Horsley Hills or Horsleykonda or Yenugulla Mallamma Konda is a series of hills in

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

Madanapalle Madanapalle is a town in Annamayya Rajampeta district and Rajampet Lok Sabha constituency of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is one if the largest city in the District. It is a Selection Grade Municipal City Council and located in Mada ...

Taluka of

Annamayya district Annamayya district is one of the twenty-six districts in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and one of the eight districts in the Rayalaseema region formed from Rajampeta Parliamentary Constituency. Rayachoti is the district administrative h ...

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 at the top of 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 dry and hot surrounding, this area is well vegetated with cooler climate. This made it attractive as a hill station and a tourist spot.

Flora and fauna

The native vegetation of the area has been replaced in some parts with dense growths of

eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as e ...

and plantations of exotic trees. In the past the area had more wildlife including Sambar deer (now reintroduced into the wild), wild boar and sloth bear. More than 133 species of birds have been recorded from the area and these include the endemic

Yellow-throated bulbul The yellow-throated bulbul (''Pycnonotus xantholaemus'') is a species of songbird in the bulbul family of passerine birds. The species is endemic to southern peninsular India. They are found on scrub habitats on steep, rocky hills many of which ...

, first recorded from the area in 1908. Other birds which are rare in the surrounding region include the

black eagle The black eagle (''Ictinaetus malaiensis'') is a bird of prey. Like all eagles, it is in the family Accipitridae, and is the only member of the genus ''Ictinaetus''. They soar over forests in the hilly regions of tropical and subtropical South ...

and the white-rumped shama. The endemic toad '' Duttaphrynus hololius'' has been found here and a ground orchid ''Diplocentrum recurvum'' was rediscovered here after nearly a century. Several species of lichen have also been documented from the region.

Temperature

The minimum temperature is around 15 °C and the maximum temperature is 30 °C.

Tourism

The major industry of Horsley Hills is tourism. Following are the main attractions of this town *Gali Bandalu (Wind Rocks) - 300 m from the local bus stand, Gali Banda (Windy Rock) is a rocky slope. The gusty winds blow here whole year *View Point - it is behind the Governor's Bungalow. It offers the great view of the entire valley, nearby hillocks and dense forests. *Kalyani, The Eucalyptus Tree - Giant tree of 40 meters height and circumference of 4.7 meters.

People

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 ''Yanadis'' and ''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. Horsley Hills

William D. Horsley was born at Chengalpet 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. William married Mary Pelly in April 1864 and died in 1899.

References

External links