Horton Plains National Park - Tourist Places in Sri Lanka - හොටන් තැන්න

                         Horton Plains National Park

   Horton Plains National Park

    Maha Eliya or Horton Plain is a beautiful land in Sri Lanka that attracts everyone from home and abroad. This is a magnificent national park that is very unique in terms of biodiversity as well as archaeological value. 

    A person who is looking for the end of the world will find a beautiful plain with a unique solitude that cannot be found in any other ecosystem in our country. Horton plains is the park located in Sitala Nuwara Eliya which is full of this beautiful biodiversity.

Location of Horton Place

    Horton Plains, the only national park in Sri Lanka's wet zone, was first known as Mahaeliya and is the highest plain in Sri Lanka.

                    

    Located in the central highlands at an altitude of 1200-2300 meters above sea level. Also, many scholars have defined this in different ways.

    L.C. Cook (1930) classified them as protected forests and low grasslands, Champion (1936) classified them as montane forests, and Chapton (1947) classified them as tropical evergreen forests.

Archaeological Value

    In the decade 1920, Horton Plain was first discovered by the two Englishmen, Captain William Fisher and  Colonel Albert Watson. But it got the name Horton Plain after the visit of Governor Sir Horton. In 1969, this forest was designated as a natural forest. 

    If we look at the archeological research done on the Horton Plain, in the researches that started in 1992, Horton Plain had focused on the past environmental condition, climatic condition, and the history of plants. The research was carried out by a group of scholars from Kelaniya University's Paschath Institute of Archaeology, Ston Home University's Chaturthaka Bhu Gabhar Institute of Science and Utsala University. 

    According to senior lecturer Mr. Premathilaka, the ecological situation in Sri Lanka during the Pleistocene era, the last ice age of the world, was investigated.

• Status of dying plants 
• Human-grown plants 
• Cultivation activities as far back as 8000 BC
• Nature of mountain rainforests in Sri Lanka 20000  years ago

 

    The information given about etc. is important for history. The giant ferns and maharatmalas found here are from time immemorial. 

    Also, it was found that around 9000 years ago, due to the increase in the temperature of the environment, the rainfall was high and the reservoirs formed in different places were also formed in the Horton Plain. It has been found from the related researches that the human being called Mesolithc Man lived and they transformed into the agricultural age. Horton Plains is also very important historically.

 

Biodiversity

    According to research conducted in 1992, there are about 101 plant species. 49 of them are unique to Sri Lanka. It is special that most of them are unique to Hortanthanna. The most common plant here is called (innamounonalifolium) and some say it is (Syzygium ravolutum). Plant density in Horton is 2.861 plants perhectare. 98 species of birds, 14 species of mammals, 16-20 species of amphibians and 40 species of butterflies have been identified here.

    If you look at the forest here, those forests have the nature of dwarf forests. It is so that it can withstand the strong winds in that area. Especially in June, the wind is said to blow at a speed of 31 kilometers per hour. The plants here usually grow about 12-15 meters high and the top of the trees take the shape of an umbrella.

    If we focus on the plant community in Horton place, its caretaker A.H. Mr. Sumanasena files the plant community here into four main ecosystems. That is

Unique forests

Evergreen mixed forests

Wet lowland grasslands and swamps

Riparian ecosystems

    

Horton's place has some lovely views

    As mentioned above, it is the responsibility and duty of all of us who are environmentally friendly to protect Horton Plain, which is a unique gift of nature and a world heritage, rich in archeology and biodiversity

Itinerary from Colombo to Hortonthanna

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