Horsley Hills

Horsley Hills

Did you know that Horsley Hills is a salubrious hill station in Chittoor District of Andhra Pradesh where in 1863 W. H. Horsley, a British Civil servant built a bungalow as his summer residence? 

Horsley Hills, orignially locally known as Yenugulla Mallamma Konda, or Horsleykonda in Telugu, was named after W. H. Horsley, a British Civil servant, Collector of the Chttor District of Andhra Pradesh who chose this location to build his summer home in 1863 due its salubrious climate, at an elevation of 1265 m. This hill is a series of hill formations in Andhra Pradesh in Madanapalle Taluk, and is about 14 km from Madanapalle town. Wellesly built this summer residence here, as in contrast to the dry and hot surroundings, the hill station was well vegetated with cooler climate of 30 degrees C during the day and 10 degrees Centigrade, delightfully cool in the night. This made it attractive as a hill station. This summer house is now a 'Forest Guest House' and the extent of the hill here is very small which could be covered by a 10 minutes walk. There are many more houses here of this perod which are still extant.

Horsley Hills, another broke offshoot of the eastern Ghats extending to taluks in the recent day Chittoor district and around which the Mysore Platau extends. The region around the Horsely hills probably formed part of the Penugonda rajya.

The local name for the hill station as Yenugulla Mallamma Konda has a folk legend to narrate. It is said that a young lady named Mallamma who lived at the top of the hill was nurtured by elephants (yenugulu). It is also said that she cured the ailments of the area’s residents. One day she disappeared and ever since, the people began to worship her as a goddess. A temple stands in her honour atop this hill.

The hill range is part of the southern dry deciduous forests, where the natural vegetation consists of exotic species such as sandalwood, blue gum, banyan tree, red sanders, eucalyptus, silver oak, mahogany, jakranda, allamanda, and gulmohar with rich bird life which includes white-rumped shama, bulbul, black eagle, the endemic yellow throated bulbul, the red throated flycatcher, the blue headed rock thrush, and ultramarine flycatcher, etc., making the hill station a nature lover's paradise; there are more than 100 bird species present at the Horsley Hills. A ground orchid Diplocentrum recurvum was rediscovered here after nearly a century. Several species of lichen have also been documented. A mammoth 150-year-old eucalyptus tree (40 meters height and circumference of 4.7 meters), known as 'Kalyani' stands next to the Horsley Bungalow now the Forest Guest house. A trail behind this guesthouse leads to a small pavilion with a statue of Krishna. This is the highest point on the hill. 

The Horsely hills area also hosts a variety of wildlife such as porcupines, sambar deer, cheetal, wild boars, sloth bears, leopards, monkeys, jungle fowls and snakes.

Built around the Horsley's bungalow on the hill is the environmental centre which is basically a park. At the entrance is a zoo with a modest collection of animals such as deer, bears, rabbits, peacocks, etc. To the south of the Horsely Hills is a view point from where you can see Madanapalle. To the western side of the Horsely Hills is a large rocky slope called Gali Bandalu, which descends gently. 

The Horsely Hills region is also well known for the Rishi Valley School established in 1931 by Jiddu Krishnamurti, Theosophist philosopher educationist, in a 375 acres hilly land, near Madanapalle town. This school is now run by American Management on public school lines. This school was centered around a large banyan tree which was one of the oldest in India, till it fell down in 2016.

This hill station is also a treat for lovers of adventure activities, offering options like wall climbing, trampoline, water walking, shooting and rappelling. 

The summer hill resort is about 160 km from Bangalore and 144 km from Tirupati . The town of Madanapalle lies about 16 km away.

Narasipur Char