Horsley Hills madanapalli andra pradesh ( హార్స్లీ హిల్స్ మదనపల్లి- ఆంధ్రప్రదేశ్ )

The famous hill resort of Andhra Pradesh, Horsley Hills is an enthralling, charming little hill station. It is a beautiful summer resort with luxurious vegetation and rich fauna. Named after WD Horsley, the then collector of Kadapa District, these hills are situated at an altitude of 1,265m from the sea-level. It is said that WD Horsley built himself a bungalow to escape the heat waves from the plains during summer. Description

About 50kms from Horsley hills, towards Madanapalle, there is Gurramkonda. It's a fort said to be built by the Golconda Sultans and stands about 500 feet high. The three sides of the fort consist of perpendicular cliffs. Some local legend has it that the name was derived from the fact that a horse was guarding the fort and that place was unconquerable so long as the horse remained there. It makes a beautiful place to visit.

Other Attractions
• Environmental Park
• Gaali banda/Wind rock
• View point
• Rishi Valley School
• Kalyani tree
• Lake Gangotri and Mansarovar
• World's largest Banyan tree, Thimmamma Marrimanu

Horesly Hills is a picturesque hamlet in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Situated at an altitude of 4,100 ft this serene hill station is named after W.D. Horsley, the collector of Cuddapah district. It is located at a distance of 144 Km from Tirupati and is an ideal summer resort for spending a fascinating vacation. The scenic drive to this mesmerizing hamlet is extremely panoramic and scenic and has thick vegetation of trees lining on both sides of the road. The other major draw for the travelers is the relaxing climate of the Horsley Hills which ranges from 20°C to 32°C even in summers. The hill is lush with dense forest and thick greenness and has a wide variety of trees like Gulmohar, Allamanda, Reeta, Amla, Beedi leaves, Blue Gum, Eucalyptus and Sandalwood.

Horsley Hills or Horsleykonda is a series of hills in Andhra Pradesh in Madanapalle taluk of Chittoor district and is about 9 miles from Madanapalle town. The local name of the hill was Yenugu Mallama Konda after a legend of a saintly old woman named Mallamma who lived atop the hill and was fed by elephants (yenugulu). W.D. Horsley, a British collector, built his home around 1870 after whom it is named. In contrast to the surrounding dry, hot and barren country surrounding it the area is well vegetated and cooler climate made it attractive as a hill resort and tourist spot.

Flora and fauna

The native vegetation of the area has been replaced in some parts with dense growths of eucalyptus and plantations of exotic trees. In the past the area had more wildlife including Sambar deer (now reintroduced into the wild), wild boar and sloth bear. More than 133 species of birds have been recorded from the area and these include the endemic Yellow-throated bulbul, first recorded from the area in 1908.Other birds which are rare in the surrounding region include the black eagle and the white-rumped shama.The endemic toad Duttaphrynus hololius has been found here and a ground orchid Diplocentrum recurvum was rediscovered here after nearly a century. Several species of lichen have also been documented from the region.

Temperature

The minimum temperature is around 18°C and the maximum temperature is 30°C. As it is the only hill station in Andhra Pradesh, this place is also called "Andhra ooty".

People

Before coming into existence as a hill resort i.e. before the advent of W.D.Horsley, this area was home to the tribes of Yanadis and Chenchus. They rear Punganur breed of cows for livelihood. Today, there are different communities of people on the hills. Some of them run small hotels and others work as jeep drivers for tourists.

View from Horsley hills

William D. Horsley was born at Chingleput on 8 September 1834 where his father John Horsley served in the Madras Civil Service from 1817-51. An older brother, Ralph, born in 1831 at Courtallam, was murdered at Bellary in 1856 where he was a Head Assistant Collector.William married Mary Pelly in April 1864 and died in 1899.