Kaundinya Wildlife Sanctuary, Horsley Hills - Timings, Safari Cost, Best Time to Visit

At a distance of 106 km from Horsley Hills, 78 km from Madanapalle and 31 km from Palamaner, Kaundinya Wildlife Sanctuary is a well known sanctuary and an elephant reserve situated in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh.

Established in 1990, Kaundinya is the only sanctuary in Andhra Pradesh with elephants in its expanse. Thirty-nine elephants migrated from the forests of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and moved to the forests here. Today, it houses around 78 elephants and other animal species like Cheetal, four horned antelope, sambar, mouse deer, hare, porcupine, wild boar, jungle cat, jackal, sloth bear, panther, jungle fowl and pea fowls.

The habitat of Kaundinya sanctuary is rugged with high hills and deep valleys. Two rivers Kaigal and Kaundinya flow through the sanctuary. Sprawling over an area of around 358 sq. km, the entire region is covered with southern tropical thorn type forests. There are different species of trees like albizia amara, ficus tomentosa, ficus religiosa, ficus bengalensis and bamboo. It has assorted collection of birds like Grey Pelicans, Rosy Pelicans, Painted Storks, Love Birds, Budgerigars and Cockatiels etc.

The best time to visit the Kaundinya Wildlife Sanctuary is between October and April. The winter months are ideal to watch the lake and the pools of the sanctuary full of an assortment of vibrant migratory birds.

Timings: 6 AM - 6 PM