The circuit bungalow, which is now managed by the Department of Wild Life, is called Anderson Cottage after its original owner- a planter in the area. The pipe-smoking ghost of a fellow-planter is reputed to haunt the fireplace in the guest bedroom.

Horton Plains continues to belong to lovers of the outdoors. During a brief period, however, the vegetable cultivator got the upper hand. He torched the grasslands, turning them into fields of potato. The air became thick with insecticides and herbicides. Though the scars of this ugly episode still mar the landscape, the air is fresh and invigorating once more.

In 1988 Horton Plains was declared a national park, thus making the land and its creatures sacrosanct. The only exception is trout fishing, which is still allowed. It is also the only national park in which unfettered hiking is per pitted.

This declaration, however, does not mean that Hortons will remain undefiled for all time. Illegal gemming and shooting of sambars have threatened its sanctity. In the dry season the grass becomes brittle and sparks conflagrations that rage almost uncontrolled. A few fire gaps and the streams and roads that trisect the plain prevent them from spreading. The fire-resistant rhododendron survives, but the grass and a host of other plants and animals perish. The grass, however, soon regenerates. Scientists do not know whether or not such fires are actually beneficial to the ecology of the area by wiping out accumulated dead matter. Another unsolved mystery concerns the dying forests. Whole patches of jungle have become tree cemeteries. Changing weather patterns, contrasting temperatures, clearing of the forests on the lower slopes and a reduction in the water table are said to be possible causes, but nothing has been established conclusively.  Continued...

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