[CEF_Beasts]

As most T-BHPians would know by now, I have shifted my base to Andhra Pradesh, which is where my workplace is (with an occasional trip Home to Mumbai every 5-6 months), very close to Gandikota.

Now other than Gandikota, Belum Caves and a few temples, there is nothing much to see or do in a 50km radius from where I stay.

Horsley Hills had been in my mind for quite sometime now. Had planned a trip to and fro a few weeks back but it didn’t materialise since my colleagues weren’t willing to come along considering the distance was a lot. Considering this part of India is new for me, I didn’t want to risk going solo. Hence had to drop the plan then.

With Cyclone Fengal wrecking havoc in Tamil Nadu (hope everyone is safe in TN), the weather in AP had changed to gloomy for the past few days, which meant Horsely Hills would be drenched in rain. Checked the weather for Horsley Hills and as expected it was raining continuously, charted out a plan with a colleague of mine late at night and we set out at 4:30AM from Jammalamadugu for Horsley Hills.

The weapon of choice was our ‘14 Fortuner MT, which I got my driver and his friend to drive down from Mumbai to here in the beginning of Oct ‘24.

Eventhough I had to wake up at 4AM, I could only sleep by 11:45PM the previous night. Nonetheless got up even before my alarm could ring, freshened up and was on the road by 4:30AM.

Starting odometer at 4:30AM

The fuel gauge on this generation of Fortuners, Hilux’ and Innovas is faulty and the first thing I planned to do was fill up the Fortuner’s belly with a tank full of Diesel. Having driven 700kms (calculated with the Trip-A method) since the last fill-up with the fuel gauge still at the half way mark meant the thing was showing an erroneous reading.

Filled up ~62L till the cut-off and we were set.

The route we took: Jammalamadugu - Proddatur bypass - Kadapa bypass - Rayachoti - Horsley Hills. The roads throughout are just brilliant and the scenery was changing every 50kms. We’re climbing a ghat at one point, next we’re passing through a forest, and then a rocky hill. The wonderful weather just added to the excitement. The only thing to be taken care of on these routes is haphazard overtaking by few people since there is no divider, unmarked speed-breakers and stray dogs roaming on the highways.

The drive to Horsley Hills which was 217kms from where we started was steamrolled by the Fortuner in no time and it took us 4hrs 30mins with multiple stops for pictures and one tea + loo break to complete.

At YSR-Chinthakommadinne




On the ghat section at YSR-Chinthakommadinne


Spotted lots of monkeys on the ghat section


A rocky hill at Annamayya-Chinnamandem, on the Kadapa-Bangalore road


Passing through a forest on the Kadapa-Bangalore Road

There is not much to see at Horsely Hills, other than the multiple view points that were covered in clouds, a small unkempt zoo, a small seasonal natural Lake called Gangotri and a 150 year old Eucalyptus Tree planted himself by W.D. Horsley after whom this place is named Horsley Hills a.k.a. Ooty of Andhra Pradesh.

Pictures enroute to the top of Horsley Hills:

At the seasonal natural Lake Gangotri, the low clouds just made the experience more calm and serene. But the management should take more care of the surroundings! You’ll find all kinds of plastic waste and alcohol bottles littered everywhere.










Enjoying the weather and change of scenery on the hairpin bends going up Horsley Hills

Some pictures at the zoo, which was really unkempt and I genuinely felt really bad for the animals present inside their respective enclosures:

The deer was dejected because I was offering it a single leaf to eat


The peacock was in rest mode, or feeling cold due to the drop in temperature


The Angry Emu, staring right into my soul

Rabbits enjoying their leafy diet

The view points that usually show the sunrise and sunset, along with the other lower hills nearby, were all obscured by the low rain-laden clouds which had its own beauty! Visibility was pretty low, you could only see one car ahead at a time…:

Having some fun on the rocks, I expected the rear right wheel to lift up, but was simply awestruck at the amount of articulation! While coming down from the rock, in reverse the car was spinning its rear right wheel aimlessly, for a moment I thought we are doomed, but gravity was on our side and turning the front wheels in the opposite direction and moving forward, got us out without any drama. Sometimes I really wish it was a 4X4 and not a 4X2 RWD. Back then in 2014, the difference between a 4X2 MT and 4X4 MT Fortuner was only 1 Lakh ex-showroom, today Toyota India charges almost 5 Lakh for the 4X4 over a 4X2.

There is lot of scope for improvement at Horsley Hills! A fine should be slapped on offenders who litter the place. There could’ve been a lot more eateries but only few exist.

The VSR Windwave, a resort where you can stay, has its restaurant open only for people staying at their property. Open it for all visitors and the business will thrive much better, we entered their restaurant to have breakfast but were told it’s only for folks staying there. Dejected we headed to AP Tourism’s Haritha Resort, where they had a small buffet breakfast spread for ₹150. The breakfast included: Idli, Dosa, Sambhar, Upma and Coffee.

For only ₹150 had some piping hot food and coffee, the weather adding to the climax, something which was very soothing to the soul.

I’m really thankful that I came here when the weather was like this and the original plan hadn’t materialised. The weather added much needed appeal to an otherwise quaint place with not much to do. At 18°C it was as if we weren’t in Andhra Pradesh at all!

At the end, we covered 460kms to and fro with a small detour into Kadapa to have a late lunch. The rains brought a lot of relief in terms of overall temperature, there was a 10°C drop easily in average temperature which made the drive a lot more comfier. There was just a hint of tiredness after the drive, considering everything was done in one day itself, but nothing that would warrant a leave the next day.

The odometer at the end of the trip.

[mrkireeti]

Thank you for the post! I have been thinking about taking kids to Horsely hills for a while now and wasn't sure, what is in store. This gives me a good insight!

