Trail Difficulty: Easy | Moderate | Strenuous | Tough

Trail Head: NorthCove division, Lionair Estate (Close to NorthCove Cabanas)

Nearest Town: Bogawantalawa                        Nearest City: Hatton

Access to Trail head: Horton Plains Trail Map | More about Horton Plains National Park

Colombo -> Awissawella [58km on A4] -> Hatton [66km on A7] -> Dickoya [4km on B149] -> Maskeliya [5km on B149] -> Bogawantalawa [22km on B329] -> Trail Head Close to Northcove Cabanas, Loinorn Estate [10km]

Roads are paved all the way up to the Bogawantalawa. From Bogawantalawa the road condition varies from poorly maintained paved to unpaved estate roads. A vehicle with high ground clearance will be better to tackle the section from Bogawantalawa to NorthCove Cabanas

Public transport is available only up to Bogawantalawa.

Trail End: Horton Plains Visitor Centre                Total Length: 11.5km

Elevation Gain: 350m (Elevation at Trail Head: 1800m | Elevation at Trail End: 2150m)

Approximate time: 12-18 hours

Hiking Season: Best months are February to April. July to September is also fairly dry. Avoid monsoon months.

Permit Required: Technically “yes”. But there is no ticket office at the trail head. Therefore permit should be obtained from Horton Plains visitor Centre at the trail end. Therefore special permission from the department of wildlife is required for you to start this trail from Bogawantalawa. Alternatively you can start from the Horton Plains side and end at Bogawantalawa to work around the permit issue.

From the colonial era, there had been several trails from Bogawantalawa to Horton plains. Two of those trails are marked in inch and meter maps. They are (1) The bridle trail from NorthCove to FarrInn (2) Trail from NorthCove to world’s end via Nagrak Division of Non Pareil estate.

This trail guide describes the first track, which is extremely rarely used today (we felt that some sections of the trails haven’t been used for decades)

0 to 3km: As you enter the forest from the NorthCove division (Waypoint: BG01) you will walk along a narrow foot path. This section of the trail is by far the steepest section. The intensity of the ascend may vary but overall it remains steep. Brief flat sections are encountered but will not last for long. Vegetation is thick around the trail but is not too thick to be a disturbance for walking. There are occasional openings which allow you to look around.

At round 1km from the trail head (Waypoint: BG02), intensity of ascend becomes very low. You will encounter longer flat sections. At the same time, the vegetation gradually becomes thicker. From BG02 the trail is completely covered with “Nelu” bushes of human height which makes is quite a challenge to walk this section. These conditions last from about 600m from BG02.

1.6km from the trail head, the trail suddenly reaches an opening (Waypoint: BG03). The trail ahead resembles a broad jeep track. This broad trail goes along a mountain slope. On the right hand side a valley can be seen. About 100m from BG03 the broad jeep track like trail will reduce to a broad foot path, which is couple of feet wide.

Around 1.9km from the trail head, you will encounter a gradual descend from the first time (Waypoint: BG04). As you tackle the mild descend for about 150m, the trail moves gradually in to dense forest (Waypoint: BG05).

The trail will continue to descend through the forest with varying steepness for the next  850m. Around 3km from the trail head you will come out of the natural forest and after passing a brief plot of Turpentine, you will reach a valley where multiple streams meet (Waypoint: BG06).

Immediately surrounding the valley on your right hand side is a Turpentine forest. On your left hand side you can see two mountain peaks in the distance. Right ahead of you is a narrow, somewhat open grass land sandwiched between the forest covered mountain slopes.

3km to 7km: From BG06, continue to walk along the narrow grass patch between the mountain sides. The trail is clear through the savanna with a lot of “Maha Rathmal” plants scattered on both sides. From BG06, the trail will ascend from about 500m and will then descend for the next 500m in to a wider open area called “Mahadeniya” (Waypoint: BG07). Mahadeniya is also a place where couple of streams meets. There is a lot of illegal gemming happening at this place as well.  You will also see a number of springs as well as gem pits filled with water.

Once you are at Mahadeniya continue to walk upstream long the left bank of the main stream (cross the stream if you are on the wrong side) until you reach the base of a small hill on your left hand side covered with grass and with a large boulder at the top.  Turn left at this point (Waypoint: BG08) and climb up to the boulder (Waypoint: BG09) through savanna (just about 100m). You will be able to see signs of the old bridle trail on the hill side which you can follow up to the boulder.

(if you continue along the stream without turning left and climbing up to the boulder, you can reach the Nagrak division of Non Pareil estate and reach world’s end from that point)

From BG09, continue to climb down about 50m to reach the narrow grassy valley sandwiched between thick forests (Waypoint: BG10). You can see evidence of Gem mining in this narrow valley as well. The disturbed valley is muddy and wet with a number of streams and Gem pits scattered. Once you climb down, continue to walk along the valley.

