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1 Day
Daily Tour
10 people
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Trekking in Horton Plains National Park – Horton Plains National Park is a protected area in the Central Highlands of Sri Lanka. And covered by montane grassland and cloud forest. This plateau, at an altitude 2100-2300 meters (6900 – 7500 ft) is rich in biodiversity. Above all many species found here are endemic. Horton Plains elevated as a national park in 1988 and named as a World Heritage site in 2010. Further, it is one of the most visited national parks in Sri Lanka. And located 32 kms from Nuwara Eliya and 8 kms from Ohiya.
The Horton Plains Forest covers an extent of an around 3160ha. The plains’ vegetation is grasslands (2000ha) scattered with montane forest (1160ha), and includes many wood plant species. Large herds of Sri Lankan Sambar deer and Sri Lankan Leopard feature as typical mammals. Similarly, the park is also an important Bird Area. Further, many species not only endemic to Sri Lanka but restrict to the Horton Plains. Such as Ceylon White Eye, Yellow Eared Bulbul, Ceylon Whistling Thrush, Sri Lankan Bush Warbler and Dull Blue Flycatcher. Horton Plains is home to 103 bird species, 33 mammal species, 7 reptile species and 10 species of amphibians.
353 species of flowering plants have been recorded from the Horton Plains of which, 199 species are endemic to Sri Lanka. The forest canopy reaches the height of 20 meters (66 ft.). Nearly 54 woody plant species already documented from the park, of which 27 (50%) are endemic to Sri Lanka. The mean annual rainfall is greater than 2,150 millimeters. Frequent cloudy cover limits the amount of sunlight that is available to plants. The mean annual temperature is 15 °C. But the temperature varies considerably during the day.
Even reaching as high as 27 °C during the day, and dipping as low as 5 °C at night. During the South-West Monsoon season (May to September), the wind speed sometimes reaches gale force. The driest months are January and February, when ground frosts are common at night.
Many pools and waterfalls seen in the park. And Horton plains considered the most important watershed in Sri Lanka. The Horton Plains are the headwaters of important rivers such as the Mahaweli, Kelani, and Walawe. The plains also feed Belihul Oya, Agra Oya, Kiriketi Oya, Uma Oya, and Bogawantalawa Oya. Due to its high elevation, fog and cloud deposit a considerable amount of moisture on the land. Slow moving streams, swamps, and waterfalls are the important wetland habitats of the park.
IMPORTANT FACTORS
Accommodation recommendations for Trekking in Horton Plains National Park : The Capoe House
Useful Links : Department of Wildlife Conservation
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