Horsley Hills alias Horsleykonda, or Andhra Ooty or Ooty of Andhra, is a small and beautiful hill station in Andhra Pradesh, India. It is half an hour’s drive from Madanapalle town in Chittur District. Konda means hills.
View from Horsley Hills Top
The ghat route to Horsley Hills is very scenic, with wild animals like bears coming to the road at night. It is filled with flora and fauna, and trekking is a major attraction here in Madanapalle hill station.
History of Horsely Hills
Late Mr. Horsley, the then-collector of the Cuddaph district, built the first bungalow in this hill station in 1870. There is a Viewing Spot behind this bungalow.
It is believed that Saint Mallamma lived here. Elephants fed her and provided security to her. Locals used to visit her because of her wisdom. Hence this hill station is locally known as Yenugulla Mallamma Konda alias Anugulla Mallamma Konda. These hills were previously known as Enugu Mallamma Konda, i.e., prior to 1850.
Recently, a stone-age tool was unearthed from these hills during excavation.
Tourist Places at Horsley Hills
Horsley Hills is not very cold, unlike other hill stations, and not much commercial activity is found here. AP tourism department promotes tourism-related activities at Horsley Hills.
The view of the valley from the top is excellent.
Horsley Hills is one of the few tourist places in South India that offer Zorbing, i.e., Zorbing is rolling down the hills in transparent plastic robs. Ooty Lake has something remotely similar to this for kids. i.e. Getting inside the transparent air-filled ball/balloon in the small pond at the entrance to the lake.
Wind Rocks, on top of the hills, is a shooting location for many Telugu movies, especially for songs. It is also a tourist destination.
Yenugulla Mallamma Temple is also situated here.
A giant Eucalyptus tree 40 meters in height with a circumference of 4.7 meters is another tourist attraction.
There is a Crocodile Park or Zoo on the hills.
Note: I visited Horsley Hills near Madanapalle in 1996 and cherished those memories. We started from Chennai in the morning in a Fiat Car. We picked up a few friends on the way at Chittor and Madanapalle and reached the hill station in the evening. We stayed at the government guest house on the hilltop. (It was the revenue department guest house. A friend’s father was the Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) there who arranged this.)
Schools on the Hilltop
One Central Government Residential school is there on top of the hill.
Rishi Valley School is another famous school in a Special Development Zone called Rishi Valley Special Development Authority, as declared by the state government in 2008, to conserve its rich and diverse environment from becoming degraded.
Restaurents and Hotels
There are many restaurants on the hilltop. Back in 1996, when I visited this place, there was only a small restaurant on top, owned by a family from Alappuzha (previously known as Alleppey).
HORSELY HILLS Haritha Hill Resort is a resort on top of the hills run by the Andhra Pradesh State Tourism Department.
There are many hotels in Madanapalle town, 26 kilometers away.
Koundinya Wildlife Sanctuary
Koundinya Wildlife Sanctuary, a migratory Elephant Sanctuary, is located around 85 kilometers from Horsely Hills. The World’s most giant Banyan tree, Thimmamma Marrimanu, is in this wildlife sanctuary.
How Do I Get to Horsley Hills Near Madanapalle?
The nearest railway station is Madanapalle Road Railway Station with station code MPL. It is 26 kilometers away from Horsely Hills.
Madanapalle is the nearest town to Horsely Hill Station around 26 kilometers away.
Madanapalle town is 13 kilometers away from this railway station, on a different route. i.e. You do not have to go to the Madanapalle town from the Madanapalle Road railway station if you are visiting Horsely Hills.
Horsley Hills is at a distance of 140 kilometers from Bangalore and around 275 kilometers from Chennai.