Horton Plains National Park

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Horton Plains National Park (හෝටන් තැන්න)is a national park in the highlands of Sri Lanka. It lies at a height of more than 2000m in the central highlands, and its altitude means that it has a much cooler and more windy climate than the lowlands of Sri Lanka, with a mean annual temperature of 16°C rather than the 26°C of the coasts.

In the winter months it is cold at night, and there can even be frosts, although it rapidly warms up as the tropical sun climbs higher in the sky.

The park covers 31.60 km², and is a mixture of highland forest and wet grassland. It can be accessed by travelling from Nuwara Eliya.

This is a key wildlife area. Species found here include Leopard, Sambar and the endemic Purple-faced Langur. All six highland endemic birds are found here, including Dull-blue Flycatcher, Sri Lanka White-eye, Sri Lanka Wood Pigeon, and Sri Lanka Bush Warbler. Yellow-eared Bulbul and Black-throated Munia are widespread throughout the highlands.

The park also has a well-visited tourist attraction at World's End, a sheer precipice with a 1050m drop. The return walk passes the scenic Baker Falls. Early morning visits are essential, both to see the wildlife, and to view World's End before mists close in during the later part of the morning.

Late Quaternary Environmental history of the Horton Plains

A 6 m long core was retrieved from a mire at ca 2200 m a.s.l. in the Horton Plains National Park, central Sri Lanka. The material collected consists of a mixture of organic matter and clastic particles, which have been subject to bio-, litho- and chronostratigraphic analyses. The pollen spectra suggest semi-arid conditions and a relatively species-poor plant community from >24,000 until 18,500 cal yr BP associated with a weaker South West Monsoon (SWM). During the late Pleistocene, the climate was fluctuating between relatively dry and humid conditions as the result of changes in the monsoonal regime. The onset of the moonson caused a semi-humid climate resulting in an expansion of the Upper Montane Rain Forest (UMRF). The strengthening of the SWM was interrupted by two relatively dry climatic events, each lasting ca 2000 years. The early Holocene was characterised by a per-humid event followed by a hyper-humid event, both influenced by a further strengthening of the SWM due to the orbitally induced maximum increment of summer insolation. The middle Holocene was marked by a trend towards semi-arid climatic conditions. During the late Holocene, the SWM rains strengthened again (Premathilakea and Risberg, 2002).[1]