While in Vizag city, and you have a weekend, it makes sense to plan a visit to Borra caves and Araku valley. Here we are going to share about ways to reach Araku Valley and Borra caves, little more details about Borra caves and what else is worth visiting & exploring.
Borra caves are approximately 90 kilometers from Vizag city and by car it takes around 2.5 hrs to reach here. Apart from that, the other option is to take train from Vizag to Araku valley and get taxi from the railway station. Some details around train timings, fare of different trains and coaches, please check out - https://gotirupati.com/borra-caves-train/
Buses are also available from Vizag to Borra Caves and Araku valley. More details can be found at - http://apsrtc.gov.in/Paraku.aspx
Borra caves are one of the largest in the country, at an elevation of about 705 meters. The caves are basically karstic limestone structures with depth of 80 meters, and are considered the deepest caves in India.
The Borra Caves are also called Borra Guhalu locally. Borra means hole in Odia language and guhalu means caves in Telugu language. These caves are located on the East Coast of India around Ananthagiri hills of the Araku Valley in Visakhapatnam district in Andhra Pradesh.
There is entry ticket for exploring Borra caves.
Entry ticket at Borra Caves - 40 rs per person
Camera charges - 25 rs
Ticket fee for kids - 30rs
If you want to make your exploration interesting, you may also plan to have a guide with you. It would cost you 100-150 rs for 1hr.
As I entered into the caves, I saw these colorful lights all around and I found it very disgusting till I came across some corners of the caves where I could notice that some of the portions looked better in one color than the other.
Let's talk about how much do you need to explore the caves. 1 hr should more than enough unless your guide keeps you busy with stories about all the rocks inside the caves :). There is a temple inside the caves and it's pretty busy. We skipped it but if you plan to visit the temple, keep 45 minutes aside.
On the discovery of the Borra caves, there are several legends, which the tribals narrate. There are various tribal around the caves - Jatapu, Porja, Kondadora, Nookadora, valmiki etc. The popular legend is that a cow, grazing on the top of the caves, dropped 60 meters through a hole in the roof. The cowherd while searching for the cow came across the caves. He found a stone inside the cave that resembled a Lingam, which he interpreted as the Lord Shiva who protected the cow. The village folks who heard the story believed it and since then they have built a small temple for Lord Shiva outside the cave. People flock to the temple for worship and the cave to get a glimpse of the Lingam. This in itself deserves a separate post.
There are more legends and almost every legend is related to mythology.
These light shades on the cave rocks keep changing. So when you point your camera towards any rock, you don't know which color would be captured. So it was important to understand the pattern and then time your click.
In one par of the caves have still water. It was very dirty and I fear that same water source would produce lot of mosquitos during summers. I tried clicking some reflections but failed because of layer of dirt on top of this water source.
Let's talk about what else can be visited, explored and done around Borra Caves. Some of the options are -
1. Katiki Waterfalls
2. Dumbriguda Waterfalls
3. Chaparai waterfalls
4. Araku Tribal Museum
5. Tyda Park
6. Padampura Botanical Garden
One of the waterfalls comes on the way to Borra caves. One needs to hire separate jeep and then walk till the waterfalls. Do estimate your time well, before planning a visit to this waterfall.
Details about these places are available in separate posts on our blog.
When in Vishakhapataman district of Andhra Pradesh state of India, it's highily recommended to visit Araku valley and the Borra caves specifically. It's special to explore natural wonders like these caves.
While you come out of the caves, enjoy fresh coconut water and famous bamboo chicken of Araku valley.
Above photograph shows the view of the entry of the Borra caves and it's further deep till the end.
Do share your comments below and let us know if you have any suggestions/ideas/feedback for us.
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