[siddutta]

I usually do Bangalore - kolar- chittor -tirupati. I am thinking blr- horsely hills -tirupati. Any pointers on the road conditions n time taken ?

[gm_arun]

Guys. Planning a weekend outing to Horsley Hills from chennai. Group of 8 people with 1kid. How is Harita resort. Is it still operational and is online booking the only option? Your advises will be helpful.

[#win]

Originally Posted by gm_arun

Guys. Planning a weekend outing to Horsley Hills from chennai. Group of 8 people with 1kid. How is Harita resort. Is it still operational and is online booking the only option? Your advises will be helpful.

Harita is the only option as far as I know, have been a couple of years back. Apart from online you and visit the AP tourism office and book it. Not sure how that would work post partition of the states.

[gm_arun]

Originally Posted by #win

Harita is the only option as far as I know, have been a couple of years back. Apart from online you and visit the AP tourism office and book it. Not sure how that would work post partition of the states.

Thank you. Have booked rooms through online. Hoping its maintained properly. Will post the review next week.

[gm_arun]

Last weekend I was there in Horsley Hills. A good place for a weekend. We were a group of 7 people, drove Polo and i20 Elite. Small review of the place and resort.

Booked resort through online. Had trouble in mobile communication but thankfully we had people who knew Telugu in our group.

• Roads from Chennai were good. Chennai to Ranipet it was NH high way with 4 lanes.
• Ranipet to Madanapalle via chittoor was 2 lane without center median and it was going up and down and between the mountains. Enjoyed driving in those roads. Roads were new and good.
• Need to be careful with buses and private vans.
• Lorries maintain discipline. Planned overtaking is a must.
• Madanapalle to Horsley hill - Roads were good. New roads were laid in Horsley hills.
• Lots of speed breakers once you cross Ranipet.
• Fuel is costly in AP. So fill it in TN and then proceed.

Drive:

The drive was superb. Loved every bit of road. I was driving my friends Polo High line. First problem indicator and wiper stalks. Got used to it after two wrong attempts. The car was given for a wash earlier since it was dirty so the floor mats and steering were slippery at first then steering got cleared. Other than that the car was awesome. Touched high speeds on empty stretches. Mostly 90 to 100 kmph was maintained. The car returned 17.5 kmpl. 3 people were present all the time with respective luggage's. Filled only once for the entire trip. The car swallowed the bumps nicely. The NH road till Ranipet was bumpy but it didn't matter alot. Steering feedback was good and it weighed brilliantly. The climb up the hill was not a tough job. We went up the hill in AC itself in 2nd and 3rd gear. The engine never touched 5k mark. The AC was good. No issues at all. Brakes were good. Seating position was good except the head rest. Need a neck pillow for long drive for sure. Had trouble in slotting gear all the time, may be I am used to Hyundai. Foot rest was a bit small for a size 10 shoes as I brushed the clutch mostly. Head Lights were adequate along with fog lamps. Climbed hills effortlessly in AC and we tried to take corners aggressively with caution and it didn't fail us.

Stay:

Harita Resort was good. 12 pm Check-in and check-out. Reception and restaurant are the first thing you see then the rooms. This is one of the resort along with a small Karnataka tourism building. Parking is abundant. Rooms are well maintained. But during night time keep the windows and door closed, as lots of insects can creep in. No phones in any rooms, but room service person mobile number will be provided. Morning Coffee, newspapers and breakfast tokens were given perfectly.

Recreation:

Swimming pool of maximum depth of 5 ft is there. Tokens were provided during check in, which can be used only once. After that we have to pay Rs.100 per hour. We skipped it. Sunset can be seen behind the Governor's Bungalow building (2 view points are there, one with 30 steps up and another with 50 - 60 steps down) whereas sunrise you have to go into the zoo area. Not sure weather they would allow people in early morning.

A small play area for kids and adult. A little adventure activities were there. Have to pay at reception. Mini Zoo is also there. We saw deer, rabbits, birds of various kinds, Emu, Peacock, crocodile kept inside a area which had small fencing around it. Also a small play area for kids.

Food:

Restaurant and bar is bit far away. Going down to restaurant is easy as we are in empty stomach, but going up to rooms is bit tough
Overall Food is good, spicy and hot stuffs. Cards were accepted in reception and restaurants.

• Morning complimentary breakfast buffet which included Idli, pongal, sambhar, chutney, vada and coffee/tea. It was good.
• Afternoon meals buffet was provided which included Chapathi, daal, potato fry, white rice, sambhar, rasam, curd, pickles and a sweet. Veg/Non veg side dishes can be ordered separately if required. The side dishes were also spicy and hot. Loved them.
• Night they had a menu card from which we can order.

Wonderful place to spend weekend with family and friends. Temperature was around 29 during afternoon and dipped to 18C during night. For any other information please feel free to contact me.

[unoczar]

Originally Posted by gm_arun

Last weekend I was there in Horsley Hills.

Hello Arun,

Which accommodation did you opt for?
Did you check out the cottages?, I'm planning to go there next month and am thinking of booking the cottage for small family.

Please do share your thoughts.

Regards
Khaled.

[gm_arun]

Originally Posted by unoczar

Hello Arun,

Which accommodation did you opt for?
Did you check out the cottages?, I'm planning to go there next month and am thinking of booking the cottage for small family.

Please do share your thoughts.

Regards
Khaled.

Hello Khaled,

We stayed in HORSELY HILLS - HARITHA HILL RESORT. The resort overall was good. We didn't check cottages inside. From the out its was good.

Wild Winds AC 2 bedded and Governors Bungalow were the room types we chose. Wild winds can accommodate 4 people easily which looks like a "very compact" 1-BHK kind of place. Governors Bungalow is huge, but its a old building.

Booking is done through online only. so plan ahead and book the rooms.

If you need any more information let me know

[goandude]

Just wanted to update you all on road conditions to HH from Bangalore. Rode there this morning starting from my place at CV Raman nagar at 6:15 and went via Chintamani road, to Gownipaalli, Kothakota, and reached HH by 0915. Was riding a bit slow as it was very cold. Except for a patch of poor road between G'palli and Kothakota rest was super with very little traffic. Spent an hour there. Return I rode via Madanapalle, big mistake. HH to M'palle was narrow with heavy slow moving traffic, then entered the town which was terrible. Thereafter the M'palle Hoskote road was awful right up to the G'palli turn off after which it is a pleasure except for the much mentioned speed breakers.
Therefore the Gownipalli, Kothakota route is shorter and better.