The next day we got up early and adventured to Horton Plains National Park in a van over bumpy country roads. Our day started very early at 4am. It will be dawn soon by 5am and the sun will be out by 5.30am.
The hotel packed our breakfast in a nice box for the three of us; my childhood friend, my sister and of course for me. We collected our breakfast at the receptionist who was waiting for us, who looked sleepy though as it's still too early for him .
Our tour guide was with us and we had to take a ride in a different van. It was still dark outside and we hoped on the van. My little sister continued her sleep at the back of the seat. We left the hotel at 4.30am.
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| Our breakfast |
It was freezing cold and I made sure we were all covered well. I was too excited to catch every glimpse of the nature. I couldn't rest my eyes further till we reached the destination because there was so much to see along the way to Horton Plains. The drive was very scenic as the roads that lead through the fog up hill. We also passed through Pattipola which is the highest railway station in Sri Lanka.
A curvy, bumpy ride begun as the dawn broke over the hills. I could see more clear lands and hills. As we were ascending the hill, we were shrouded in blankets of fog and visibility pretty much stayed within the range of a few meters ahead of us. The park is a mix of cloudforest and grassland. Light drizzle also accompanied us on this early morning as we drove up the small and windy foggy road.
We passed by more plains and valleys, rows of Pine trees, beautiful Ambuwella dairy farm and I felt at that moment that I was in an Europe country rather than in an Asian country. There were wind turbines shrouded with mist and the whole scenery looked to beautiful, it just reminded me of “Teletubbies” TV series.
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| The Wind turbines at the dairy farm |
The distance we were to reach was just over 30 km but it took approximately 1 1/2 hours. As dawn broke, I could clearly see the mountain range. My driver stopped near a cliff so I could capture the sun which has rise though. It was amazing as we further ascended up the hill.
What my camera couldn't capture, my eyes had captured as memories of the beauty.
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| Morning Sunrise over the hills |
We finally entered the Horton Plains National Park and proceeded to obtain our tickets (US$20 per person + additional vehicle charge + driver/guide entrances + VAT ) total cost for 3 of us Rs 7800 (RM250) (1/2 price entrance for kid below 12 years ). We were already battling with drizzles of rain at this point; the wind was also strong, prompting us to wonder if we’d made the right call to hike that morning. Luckily we did wrap up well so at least we were not cold. The entrance fees for foreigners are quite steep though it’s worth a life time.
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| Park Entrance |
After another short drive as we entered the park, Breath taking views! Just as we were about to arrive at the car park, the scenery right before my eyes completely blew me away. The vast grassland with the peeking sunlight as the grasses glittered plus the chilly cool weather all felt so surreal.
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| Vast Grassland |
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| shimmering grassland and plains |
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| 4th picture is the security check for plastic bags |
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| Shimmering valley |
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| Beautiful day at the park |
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| water creek over the path |
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| ascending paved walkway |
We would cover approximately 10 km in distance and it must be noted that this is the only national park in Sri Lanka in which one can walk freely (following the designated path, mind) without a guide.
Apart from the paved path few hundred metres from the starting point, the remainder of the trail was just good rocky trampled paths of red-yellow soil peppered with rocks and pebbles, lined with low lying bushes.
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| More beautiful valley |
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| view over the trees |
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| ahead is the trail to Mini World's End through the forest |
As we walked past the plains we were heading into the jungle path which was framed by taller trees and bushes in occasional stretches. For some good kilometres the path was clear to walk and further a head of us there were more challenging paths awaiting us.
Certainly it is not an easy peasy walk though but it’s definitely manageable if you have good stamina and strength to walk.
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| the difficult rocky path |
This time it was rocks, the red rocks formation inside the park were beautiful and it was like mini Grand Canyon. The rocks had different colours and shapes. My friend and I knew and learnt something about the mineral rocks and formations in school, so we were identifying the rocks and the trails of the design and minerals formed and most of it was quartz.
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| the rock formations and colours |
Soon enough, we found ourselves peeking at the Mini World’s End. There were signs explaining on some of the vegetation and animals found in the park. We were getting ourselves well knowledge with what is around us and what we would come across in this park.
the signs at the sites
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| valley below - can see a small village |
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| the drop at the edge |
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| beautiful sight of the hills and valleys |
OK, you must be wondering what’s the deal with the Mini World’s End and World’s End. It basically refers to the feature of this plateau where the edge fell in a straight drop manner to the valley. Not gentle slopes as you may think, it was as if the earth just collapsed in a vertical column.
At Mini World’s End the drop is not quite as pronounced, measuring nearly 300m But at World’s End, just less than 700m separates the standing edge and the solid ground below. The views from Mini World’s End and World’s End were nearly identical when you cast your eyes in the horizon.
At World’s End it was a bit overcast, the view was absolutely gorgeous and still exquisite where else the drop below was overwhelming.
