Naresh Iyer @ITPB Carnival 2018

Araku Valley

Araku Valley is a Hill station in Visakhapatnam district in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India. It is a valley in the Eastern Ghats inhabited by different tribes. Araku Valley is one of the least polluted and less commercialized tourist destinations in South India.

Geography[edit]

Araku is located at 18.3333°N 82.8667°E.[2] It has an average elevation of 911 metres (2,989 ft).
It is located 114 km from Vishakhapatnam, close to the Odisha state border. The Anantagiri and Sunkarimetta Reserved Forest which are part of Araku Valley, are rich in biodiversity. This valley is surrounded by mountains like Galikonda, Raktakonda, Sunkarimetta and Chitamogondi. Galikonda hill rising to a height of 5,000 feet (1,500 m) is one of the highest in Andhra Pradesh. The average rainfall is 1700 mm, bulk of which is received during June–October

Coffee[edit]

Araku is popular for its famous coffee plantations. India’s first tribal growers’ organic coffee brand was launched in the Araku Valley in 2007. The premium organic "Araku Emerald" brand of coffee sells globally. Thousands of tribals in the Agency area are engaged in coffee cultivation as farm hands or small farmers

Transportation[edit]

The valley is connected through both rail and road to the city of Vishakapatnam. There are two railway stations at Araku and Araku Valley on the Kothavalasa-Kirandul railway line of Visakhapatnam division of the East Coast Railway, on the Indian Railways network. Shimiliguda railway station is located at an altitude of 996 meters above mean sea level.

In films[edit]

This scenic beauty is also a host for many Tollywood films like Happy DaysKatha. The movie Darling, released in year 2010, was shot in Araku.

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