You got to hand it our erstwhile colonizers , the British. They did have the knack of finding , inhabiting and nurturing good locations in the country. Necessity is the mother of invention and being inhabitants of temperate climates they went scouting around for cooler climes to beat the heat.
I have written a blog on Kasauli (HP), which is my favorite hill station to relax . There are many other hill stations like Darjeeling, Ooty, Dalhousie, Mussoorie , Shillong etc which all owe their existence to the British. Don't get me wrong, I would have felt better had we not been colonized at all for all the drain that took place. But that is a topic for another time.
Horsley Hills in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh is another one of these hill stations which owes its presence to W.D. Horsley, a British collector, who built his home there around 1870.
The areas is blessed with a certain serenity. You can feel the wind blowing and almost howling even while sitting inside the room. The area is dotted with old British architecture predominantly cottages which I adored immensely. The chirping of birds is another sound which calms and soothes frayed nerves. Overall it is a complete package seeped in nature barely 140 odd Kms. from Bangalore.
The drive itself is beautiful . The road is dotted with greenery and traffic is less. Its a bare 3 hour drive from Bangalore which makes it an ideal weekend getaway or for that matter a good day visit.
So me and hubby took off in our Ford Ecosport for another adventure.
The following is the route we took :
This is the turn towards Horsley Hills which can be easy to miss. This leads to to an upward spiral which take you to your destination (At a height of 4000 feet )
The Horsley Hills township Toll gate entry fee is Rs 25.
Took some pictures en route.
This weekend getaway is ideally suited to people looking for a calm serene place with the intention to do very little than walk walk and walk. Or maybe catch up on some reading. Or bird watching ??
Do have your binoculars handy.
And beautiful walks it has. You can book yourself at the Andhra Pradesh tourism resort which offers cottages etc.
Website : APTDC website to book
I would like to set expectations that the cottage appealed to me due to its British era architecture. But it literally cried for maintenance. (Rs 1400 per night )
The room could have been cleaner and the bath rooms a bit less leaky. Now that was a dampener.
This is the AP tourism Hill Resort entry point.
Do book in advance at their website. I doubt if you could just walk in and find accommodation here
This is the cottage allocated to us.
This is how the room looked from inside. This has an attached dressing room and a balcony to sit in.
We parked our car just outside the cottage. This is the beauty of this place. You have your independence . If you would like to eat at the resort hotel, eat at your own risk. I did not find the place to be too hygienic with flies all around. The lunch was a South Indian fare but with due respect I am a Punjabi and am not able to connect to this cuisine at all. Lunch Buffet is Rs 140 per head.
This is the resort restaurant. The cottage came with complimentary breakfast which again was a South Indian buffet.
That's me outside the cottage all set to go for an evening stroll.
These are some of the shots from a vantage point to view sunset and it was mesmerizing indeed.
This is called "View Point"
Sun is almost about to set.
My hubby really seems at peace here.
The place is dotted with beautiful trees. The purple jacarandas and the flaming red Gulmohar was in full bloom. The air was laced with their delicate scent. I mean heaven.
The entire hill station is dotted with myriads of trees including among others Gulmohar, Reeta, Amla, Beedi leaves, Eucalyptus, blue gum.
Of course it is a haven for birds. What i liked is that most commonly occurring species have been
put up on boards. Just like the picture above. A great educational tool. About 133 birds have been recorded in this area.
Though I visited during the summer months (March to May), a cool wind was blowing and it was pleasant it would be great to visit this area during the monsoons (June to September). I reckon would be even more greener.
This is the newly renovated Governor's Bungalow. work was still going on. This is important for nature lovers as right behind this structure is a beautiful walk culminating in a Gazebo which offers a panoramic view of the place.
Check the photographs below to get an idea :
As I said i liked the colonial hangover kind effect left in the architecture.
Some of the pictures to show case this.
We woke up to a very chilly nip in the air. The room had beautiful cross ventilation and we could hear birds chirping outside This was about 5:30 AM and we were ready for our morning walk.
There are other places around which one can visit.
There is an Environment center here .
As you can see the resort has a swimming pool but when we inquired it was not functional. It was shut down for maintenance.
There is an Ayurveda massage center as well.
Overall a good weekend getaway with the intention of wanting to do nothing !!!!!!
