Araku Valley is a hill station in Visakhapatnam district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, lying 111 km west of Visakhapatnam city. This place is often referred to as Ooty of Andhra. It is a valley in the Eastern Ghats inhabited by different tribes. The Anantagiri and Sunkarimetta Reserved Forest which are part of Araku Valley, are rich in biodiversity and is mined for bauxite. Galikonda hill rising to a height of 5,000 feet is amongst the highest peaks in Andhra Pradesh. The average rainfall is 1,700 millimetres, bulk of which is received during June–October. The altitude is about 1300 m above sea level. The valley spreads around 36 km. Coffee was first introduced in Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh in 1898 by British in Pamuleru valley in East Godavari district. Subsequently, it spread over to Araku Valley in the early 19th century. After independence, the Andhra Pradesh Forest Department developed coffee plantations in the valley and in 1956, Coffee Board appointed Andhra Pradesh Girijan Cooperative Corporation Limited (GCC) GCC for promoting coffee plantations in the valley and GCC promotes coffee plantation through local tribal farmers. In 1985, the plantations were handed to A.P. Forest Development Corporation and GCC promoted Girijan Coop. Plantation Development Corporation (GCPDC) exclusively to develop coffee plantations in tribal areas. All the plantations developed by GCC and GCPDC were handed over to the tribal farmers at two acres per family.
*(All the above information are from Wikipedia.)
Transport:
Airport: Visakhapatnam International Airport is the nearest airport at a distance of 108km.
Rail: There are two trains which run from Visakhapatnam to Araku Valley station one in the morning and the other at night.
Road: Araku Valley is located at a distance of 111km from Visakhapatnam.
Tourist Interest:
Borra Caves: This is a famous limestone cave with Stalagmite and Stalactites of different forms and shapes. It is located at a distance of 90 km from Visakhapatnam and it on the way to Araku Valley which is 29 km away from the caves.
Read about my experience in Borra Caves.
Katiki Waterfalls: River Gosthani flows through the greenery and slides down as Katiki falls.
Tribal Museum: This museum gives an insight into tribal life.
Chaparai Water Cascade: Water flowing on different sizes of rocks makes it a place worth visiting.
Galikonda View Point: You can see endless mountains and greenery from this viewpoints.