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| That's me standing at the cliff of the World's End and drop is right at the back of me |
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| the sign explaining the uniqueness of World's End |
the drop below
look closer you can see the town below in the valley
my feet and the valley below me
It was a clear days and the sky was so blue and somehow the low clouds that came and went made it all seem ever more beautiful. If it was a clear day, the outline of the Indian Ocean would be visible at the distance. Overall a nice view of the plains nestled into the top of a giant mountain.
outline of the Indian Ocean will be visible on a clear day
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| low clouds |
Since it was also getting progressively warmer, we began to shed a layer of our clothes and rest longer there as I needed to apply some medicated oil on my heels and massage them.
We didn’t encounter many wildlife for that matter – except for some sambar deer when we were coming up to the park entrance and some birds along our walk, but we could hear tons of monkeys screaming and playing in the trees and we spotted a purple faced monkey in a distant tree near the forest and also a green lizard on the grass.
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| my photography of the vegetation in the park |
While Horton Plains was very much a plateau, the scenery unfurling before us could only be described as rolling landscapes. The waves of hills that contoured up and down were before sweeping outward into open space. I did lots of macro photography of the grasses and flowers.
Anyone who knows me will know that I’m particularly an outdoor kind of person and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute I was out there, enjoying every step along the path and clicking with my mobile and camera at the same time.
path ahead to the Baker's Fall
It started to drizzle once again; the tougher challenge of the trail was in accessing the waterfall called Baker’s fall. But the scenaries was too beautiful that you don't realize your difficulty and tiredness much.
Meanwhile I was also in an emergency to visit the toilet and to my surprise we ended at a cross path and we were not sure which side to continue. So we took the path on the right which look neater as the path on the left was heading into the jungle. There were no sign but we assumed it was leading to Baker’s fall, indeed the path brought us to the end with a hut that had 4 doors.
It was well hidden and tucked away from the main trail, to my surprise it was the toilet in the park and in the middle of the forest. What surprised me was that it was so clean and it had no windows but an opening facing the forest below. It also had a water pipe and obviously a proper toilet which can be flushed. (Please don’t ask me where the sewage goes).
So there wasn’t much privacy as we are exposed to the animals to peek. I was thankful though I was guided by the nature knowing my urgency to use a toilet. I guess not many people were aware of a toilet existing in the park within the forest
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| the trek continues to Baker's Fall |
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| Baker's Falls ahead |
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| the great Baker's Fall |
Continuing back on the correct track to Baker’s fall which was not very easy though, one has to descend a series of stairs in the jungle, some of which the steps were knee-high. Going down wasn’t as bad, than coming back up; now that was a tough work-out if you will. I was sure my knees were overly cracking but it didn’t hurt much. It was getting darker inside the forest because of the rain clouds and the warning of it will rain soon. The path was clear to follow but not necessarily easy, we had to do some scrambling at certain areas to avoid any catastrophes.
rainy climate
The climate surely didn't favour us much as it was going to shower heavily soon. We continued despite the early rain signs of the thunder grumbling and we were still in the open vast grassland, either there were no shades to cover from the rain, I was praying so it should only rain after we are out of the park otherwise it will surely slow us more as the paths will get muddy and filled with water running down hill.
Finally we were rounding up the last part of our trail, we came to pass small lakes and rivers and past the beautiful scenic pool with a small waterfall known as the Chimney pool and it was the only picnic and camping site of the park that is allowed.
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| Chimney pool |
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| Reaching soon... |
The final few sloping trails and more steps (uphill of course, just not to make things too easy especially for me, I was not panting of breath but my heel was giving pain which had slowed me down) the trail seemed to stretch indeterminately in front of us.
We had, overall, made good time with our walk, completing the trail in over 6 hours. As we approached the end of the loop, we saw more local groups arriving, eager to start their walk.
I wasn’t entirely sure if they would enjoy walking with sarees, some with no shoes, some ladies were wearing heels and some were carrying little babies and it was drizzling soon to rain.
Actually the hike back via Baker’s falls from World’s End was much more difficult that the walk to it via Mini World’s End.
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| we exited from the right path |
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| few more km we will be reaching the security check station |
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| the car park was full when we returned |
You will enjoy the long walk inside the pure nature with pretty landscapes of a perfect tranquility scene. And then you will get to End of the World cliff. The park is well-maintained and was very nice indeed, there were tall dustbins. Why they are tall because to avoid animals going through the rubbish. The hike to the World’s End was great and an amazing view.
Throughout the 9 km hike, I was so excited and happy and tried my best to capture good shots worthy of the beauty of this park. I loved the diversity of trees and flowers that this place offers. It was chilly till the sunbeams and again it was very chilly as it was going to rain soon.
Thank God, has we headed out of the park, it started to rain heavily. God waited for us to leave I guess. It was cold by than.
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| raining heavily |
