Lambasingi
A village in the Chintapalli hills that records the lowest temperatures in Andhra Pradesh, sometimes near freezing on winter mornings. Apple and strawberry plots, pine stands and a reservoir at Thajangi nearby.
Araku Valley
Coffee, hills and the train through the tunnels
A hill valley in the Eastern Ghats about three hours inland from Visakhapatnam, known for its coffee plantations, its tribal museum and the railway line that climbs to it through dozens of tunnels.
Araku sits roughly 900 metres up in the Eastern Ghats, and the drive there is a large part of why people go: the ghat road climbs through forest in a long series of bends, with viewpoints most drivers will stop at if you ask.
The valley itself is coffee country. The Araku Valley Coffee estates and the tribal museum at Araku are the two fixed points most visitors see, and the Padmapuram botanical gardens are a short drive from the town.
What to know before you go
It is cooler than the coast all year and genuinely cold on winter mornings. The road is good but slow, so a day trip means a long day in the car — most people prefer two.
What to see
- Coffee plantations and the Araku Valley coffee museum
- The tribal museum at Araku
- Padmapuram botanical gardens
- The ghat road viewpoints on the way up
- Borra Caves, on the same road
Other destinations
Borra Caves
A million-year-old limestone cave system in the Ananthagiri hills, lit for visitors and reached by steps down from the road. On the way to Araku, so most trips take in both.
Annavaram
One of the most visited temples in Andhra Pradesh, on Ratnagiri hill above the Pampa river, about two and a half hours down the coast road from Visakhapatnam.