Horton Plains National Park
A high plateau of grassland and cloud forest at 2,100 to 2,300 metres, made a national park in 1988 and rich in species found nowhere else. Walkers cross it to Baker's Falls and to World's End, where the plateau drops away in a sheer cliff.
- Where
- Nuwara Eliya, Central Province, Sri Lanka
- Grade
- UNESCO heritage
- Worth
- 10 points collected on site, plus 8 for its grade
- Coordinates
- 6.8000, 80.8000
Get the Horton Plains National Park stamp
Open LOQAH when you are at Horton Plains National Park. It checks where you are once, at that moment, and the stamp is yours: confirmed on site in gold and struck with the date. It goes into your Central Province volume with your photos and a note.
Near Horton Plains National Park
Bambarakanda Falls 4.5 km
The tallest waterfall in Sri Lanka, a 263 metre drop of the Kuda Oya, a tributary of the Walawe River. It falls through a forest of pine trees near Kalupahana, about 5 km off the A4 highway.
Hakgala Botanical Garden 13 km
The second largest of Sri Lanka's five botanical gardens, laid out on the slopes below Hakgala rock outside Nuwara Eliya. Its cool terraces are planted with roses and temperate flowers, and its edge runs straight into the Hakgala Strict Nature Reserve.
Haputale 17 km
A hill town at 1,431 metres on the ridge that marks the edge of the Uva basin, ringed by cloud forest and tea estates. Its altitude keeps it cooler than the land around it, and from the pass the view opens out across the southern plains of the island.
Victoria Park 19 km
A public park in the middle of Nuwara Eliya, next to the town's old post office. Its lawns, flower beds and stream are typical of the hill town the British built as a cool retreat, and it is a quiet place to watch birds.
St. Clair's Falls 24 km
One of the widest waterfalls in Sri Lanka, falling in broad tiers through the tea estates near Talawakele. Its width has earned it the nickname the Little Niagara of Sri Lanka.
Diyaluma Falls 27 km
The second highest waterfall in Sri Lanka, falling 220 metres from a cliff near Koslanda on the Colombo to Badulla road. The water is the Punagala Oya, and above the main drop it runs through a chain of natural rock pools where people swim.
Ella Rock 28 km
A mountain above the hill village of Ella, reached by a walk that follows the railway line and climbs through tea and eucalyptus. From the top the view opens over the Ella Gap and the lowlands far to the south.
Nine Arches Bridge 30 km
A railway viaduct of nine stone and brick arches spanning a jungle valley at Demodara, near Ella. Built in the colonial era and known as the Bridge in the Sky, it is busiest when the blue hill country trains cross between the tea slopes.
More UNESCO World Heritage sites in Central Province
Questions
Where is Horton Plains National Park?
Horton Plains National Park is in Nuwara Eliya, Central Province, Sri Lanka. The nearest other LOQAH stamps are Bambarakanda Falls (4.5 km), Hakgala Botanical Garden (13 km), Haputale (17 km).
How do I get the Horton Plains National Park stamp?
Open LOQAH when you are at Horton Plains National Park and get its stamp. The app checks where you are once, at that moment, and the stamp goes into your Central Province volume, confirmed on site, with the date.
I have been to Horton Plains National Park before. Can I still have the stamp?
Yes. Add it from Earlier trips in your Central Province volume, with the date if you know it, or import your Google Timeline and LOQAH matches the places you were.
Collect your first stamp.
LOQAH is free on iPhone and Android, in India and 20 more countries, with more countries on the way. Stand at a place, collect its stamp, and keep every trip in a passport that grows.