A beautiful drive to Horsley Hills from Bangalore

Popularly known as “The Ooty of Andhra Pradesh”, Horsley Hills is a beautiful, unspoilt hill station in Andhra Pradesh, just 145km from Bangalore. One can easily drive to Horsley Hills from Bangalore. And reach there in around 3-3.5 hours. It is small yet unspoilt and green. And that’s what makes the trip to Horsley Hills so beautiful.

For years Horsley Hills was on my bucket list. But somehow, we never planned a trip here. Partially because I was in a dilemma of whether to do a day trip from Bangalore to Horsley Hills. Or, plan an overnight stay at Horsley Hills.  Finally the drive to Horsley Hills from Bangalore materialised this year end for us in the form of a day trip. As we started to explore places around our home in Bangalore. Initially we did half day trip to Muninagara Dam and Mariapura Lake. And then a picnic trip to Chhota Ladakh.

Post that we did a trip to Vatadahosahalli Lake and Gudibande Fort. While on our way to Gudibande Fort, I could see clouds hanging over the Nandi Hills. And the carving to be able to touch those clouds was so intense that I knew I needed to head to the hills next. But, we are not yet ready for overnight trips and staying in hotel given the current covid 19 situation. And that is how the plan to drive to Horsley Hills from Bangalore started.

Driving from Bangalore to Horsley Hills

We started our drive to Horsley Hills from Bangalore early, around 6 in the morning. Because – one: I wanted to shake hands with the clouds. And two: we did know that because of the kids we will need to stop multiple times while on our way. The route we took was Bangalore -> Hoskote -> Chintamani -> Horsley Hills. Just put Horsley Hills on your map and this is the route that google will show you by default. It is pretty much in good condition except a stretch of around 5km wherein road widening work is going on at present. And another stretch of around 5km wherein you will find a very patchy and uneven road.

 

Rest of the road is not only in good condition. But also surrounded by a lot of greenery. And the best part is that there is hardly any traffic on this route. I must say, we are living in Whitefield which is very close to Hoskote. And hence, it took us just 30 minutes and we were already off the city limits. After driving continuously for 2 hours, we stopped somewhere around Chintamani for little break. There were beautiful mango grooves right besides the road. We took a small walk, had some biscuits. And started again.

On the way, while crossing Chintamani, we saw some beautiful rocky hills in the vicinity. They seemed so mysterious as they were completely covered with fog. At times, it took an effort to realise that there were really these hills hidden behind the clouds and fog. Also there came a beautiful lake with the backdrops of the hills.

The Ghat Road Drive to Horsley Hills

Finally, around 9 we reached at the junction where the accent to Horsley Hills starts. There’s a APTDC sign board here, clearly indicating the turn you need to take to head towards Horsley Hills. So, we headed this way.

And before we could even realise it, we were already gaining height pretty fast! I was curious to see how high is Horsley Hills. Turns out, it is pretty higher than many other hilly places in Karnataka like our famous Coorg and Chikmagalur. Nevertheless, the drive to Horsley Hills through the ghat road is pleasant . With only couple of hairpin bends, the roads are winding yet pretty broad. And there are beautiful view points in between where you can stop for a mesmerising view of the valley like we did here. Overall the complete drive to Horsley Hills from Bangalore was very pleasant.

Things to do at Horsley hills

We reached the top of Horsley Hills by 10:30am. As we reached, we entered the campus of Haritha Resort, which is like the first and the biggest establishment you encounter on top of the hills. We parked our cars near the reception of the resort.

As we got out of the car, the chilly hill air greeted us. It was mellowing down the warmth of the otherwise shining sun. And the day seemed crisp and beautiful. Although I did miss hugging the clouds on the top. Hungry, the first thing we did was park our vehicle. And then we dug into our homemade breakfast that we had packed and carried. After that, we started exploring around. The Hilltop is not very big. One can easily explore around in around 2-3 hours.

FreakOut Adventure Park

We started walking around in the campus of the Haritha Resort. And took an inside path that leads to it’s back gate. As we came out on the road from the back gate, on the left side we saw a small adventure park called the FreakOut adventure park. It has facility for some adventure activities like rope climbing, trekking, wall climbing, zipline, rappeling, earthquake etc . There were groups of people waiting their turn to do some adventure activities here. I guess this must be a good recreational stop for corporate teams and groups of friends when they visit Horsley Hills.

After crossing the adventure park, we reached a big square wherein there are several sign boards in different directions, indicating the different places to see and things to do when in Horsley Hills. We picked one of the signs and proceeded towards the big campus that hosts several things, including some beautiful view points.

Horsley Hills Environment Centre

The Environment Centre has an entrance fee of Rs 10 per head. It’s main attraction is a small zoo. Which has animals like deer, peacock, crocodile, emu and some other birds. Although it is a small one, but it is neat and clean. The whole area is plastic free zone. If you are carrying any such things inside, you need to make a refundable security deposit of INR 50 towards it. This is to ensure that the plastic that you carry inside, you will be carrying it back outside so that your money is refunded. I had seen a similar scheme years back at the Mysore Zoo. And believe me, it does work! We reserved it for later. As, we were too eager to soak into the natural views around.

Collector’s Bungalow and view point

Right behind the environment centre is the Collector’s Bungalow. Right past the bungalow, you will come across a very beautiful view point. There is a small observation deck at the view point from where you get to see beautiful and vast stretches of the valley below and hills beyond.

