Horsley Hills

Travelling down the memory lane, my encounter with Horsley Hills was in Mid Eighties.  I remember we travelled from Chittoor one saturday evening to play cricket match at the famous Rishi Valley School.  We had M L Jaisimha in our team playing for Nutrine against the school team.  I remember i opened the innings against the school and managed to score 20 odd runs and in came the Lion and scored a blistering 60 odd runs.  We managed to set up a total of more than 200 odd runs which the school team fell short by 20 odd runs.  It was a wonderful feeling staying in the school hostel and experiencing the cool atmosphere at the hill station.  We celebrated victory on the way back since we restricted from having liquor in the school premises.



This time around after visiting Kadri temple we quickly rushed to Marimaru baniyan tree and than moved towards Horsley Hills.  The location is named after the collectorate W.D Horsley who was the collector of Cuddapah district during the British rule.  He visited this location in 1840 and was charmed by the environs and he ordered for building a summer residence, which is currently serving as Governor's Bunglow.  The AP tourism has built a number of cottages and rest houses in the premium category.  A double room is minimum Rs 2200 per head.



The beauty of this hill station is that it is maintained with a pristine condition which is not found anywhere in India as per my knowledge.  There are not many commercial establishments in this hill station.  I hope it remains so with pressure for commercial exploitation.  It is located 1290 meters above sea level.

Tourist Attraction :  One of the major tourist attraction is the winding drive upto the peak amidst eucalyptus  and gulmohar trees.  Environmental park is located in a separate complex, which has enclosure for few birds, and rabbits.  Adventure sports such as trekking and rapelling is conducted by the department.  A good swimming pool complex is located wherein a air ballon can used to roll across the waters. Apart from this there is lake and museum to add to the tourist attraction.


Horsley hills can be reached from Bangalore Via Chintamani, Madanpalle 160 kms.
It can be reached from Hyderabad and Chennai too via Chittoor and Palamneer. The nearest airport is Tirupati.

If one wants to live with nature in peace for a day Horsley hills is highly recommended.  It can be treated as one day getaway from Bangalore too.