– World’s End Viewpoint at Dawn

World’s End is a cliff edge where the Horton Plains plateau simply stops – the highland dropping away to the southern plains in a near-vertical fall of nearly 900 metres. On a clear morning, the view extends across the lowland forests all the way to the southern coast. By 10am, the daily cloud rolls in and the view disappears. The difference between arriving at 7am and arriving at 11am is the difference between one of Sri Lanka’s finest natural experiences and a view of white fog.

– Cloud Forest Trails & Baker’s Falls

The walking circuit from the park entrance to World’s End and back via Baker’s Falls passes through open montane grassland, patches of stunted cloud forest, and highland stream valleys that support the island’s most specialised and interesting endemic wildlife – including sambar deer grazing in the open, the endemic Sri Lanka Whistling Thrush, and on lucky mornings, the purple-faced langur in the forest margins. Baker’s Falls is a beautiful three-tiered waterfall set in a cloud forest glade that makes an ideal midpoint rest stop on the circuit.

– Horton Plains Endemic Wildlife

The plateau’s unique habitat – cold, windswept, and very different from the lowland ecosystems that cover most of Sri Lanka – supports a remarkable concentration of highland endemic species found nowhere else on earth. The Sri Lanka Whistling Thrush, the Dull-blue Flycatcher, the Yellow-eared Bulbul, and the Sri Lanka Wood Pigeon are among the bird species specifically associated with Horton Plains, making the early morning walk outstanding for birdwatchers.