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It is worth starting early to
avoid the crowds, the mist that drifts up the valley can often
obscure the views as the day wears on. 'Little Worlds End' is
another popular location, falling a mere 300 metres, along
with Baker's Falls.
The plains appear to have a lot more in common with the moors
and highlands of Britain than with the rest of Sri Lanka's
National Parks. The extensive grasslands are bleached brown by
the frosts at this altitude and the herds of sambar are
reminiscent of red deer roaming the Scottish Glens. This large
sambar population, along with the Purple-Faced langurs, wild
boar and barking deer support a small number of leopards,
although seeing them requires a huge amount of luck. Your best
chance is offered by driving around the park late in the
evening and listening for the alarm calls of the sambar.
This is also one of the top destinations for birders who visit
the area to look for several of Sri Lanka's endemics; these
include the Yellow Eared Bulbul, the Ceylon Hill White Eye,
Ceylon Whistling Thrush and the Ceylon Blue Magpie. The
diversity of vegetation is also impressive from grasses to
ferns, shrubs and large flowering trees. The montane forest is
very distinctive with all the trees reaching a similar height
to protect themselves against excessive precipitation, the
western slopes support the most extensive area of cloud forest
in the country.
Annual rainfall is high with the area being affected by both
monsoons as well as the inter-monsoonal periods, it is driest
between January and March. The temperatures are considerably
cooler than low lying areas. The tea growing area of Nuwara
Eliya is a convenient base for visiting the park, and Kandy or
Yala can be reached within a half day's scenic drive from
here.
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