01/10/2026
At Horton Plains, each pool along the Belihul Oya (which runs across the plains), has a story and was marked meticulously in old trout fishing maps. One pool, has a dark legend -
In the 1946 issue of ‘Loris’ magazine (Vol.4, No.2), G. Anderson wrote an article called ‘Horton Plains.’ In it, Anderson says that there’s a legend at Horton Plains of “hundred or more pilgrims” who were “waylaid by robbers and murdered.” At the time, there was a track via Horton Plains to Adam’s Peak [Sri Pada], used by pilgrims from Uva. Anderson further says that the skulls of the victims were discovered at the “supposed spot where the robbery took place.” Also, there was a “square mound of earth about the same place.” While excavations revealed nothing, Anderson provides an important detail –
The skulls of the victims were discovered 70 years ago. So, the time-lapse would’ve probably destroyed any evidence. Since Anderson wrote the article in 1946, we can assume the skulls were discovered around 1876. So, what’s the location?
Anderson claims that “this particular part of Hortons [where the murder happened] has been called ‘Golgotha’ for over 60 years and is so marked in maps.” But there’s no such area in marked in modern maps of Horton Plains. This legend is also quoted (from Anderson) in Anslem De Silva’s book “Diversity of Horton Plains NP” (2007).
In 1956, then US ambassador Philip Crowe visited Horton Plains for fishing. He mentions a “Golgotha Pool,” where a party of pilgrims were murdered on their way to Adam’s Peak. Crowe says “many years later the skulls were seen grinning from the depths.” Crowe doesn’t provide an exact location either.
But after studying old survey and fishing maps, we finally identified the location (which indeed exists). Stay tuned for the documentary and book “Horton Plains - Highland Secrets,” where we will explore more mysterious locations marked in old survey maps of Horton Plains.
Sources –
“Horton Plains” by G. Anderson / ‘Loris’ (1946), Vol.4, No.2
“Diversions of a Diplomat in Ceylon” (1956) by Phillip Crowe
