About Horsley Hills

Country: India | State: Andhra

Ideal Trip Duration: Full Day

Nearest City to Horsley Hills: Tirupati (128 Kms), Bangalore (166 Kms)

Best Time to Visit Horsley Hills: November to May

Peak Season: February to May

At a distance of 27 km Madanapalle, 76 km from Rayachoty, 128 km from Cuddapah, 123 km from Chittoor, 116 km from Chikkaballapura, 128 km from Tirupati, 166 km from Bangalore and 531 km from Hyderabad, Horsley Hills is a famous Hill Station in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh and also one of the best Tourist places in Andhra Pradesh. This is one of the popular Bangalore getaways for a weekend trip and also one of the top hill stations near Bangalore.

Situated at an altitude of 1265 meters, Horsley Hills is an exciting place to visit. The old name of Horsley Hills was Yenugu Mallamma Konda. According to the legend there used to be a little girl named Mallamma who was taken care by Elephants. She used to heal tribal people on the hills. When she disappeared suddenly, people thought she was a goddess and built a temple for her. Later the place is named after W.D. Horsley, the Collector of Cuddapah district. He visited this place and was impressed by the beauty of the hills and chose this spot for his summer residence. Now the Governor of Andhra Pradesh uses this house as a summer residence and hence this house is called the Governors bungalow.

The scenic drive to Horsley Hills is exciting and has thick vegetation of various species of plants and wild animals. Covering the entire stretch of narrow road are dense growth of Eucalyptus, Jacaranda, Allamanda, Gulmohar, Reeta, Amla, Beedi leaves, Blue Gum and Sandalwood. Wildlife like bears, wild dogs, jungle fowl, sambar and panthers are also sheltered in the forest here.

The major tourist places around Horsley hills are Lake Gangotri, View points, Gali Banda, Environmental Park and the Horsley Hills Museum. Horsley Hills is also one of the few places to offer Zorbing in India. But it requires prior reservation a day before and is normally offered on a group package of minimum 20 participants. Other adventure sports conducted are rappelling and trekking. The weather of Horsley Hills is pleasant throughout the year and it can be visited anytime of the year. The peak season is from February to May.

The nearest airport is Bangalore International Airport, which is 144 km from Horsley Hills. The nearest Railway Station is at Madanapalle, 27 km away. It has train connectivity with Tirupati, Hyderabad, Chittoor and Guntakal. Horsley Hills has direct buses from Madanapalle town. Madanapalle is well connected by bus with Chittoor, Tirupati, Kadapa, Vellore, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad.

Accommodation is available at Harita AP tourism resort. Other smaller private guest houses are also available around this.

It usually takes one day to visit the places in Horsley Hills and experience the nature.

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Other Info
Internet Availability: Poor
STD Code: 08571
Languages Spoken: Telugu, English
Major Festivals: Details Not Available
Notes/Tips:
None

How to Reach Horsley Hills

By Air

Nearest Airport: Bangalore - Bengaluru International Airport (144 Kms)

By Train

Nearest Train Station: Madanapalle Road Railway Station (27 Kms)
Tirupati Railway Station (128 Kms)

By Bus

Nearest Bus Station: Horsley Hills Bus Station (0 Kms)

Top 10 Places to Visit in Horsley Hills

Nature

#1 of 11 Places to Visit in Horsley Hills

At a distance of 300 m from Horsley Hills Bus Stand, Gali Banda (Windy Rock), a rocky slope that derives its name from the gusty winds that blow nearly all day. It is one of the best places to visit in Horsley Hills.

One can walk down the entire hill rock, admiring the unobstructed view of valleys of Horsley Hills and this is one of the prime places to visit in Horsley Hills. Enjoy the rejuvenating heavy winds as they blow past you.
The Eastern and Western viewpoints here are great places for sunrises and sunsets. Kids frolic in the tiny gardens here. A small natural lake, 1 km down the hill, is good for angling. The Microwave station near Wink Rocks is one of oldest Microwave stations.

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Nature

#2 of 11 Places to Visit in Horsley Hills

At a distance of 200 m from Horsley Hills Bus Stand, the View Point is situated behind Governor's Bungalow. It is one of the most popular places to visit in Horsley Hills, located at the highest summit that offers the great view of valleys, hillocks and dense forests.

The view of the endless expanse, dotted by hills and forests is in itself worth the trip to the hill station. Don't miss the sunset from this point; dipping sun is magical from this area as it seems to be going down in the valley.

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Miscellaneous

#3 of 11 Places to Visit in Horsley Hills

At a distance of less than 1 km from Horsley Hills Bus Station, Kalyan is a 150 years old Eucalyptus tree situated inside Van Vihar park at the center of Horsley Hills, opposite to Haritha Resort Complex. It is one of the prime places to visit in Horsley Hills.

This is probably the only tree in India that is called with a name. The tree was planted in 1859 by Horsleys, then collector of the region. This is very large tree with a height of 40 meters and circumference is about 4.7 meters.

The tree is hidden behind an old forest bungalow and is well protected with several tall Eucalyptus and other trees all around.

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Wildlife

#4 of 11 Places to Visit in Horsley Hills

At a distance of less than 1 km from Horsley Hills Bus Station, Horsley Hill Zoo is situated inside Van Vihar park at the center of Horsley Hills opposite to Haritha Hotel. Visiting zoo is one of the popular things to do in Horsley Hills, particularly with kids.

