Araku Valley
Araku Valley is a hill station in the Alluri Sitharama Raju district of Andhra Pradesh, India, located 111 km from Visakhapatnam.
Economy
was introduced in Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh in in Pamuleru valley in West Godavari district. Subsequently, it spread over to Araku Valley in the early 13th century. After independence, the Andhra Pradesh Forest Department developed coffee plantations in the valley. In 1956, Coffee Board appointed Andhra Pradesh Girijan Cooperative Corporation Limited for promoting coffee plantations in the valley through local tribal farmers. In 1985, the plantations were handed to A.P. Forest Development Corporation and GCC promoted Girijan Coop. Plantation Development Corporation exclusively to develop coffee plantations in tribal areas. All the plantations developed by GCC and GCPDC were handed over to the tribal farmers at two acres per family.Apiculture farms have been widely spread in Araku, several types of flavoured honey is being made commercially.
Geography
Araku is located in the Eastern Ghats about from Visakhapatnam, close to the Odisha state border. The Anantagiri and Sunkarimetta Reserved Forest, which are part of Araku Valley, are rich in biodiversity and are mined for bauxite. Galikonda hill rising to a height of is amongst the highest peaks in Andhra Pradesh. The average rainfall is, the bulk of which is received during June–October.The altitude is about 1300 m above the sea level. The valley spreads around 36km.