Horton Plains The Birth story Legendary #hortonplains #travelertalks #legendary

About the heart of Sri Lanka, Mahaelithenna or Horton Plains. The story you don't know,
How did the area formerly known as Mahaelithenna get its name from Horton plains?

During the period 1831 - 1839, a British governor named Robert Wilmot Horton was in Sri Lanka. When he came to meet the chiefs of the Sabaragamuwa region in 1836, he came to know that earlier, in 1834, Lt. William Fisher of the 78th Regiment and Lt. Albert Watson of the 58th Regiment had to climb a very high mountain while hunting. When viewed from the top of that mountain, a very beautiful mountain view was seen on one side, and from that point, the sea was visible, and behind the other, the heavenly world was visible. It was a large green plain filled with trees of various colors, filled with elephants , and they said that they had never seen such a view before, and that the view was submerged in clouds for a short time. When they went down again and looked at the mountain they had climbed, The governor came to know that the mountain also glowed at night. Later, he found the land and came through a very difficult path and later it was named after him. However, evidence has been found that ancient humans had been there before, and when asked by the ancient villagers in the villages near the land, it is said that the land was called Mahaelithenna.

The high mountain mentioned here is Kirigalpottha. The nearby villages are present-day Balangoda and Kalupahana, which are presumed to be the ancient settlements around it.

Similarly, there is another story similar to this one in folklore, namely that the two lieutenants mentioned above went to find the mysterious mountain that glowed at night, climbed it, saw the above-mentioned vision at its peak, and then they reported it to the governor, who then went to find it.

Here too, the shining mountain mentioned can be inferred to be the Kirigalpottha.

All these details were compiled based on various documents written about history and facts heard from interested people. Stay tuned with us for more interesting stories related to history and places of interest.

Thank you!