Day 3

Places Covered: Borra Caves, Tribal Museum, Katiki waterfalls, Padmapuram garden.

Mode Of Transport: Hotel Cab

Cost: Rs. 4500/-

Duration: 6:15 AM To 8 PM

Breakfast : Arranged by Dolphin

Lunch @ Hotel Star Annapoorna, Arakku Valley

It was the best part of the whole trip, Araku Valley and Borra Caves. The journey had altogether 54 tunnels till Araku by train.With the suggestion of our cab driver, We got down at Borra station till which there were 39 tunnels.

Before I move on to the places, it is a must to describe the way we reached Borra station. Do not miss the train journey.

We Chose to travel in the Vistadome coach of Araku Kidunkal train. There are both many Good n Bad about this coach. Good is that; this is the only coach that was not overcrowded, there are very big glass windows to enjoy the view, there are tilting chairs to turn one's chair. The roofs are glass top too. There is also a space near the coach entrance where one could have a great view through the wide glass window. It appears as if we are sitting in an open coach.

The bad part is that the coach is well illuminated with tube lights, so you don’t get the feeling of traveling inside the tunnel. Viewing through the big glass window exists even in Shatabdi trains. But, the awesome view can be experienced near the back entrance of the coach where there is a full glass at the back of the coach and no lighting.

View Of The Tunnel From The Rear Window Of The VistaDome Coach

The train started by 6:50 in the morning and it was like traveling in a normal routé for the first one and a half hours. The train started to enter tunnels only from 8:20(when it was nearing Tyda). We crossed 39 tunnels in the next one and a half hours(till borra). It was a very good experience in traveling through 39 tunnels in the last coach of the Araku Kidunkal Train. The wide glass window at the back gave us an awesome experience. It was like we were traveling in an open train.

So, if you are planning to book in Vistadome Coach, try to sit in front of your system early by 8 AM. It gets booked in minutes. So, plan accordingly.

Tips: Try to grab a space near the entrance in the Vistadome Coach after Tyda station. You would have a great view of your way for the next 1.5 hours of your travel.

The return journey by train did not fit our schedule so we had arranged for our hotel cab to pick up us from the Borra caves station and continue the sightseeing for the day.

It is advisable to go by train and come back by road as this allows to cover more places and enjoy the beauty of nature.

Borra Cave

The train was half hour late and we reached Borra Station by 10:15 Am. It was almost a 3 hour journey. If you prefer to get down at Arakku Station, it is another one hour from Borra station.

Borra caves is a 5 minutes ride from the station and it is an awesome cave. The entry fee is Rs.60/adult and 45/child, video camera 100, mobile camera 25. No baggage and eatables are allowed inside the cave

Entrance To The Borra Caves

Way To The Cave

It is interesting to know the background story about the cave discovery. The story goes that, a cow fell from a hole on the ground and it came out without getting hurt from another way. This lead to the discovery of this cave.

The Cave - A View From The Cave Starting Point

The Cave had many stalagmite formations and it appears to look like the Human brain, Hanuman, Crocodile, Monkey, Dinosaur, Sivan Parvathy, Saibaba, Mother Teresa etc etc etc.

One Of The Natural Formations Inside

The Cave-Like Human Brain

Can You Spot Lord Vinayaga In The Formation

Can You Spot SaiBaba Here in this picture?

One Of The Stalagmite Formations

A bit of true advice is, opt for a guide and he will show you all the formations else it’s very difficult to identify the figures in that huge cave. It is not possible to find out the formations with our mobile torchlight throughout the cave. Guide services cost only 100 when we went.

There is a Suyambu lingam and a Nandhi formation which is worshipped with daily poojas. One has to climb a few steep steps to get a glance and blessings.

Katiki waterfalls:

It is a bit tiresome for small kids. But they will enjoy it. One has to take a Jeep ( Our cab driver dropped us near a Jeep rental spot) to get to the trekking point. From there, it is a half-hour of the trek. They charge around 1000 for the Jeep ride. It was a very bad bumpy ride. So, they do not allow private cars to reach the trekking point. The Only way is to depend on the Jeep Rentals to get to the trekking spot.

On The Way To The Falls

Distant View Of The Falls

It was Lovely though the water was less. It was very chill(December) and we stopped with just having a closer look. We did not get drenched.

It takes a minimum of 2 hrs including the Jeep journey and trekking(to and fro). Please wear proper shoes or slippers that have a proper grip. It's slippery while climbing.

Tribal Museum:

Tribal museum is in Araku Valley and it's a half-hour ride from Katiki waterfall. It was interesting. Human wax-like structures showcasing the day to day activities of the tribes was a welcome to the eyes. The entry fee for adults is Rs. 40 and Child is Rs.20

The Entrance

The campus was divided into several huts and each hut showcased various activities of the tribals.

Wax Structures That Display Daily Activities Of The Tribal People

Day To Day Activity Was Depicted Nicely In Various Huts

The center of attraction here is the tribal dance structure where one can click a photo by standing among them as though you are also dancing with them.

Padmapuram garden:

A very big garden which is less than 10 minutes ride from the tribal Museum. Mostly like it is a normal flower garden with a small play area for kids. There is a toy train for the kids to enjoy the garden