can visit Araku valley throughout the year. November to February is the peak season when Araku witnesses a rush of tourists. Summer in the valley is also very pleasant.
Whereas during monsoon, Araku gets heavy rainfall leading to occasional landslides. But if you can manage with that, you can experience the magical Araku in monsoon, which is unarguably another beautiful monsoon getaway in India.
Travel Tips for Your Day Trip to Araku Valley
- Start as early as possible from Vizag. Do not delay beyond 7 am. Or you may have to hurry and skip a place or two in the end.
- It is always a good idea to carry umbrellas and raincoat for your child if you plan to visit during the monsoon.
- Although there are lights inside the Borra Caves, you may find places where it is pitch dark, and carrying a torch with you will be really helpful.
- Water drips from the roof and walls of Borra caves, so take care of your camera and mobile when you are inside.
- Older people might find it difficult to move inside the cave. Although you can hire a guide to lead you, going down on the slippery path inside a poorly illuminated cave might be a risky proposition for the aged.
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Book your trip: Resources
- Flight
Use Skyscanner or Google Flights to book your flight.
- Accommodation
Booking.com and Agoda are perfect to book your hotel. If you want to stay in a hostel, then Hostelworld would be of great help in finding one at your convenience.
- Travel Insurance
World Nomads is perfect for travel insurance. You can get comprehensive protection with them. Let them take care of unexpected situations while you concentrate on your trip.
- Package Tour
You can book a package tour from Intrepid Travel. They are a reputed company in arranging small group tours and customise it as per your requirements. You can also use Klook to book your private transport, city tours, heritage walks, food walks and other experiences like a cooking lesson or a Yoga session.
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