Sri Lanka’s only montane national park, the Horton Plains offers incomparable access to tropical montane cloud forest. Located 2,1002,300 m above sea level, the park is 3,162 ha in extent, with good road access from the hill resort town of Nuwara Eliya one hour away, which offers the closest quality accommodation with a variety of 2 and 3-star hotels and guest houses (Nuwara Eliya itself, 2,000 m a.s.l., is 4½ hrs from Colombo, by road). Horton Plains is now one of Sri Lanka’s most visited national parks, and the only one in which visitors are permitted to tour on foot.

The southern end of the park has a spectacular 1,000m escarpment known as Worlds End, which is the primary focus of tourist traffic. However, several less frequently traversed paths exist, offering hikers interesting solitary hiking opportunities. The park is the habitat of a large number of endemic birds and small mammals, including the rodent genus Srilankamys and the long-clawed shrew Feroculus. The large aggregations of the elk-like sambar deer (Cervus unicolor) make interesting dawn and dusk viewing. This is one of the few places in which you stand a good chance of (safely!) seeing a leopard while moving around on foot.

Best months to visit are April and August. The winter months, though dry, can be very cold. If you wish to walk, it is best to get to Ohiya station, the nearest on public transport.

The Horton Plains National Park is the only National Park situated in the Hill Country and falls within the Nuwara Eliya district and is 200 km away from Colombo. Panoramic scenic beauty of the Hill Country could be witnessed within the Park. The famous `Worlds End' is a major attraction within the Park. Endemic slender Loris and endemic purple monkey are among the important animal species that could be seen in addition to sandbur, a member of the cat family etc. There is some endemic avifauna also found within this Park.

Almost all life forms in Horton Plains are adapted to the high altitude conditions. There are a lot of endemic flora and fauna found in the plains itself. The endemicity among fauna is comparatively high. Bear Monkey (race of the Purple Face leaf Monkey), Sambhur and Leopard are some interesting mammals. One would also find several endemic hill country birds in the Horton plains national park. The panoramic scenic beauty of the hill country could be witnessed within the park. The famous "World's End" and "Bakers Falls" are major attractions. The Kirigalpotta, second highest peak and the Thotapola, third highest peak of the country are also situated in the Horton plains.