Horton Plains - World's End - Baker's Falls
Trail photos
Author
Trail stats
- Distance
- 5.34 mi
- Elevation gain
- 794 ft
- Technical difficulty
- Easy
- Elevation loss
- 794 ft
- Max elevation
- 7,099 ft
- TrailRank
- 59
- Min elevation
- 6,725 ft
- Trail type
- Loop
- Time
- 4 hours 2 minutes
- Coordinates
- 715
- Uploaded
- September 3, 2019
- Recorded
- August 2019
near Hortonplains, Central (Sri Lanka)
Viewed 941 times, downloaded 55 times
Trail photos
Itinerary description
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Horton Plains National Park is one of those magical places, ideal for enjoying a day of nature and that we do not hesitate to mark as mandatory on our trip to Sri Lanka. Despite the frequent fog in the park, the area is very worthwhile, with the World's End viewpoint and the beautiful Baker's Falls waterfall as its main attractions.
START:
Located in the heart of the highlands of Sri Lanka, in one of the highest altitude areas, we find Horton Plains National Park, where there is a large parking lot available for visitors. Just getting here, whatever the route chosen (north or south), is already an adventure, and even more so by tuk tuk!
DESCRIPTION:
With the tuk tuk parked, we began the day by approaching the Horton Plains visitor center. We do not have waterproof clothing and it rains intermittently. The day is ugly and it looks like it will stay that way all morning. We are lucky at the visitor center, since they sell some plastic raincoats with which we can face the route without getting too wet.
After getting equipped, we began to walk following the signposted detour that we found in the visitor center itself. Shortly after, some information signs about the place and a bridge that we must cross to continue.
In less than a kilometer, we reach the intersection that will allow us to choose our way there and back. There are many people visiting the place, foreigners and locals, and not all of them make the same decision. Ours will be to first approach the World's End viewpoint and then visit Baker's Falls, so we turn left.
The next part of the route will advance along a very comfortable path without major slopes. We consult several information signs as we enter a much more wooded section, where the path becomes from another planet. Curious shapes on the road that give us a different walk!
After the wooded stretch, we arrive at Little World's End, the little brother of the most famous Horton Plains viewpoint. We found an informative sign about it. It's a pity that we can't enjoy the views, as the fog is very deep throughout the valley. We can't even imagine the fall here!
Once we have passed Little World's End, we will have two options. The first will be to continue along the official path, very comfortable, busy and without loss. However, we do not have views towards the valley... The second option will cover a small section along the ridge, along a narrow path and having views over the valley. The fog continues, but we choose this option, just in case!
And what a good option it was! The fog moves, the clouds run and give us the occasional panoramic view of the valley. We couldn't enjoy the views from Little World's End, but we can enjoy them now. The fall is spectacular, being able to contemplate the wooded valley in the background. It has been tremendous luck! If we had continued along the official path, we would not have enjoyed the spectacular views over the valley.
After finishing the ridge, the path itself returns us to the official path, where we continue meeting people. We continue towards World's End, our next milestone.
With almost 4 kilometers of route covered, we arrive at World's End, a spectacular viewpoint, but from which we cannot see anything. The fog is very deep and offers little guarantee of wanting to give us a truce. We enjoy the surroundings, the little that can be seen, and we remain in the place for more than half an hour, hoping to see something. We can enjoy two viewpoints and several information signs, but we still don't see anything. A shame!
The weather is still very bad and offers no guarantees that it will want to show us the valley, so we decided to continue. We followed the indicated detour towards Baker's Falls and continued our route.
The next part of the route travels along a much more open path with beautiful views around us. The road has no complications of any kind, so we are moving quickly. Along this section, we crossed a couple of bridges to continue.
We once again enter a more wooded and shady area, now very close to the second attraction in the area, Baker's Falls. The path becomes demanding until we reach the detour that we find towards the waterfall, where we also find several information signs. We take this detour and descend towards Baker's Falls.
In a few minutes of careful descent, we reached Baker's Falls, a spectacular waterfall! In the vicinity of the waterfall, we can see an information sign and sit down to enjoy the tremendous sound of the water. A place prepared, enabled and that we do not hesitate to take advantage of for a long time.
After enjoying Baker's Falls, we retraced our path to the previous detour, which was steeply ascending. Here, at the height of the information signs, we will continue our journey, leaving the forest again.
We continue the route through an open area, with good views around us. Like almost all plains of this type, the accumulation of water is notable, so we find a wooden walkway with which we can advance without humidity problems.
Again along the path, we continue to see information signs. We soon arrived at Chimney Pool, a nice round, natural lake. The area is very nice!
After the small lake, we continue a few more minutes, without difficulty of any kind, until we reach the intersection where we divide the round trip paths. Here again, a familiar path to end the day, retracing the first meters of the route.
In a short time, we find ourselves again at the visitor center, where we only have to continue a little more until we reach the parking lot, where we end the route.
