Horton Plains is a high, cool plateau in the central highlands of Sri Lanka, at around two thousand metres, and it feels a world away from the island's beaches and jungles. The ground is rolling grassland and patches of stunted cloud forest, wind-bent and covered in moss, with rhododendron and wild flowers at the edges. The air is thin and cold, and in the morning you may see breath and frost on the grass. Sambar deer graze in the open, and the park is home to many endemic birds and to rare small mammals, such as the Horton Plains slender loris.
The headline attraction is World's End, a sheer cliff where the plateau suddenly drops about nine hundred metres to the plains below. On a clear day the view runs all the way to the coast; but the cloud usually rolls in by mid-morning, so most visitors start early to catch the view. The walking route is a loop of around nine kilometres, with Baker's Falls along the way, and it is the only way to see the sights, since vehicles are not allowed beyond the entrance area. It is not a hard walk, but it is cold and wet at times, so bring a waterproof.
The journey to the plains is part of the pleasure. From Nuwara Eliya the road climbs through tea country, with hillsides stitched with neat green bushes, women pickers in bright clothes and thin waterfalls beside the road. The last part, from Pattipola, which has the highest railway station in Sri Lanka, is narrow and slow, and the mist, rain and potholes demand caution. The island's roads are busy with buses and tuk-tuks, so overtaking needs patience.
Nuwara Eliya, a town of around twenty-six thousand people, is the place for fuel, a cup of Ceylon tea and a meal; Haputale, on the southern edge of the hills, is smaller, but also a pleasant place to stay. Neither the park nor the gate sells petrol. January to March is the driest period, and the weather in the hills is unpredictable at any time of year. In this country of a thousand shades of green, the highland moor is a surprising change of scenery, quiet, windswept and empty.