Horton Plains National Park is situated in the Central Province of Sri Lanka of Nuwara Eliya District. It is positioned at the eastern boundaries of the Upper Montane Forest Range (1500m-2524m above sea level) of Central Highland of Sri Lanka. The plateau of Horton Plains which is at a nominal elevation of 2100 m also bears the 2nd and the 3rd highest peaks of Sri Lanka, namely Kirigalpoththa (2389m) and Totupolakanda(2357m).
The area of the Horton Plains is 3160 ha. or 31.6 sq. km. and is about 8% of the total upper montane forests and grasslands of Sri Lanka. The rainwater of Horton Plains plateau is drained through tributaries to Mahaveli river to the North (through Uma Oya), Walawe river to the South (through Belihul Oya and Kiriketi Oya) and Kelani river to the West (through Bogawantalawa Oya). Horton Plains has an average rainfall figure of around 5000mm though the surrounding areas have an average of 2540mm. Horton Plains gets more rain from North West monsoon and throughout the year even the minimum rain fall per month for the area had been 100mm. The mean annual temperature for the area is about 13C . One can expect temperatures as high as 27C during day and 5C during nights. The distance to Horton Plains from Nuwara Eliya is 32 km
