The Horton Plains are located on Sri Lanka's highest plateau as a gift to central province, between altitudes of 2,000 and 2, 300m. The landscape typically consists of undulating lands covered in a tropical cloud of forests or verdant montane savannah grasslands, locally known as patannahs. Visiting Horton Plains is a quite popular amongst locals, who mostly come to admire the views from the park's thrilling escarpments such as World's End at weekends. (For this reason I recommend that you try to organize your visit during a weekday as this ensures that you will experience the Plain's isolated serenity).
Horton Plains is a popular tourist destination, with World's End being the key attraction. Both local and foreign visitors come there to witness the World's End. In the six months ending August 2009, the Hortain Plains National Park has earned a revenue of Rs.20.1 million. It is increasing considerably due to rapid growth of tourist arrivals. "Almost all tourists who come to Sri Lanka, come here to see the World's End" said an officer in the entrance gate with a encouraging smile.
The best time to visit the park is early in the morning as this is when the air is likely to be clearest so that you can enjoy the best of the views. In the afternoons, clouds tend to descend and the area becomes clouded in mist. This is equally enthralling though and provides evidence for the evolution of this forest type. Allowing a half-day should give you plenty of time to enjoy it all at a leisurely pace. We reached there by 10.30 am which is very convenient to see all the beauties. But we lost a big chance to catch the scenes of animals since it was too early. A regular visitor who had come 20th times, told us "If you want to witness animals' movement you must come in the evening." Visitors to the park can follow a 10km loop that incorporates all of the spectacular features, enabling them to enjoy them while adhering to the strict rules for environment protection and nature conservation.
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