Experience one of Sri Lanka’s most dramatic and pristine natural environments on this early morning visit to Horton Plains National Park, a windswept plateau at 2,200 metres above sea level that shelters endemic wildlife and culminates at World’s End, a sheer escarpment plunging nearly a kilometre to the jungle-covered lowlands far below. The park opens before dawn, and the first hour of the circular walking trail is the most magical – mist drifting through montane forest, sambar deer moving silently across the grassland and the gradual revealing of the landscape as sunrise illuminates the valley below World’s End in a reliably breathtaking spectacle. The trail also passes Baker’s Falls, a beautiful multi-tiered cascade set in a forested ravine and offers regular opportunities to spot endemic birds, including the dull-blue flycatcher, Sri Lanka whistling thrush and yellow-eared bulbul. An early departure is essential -the mist typically clears World’s End by mid-morning and this tour rewards those who rise early with an experience of pure highland wonder.