CONCLUSION:
Horton Plains National Park is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful and visited parks in Sri Lanka. And is not for less! Two spectacular viewpoints, Little World's End and World's End, a beautiful trail, spectacular landscapes and Baker's Falls, an impressive waterfall! We were sad not to see a little more at the viewpoints, but it was still worth it. Easy, very comfortable to follow and ideal for spending the day. Highly recommended!
MORE INFORMATION:
Horton Plains - World's End - Baker's Falls
Route Index
Route Map
Summits Map
Rubén Wanderlust (www.rubenwanderlust.com)
START:
Located in the heart of the highlands of Sri Lanka, in one of the highest altitude areas, we find Horton Plains National Park, where there is a large parking lot available for visitors. Just getting here, whatever the route chosen (north or south), is already an adventure, and even more so by tuk tuk!
DESCRIPTION:
With the tuk tuk parked, we began the day by approaching the Horton Plains visitor center. We do not have waterproof clothing and it rains intermittently. The day is ugly and it looks like it will stay that way all morning. We are lucky at the visitor center, since they sell some plastic raincoats with which we can face the route without getting too wet.
After getting equipped, we began to walk following the signposted detour that we found in the visitor center itself. Shortly after, some information signs about the place and a bridge that we must cross to continue.
In less than a kilometer, we reach the intersection that will allow us to choose our way there and back. There are many people visiting the place, foreigners and locals, and not all of them make the same decision. Ours will be to first approach the World's End viewpoint and then visit Baker's Falls, so we turn left.
The next part of the route will advance along a very comfortable path without major slopes. We consult several information signs as we enter a much more wooded section, where the path becomes from another planet. Curious shapes on the road that give us a different walk!
After the wooded stretch, we arrive at Little World's End, the little brother of the most famous Horton Plains viewpoint. We found an informative sign about it. It's a pity that we can't enjoy the views, as the fog is very deep throughout the valley. We can't even imagine the fall here!
Once we have passed Little World's End, we will have two options. The first will be to continue along the official path, very comfortable, busy and without loss. However, we do not have views towards the valley... The second option will cover a small section along the ridge, along a narrow path and having views over the valley. The fog continues, but we choose this option, just in case!
And what a good option it was! The fog moves, the clouds run and give us the occasional panoramic view of the valley. We couldn't enjoy the views from Little World's End, but we can enjoy them now. The fall is spectacular, being able to contemplate the wooded valley in the background. It has been tremendous luck! If we had continued along the official path, we would not have enjoyed the spectacular views over the valley.
After finishing the ridge, the path itself returns us to the official path, where we continue meeting people. We continue towards World's End, our next milestone.
With almost 4 kilometers of route covered, we arrive at World's End, a spectacular viewpoint, but from which we cannot see anything. The fog is very deep and offers little guarantee of wanting to give us a truce. We enjoy the surroundings, the little that can be seen, and we remain in the place for more than half an hour, hoping to see something. We can enjoy two viewpoints and several information signs, but we still don't see anything. A shame!
The weather is still very bad and offers no guarantees that it will want to show us the valley, so we decided to continue. We followed the indicated detour towards Baker's Falls and continued our route.
The next part of the route travels along a much more open path with beautiful views around us. The road has no complications of any kind, so we are moving quickly. Along this section, we crossed a couple of bridges to continue.
We once again enter a more wooded and shady area, now very close to the second attraction in the area, Baker's Falls. The path becomes demanding until we reach the detour that we find towards the waterfall, where we also find several information signs. We take this detour and descend towards Baker's Falls.
In a few minutes of careful descent, we reached Baker's Falls, a spectacular waterfall! In the vicinity of the waterfall, we can see an information sign and sit down to enjoy the tremendous sound of the water. A place prepared, enabled and that we do not hesitate to take advantage of for a long time.
After enjoying Baker's Falls, we retraced our path to the previous detour, which was steeply ascending. Here, at the height of the information signs, we will continue our journey, leaving the forest again.
We continue the route through an open area, with good views around us. Like almost all plains of this type, the accumulation of water is notable, so we find a wooden walkway with which we can advance without humidity problems.
Again along the path, we continue to see information signs. We soon arrived at Chimney Pool, a nice round, natural lake. The area is very nice!
After the small lake, we continue a few more minutes, without difficulty of any kind, until we reach the intersection where we divide the round trip paths. Here again, a familiar path to end the day, retracing the first meters of the route.
In a short time, we find ourselves again at the visitor center, where we only have to continue a little more until we reach the parking lot, where we end the route.
CONCLUSION:
Horton Plains National Park is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful and visited parks in Sri Lanka. And is not for less! Two spectacular viewpoints, Little World's End and World's End, a beautiful trail, spectacular landscapes and Baker's Falls, an impressive waterfall! We were sad not to see a little more at the viewpoints, but it was still worth it. Easy, very comfortable to follow and ideal for spending the day. Highly recommended!
MORE INFORMATION:
Horton Plains - World's End - Baker's Falls
Route Index
Route Map
Summits Map
Rubén Wanderlust (www.rubenwanderlust.com)
Waypoints
Car park
7,022 ft
Information point
Intersection
Bridge
Panorama
Waterfall
Waypoint
Lake
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