About Araku Valley Visakhapatnam
Araku Valley is a hill station and valley region in the southeastern Indian State of Andhra Pradesh close to the Odisha State border. At a distance of 114 km from Visakhapatnam lies Araku Valley this place is also called as Ooty of Andhra Pradesh. It is located in Eastern Ghats inhabited by different tribes it is the heart of Andhra Pradesh.
It is a Beautiful Valley with lush greenery, pleasant climate, waterfalls and streams, it is a popular tourist destination of South India. By Visiting the Valley, you will experience the tribal culture. The Valley is famous for coffee plantations. The Ananthagiri and Sunkarimetta Reserved Forest are the part of Araku Valley which are rich in biodiversity and deposit of rocks rich in bauxite. The highest peak in Andhra Pradesh is Galikonda hill at a height of 5000 feet (1500m), in Araku valley. The average rainfall received during June – October is 1700 millimeters.
The altitude is about 1300 m, above the sea level, the area of the valley spreads around 36 km. After independence, the coffee plantation was developed by the Andhra Pradesh Forest Department in the valley in 1956. To promote coffee plantation coffee board appointed Andhra Pradesh Girijan Co-operative Corporation limited (GCC) in the valley, through local farmers.
Tourist Attractions in Araku Valley
In 1985, the coffee plantations were handed over to AP forest development corporation and GCC promoted Girijan Co-operation Plantation Development Corporation (GCPDC) Exclusively to develop coffee plantations in tribal areas. All the plantations which were developed by GCC and GCPDC were handed over to the tribal farmers at two acres for each family.
Tribal village is the sort of destination for tourists visiting Araku Valley. The dances like Dhimsa and Mayuri are popular among tribal groups, while visiting the tourist will have the experience of seeing the tribal dances. Chaparai, a place 15 kms from Araku valley, a beautiful place with picturesque views, is another tourist attraction.
How to Reach Araku Valley
From Visakhapatnam to the Araku train number 58501, it leaves at 6.50 a.m. and arrives at 10.50 a.m.
From Araku to Visakhapatnam, train number 58502 leaves Araku at 3:40 p.m and arrives in Visakhapatnam at 8:10 PM every day.
By Air:
Visakhapatnam airport is the closest to Araku. It is 80 km from the Araku Valley. The journey here can be completed by train / bus or taxis.
By Rail:
The only train to Araku is from Visakhapatnam, which connects you to the other major cities.
By Road:
In addition to state-operated buses, there are also many taxis available that connect the Araku Valley to Visakhapatnam. Private buses from Mumbai, Bangalore, Vijayawada, Hyderabad, and Chennai also run at regular intervals.