The three-day Horsley Hills Adventure Festival organized by the A.P. Tourism Department concluded on Sunday evening, with the place emerging as one of the premier tourism spots for adventure sports.
According to tourism officials, over 20,000 nature lovers and adventure junkies from across the country, mostly from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, took part in the event.
The colonial connection
Horsley Hills, located 1,290 metres above sea level and spread over 2 km radius, is best suited for rock climbing, gliding, trekking and cycling because of its zigzag terrain and a picturesque ghat road flanked by verdant forests.
In fact, it was the scenic beauty, coupled with the pleasant climate, that drew the attention of British officer W.D. Horsley in 1870, who later made it his home. Till Independence, Horsley Hills remained a hot destination for nature lovers, and enjoyed the patronage of the colonial rulers.
Till date, the hill station continues to lure tourists from the Southern States during the weekends. The adventure festival was the first such initiative taken by the tourism department. The district administration had earlier planned the event twice in the last five years, but it has only materialized now.
Kite festival
The festival hosted a number of activities, including spider-web, ladder, balancing beam, zigzag, cargo net, zip line, climbing wall, trampoline, and morning trekking. But the highlight of the event was rock climbing, thoroughly guided by expert coaches. Seconding it was the skating event that drew an impressive number of child participants from all over India, some of whom were national-level skaters.
The festival ended on a colourful note with the conduct of kite festival at Galibanda point on the hills.
District Collector Narayana Bharat Gupta expressed happiness at the overwhelming turnout and said that steps would be taken to introduce the adventure sports here on a permanent basis, apart from launching a special focus on developing infrastructure at multiple levels.
