When in Araku Valley

The night train from Jagdalpur town (Chattisgarh) brought me safely to Araku Valley (Andhra Pradesh). The solo traveller on a hopping spree from one state to another…LOL!

Araku Valley Railway Station

It was dark and extremely chilly. To make matters worse it was an ungodly hour. I knew there was dormitory facility at the railway station. The station master room was open. I knocked and entered the room. Upon enquiry about availability of dormitory rooms, I learnt from the station master that dormitory rooms are only for men. I was dejected. My next course of action was to ask for availability of single rooms. The station master informed me the only single room has already been booked. Sad news for me!!! With nothing else to do at that ungodly hour, I made up my mind to spend a few hours at the waiting room of the small railway station. The cold night slowly gave way to a foggy morning. Everything was enveloped by the dense fog. As visibility improved I emerged from the waiting room. I walked on the main road looking for a hotel. After some searching, I found a good hotel at a reasonable price.

a foggy street in Araku Valley

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU ARE IN ARAKU VALLEY?

That’s a good question. Read on to find out what I did on the first and third day of my stay. 

Araku Valley is a small hill station nestled in the Eastern Ghats. The place is mostly inhabited by different tribal groups. It is blessed with enchanting natural landscape, cascading waterfalls, gurgling streams, lush green landscape, sprawling coffee plantations, and good weather. Hence it is often referred to as the “Ooty of Andhra Pradesh”. It is a quick weekend getaway for locals from nearby towns. So expect weekends to be extremely crowded. If you are one of those who do not like crowds then avoid coming on weekends and holidays.

TRIBAL MUSEUM

entrance gate of Tribal Museum

The Tribal Museum is right at the centre of the small town. I bought the entrance ticket and entered through the huge gate. The museum complex and the museum grounds showcases numerous artefacts from tribal life of Eastern Ghats. It is an ideal place to learn and acquire information about tribal culture and their lifestyle. The museum complex is well-equipped with informative sign boards to aid the visitors. The main museum building is a circular shaped two-storey structure. You will be greeted by life-sized clay models of tribal men and women engaged in variety of activities. Traditional ornaments are on display as well. These ornaments were indeed interesting.

ticket counter of Tribal Museum

exhibits at the Tribal Museum

exhibits at the Tribal Museum

exhibits at the Tribal Museum

exhibits at the Tribal Museum

exhibits at the Tribal Museum

exhibits at the Tribal Museum

exhibits at the Tribal Museum

the main circular museum building

The outer walls of a few structures scattered around the museum ground are beautifully decorated with tribal floral patterns. Display of rice grains and pulses, and many other things related to tribal life are exhibited in those mud houses. Interesting tribal sculptures are placed around the area. Not to be missed are the dancing figurines of tribal ladies doing DHIMSA DANCE. It is a popular tribal folk dance performed by 10-15 tribal women forming a circle. It is performed during marriage celebrations, chaitra festival or any other festival occasion. You can pose with the dancing ladies by standing in the gap between the ladies. There are a couple of shops within the premises where you can purchase souvenirs including local coffee powder and locally produced organic honey. I purchased local coffee powder at one of the shops. You can grab coffee or tea or cold drinks at the mini café. A small park with a swimming pool completes the museum complex.

tribal designs

exhibits at the Tribal Museum

exhibits at the Tribal Museum

exhibits at the Tribal Museum

coffee powder and coffee beans sold at the museum shop

visitors shopping at the museum complex

Dhimsa Dance

one for the memories

Just outside the main gate of Tribal Museum are many small eateries. These eateries sell the popular BAMBOO CHICKEN. It is a traditional tribal delicacy of Araku Valley. The small raw chicken pieces after being marinated with spices are placed inside a green bamboo stalk. It is to be mentioned no oil or water is used. The open end of the bamboo stalk is then closed by leaves. This is placed over hot coal fire. The bamboo piece is occasionally turned slowly over the coal fire till the entire outer parts looks burnt. Do give it a try. You won’t be disappointed. The eateries and the other small shops constitute the local market; and it lies on both sides of the main road that passes right through the small town. You will notice tribal ladies sitting on both sides of the road selling local vegetables placed on tarpaulins. These tribal ladies mostly arrive from the neighbouring villages to sell their wares and then return back home.