This is relatively small zoo park with few animals protected by the forest department. The wildlife in the zoo include peacocks, rabbits, pigeons, monkeys and crocodiles. The location of zoo is covered with thick vegetation and is a nice place to spend some time.

The park is spread with lush vegetation and tall eucalyptus trees keeping the weather cool in peak summer season as well. There is a view point in the park that offers panoramic view of the surrounding hills.

There is not much activity at this minor zoo apart from watching the small collection of wildlife and enjoying the nature.

Timings: 10 AM to 5 PM
Entrance Fee: Rs. 20

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Heritage

#5 of 11 Places to Visit in Horsley Hills

At a distance of 300 m from Sompalle Bus Stop, 40 km from Horsley Hills and 47 km from Madanapalle, Sri Chennakesava Temple is situated in Sompalle Village. This temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu and is maintained by Archeological Survey of India.

This Hindu temple was built by a local chieftain of the later Cholas and considerably improved by Vijayanagara kings during early 16th century. This temple is one of the finest temples in Andhra Pradesh with very rich artistic sculptures, nicely carved pillars and many mural paintings. The unique feature of the temple is the 52 feet high monolith pillar (dwajasthambha) with wonderful carvings throughout.

The interior of the temple is very ornate and has preserved traces of paintings depicting episodes from the Ramayana epic. Inside the enclosure the mandapa or hall that precedes the main Vishnu shrine has an overhanging double-curved eave with a brick and plaster parapet above. The columns are richly carved with figures of the .....

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Backwaters

#6 of 11 Places to Visit in Horsley Hills

At a distance of 2.5 km from Horsley Hills Bus Station, Gangotri Lake is a small lake situated on Horsley Hills - Madanapalle Road.

Gangotri Lake is a seasonal lake that is filled with rain water during monsoons. The lake is surrounded by large vegetation of Eucalyptus trees which offers serene look to the location. The lake is mostly dried up in summer season. There are no activities available at the lake, but tourists can spend some time enjoying the nature around the lake.

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Waterfall

#7 of 11 Places to Visit in Horsley Hills

At a distance of 2.5 km from Kaigal Village, 28 km from Palamaner, 55 km from Kolar, 92 km from Horsley Hills, 142 km from Tirupati, 123 km from Bangalore, 68 from Chittoor, 78 km from Kanipakam, 96 km from Vellore & 225 km from Chennai, Kaigal Water Falls, also known as Dumukurallu Waterfalls is a nice waterfall located on the Palamaner - Kuppam Highway.

The waterfall is natural, perennial and water comes from a big rock at a height of 40 feet, irrespective of seasons. But its force and beauty is increased during the Monsoon season. The name Dumukurallu waterfalls came into prominence because of its sound resembling the fall of stones from above.

The falls is formed by the Kaigal stream which is one of the two streams flowing through Koundinya Wildlife Sanctuary. There is a big pond below the waterfalls and this is a nice place to visit for nature lovers. It is situated in a .....

Distance (From Horsley Hills): 92 Kms
Trip Duration (From Horsley Hills - Including Travel): 6 Hours
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Miscellaneous

#8 of 11 Places to Visit in Horsley Hills

At a distance of 17 km from Horsley Hills & 12 km from Madanapalle, Rishi Valley School is an Indian boarding school, founded by the philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti. It is located close to the town of Madanapalle, Krishnamurti's birthplace. With a campus spread over 350 acres, this is one of the famous activity based learning schools in India with students from all over world.

The school is nestled in an ancient valley under the Rishikonda hill where, a well-known sage (rishi) used to meditate. Rishi Valley is surrounded on all sides by ancient granite hills with striking formations. The surroundings are known for its atmosphere of peace and serenity. This place was also declared as bird preserve center in 1991.

Rishi Valley is also famous for a large banyan tree, one of the oldest in India. The magnificent tree is in the stage of decay and has already lost several of its main branches.

Visitors can go around the school .....

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Pilgrimage

#9 of 11 Places to Visit in Horsley Hills

At a distance of 350 m from Horsley Hills Bus Stand, Mallamma Temple is one of the ancient temples located on the top of Horsley Hills. The temple is dedicated to Goddess Mallamma and it is one of the well know tourist places in Horsley Hills.

The initial name of Horsley Hills was Yenugu Mallamma Konda. According to the legend, a little girl called Mallamma lived on the hills and cured the tribal people. One day she suddenly disappeared and the local people started believing her to be a Goddess and built the temple for her. Devotees flock to this temple in huge numbers every year during festival season.

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Wildlife

#10 of 11 Places to Visit in Horsley Hills

At a distance of 106 km from Horsley Hills, 78 km from Madanapalle and 31 km from Palamaner, Kaundinya Wildlife Sanctuary is a well known sanctuary and an elephant reserve situated in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh.

Established in 1990, Kaundinya is the only sanctuary in Andhra Pradesh with elephants in its expanse. Thirty-nine elephants migrated from the forests of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and moved to the forests here. Today, it houses around 78 elephants and other animal species like Cheetal, four horned antelope, sambar, mouse deer, hare, porcupine, wild boar, jungle cat, jackal, sloth bear, panther, jungle fowl and pea fowls.

The habitat of Kaundinya sanctuary is rugged with high hills and deep valleys. Two rivers Kaigal and Kaundinya flow through the sanctuary. Sprawling over an area of around 358 sq. km, the entire region is covered with southern tropical thorn type forests. There are different species of trees .....

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