For the next 400m you will walk along this narrow valley, crossing a number of small streams flowing in to a larger one on your right hand side. You will be walking along the left bank of the main stream of the valley (stream on the right hand side). Trail is mostly flat with occasional brief mild ascends. 4.5km from the trail head, you will reach the end of the narrow valley and the trail will climb up from the valley to move in to the thick forest in front (Waypoint: BG11)

Once inside the thick forest, the trail will be somewhat visible for the next 400m or so until you reach a stream crossing (Waypoint: BG12). This section of the trail has an underline ascend which is very mild. You will feel as walking on a more or less flat trail with occasional brief ascends and descends.

After the stream crossing at BG12 the trail became more irregular but flat. After a brief walk along the edge of a mountain slope through a grassy patch turn in to the forest on the right hand side. From this point onwards the trail is virtually non-existing. You have to carefully navigate through the dense undergrowth of Nelu and bamboo for the next 400m until you reach another stream crossing (Waypoint: BG13)

After crossing the stream at BG13, the trail becomes clearer for the next 400m. Still it will be a walk through dense undergrowth until you again reach an opening with lots of Gem pits (Waypoint: BG14)

From BG14 the trail continues along the valley covered with dense forest. The trail is not at all clear in this section and therefore the easiest would be to walk upstream along the stream or to walk on the bank of the stream. Please note that the flow of water in these streams can be seasonal and therefore you may not be able to follow the stream always. The next land mark to reach is another patch of Savanna about 1.2km from BG14. Make sure that you walk close to the valley on the right hand side slope of the valley. You may have to cross a varying number of small streams depending on the season and water level.

At 7km from the trail head reach a sizable Savanna patch (more like a Savanna island) (Waypoint: BG15)

7km to 9.6 km: Once you hit the Savanna patch, cross it and enter the forest in front of it. Then you have to walk about 500m through the tick undergrowth until you reach a patch of dwarf bamboo (Waypoint: BG16). From BG15 to BG16, the trail is not clear at all. Make sure that you walk along the forest covered valley, around the mountain on your right hand side.

Once you reach the BG16, you have to climb up about 20m along the mountain slope which you circled from BG 15 and locate the trail that continue to circle the mountain side.

The trail along the mountain side is clearly visible for the next 500m. Since the trail is clear you can maintain a good walking speed. At around 500m from the Bamboo patch (BG16) the trail splits in to two (Waypoint: BG17). One branch continues along the mountain side while the other goes in to the forest. Take the branch towards right which goes in to the forest. Next 100m you will climb down through the forest to an open Savanna patch (Waypoint: BG18).

Once you are on the grass patch you will see signs of a broad track (very much like a jeep track). After you walk along the clear broad track through the grass patch for about 100m you will reach the border between a forest patch and the grass land (Waypoint: BG19). Continue to walk along this border between the forest and grass land for about 75m and then cut across the grass patch to enter a thick forest patch in front. About 100m walk through the forest will take you again in to a grass patch with a broad clear trail (Waypoint: BG20).

From BG20, continue to walk along the clear broad track. You will notice a stream flowing on your left hand side. About 100m from BG20, you will reach a concrete slab laid over the stream as a bridge (Waypoint: BG21). Cross over to the other side of the stream and continue on the broad jeep track going uphill along a mountain slope.

After crossing the stream, the jeep track will climb up for about 50m and will take a right turn to move parallel along the mountain slope through the dense forest.  For the next 1km you will have to walk along this mountain slope until you come out of the forest in to a grassy patch where you merge with the Kirigalpoththa trail at the crossing of a sizable stream flowing over a slab rock (Waypoint: BG22).

The walk along the mountain side is not easy as the trail is barely visible and covered in thick undergrowth. In last 100m or so the trail becomes clearer and the undergrowth becomes thin.

9.6km to 11.5 km: After crossing the stream and merging with the Kirigalpoththa trail, the trail will be broad and clear. It first goes through a thick forest patch for about 300m (Waypoint: BG23), then another 250m through a thin forest/scrub patch (Waypoint: BG24) and then you will have to walk about 1.5km through the vast plain to reach the Horton Plains visitor center (Waypoint: BG25). This part of the trail is easy to walk as it is frequently used by the hiker to the Kirigalpoththa summit.

Tips, Notes & special remarks:

• We followed the trail marked in the survey department inch map with the help of a hand held GPS. Check this KML file to see the comparison between the standard trail traced from the map and the actual GPS plot of the trail we walked.
• This is not an easy track to walk mainly because of the thick, thorny undergrowth that covers some sections of the trail.
• Spanning the walk over two days with overnight camping will be a better idea (we did not plan an overnight stay but were forced to do so)
• The trail is non-existing in certain sections. Therefore it is important to have satellite navigation aid unless you are very strong in navigating with maps and compass.
• Carry extra rations and a fire starter kit for emergency use

Way Points