[100Kmphormore]

Lovely looking Fortuner, this colour being a rarity lost among the blacks and whites, reminds me of the 2000s Prado brochure that I used to adore. There is something about about this 2014 and 2017 facelifts that make it such a menacing yet such a legendary appearance especially from the ghat climb pictures. Were there any leeches at the hill?

[StormShadow]

Lovely write up, me and my family did the same albeit from Bangalore and we stayed there for a couple of days just to breathe in the fresh air and the beautiful landscape. We did stay in VSR and I would like to add that the food over in Haritha for breakfast is much better than what we were served. Overall lovely place to visit as a family as a weekend trip. Don't miss the swimming pool in the Haritha Resort as well

Attaching some pictures from our trip below

[RAHS]

@CEF_Beasts,

Very nice Photologue!

Nice clicks of the Fortuner. This color is very rare to find on the roads but it does go well with the vehicle. You have maintained the beast in a top shape. It doesn't look like a 10 years old car

BTW, how come you relocated from MH to AP? Is there any company or industry that you work with near Gandikota? That's a small town and I am little curious to know what work profile you are into

Enjoy your time in AP and do plan to visit Namma Bengaluru That's not very far from your place!

Cheers,
RAHS

[CEF_Beasts]

Originally Posted by mrkireeti

Thank you for the post! I have been thinking about taking kids to Horsely hills for a while now and wasn't sure, what is in store. This gives me a good insight!

There is an adventure zone as well, I'm not sure if its still open though. When I had gone it must've been stopped due to the weather. Your kids might enjoy the Adventure Zone apart from hiking around and swimming at Haritha Resorts.

Originally Posted by 100Kmphormore

Lovely looking Fortuner, this colour being a rarity lost among the blacks and whites, reminds me of the 2000s Prado brochure that I used to adore. There is something about about this 2014 and 2017 facelifts that make it such a menacing yet such a legendary appearance especially from the ghat climb pictures.

Thanks! Aiming to keep this car for as long as the GOI permits me to, no BS6 nonsense to deal with and at almost 120k kms its still rock solid. Even I love the very Land Cruiser-esque design of this generation of the Fortuner. Coming to the colour, people stare back to have another glance at the car! Even Black wasn't as popular as it is now with the 2nd Gen Fortuner, 1st Gen Fortuners are 98% White, 1% Black and rest 1% all the other remaining colours.

Were there any leeches at the hill?

As far as I remember, I don't recall seeing any leeches.

Originally Posted by StormShadow

Lovely write up, me and my family did the same albeit from Bangalore and we stayed there for a couple of days just to breathe in the fresh air and the beautiful landscape. We did stay in VSR and I would like to add that the food over in Haritha for breakfast is much better than what we were served. Overall lovely place to visit as a family as a weekend trip. Don't miss the swimming pool in the Haritha Resort as well

Attaching some pictures from our trip below

Great pictures, when did you visit? The weather looks lovely!

Wow, didn't expect Haritha Resorts Breakfast to be better, looking at the premium looking VSR Windwave's property

Originally Posted by RAHS

@CEF_Beasts,

Very nice Photologue!

Nice clicks of the Fortuner. This color is very rare to find on the roads but it does go well with the vehicle. You have maintained the beast in a top shape. It doesn't look like a 10 years old car

Thanks!

Have plenty of battle scars after driving in Mumbai traffic for 10 years, if viewed closely. So the car is not in top shape cosmetically as I would've liked to have it in, although mechanically its in ship-shape at 120k kms.

BTW, how come you relocated from MH to AP? Is there any company or industry that you work with near Gandikota? That's a small town and I am little curious to know what work profile you are into

Have DM'ed you regarding this .

Enjoy your time in AP and do plan to visit Namma Bengaluru That's not very far from your place!

I do plan to visit Bengaluru sometime considering its only 6-7 hrs and 300kms away , Just that the traffic in the city scares me, and mine being a manual, even more so.

[StormShadow]

Originally Posted by CEF_Beasts

Great pictures, when did you visit? The weather looks lovely!

Wow, didn't expect Haritha Resorts Breakfast to be better, looking at the premium looking VSR Windwave's property

We visited it in March of this year and the weather indeed was lovely! Trust me on the food, VSRs food was good when we paid for it, rather than it being complementary.

[mrkireeti]

Originally Posted by CEF_Beasts

There is an adventure zone as well, I'm not sure if its still open though. When I had gone it must've been stopped due to the weather. Your kids might enjoy the Adventure Zone apart from hiking around and swimming at Haritha Resorts.

Thank you for another input on Adventure sports!

Have DM'ed you regarding this .

I was wondering too, especially having done schooling in Jammalamadugu.

[Auto_guy_101]

What a scenic place. I think you visited it during the best time possible from a weather perspective!

Originally Posted by CEF_Beasts

Having some fun on the rocks, I expected the rear right wheel to lift up, but was simply awestruck at the amount of articulation! While coming
Sometimes I really wish it was a 4X4 and not a 4X2 RWD. Back then in 2014, the difference between a 4X2 MT and 4X4 MT Fortuner was only 1 Lakh ex-showroom, today Toyota India charges almost 5 Lakh for the 4X4 over a 4X2.

At the start of your story, I was certain you had a 4x4 fortuner and that gave you the courage to make the trip given the weather. Glad you didn't get stuck anywhere.

On a slightly different note on the fortuner pricing, at the time it was launched, a friend with connections at the nearby dealership actually bought his home and tried to convince my mother to buy one. We couldn't due to a slight budget constraint and more importantly the lack of a driver in the family. My mother doesn't drive, she still regrets not getting one that day.