Description

<ul>Horton Plains national park is covered with 35% of Montane grassland and 65% of the cloud forest with rich biodiversity. Nearly 750 species of plants belonging to 20 families are recorded and 5% of species are found to be endemic to Sri Lanka. Many species of ferns, lycopodium, lichens, and orchids are ornamenting tree trunks and their branches whereas an old man’s beard, hanging in the branches, adds beauty to the forest.<br>
<br>Horton Plains harbours 24 species of mammals, 87 species of birds, nine species of reptiles, and eight species of amphibians. Sambar deers, with a population of around 1,500 to 2,000, are the most common mammal in the Park.<br>
<br>Horton Plains’ slender loris (in Sinhala, “Unahapuluwa”) is considered to be one of the world’s most endangered primates seen only four times during the period of 1937 to 2002 and are believed to be extinct. But in 2010, a team of conservation biologists was able to sight it and capture it on camera.<br>
<br>Elephants are the most striking feature of almost all the national parks in Sri Lanka, except the Horton Plains national park. Until the early 20th Century, Horton Plains was rich with elephants and the whole population was hunted down to extinction by the colonialists.</ul>