First Rays of Sunlight

This picture was taken from Lower Ohiya. I had an interesting stay there for few days and managed to find out one of the shortest path to Horton Plains from A4 road via Udaveriya Estate.

You can check out more pictures of this journey thro' Anjana’s Blog.

To see more scenic images, explore this wonderful site - Scenic Sunday.

Montane Rain Forests

The Sri Lankan variety of montane rain forests are found in few places within central highlands like Horton Plains, Knuckles Range and Sri Pada Range (Peak Wilderness). Usually these forests can be seen in mountain tops above 4500 feet from sea level. Below that level we find another type known as sub-montane forests.

Montane rain forests have thick undergrowth and it is extremely difficult to walk across a forest patch. Due to the cold weather and high winds the trees in these forests are not that tall compared to the rain forests in lowlands. Trees are usually around 20-30 feet tall and there is a low canopy. Sub-montane rain forests are a transitional stage between the lowland and highland vegetation. Both these forest types are high in biodiversity. Another interesting feature is cloud forests, which I have experienced quite a lot while hiking in these forests.

Above picture, taken from Sri Pada Range shows part of the montane rain forest there. More photos in this link show both high montane as well as sub-montane rain forests.

Paradise for a Hiker

This picture was taken close to Haldummulla on A4 road. The two pointed mountains on the left are known as Balathoduwa and Gonmolli Kanda. Both are over 2000 metres high. The plateau on your right is Horton Plains and the valley in between is where you find Bambarakanda waterfall.

Balathoduwa and Gonmolli Kanda are visible from World’s End, if it is a clear day without heavy mist. If you look closer in the picture, you may see a smaller mountain in front of Balathoduwa. It is known as Wangedigala belonging to the same mountain range. It was used as a watch tower in the ancient times.

I wanted to show this picture because, what lies in front of you is a paradise for a hiker!

To see more scenic images, explore this wonderful site - Scenic Sunday.

Closer to the Clouds

This beautiful picture was taken at the World's End of Horton Plains. This place is about 7000 feet above mean sea level and the precipice here is more than 3000 feet.

The clouds and the blue sky add extra beauty to the scenery seen faraway below.

Green, Green Grass Lands

This picture of beautiful grass land was taken in Horton Plains. Grass lands are bordered by thick forests. These lands are home for many wild animals. Herds of Sambhurs are a common site in these areas and there are quite a few carnivores living here. Although it is not an easy task to spot them, a few leopards also roam these grass lands.

Night Sky from Horton Plains

Stargazing is a very relaxing thing to do. In fact it gives you a mystic feeling that you are closer to cosmic objects, far away from the Earth. To view stars and other celestial objects you need a clear sky away from street lighting and other light sources. The best option is to wander into a woodland and pitch a tent and start observing the sky. If it is a clear day with no clouds, it will be a night to remember. You will see millions of stars and planets. If you are lucky you will see the Milkyway or a few shooting stars.

Horton Plains is a wonderful place for stargazing. There won’t be any single drop of light from artificial sources. It will be bitterly cold at night but, if there are no clouds in the sky and less moonlight you are there for a treat for sure!

Horton Plains

This is a unique place for hiking in Sri Lanka. The cool climate will add spice to this picturesque venue. In Sinhala this is known as 'Maha-Eliya'.

There are many routes to this place and more famous ones are via Nuwara Eliya and Haputhale. This is situated aound 7000 feet above sea level, so easily it becomes the highest plain in Sri Lanka. You can reach here by train as well. It is only 7km to the plain from Pattipola Station.

There are three camp sites which can be reserved from the Department of Wild Life. All three sites are really good and I recommend you the one closer to Chimney Pool, which is one of the best camping sites I have ever been.

The total area of the plain (Nature Reserve) is more than 25 sq.km and most area is covered with rich coarse grass. Also there are good amount of forest patches everywhere. These are full of typical short trees with small leaves accustomed to windy and cold climates here. The undergrowth is very thick and walking in these forests is not easy. The same forests and grass land are home for many wild animals

There is no limit to beautiful places that you can visit here. Some of the prominent locations are listed below but there are many more.

1. World's End (a precipice with over 1000m drop)
2. Baker's Falls
3. Kirigalpoththa Mountain Trail
4. Thotupola Mountain Trail

In simple words, Horton Plains is a paradise for hikers!

Landlord in the Forests of Hill Country

This is a popular sight in many wildlife reserves in Sri Lanka like Horton and Knuckles. Those who travel through Horton by vehicles can see them most of the time, but there is a better chance for a hiker to see them in closer proximity.

These larger members of the deer family are known as Sambhurs or Elk ('Gona' in Sinhala) and can be seen in herds of 5-6 or even bigger number on open grassy plains and also in thick forests. Usually there is a better possibilty of seeing them early in the morning or later in the evening.

They are inherently very innocent and can be rattled even with the slightest of noise but nowadays they are quite used to humans and can be seen roaming in Farr Inn area even while there are lots of people.

These animals like to eat coarse grass and leaves. Try to refrain from feeding them as what we eat may not be very healthy for them!

Pattipola Station to Farr Inn

Night mail train from Colombo to Badulla reaches Pattipola Station very early in the morning. Pattipola is the railway station, which is located at the highest point from sea level in Sri Lanka. Once I walked from there to Farr Inn at Horton Plains. It was very refreshing especially early in the morning.

