The first annual feel of winter arrives usually in the third week of November in the tail-end of Chittoor district – flanked by the forests of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka with the Seshachalam biosphere to its north and plains to south – as and when the north-east monsoon starts receding. However, it’s early winter this year as several parts of the district are experiencing chilly weather since October-end with an occasional drizzle.
The very mention of winter in Chittoor invariably conjures up the undulating terrain of the Horsley Hills in Madanapalle division, 150 km from Bengaluru. Named after and developed into a hill station by W.D. Horsley, the then Kadapa Collector during the British Raj, the Horsley Hills prides as "Andhra Ooty" in the hearts of nature lovers of neighbouring States.
Ideal time
The night temperature here has already started plummeting below 18°C, with 22°C in the day, making it a perfect allure for tourists. For a week, the hill station has been experiencing a thick fog.
Tourists have been arriving here from September itself, as COVID-19 impact seems to have reduced, and when mercury dips below 10°C in December-January, the hill station will be at its best, hosting its idyllic beauty to tourists.
Tourism Officer (Chittoor) D.V. Chandramouli Reddy says the early arrival of winter will bring in more revenue to the department. "With tourist arrivals back to normal, we are getting ready to bolster the available facilities atop the hill. Most of the visitors are from Karnataka and T.N.," he says.
Jumbo raids
On the flipside, the winter months from November to January are known for the jaunts of crop-raiding wild elephants in search of their favourite sugarcane in several villages at tri-State Kuppam junction. Low night temperatures and thick fog force farmers to abandon night vigils at fields.
The prediction that coldness would be more penetrating this year is set to prompt many sections of people to improve their preparedness, particularly for the safety of the aged under the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic.
