visit to horton plaines national park

I was fortunate to be able to visit the park on Tuesday. April 15th. The friends I was staying with in Nuwera Eliya took me there. It approximately 30km from Nuwera Eliya and passes the Ambewela dairy farms, and the Ambewela and Pattipola Railway stations. It took us about 80 minutes to get to the start of the walking trail.

Entrance fees for Locals is Rs30 pe adult and Rs20 pe child with Rs 100 for a car and Rs 200 for a jeep. The old Far Inn is now the visitor center and charge a Rs100/- for a soda so bring your own refreshments as well as sandwiches.

You have to dispose of all polythene before entering the walking path as it could pollute the environment and we were politely asked to bring all empties of bottles we take with us, the slightly tricky thing was if we had candy wrappers how to we bring it back if there are no trash cans on the way and we were not allowed to take a platic bag as a makeshift trash collector?


We walked first to Worlds end via little worlds end and then on to Bakers Falls and back to base which took us 175 minutes.

The sambur in the photo greeted us on arrival and the photo of the falls in full spate and the other of a wild flower in bloom are examples of its beauty.

Wear comfortable shoes that can grip the slippery trail, as most people who came to visit were dressed as if they were out for a stroll on Galle Face after a shower with perfume and Sunday best and highish heels.

It is a strenous walk and worth every moment. The weather can turn in minutes so be prepared for all weather possibilities.

Rememember at over 2000meters altitude breathing can get difficult so dont be overambitious in trying to walk fast as you would soon tire unless you are fighting fit and there is a lot of climbing and descending.

Terrible thing was there were no distance postings to guide us as to how far were from a place.