We got onto the deck. There were few other people around here. After sometime, we headed down to the rocky hills on the edge besides the deck. And found one perfect spot to sit. And munch some snack before we continued further. The air here was crisp, the sun warm and the valley view stretching in front of us just so beautiful!

Nature Centre and Governor’s Bungalow

While on your way back from the view point, do keep an eye for an old Eucalyptus tree called “Kalyani” which is believed to be more than 150 years old! As you walk down the path, soon you will arrive at a building called the Nature Centre. While reaching the Nature Centre you also pass by a crocodile quarry which has some 5-10 crocodiles lazing around. And right besides it is the Governor’s Bungalow. The rooms in the Governor’s Bungalow are now rented out. And there is a reception at the first floor.

The second valley view point

We walked past the governor’s bungalow to take a winding flight of stairs. The steps are not steep. And they are also guarded by railings on either side. So one can easily venture through these with even elderly and kids. These steps lead to yet another valley view point. Which has yet another fantastic view of the valleys and distant hills. Near this view point, there is a sunset point of Horsley Hills as well, where one can sit and get wonderful views of the sunset. Of course, we had plans to return back the same day, so, we couldn’t wait for the sunset. But if you have plans to stay overnight then you should definitely plan to watch the sunset from here.

From here, we traced our steps back to where we had parked our car. Here, right besides the campus of Haritha Resort, we could see a big and beautiful temple. Also, on our way around Horsley Hills we could see couple of restaurants on the road side. We had not read or heard about these anywhere. So, these might as well be new. Nevertheless, we had carried all our food and water requirement from home. So, we had another quick bite. And around 3:00pm we started on our way back from Horsley hills.

Where to stay overnight at Horsley Hills

If you want to stay overnight in Horsley Hills, there is this APTDC resort called Haritha Resort which is right on top of the Horsley Hills. In fact, it was the bungalow of the British Collector W.D Horsley. Yes, you guessed it right. The hill is named after him only. There are many room options available in the resort. Actually, when you arrive at the top of the Horsley Hills, you reach right to the entrance to the Haritha Resort. If you have booked room with them, you get to park right inside the resort campus. But if you are going for a day trip and it is crowded, they might ask you to park outside the campus. If so, you can park in one of the streets right across the resort entrance.

The APTDC resort is vast. It has a restaurant. And the cottages and rooms are spread across over a vast campus.

Should you stay overnight at Horsley Hills or do a road trip?

Although we did want to stay overnight at Horsley Hills, but given the current situation and on top of that the weekend when we planned to visit was a long weekend. And horsley hills appeared to be pretty busy. So, we decided against it. I highly recommend that you plan your trip to Horsley Hills on a quaint weekend, when you find Haritha resort to be mostly vacant. There are couple of advantages of staying overnight :

1. The drive will be less hectic. As you don’t need to reach and return back the same day.

2. Also, there will be a room to rest, and a restroom to attend to nature’s calls. Otherwise, it becomes a bit of a challenge to find clean public washrooms.

3. You get to experience the morning mist and cloud, which you won’t be able to experience if you are driving to Horsley Hills in the morning and returning back by evening.

4. Also, you get to experience the sunset from the sunset view point. And a beautiful view of the valley around during the sunset, which, most likely you are going to miss if not staying here.

General tips on visiting Horsley Hills from Bangalore

• Follow the driving direction as suggested in Google. DO NOT take the route through Madnapalli, at least when you are traveling to Horsley Hills in 2021. Many other blogs and articles are suggesting to take the Madanapalli route. As they seem to have experienced a better version of this route. But as of now, huge road widening and construction work is going on in this route. We took it on our way back, and regretted doing so. As there was a huge stretch wherein we could drive at no more than 30km per hour for 2 hours. And this route also had more heavy vehicle traffic. Once the road construction work is completed, maybe this will be a better route to take

• The nearest railway station to Horsley Hills is Madanapalli. But one needs to drive from there. There are frequent buses from Tirupati and Madanapalli.

• If you plan to stay overnight, carry all your essentials with you. There are not much essentials shops around on the hill top. And the nearest town is Madanapalli. There are a few shops on the top of Horsley Hills where you might get packaged chips, biscuits, drinking water but not much of other commodities. Particularly carry woolen cloths for kids and their essential medicines with you. Just in case you need something!

• Apart from Haritha Resort, there is a Holiday Home also on top of Horsley Hills for overnight stay. Although we don’t have much idea of the condition of rooms and other facilities here.

• There are limited restaurants – just the one at Haritha Resort and couple of small ones outside. It is always good to pack your own snacks and healthy food options for kids. We did pack some roasted makhanas (lotus seeds), onion theplas (homemade flat breads), yogurt packs, roasted peanuts, and small packs of fruit juices. Apart from these, we always carry bananas (The superfood!) and some other seasonal fruit. Like this time around we carried oranges with us. We also carried ample bottles of drinking water as we are just avoiding any outside food at the moment.

• You can visit Horsley Hills round the year. But the weather will be cooler and more pleasant from November to February.

• Wear comfortable shoes as there will be a lot of walking to do.

Conclusion

Overall, be it a day trip to Horsley Hills from Bangalore or an overnight stay. The drive to Horsley Hills from Bangalore is definitely going to refresh you. The hills do make for an awesome getaway. I am wondering why I didn’t happen to visit here earlier. Nevertheless, better late than never 🙂 If you are looking for a quick getaway from Bangalore, look no further. Pack your bags and drive to Horsley Hills.

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