6 Popular Places to Visit In Horsley Hills In Andhra Pradesh

Horsley Hillss

Horsley Hills or Horsleykanda or Yenugulla Mallamma Konda is a famous hill resort in Andhra Pradesh in madanapalle taluka of Chittoor district. Horsley Hills is a little charming and an enthralling hill station about 9 miles from madanapalle town.

Situated at an altitude of 1265 meters from sea level, it is an exciting place to visit. It is a beautiful summer resort with luxurious vegetation and rich fauna. Horsley hills also known as OOTY of Andhra. According to the legend, there used to be a little girl named Mallamma who was taken care of 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 Kadapa district.

He visited this place and was impressed by the beauty of the hills and choose 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.

PLACES TO VISIT IN HORSLEY HILLS

a) Horsley Hills: GALI BANDALU/WIND ROCKS

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. The Eastern and Western viewpoints here are great places for sunrises and sunsets.

b) Horsley Hills: VIEWPOINT:

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

c) EUCALYPTUS TREE: 

At a distance of less than 1 km from Horsley Hills Bus Station, Kalyan is a 150 years old Eucalyptus tree situated near Horsleys Bungalow. This is a very large tree with a height of 40 meters and a circumference is about 4.7 meters.

d) SRI CHENNAKESAVA TEMPLE – SOMPALLE: 

Sri Chennakesava Temple is situated in Sompalle Village. This temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. 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. 

d) GANGOTRI LAKE: 

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 rainwater during monsoons.

The lake is surrounded by large vegetation of Eucalyptus trees which offers a serene look to the location. The lake is mostly dried up in the summer season.                  

e) RISHI VALLEY SCHOOL: 

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. With a campus spread over 350 acres, this is one of the famous activity-based learning schools in India with students from all over the world.

f) KAUNDINYA WILDLIFE SANCTUARY:

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 the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh.

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 peafowls.