By road
~112-125 km from Visakhapatnam
South India · Andhra Pradesh
Araku Valley, Andhra Pradesh
Coffee country by a famous slow train · ~112-125 km from Visakhapatnam
Getting there
By rail
Araku's own station, at the end of the scenic East Coast line from Visakhapatnam (the Vistadome train passes through 58 tunnels)
By air
Visakhapatnam Airport, ~112-125 km
Best time to visit
October to February — misty mornings, cool days
Don't miss
Borra Caves
Araku Tribal Museum
Padmapuram Gardens
Chaparai
Things to do
The Visakhapatnam-Araku rail ride
Tribal museum visits
Coffee plantation walks
Where to eat
Sources: open-meteo, wikimedia, Photo: Billjones94 · CC BY-SA 4.0
What to pack
Light woollens, window-seat alarm for the train's 58 tunnels
A quieter corner
Chaparai's water-sheeted rock slides just past the coffee museum
About Araku Valley
- Hills
Where it is
Araku Valley is a hill region in the Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh, in Alluri Sitharama Raju district close to the Odisha border, reached from the port city of Visakhapatnam by road and by a scenic railway.
History
The valley has long been home to Adivasi communities of the Eastern Ghats. After independence the state forest department developed coffee plantations here, and tribal farmers now grow Araku coffee, whose Arabica beans received a Geographical Indication tag in 2019. In 2022 the valley became part of the new Alluri Sitharama Raju district.
People
The valley's Adivasi communities include the Bagata, Konda Dora, Porja, Khond, Valmiki and Gadaba peoples, who speak Telugu, Odia and their own languages, such as Kuvi. The Dhimsa, danced by groups of women in a circle to drums and pipes played by men, is the valley's best-known dance.
Known for
- Araku coffee grown by tribal farmers
- The Borra Caves
- The railway climb from Visakhapatnam
- The Tribal Museum and Dhimsa dance
- Ananthagiri hills and waterfalls
Did you know?
The Borra Caves, in the Ananthagiri hills near Araku, reach about 80 m below ground, and a stalagmite inside them is worshipped as a Shiva lingam.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.