The city is a base for visit to Horton Plains National Park .Horton Plains is a National Park and the highest plateau in the island at an altitude of 2,100 to 2,300 meters (6,900 – 7,500 ft) consisting of grassland interspersed with patches of forest, with some unusual high altitude vegetation. The Plains are a beautiful, silent, strange world with some excellent walks. The most stunning place is the World's End, a well-visited tourist attraction where the southern Horton Plains suddenly ends, with a shear precise of 1056 Meters, which is an awesome sight indeed. The return walk passes the scenic Baker Falls. This is a favourite place for trekkers, as there are plenty of soft and hard trails. Early morning visits are best, both to see the wildlife and to view World's End before mists close in during the later part of the morning.
Horton Plains National Park is a protected key wildlife area and is covered by montane grassland and cloud forest. It is rich in biodiversity and species found here include the Leopard, Sambar, and the endemic Purple-faced Languor. Endemic highland birds include the Dull-blue Flycatcher, Sri Lanka White-eye, and Yellow-eared Bulbul. are endemic to the region. This region was designated a national park in 1988. It is also a popular tourist destination and is situated 32 kilometres (20 mi) from Nuwara Eliya.
The Horton Plains are the headwaters of three major Sri Lankan rivers, the Mahaweli, Kelani, and Walawe. In Sinhala the plains are known as Maha Eliya Plains. Stone tools dating back to Balangoda culture have been found here. The plains' vegetation is grasslands interspersed with montane forest, and includes many endemic woody plants. Large herds of Sri Lankan Sambar Deer feature as typical mammals, and the park is also an Important Bird Area with many species not only endemic to Sri Lanka but restricted to the Horton Plains.
The Hakgala Botanical Gardens was first established in 1861 under the curatorship of William Nock, JK Nock and JJ Nock. It lies under the Hakgala Peak, between 5000 - 6000 feet in elevation - the highest set Botanical Gardens in the world. It boasts 100 year old Monetary Cypress trees from California,Japanese Cedars, Himalayan Pines and English Oak.
Sri Lanka's highest peak, densely forested Pidurutalagala rises 2524 m (8281 ft) above sea level, immediately behind the town. The path to the summit, which is the site of Sri Lanka's main television transmitter, is closed to public for security reasons. The dense cloud forest which covers the lower slopes of Pidurutalagala is treasure trove of flora & fauna, with myriad bird species (including several endemics) & even the occasional leopard. We can arrange a walk with a resident naturalist at St. Andrew's Hotel, since the hotel owns much of the land. For a view of the summit, & a superb panorama of the surrounding hills & plantation, we can walk to the top of the Single Tree Mountain, south of town off the Badulla road, in about 90 minutes.
