Horton Plains

Horton Plains sits above 2,000 metres, a plateau of montane grassland and stunted cloud forest hung with moss and lichen, cold enough for frost on winter mornings. The circular walking route of around nine kilometres takes in Baker's Falls and two escarpment viewpoints: Little World's End and, further on, World's End itself, where the plateau simply stops and the land falls away hundreds of metres to the plains far below. On a clear morning the view runs to the south coast. The park protects endemic species including the purple-faced langur and the sambar deer that graze the grassland at dawn. The one rule that governs every visit is timing: cloud fills the escarpment by mid-morning and the view disappears.

What you actually see

• World's End - the sheer escarpment drop, clear only in the early morning.
• Baker's Falls - a broad waterfall on the circuit, reached by a side path.
• Cloud forest - moss-draped stunted trees along the plateau edges.
• Sambar deer - grazing the open grassland at first light.

When to go

January to March gives the best chance of a clear World's End. Arrive at the gate for opening, around six, and walk the circuit anticlockwise to reach the viewpoint before the cloud. By nine or ten it is usually white.

Honest expectations

Getting there means leaving Nuwara Eliya around four in the morning, and if the cloud is in, the drive delivers nothing but a grey wall. It is genuinely cold at dawn, which visitors from the coast rarely pack for. Plastic bottles are checked at the gate, and the park fee is high by Sri Lankan standards.

Nearby

Nuwara Eliya's tea estates lie below; Ella and its hill country are further east.