I have written a blog on Kasauli (HP), which is my favorite hill station to relax . There are many other hill stations like Darjeeling, Ooty, Dalhousie, Mussoorie , Shillong etc which all owe their existence to the British. Don't get me wrong, I would have felt better had we not been colonized at all for all the drain that took place. But that is a topic for another time.
Horsley Hills in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh is another one of these hill stations which owes its presence to W.D. Horsley, a British collector, who built his home there around 1870.
The areas is blessed with a certain serenity. You can feel the wind blowing and almost howling even while sitting inside the room. The area is dotted with old British architecture predominantly cottages which I adored immensely. The chirping of birds is another sound which calms and soothes frayed nerves. Overall it is a complete package seeped in nature barely 140 odd Kms. from Bangalore.
So me and hubby took off in our Ford Ecosport for another adventure.
 |
| Road is tree lined |
The following is the route we took :
 |
| We almost missed this turn towards the left |
This is the turn towards Horsley Hills which can be easy to miss. This leads to to an upward spiral which take you to your destination (At a height of 4000 feet )
The Horsley Hills township Toll gate entry fee is Rs 25.
Took some pictures en route.
 |
 |
| Gangotri lake just about 3 kms short of the hill station |
 |
| Gangotri lake |
This weekend getaway is ideally suited to people looking for a calm serene place with the intention to do very little than walk walk and walk. Or maybe catch up on some reading. Or bird watching ??
Do have your binoculars handy.
And beautiful walks it has. You can book yourself at the Andhra Pradesh tourism resort which offers cottages etc.
Website : APTDC website to book
I would like to set expectations that the cottage appealed to me due to its British era architecture. But it literally cried for maintenance. (Rs 1400 per night )
The room could have been cleaner and the bath rooms a bit less leaky. Now that was a dampener.
This is the AP tourism Hill Resort entry point.
Do book in advance at their website. I doubt if you could just walk in and find accommodation here
 |
| Grave of George Horsley, son of WD Horsley |
This is the cottage allocated to us.
This is how the room looked from inside. This has an attached dressing room and a balcony to sit in.
We parked our car just outside the cottage. This is the beauty of this place. You have your independence . If you would like to eat at the resort hotel, eat at your own risk. I did not find the place to be too hygienic with flies all around. The lunch was a South Indian fare but with due respect I am a Punjabi and am not able to connect to this cuisine at all. Lunch Buffet is Rs 140 per head.
This is the resort restaurant. The cottage came with complimentary breakfast which again was a South Indian buffet.
That's me outside the cottage all set to go for an evening stroll.
These are some of the shots from a vantage point to view sunset and it was mesmerizing indeed.
This is called "View Point"
 |
| View Point |
Sun is almost about to set.
My hubby really seems at peace here.
The place is dotted with beautiful trees. The purple jacarandas and the flaming red Gulmohar was in full bloom. The air was laced with their delicate scent. I mean heaven.
 |
| Jakarandas |
 |
| Gulmohar- doesnt that bench look inviting? |
 |
| This is an old tree in front of Governor's Bungalow whose root seems to have grown into another tree |
 |
| This tree will make a good backdrop for a photo op |
Of course it is a haven for birds. What i liked is that most commonly occurring species have been
put up on boards. Just like the picture above. A great educational tool. About 133 birds have been recorded in this area.
Though I visited during the summer months (March to May), a cool wind was blowing and it was pleasant it would be great to visit this area during the monsoons (June to September). I reckon would be even more greener.
This is the newly renovated Governor's Bungalow. work was still going on. This is important for nature lovers as right behind this structure is a beautiful walk culminating in a Gazebo which offers a panoramic view of the place.
Check the photographs below to get an idea :
As I said i liked the colonial hangover kind effect left in the architecture.
Some of the pictures to show case this.
We woke up to a very chilly nip in the air. The room had beautiful cross ventilation and we could hear birds chirping outside This was about 5:30 AM and we were ready for our morning walk.
There are other places around which one can visit.
There is an Environment center here .
As you can see the resort has a swimming pool but when we inquired it was not functional. It was shut down for maintenance.
There is an Ayurveda massage center as well.
Overall a good weekend getaway with the intention of wanting to do nothing !!!!!!
