To the World’s End

Horton Plains, with the highlight of the World’s End, is one of the best side trips from the tea hill station of Nuwara Eliya. This intrepid spot of Sri Lanka is sandwiched between the lovely Nuwara Eliya and Haputale. A beautiful silent moor like area, Horton Plains National Park is a part of the Central Highlands of Sri Lanka. The national park is a designated Unesco World Heritage Site and geographically, is a plateau. An important catchment area of almost all major Sri Lankan rivers, Horton Plains National Park is full of natural beauty and offers many excellent hikes. Being a biodiversity hotspot, a commendable wealth of endemic flora and fauna exist there along with nearly all varieties of landscapes.

World’s End

The World’s End is a 1200 m drop

Located in the shadows of Kirigalpotta and Totapola mountains (Sri Lanka’s 2nd and 3rd highest), Horton Plains lie at a height of 1200 meters above sea level and are topped by rich wild grass, occasional forest patches, rocky outcrops, tinkling waterfalls and lovely misty pools. Beautiful trees, shrubs, and flowers grow there and it is home to some very interesting wildlife. The wild stretch of bleak, high-altitude grassland at the southern edge of Horton’s Plains drop dramatically into plunging cliffs and it creates a distinct precipice known as the World’s End. The sheer drop to the lowlands is breathtaking and on clear days, the views stretch all the way to the blue coastline.

Recommended Read: WILD BEAUTY OF HORTON PLAINS

Horton Plains

One of the scariest and impressive viewpoints

The World’s End is one of the most impressive viewpoints I have ever seen. In fact, it is the viewpoint that attracted me to the Horton’s Plains National Park and I went there on a guided hiking tour. We started early and a very misty drive in a shared tour jeep took me and a few other visitors to the gate of Horton Plains National Park. The dawn had not yet stained the Sri Lankan sky with light and stars glittered on a dark blue night. Being in the hill country, it was a cold start of the day and we watched the mesmerizing sight of mist lifting off from the dreamy terraced landscape. A beautiful land slowly revealed small obscure villages, rolling meadows, flower farms, and lanky windmills as a young sun burnt off palls of mists. The mist rose in smoky wisps, mingling with the picturesque old fashioned train tracks while forested stretches shadowed the road. The early morning forest was a busy place full of activities, sounds and sights and alert families of purple-faced langurs watched us pass by.

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An early morning start is required for visiting the Horton Plains.

There’s more to the Horton Plains than just World’s End

The langurs are one of the rare fauna found at and around the Horton Plains. These along with Kelaart’s long-clawed shrews, toque macaques, rusty-spotted cat, wild boars, stripe-necked mongooses, Sri Lankan spotted chevrotains, Indian muntjacs, grizzled giant squirrels, fishing cats, and European otters make up for the park’s exotic wildlife. In the olden days, elephants and Sri Lankan leopards also roamed the wild stretches freely, though none of them existed anymore. The Sri Lankan elephants disappeared from the area in 1940 and one of the most endangered primates in the world, the Horton Plains slender loris also seem to be on the way to extinction. At present, the sambar deer is the most commonly spotted wildlife at the Hortons Plains and the park is a bird watcher’s paradise. Nearly 21 species of rare endemic birds call it home and the bleak moors contain some very exotic lizards and snakes too. I was lucky to spot quite a few birds, animals and lizards during my long hike around the park and it was a walk to remember.

Suggested for you: HIGHLIGHTS OF SRI LANKA’S HILL COUNTRY

It is a beautiful drive from Nuwara Eliya.

Take the 3 hours hike through biodiversity

A nearly 3 hours guided hike across the Hortons Plains National Park showed off its unique beauty and I watched in wonder as the misty and rainswept landscape changed dramatically every few kilometers. It was a cool and wet morning when we started our hike from the park’s tourist office and by the time, the sheer precipice of the World’s End arrived, the sun was high on the sky. Bright sunshine threw shadows on the surrounding green mountains and a deep blue sky spanned overhead. The huge blanket of mist that covered the vista earlier cleared off completely and from my vantage point, I was able to look down at the sheer drop of around 1,200 meters to the bottom. With no guard rails or fences, there was only air between me and the rolling lowlands below and a few clouds floated underneath. A wide belt of emerald green that is the island of Sri Lanka unfolded ahead and the ocean, though nearly 80 kilometers away, resembled a slim blue horizon. The World End’s is one unique experience of Sri Lanka and it is the undisputed highlight of the Horton’s Plains National Park.

You may also like: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE HILL COUNTRY OF SRI LANKA

The drive goes through intrepid Sri Lanka

Took me to Horton Plains

And a gorgeous

World’s End

Wild, isolated

And strangely beautiful

It had been unlike

Unlike any other place

In the sun kissed

Island of Sri Lanka

Follow the rest of the Sri Lanka series here

• WHAT I LOVED ABOUT SRI LANKA
• COLOMBO TRAVEL GUIDE
• COLOMBO VIBES
• KOLLUPITIYA MARKET IN COLOMBO PHOTO WALK
• MIRISSA DAYS
• THE STILT FISHERMEN AND CAVE TEMPLE OF KOGGALA
  
• MOONSTONE MINES AND MASKS FOR DEVIL DANCING: GALLE OFFBEAT THINGS
• A VERY RELAXING WEEK IN KANDY
• KANDY TRAVEL GUIDE FOR SLOW TRAVELING
• DAMBANA ADVENTURE
• THE ELUSIVE VEDDAS OF SRI LANKA
• THE STORY OF SIGIRIYA
• HOW TO VISIT SIGIRIYA
• THE HERITAGE SITE OF POLONNARUWA
• PAINTED CAVES OF DAMBULLA

NOTE: In view of the security situation in Sri Lanka in the aftermath of terror attacks on 21 April 2019, the updated travel advisory states that the security situation in Sri Lanka is gradually returning to normal with the lifting of curfew & restrictions on social media and the opening of schools. Foreign nationals travelling to Sri Lanka are advised to be careful and vigilant.

RESPONSIBLE TRAVELING-BECAUSE I CARE