Araku Valley
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.
Lambasingi
The coldest village in Andhra Pradesh
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.
Lambasingi is small, and the reason to go is the weather and the landscape rather than anything built. On winter mornings the fields hold frost, which is rare enough in coastal Andhra to have made the village locally famous.
The Thajangi reservoir is a short drive away and is where most visitors spend the early morning. There is very little accommodation in the village itself; most trips stay at Chintapalli or come up for the day from Araku.
What to know before you go
The cold is a winter-morning phenomenon. Arriving at midday in April is arriving at an ordinary hill village, so the timing matters more here than anywhere else on this list.
What to see
- Frost on the fields on winter mornings
- Thajangi reservoir at sunrise
- Apple and strawberry plots
- The pine stands along the Chintapalli 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.