Today we got up before sunrise to get to Horton Plains National Park and hike to World’s End before the clouds covered the valley below (it is in a cloud forest after all). At least, that was the plan before the constant rain made it almost guaranteed we wouldn’t get a clear view. We decided to hike to Baker’s Falls first which is part of the 9km loop so we simply turned right at the fork instead of left. It was a good call – it seemed easier than the other way around (more downhill than up) and we also avoided the crowds that went to World’s End first. The rain did not dampen our spirits too much. We saw lots of endemic birds, Sambur deer (from the van right near the entrance) and another Bear Monkey (aka purple-face langur) in the cloud forest. The hike was long but not especially gruelling. We just had to be careful where the mud and rocks got slick. We saw may locals on the trail in flip flops which I wouldn’t recommend!
The landscape is so different than anywhere I’ve been. Grassy plains on one side and a cloud forest on the other. It hadn’t rained for 3 weeks so the grass was quite yellow. I’m sure that will change in a few days when they have time to absorb the rain. World’s End is at the edge of a cliff. The clouds were still rolling in when we got there so we managed to catch a glimpse of the village down below but minutes later, we were socked in. After the hike, we were pretty wiped so we spent the afternoon resting (and napping) before dinner. It gave me time to catch up on photo editing and blog writing! Tomorrow we drive to Yala where we are hoping to see leopards on our afternoon safari. Fingers crossed!
