Araku - The Cloudy Hillstation in Andhra

Tripoto
14th Oct 2022

Want to have a comfortable and a bit chill place to spend your weekend - then Araku is the right place for you.
This place is nestled away from the city life and has a very peaceful and serene vibes to it.

We reached the place via train from Vizag. You'll find many trains for the route - choose the morning time to travel as you'll love the scenery of Ananthagiri hills on the way.
The vistadome coach is a very popular choice among the tourists for enjoying the view.

The whole journey is very scenic with a lots of tunnels on the way ( 58 to be specific - we lost the count after 29, copied the data from Google 😂 )

After reaching the place, book an auto/taxi and reach your hotel. Start your journey after getting fresh. Take a local tour of the nearby places like Coffee Museum, Tribal Museum, etc.
We didn't travelled much of those places as our reason for coming here was the Borra caves, Ananthagiri Hills and obviously the Bamboo Chicken 🤤.

Take some rest and have a relaxing evening at your hotel/resort.

For your meals, you should definitely check out the Star Annapurna Restaurant/Hotel - The mix biryani there is a must try.
But don't try bamboo chicken there, it's very dry.

The main point of attraction is the next day. Book a taxi to Borra Caves. You'll get to see Ananthagiri Hills on your way. Book a one way trip to Borra as we'll take the train from Borra to Vizag in the afternoon ( check the exact timing so that you can plan accordingly ). We'll suggest you guys to get out as early as possible so that you can enjoy without much crowd.
The journey is full of scenic views, make sure to stop at some of the points and enjoy the view from there. The tour guide/driver will normally stop at the location and tell you to take some photos.
Our driver, Tirupati Anna, did show us lots of such places to enjoy the view and click some good photos.
Soon you'll reach the coffee plantation. Take your time and explore that place. You'll get some of the best bamboo chicken there, so don't forget to give it a try. And the local coffee there is a must try - as you are in a Coffee plantation only.
Enjoy the view, climb a bit upwards to see more of the coffee trees. You'll just love the place.
Then move on to Borra Caves, one of the largest cave system of India. On your way you can try some Madugai Halwa, a local delicacy.
Take your  ticket ( if you are early you won't find much crowd but if you are late you'll have to wait a bit ) and enter the caves. Explore the whole cave, you'll love the experience.
After that just move on to the Borra Station and wait for your Train.
For the second day the auto driver will ask for about ₹2500-3000 but try to negotiate as much as possible and get it to around ₹2000.

You should definitely give Araku a visit, you won't be disappointed.

Till next time guys..... Happy Travelling :)

View on the way to Borra Caves

Photo of Araku by Kumar Harsh Akash

Araku

Photo of Araku by Kumar Harsh Akash

Coffee Museum

Photo of Araku by Kumar Harsh Akash

View on the way to Borra Cave

Photo of Araku by Kumar Harsh Akash

Coffee Plantation - Ananthagiri Hills

Photo of Araku by Kumar Harsh Akash

Bamboo Chicken

Photo of Araku by Kumar Harsh Akash

View on the way to Borra Caves

Photo of Araku by Kumar Harsh Akash

BORRA CAVE

Photo of Araku by Kumar Harsh Akash

Borra Cave

Photo of Araku by Kumar Harsh Akash

BORRA Cave

Photo of Araku by Kumar Harsh Akash