Horsley Hills – Great Getaway . Review on Horsley Hills

Horsley Hills – Great Getaway

Last week I left Bangalore with my friends to Madanpalli to attend the wedding of my friend’s brother. Madanpali is a small town in Andhra Pradesh's Chitoor district. This is the place where Rabindranath Tagore translated Jana Gana Mana from bengali to english.

Soon after completing the wedding formalities, we rushed to see nearby places, First we visited the Horsley Hills.

Horsley hills is the only coolest place in the southern and western parts of Andhra Pradesh. Travel to Horsley Hills, where divine fragrance of flowers flanking the roads will enthrall you to the core of your heart. Hills enveloped in green forests with exotic variety of flora, make a great resort for the people engaged in chaotic city life.

Horsley hill station with lofty peaks appear to be conversing with the blue skies would certainly tempt you with its beguiling beauty. Horsley is the one of the three hill stations in Andhra Pradesh.

Its name has been derived from W.D. Horsley, who was the collector of Cuddapah district and an admirer of the hamlet's beauty. Most of the Indian hill stations were discovered and developed by the British, so that they can use those hills stations as their summer retreats

The picturesque view of any hill stations are gaining importance day by day, as they have succeeded in providing their travelers with relaxing and salubrious retreat from the heat and dust of the plains

Large number of trees have been planted along the short stretch of ghat road, others have grown naturally. One can see jacaranda, gulmohar , allamanda, & eucalyptus trees. There is also some sandalwood in the area, but like elsewhere, much of it has fallen to the axes and machetes of smugglers. As far as trees go, the oldest of them all (150 years) in the hills is a eucalyptus named Kalyani.

Horsley Hills also presents a panoramic vista of Madanapalle, the only town in the proximity. The scenic beauty of the place captures the interest of anyone to stay here and unwind in the nature's lap.

Nearby in the valley, Rishi Valley School is a popular attraction which is one amongst the best schools of India.The modern Gurukulam is founded by Shri Jiddu Krishnamurthy. We were fortunate to get a real insight into the system of education followed in the school. The school has about 350 students from standard IV to XII, and With teacher-student ratio at 1:9, you can very well imagine what kind of attention each student gets.

The students live in two storied houses and for every five students there is one house patron. No school uniform, no fear of teachers, just happy learning.The classes are not always conducted in class rooms…one can see groups of students and a teacher seated under trees, on stone benches or on long steps that are fixed here and there

Mallamma Temple is another religious place amidst the verdant greenery, adding spiritual aura to this beautiful place. You can trek the region around and if lucky enough, you may come across animals like Bears, Wild Dogs, Jungle Fowl, Sambars and Panthers can come across your sight. The splendor of Horsely Hills also led to it being known as 'Andhra Ooty'.

Other Tourist Attractions near Horsley Hills:

Kaundinya Wild Life Sanctury is a famous tourist spot near Horsley Hills at a distance of 87 km. One can see a rich variety of wild life creatures at this wild life sanctuary, including elephants, pea fowls, jungle fowls, panthers, cheetals, four horned antelopes, jungle cats etc.

Climate:

The climate of Horsley Hills is very cool and pleasing. The maximum summer temperature goes up to 32oC and minimum temperature remains at 20oC.

Accommodations at Horsley Hills:

There are good accommodation facilities available at Horsley Hills in the form of guest houses,Cottages and bungalows.

Travelers can plan for a group tour to ensure pleasant company and make the journey more enjoyable. Traveling in a group is also a good financial decision; it helps to cut down on accommodation and transportation expenses.

Best Time to Visit:

There is no such specific options on when plan to travel hill station, sill stations can be cooling as well as soothing during the summers, if you want to escape form the scorching sun rays, summer is the best option to plan your trip to any desirable hill station. As far as winter is concern, it is the chilled atmosphere and snowfalls, which mesmerize the travelers to plan their trip to hill stations during winters.

How to Get There :

By Road : Horsley Hills, a tranquil village, is situated at an altitude of 1,265 m above sea level in Chittor District of Andhra Pradesh. It is 144 km from Tirupati, 165 km from Bangalore, 300 Kms from Chennai, 460 km from Hyderabad & 28 kms from Madanpalli

By Air : The nearest airports are at Tirupati (160 km from Horsley Hills) and Bangalore (165 km).

Horsley Hills is a small hill station but it has all the ingredients of a convincing weekend getaway