The road is beautiful throughout and the magnificent panaromic view of Nuwara-Eliya side will not make you feel tired during the steep climb.

At top of the plain, the scenery will be even more charming. You will not find many souls other than occasional sambhur deer who comes out of the thick forest into the plain.

World's End to Belihul Oya via Nagrak Estate

This will be a memorable hike for any explorer. The reverse of the same also can be tried but will be quite difficult due to steep ascend. The entire hike is about 20km.

Right at the top of World's End (Which is in Horton Plains) there is a small path that leads further upwards. Soon this footpath will start to descend rapidly down the slope through thick undergrowth. Some places you may have to move on your knees. After about 4km of difficult track you will reach Nagrak (Nanperial) Estate.

From Nagrak there is a road down to Belihuloya but any hiker can select various short cuts through the tea estate. Nagrak to Belihuloya via the road is about 15km.

It took a full day for me for the entire descend and one of the most interesting was to see how the climate and vegetation change from Worlds End to Belihuloya.

Good to check the path with Department of Wild Life since the worlds end area is within the nature reserve and there are restrictions imposed recently for some of the routes.

Ohiya to Kalupahana via Devil's Staircase

This is an exciting hike route which takes an entire day but I would suggest readers to take more than one day for this route and try camping out for one night. This will give more time to enjoy the hike and to admire the breathtaking beauty all the way down.

The entire track is about 20km. There is a road (Actually 4WD or Jeep track) from Ohiya railway station to Kalupahana on the A4 road. This is the same road you travel from Ohiya to Horton Plains but there is a 'Y' junction after about 5km. The upper road goes to the plains and the lower road directs you to Kalupahana via Udaveriya Estate.

At Udaveriya you will come to the infamous 'Devils Staircase' (Yakage Padipela in Sinhala) which has a very steep descend. You can cut across tea estates and explore short cuts but you have to be careful not to lose your path. In the process you will come across number of small streams of water which are actually small tributaries of Belihuloya. You can camp either at Udaveriya or further down closer to Kalupahana. I once camped on top of Bambarakanda falls and that was an experience of its own!

The view throughout the hike is simply amazing and I particularly prefer the wonderful sight of Bambarakanda falls and the panaromic view of the hills with entire Southern Province in the background!

Thotupola the Third

Thotupola Kanda (mountain) in Horton Plains is the third highest point in Sri Lanka (2360 metres above sea level). The climb to the top is quite easy and a good starting point for a young hiker.

When you travel from Nuwara Eliya to Horton Plains via Pattipola - Ohiya Road, The trail entry point lies about 400m from Pattipola main entrance of the Horton Plains Reserve. The entire hike to the top will take about 1 hour and the total climb will be less than 200m. The first bit will be through tall shrubs and then you will come to an open terrain with shorter shrubs. You need to come to a mini peak before the Thotapola main peak. The top of the mountain is full of thick vegetation so it is bit diffcult to see a panaromic view but still the view is awesome. You can clearly see a good half of the plain and Farr Inn (The place where world's end trail starts) from the peak.

Since this peak is within the nature reserve you need to get prior approval from the Department of Wild Life.

Cool Streams of Horton Plains

Horton Plains is the highest plain in Srilanka situated above 2000 metres from the sea-level. It is at the lower edge of Central Province and plenty of cool springs of water sprung from this area and flow towards lower lands below. Belihuloya, which is a tributary of River Walawe, is one such stream made of the water from the plain. Horton plain is a principal catchment for the main rivers of Sri Lanka.

Any hiker will find hundreds of such streams all over the plain and there are many beautiful waterfalls created from them. A lot of hiking routes like the one to kirigalpoththa are signposted according to these streams.

Bambarakanda

This is one of the most fascinating area for hiking. In addition to the famous fall, there are number of tracks leading to exciting places in Horton Plains from here. also there are number of mountains, water falls and streams surrounding this area which would make a hikers a day an unforgettable one.

The simplest way to reach this place is via Colombo - Batticaloa (A4) main road. You have to go pass Belihuloya and reach a small junction called Kalupahana. From Kalupahana you have to take the left turn. This narrow but winding road will take you through one of the most beautiful areas in Sri Lanka with breathtaking beauty. The waterfall, Bambarakanda, the tallest in Sri Lanka lies around 5 km from Kalupahana junction. The same road will take you upto Horton Place and Ohiya but it will need many similar posts to describe the entire journey from Kalupahana to Ohiya, which I will do on a later date.

There is a small but nice lodge close to the foot of the waterfall. From the lodge you can see the waterfall quite clearly and it is one of the best sights in Sri Lanka.

There are number of locations that a hiker could travel from this point. I will name a few of those and try to do an elaborate description later.

• Wangedigala - Half a day hike for an experienced hiker. The whole of Lower Ohiya valley is visible from the top


• Balathoduwa and Gonmolli Kanda - Further away from Wangedigala.


• Lanka Ella - The pool below the waterfall has a shape like Sri Lanka. 2 Hours walk from Bambarakanda Falls


• Seven Basins - 1 hour (or less) walk from the Bambarakanda Falls. Excellent place to experience cool spring water!