****Travel report on this train to Araku******
Courtesy: Times of India
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##Of Dimsa, green valleys and virgin beaches##
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among the lovely Eastern Ghats and covered all over with hues of green, rests the cool Araku, a tranquil point, dotted by hills and valleys, and inhabited by 19 tribes
There are several green destinations in south India. However, one that has the best of both the blue and green world is undoubtedly Visakhapatnam, or Vizag as it's fondly called.
Breathtaking valley, beautiful hill ranges, deep blue sea, natural caves, ropeway adventure, virgin lands, rich tribal culture ... Vizag has it all.
Though I love to venture out on my own, I chose to make an exception this time, as I didn't want to miss out on any important locations. After an informal chat with the locals, I learnt that my best bet would be the rail-road tour, conducted by the AP tourism. The package covered pretty much all the hotspots in and around the city - Simhachalam temple, Kailasgiri hillock, Rushikonda beach, Araku valley and Borra caves.
A four-hour enchanting train ride through the green valleys of Araku, which is called the Ooty of Andhra Pradesh for its cool weather and scenic beauty, and I was already smitten with the green hills and the white frosty waterfalls!
Though most hill stations in India runs trains in meter or narrow gauge, this was surprisingly a broad gauge line passing through Shimiliguda station, which is the highest broad gauge station of India (at 996.32 mt above MSL). The best part of the ride is that the train passes through 84 bridges and 58 tunnels. The longest tunnel is 520 metre long.
A bus took me to Kailasagiri hill top park from Araku, that has seven different view points and the famous gigantic statue of Hindu God Shiva Parvati. My next stop was the tribal museum, which gave an insight into the life of an Araku tribe. Tribal women, dressed in their ethnic attire, sang in their local dialect and showed off some traditional dance moves (called Dimsa). On our way to the Borra caves, we did a quick stop at the Ananthagiri coffee plantation grown by the tribals.
The last, but the most interesting halt was at Borra Caves. William King, the British geologist discovered this million-year-old cave, in 1807. The caves, filled with stalagmites and stalactites, are worth million dollars!
Though I did see Simhachalam temple, RK beach and the famous submarine museum at Vizag, the most unforgettable places were definitely the green valleys and the caves.
http ://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-05-18/travel/31750553_1_green-valleys-broad-gauge-araku