Horton Plains National Park
Travel & Accommodation Guide
The Horton Plains National Park is the only National Park situated in Sri Lankas Hill Country and falls within the Nuwara Eliya district and is 200 km. away from Colombo. Panoramic scenic beauty of the Hill Country could be witnessed within the Park. The famous "Worlds End" is a major attraction within the Park.
Horton Plains became a National Park in 1988. The undulating plateau is bounded by the country's second and third highest mountains and is the catchment area for most of its major rivers.
Horton Plains is the only National Park in Sri Lanka in which visitors are allowed to walk. At 'Worlds End' the 2000 metre plateau comes to an abrupt end, plunging 700-1000 metres to the valley floor. This gentle walk takes two to four hours depending on how much time is spent identifying the impressive bird life seen along this route. It is worth starting early to avoid the crowds, the mist that drifts up the valley can often obscure the views as the day wears on. 'Little Worlds End' is another popular location, falling a mere 300 metres, along with Baker's Falls.
The plains appear to have a lot more in common with the moors and highlands of Britain than with the rest of Sri Lanka's National Parks. The large sambar population, along with the purple-faced langurs, wild boar and barking deer support a small number of leopards.
Horton Plains is also one of the top destinations for birders who visit the area to look for several of Sri Lanka's endemics; these include the Yellow Eared Bulbul, the Ceylon Hill White Eye, Ceylon Whistling Thrush and the Ceylon Blue Magpie. The montane forest is very distinctive with all the trees reaching a similar height to protect themselves against excessive precipitation, the western slopes support the most extensive area of cloud forest in the country.
We offer individual Horton Plains Jeep Safaris, ec-friendly Horton Plains Camping Trips and Horton Plains Excursions as part of some our Sri Lanka Round Tours.
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