Horsley Hills

Horsley Hills History :

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.

The minimum temperature is around 25 °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”.

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 Yanadisand 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.

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.^[13] William married Mary Pelly in April 1864 and died in 1899.

Best Places to Visit in Horsley Hills

Horsley Hills

1. Mallamma Temple

2. Kaundinya Wildlife Sanctuary

3. Thalakona Water falls

Horsley Hills :

Horsley Hills, a hill station in Andhra Pradesh, is at a height of around 1265 m above sea level. It is situated in the Nallamalai Range, near Andhra Pradesh’s south western border, in the Chittoor District. This place is renowned for its pleasant climate, beautiful valleys, mountain peaks and agricultural fields.

Extensively covered by dense eucalyptus, allamanda, jacaranda and gulmohar trees, various mammals such as leopard, bear and wild boar inhabit the region. The site is popular for the 150 years old eucalyptus tree named Kalyani and a colonial styled building named the Horsley Bungalow.

The Horsley Hills served as a summer retreat of W.D. Horsley, the erstwhile District Collector of Cuddapah District and later became the summer residence of the Governor of Andhra Pradesh.

There are various walking and trekking trails that pass through hills and valleys and along streams and rivulets. These hills are largely inhabited by people of the tribe called Chenchu, whose prime occupation is cattle farming. Gali Bandalu, Environmental Park, the Eastern and Western View Points and Gurram Konda are some of the prominent attractions.

Mallamma Temple :

The Mallamma Temple is an ancient shrine located a top Horsley Hills. The temple is dedicated to Goddess Mallamma. Legend has it that a little girl named Mallamma, living on the hill, used to heal the tribal people. However, one day she disappeared suddenly and since then the natives of the region started believing she was a goddess and built a temple in her name.

Note: famous for TEmples

Kaundinya Wildlife Sanctuary:

The Kaundinya Wildlife Sanctuary is located at Palamaner in Andhra Pradesh. Sprawling over an area of around 358 sq. km, the entire region is covered with southern tropical thorn type forests. There are different species of trees like Albizia amara, Ficus tomentosa, Ficus religiosa, Ficus bengalensis and bamboo.

Various mammals such as four-horned antelope, cheetal, sambar, hare, mouse deer, porcupine, jungle cat and wild boar also inhabit the sanctuary. Jackal, sloth bear, jungle fowl, panther, starred tortoise and slender loris also live here. The Kaigal and Kaundinya streams flow through the sanctuary, which is surrounded by hills and deep valleys.

Primates inhabiting the sanctuary include common langur, bonnet monkey and rhesus monkey. Tourists can also spot mandrill, olive baboon and many other animals in the sanctuary. Carnivores such as puma, jaguar, Himalayan black-bear, hyena and hippopotamus, along with all the three Indian crocodile species live here.

Timings

                 Summer: 7.00 AM – 5.00 PM , Winter: 7.00 AM – 5.00 PM

Thalakona Waterfalls :

Talakona water falls is in Sri venkateswara National park, Chittoor District of AP. If you love trekking. You should definitely go to this place as the waterfalls include a great trekking experience.

There is a stipulated time to go to the falls. The accommodation is a fairly ok guesthouse of the government which also include bamboo huts and other facilities to take you very close to the nature and make you forget your stressful life.

Thalakona Temple History:

The Temple at Talakona water falls is a Siva Temple known as “SIDDHESWARA SWAMY TEMPLE”. The deity is called as ‘Siddheswara’. As per the Local people, the temple was built some 140 years ago.The SIVA LINGA in the temple was brought from the ruined temple of Rayavaripalli, a village in Pulicherla Mandal, On olden days there was a custom that if any new temple is constructed, instead of make a new Siva Linga, can install old one which lies without Pooja in ruined Temples. Based on this custom the SIVA LINGA was brought from Rayavaripalli ruined temple. The relics of the ruined temple can be seen today also in the agricultural fields of Rayavaripalli. That field is called as ” Lingaakaaram kaada kayya”, till today, which means a piece of agricultural field near Siva Lingam.

The Rayavaripalii temple was destroyed and taken away the wealth of the temple by Hyder Ali troops on the en route to Arcot in mid 18th century.