Horton Plains National Park in Sri Lanka is definitely one of the world's best nature reserves and venue for eco tourism. The park is extremely beautiful with lots of rolling hills. The main striking point of this park is the upper montane forest and wet patana grassland. Generally, these woodlands are seen on the hilltops or upper slopes the grasslands. The forested valleys and lower slopes give way to the wetlands. Horton Plains National Park has an area of approximately ten thousand hectares. The park has a wide variety of flora and animal species like elk, deer, giant squirrel, wild boar, wild hare, porcupine and leopard. Many migratory birds are found here, this apart you will find around 87 species of birds here.
Horton Plains National Park is situated on Sri Lanka 's highest plateau, and here the altitudes are between two thousand and two thousand and thirty meters. Mahaeliya or Horton Plains is very popular with the local people and undoubtedly it is equally popular with the tourists. Weekends normally see a rush of visitors, so to enjoy the park’s splendor in peace try to visit it on a weekday. You can follow a 10km loop that contains all of the distinctive features, enabling them to enjoy them while holding fast to the strict rules for environment protection and nature conservation. Pay a visit in the early morning and you will be able to enjoy the best views in the clear morning air. In the afternoons, the clouds can spoil your whole show as mists engulf the area. But the mists too have a beauty of their own.
This park has been named after Sir Robert Wilmot Horton. He has the rare distinction of killing all the elephants in the park from 1831 AD to 1837 AD. Samber Deer is found in plenty in the early mornings and in the evenings.
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