Bamboo Chicken

Bamboo Chicken

a bowl of tasty Bamboo Chicken

ghee halwa

bunches of bananas

COFFEE MUSEUM 

Away from the hustle and bustle of the market area, an inner road leads to Coffee Museum. It is located close to the Tribal Museum. This is a must visit for a coffee lover. With interesting and attention grabbing catchphrases such as “Caffeine is not a drug, it’s a vitamin” and few more, the museum narrates the interesting story of coffee from seed till it reaches your cup with the help of diagrams, visuals, and pictures. I learnt the story regarding the origin of coffee here. You can purchase variety of home-made chocolates and coffee powder from the adjacent bakery and also grab a hot cuppa of varieties of coffee. You can satisfy your hunger pangs from the few standalone eating carts within the premises where sandwiches, burgers, fries, etc. are sold. Late evening Dhimsa dance performance is held here. I missed the dance show since I left the place early.

one for the memories

sitting chairs at the Coffee Museum

Coffee Museum

Coffee Museum

ticket counter of Coffee Museum

sunset as seen from Coffee Museum

PADMANAPURAM GARDEN 

The location of the botanical garden is a bit far from the town centre. A huge ornamental gate welcomes you to the expansive garden. It is ornamented with well-maintained flowery pathways and variety of flowering plants and green plants. The huge open spaces is a welcome relief; and you can either take a leisurely walk or jog or sit in the grassy lawns. It is a good place for some quiet time and to relax with friends and families or even alone. After exploring the garden, I lied down on the green grass gazing at the blue sky for a long time. A toy train facility is available which takes you around the huge garden. The toy train ride is a favourite activity with the kids and adults as well.

entrance to Padmanapuram Botanical Garden

Padmanapuram Botanical Garden

Padmanapuram Botanical Garden

Padmanapuram Botanical Garden

flower blossoms on the way to the garden

kolam decor infront of a house

a bamboo gate 

a shop on the way to the garden

CHOMPI VILLAGE

the way to Chompi village

After my visit to the botanical garden, I decided to visit a tribal village. I couldn’t get any public vehicle to go to the tribal village from the town. Hence I walked all the way. It took me around 40-50 minutes from the botanical garden to Chompi village. 

It was a long walk to the village. Leaving behind the hustle and bustle of the town, I slowly became aware silence enveloping me during my walk and found myself absorbed in the music of the chattering of the birds and the rustling of leaves. I had to pass by a railway crossing as well. A horticulture cum training centre was on the way to the village and I dropped in out of curiosity when I saw the open gate. I was there for only a few minutes. At one point I realized I was followed by some women and young girls. They were bringing bundles of dry twigs/branches by skilfully balancing it on their head. They took a shortcut through the paddy field to go to the village while I continued walking on the road. Chompi is a small Adivasi village. The houses are modestly built. Life went on in the village and I was the quiet observer. A few village folk were engaged in the paddy field, some women were cleaning utensils in a corner away from the prying eyes, some lazing at the veranda of their modest hut.

railway crossing on the way to Chompi village

horticulture centre on the way to Chompi village

huge anthill at the horticulture centre

betel leaves at the horticulture centre

paddy field at Chompi village

the road to Chompi village

village folks crossing the field

village folks busy at the field

a school in Chompi village

a hut in Chompi village

a hut in Chompi village

a hut in Chompi village

ploughing tool in Chompi village

Oh yes, I also came across an entire family – husband, wife, and their kids - busy in cleaning coffee beans (removing the bean from inside the coffee cherry) with the help of a small machine. It was something very new to me…to see the process. Just across the courtyard saw coffee beans being laid out on a mat for drying. The family informed me they make coffee powder from the fully dried coffee beans and later on sell it in the market. It is a good source of income for the family. I had to wait for sometime to get a shared auto while returning from the village.

drying of coffee beans

separating coffee beans from coffee cherry

separating coffee beans from coffee cherry

No doubt Araku Valley is blessed with natural beauty. But what appalled me was the sight of litters and garbage practically everywhere. It looked as if the town was made up of litters. It is a pitiful sight. The concerned authorities need to wake up from their slumber and do the needful regarding this menace.

I will make a separate post regarding my activities for the 2^nd day in Araku Valley.

Thank you for stopping by!

 

Travelled on: 19 & 21 January 2020

© The content and images are copyright of Hema Hazarika (thehaflonggirl).