More into Hiking!

These days I’m getting quite a few mails asking for information on various places in Sri Lanka. I thought of streamlining the contact mode a bit so I can organize my mails and would be able to give a faster response. As a first step, I have added a little widget to contact me. Still, anyone can write direct to my email as well.

I know that, Lakdasun.com had done yeoman service over the years to ‘discover, explore and conserve the natural beauty of Sri Lanka’. I’m happy to see many people switching to hiking, backpacking and trekking. (Perhaps, I shall explain the difference of all three in another post) I personally like this development oppose to flooding a scenic area with motor vehicles, causing noise and air pollution.

I wish more people could have fun like Sinhalaya Travels, which I had my pleasure of joining them a few weeks back.

Paradise for a Hiker

This picture was taken close to Haldummulla on A4 road. The two pointed mountains on the left are known as Balathoduwa and Gonmolli Kanda. Both are over 2000 metres high. The plateau on your right is Horton Plains and the valley in between is where you find Bambarakanda waterfall.

Balathoduwa and Gonmolli Kanda are visible from World’s End, if it is a clear day without heavy mist. If you look closer in the picture, you may see a smaller mountain in front of Balathoduwa. It is known as Wangedigala belonging to the same mountain range. It was used as a watch tower in the ancient times.

I wanted to show this picture because, what lies in front of you is a paradise for a hiker!

To see more scenic images, explore this wonderful site - Scenic Sunday.

Lost in Samanala Adaviya

This was happened sometime back, but thought of writing the full story as I have mentioned about it a few times, here and there.

A few of us planned to climb Sri Pada during off season via one of the lesser known routes. The trail head of this particular route is at Uda Maliboda village off Deraniyagala. We left Colombo early in the morning and reached Deraniyagala via Avissawella by bus. From there, we took Uda Maliboda bus and reached the village around 12 noon. Uda Maliboda is situated at the border of Adam’s Peak Wilderness Sanctuary (Samanala Adaviya).

Once we reached the village, we got some information about the route from villagers. Quite a few mentioned that the path is not cleared for sometime, since it was the off-season and it would be difficult to find the trail. Still we decided to set off the journey and left the village around 1 pm.

At the start, we crossed a stream probably a tributary of River Kelani. The first one hour of walking was easy and soon we came to another stream ran parallel to our path. Since it is customary to have a bath before going to Sri Pada, we spent another one hour in the cool spring water. Most of all, this particular area was very scenic and we enjoyed the natural beauty and the crystal clear icy spring water to our heart content.

From that point onwards, the route became tricky. The path was getting smaller and at some points, we find it extremely difficult to locate the exact path. At certain points, there were multiple paths created by various wild animals like, sambhurs and wild boars. Also we found quite a few tracks created by wild elephants. Although we didn’t meet any of those, we saw enough animal droppings to prove it. Meanwhile, the path started to ascend.

We crossed many smaller streams and the hike became more difficult, since it was infested with leaches. The trail was through a thick forest and we were walking quite fast to reach an open area mentioned by the villagers. A drizzle started to fall and we kept on walking. Still no indication of any of the waypoints mentioned by the villagers and we could not see any signs of Sri Pada. Slowly it started to get darker and we found it ever so difficult to find the trail. We started feeling that we have already diverged from the right path and wandered into the jungle.

Finally we saw a small open area. It was around 6.30 in the evening and the light was dim. We decided to spend the night there, although we hardly had enough room to pitch a tent. Furthermore, we were quite scared to pitch a tent there, since we had the terrifying feeling that, we might meet a live elephant face-to-face.

So we decided to lay the tent over a slanted rock surface and spend the night there. To make matters worse, it stared to rain. Somehow or the other, we managed the night without further panics, although I must say it was a sleepless night for all of us.

Next day, we packed our stuff and tried to find our way forward. We managed to walk about half a kilometer, but then we came to a cul-de-sac. So we decided to turn back! The idea was to find the place we diverged from the exact path.

We walked pass where we spent the night, the other day and then came to another dead end. This time we knew that we were lost, lock stock and barrel! We tried a few more routes and to our utter dismay, we ended up at the same place after a round trip. One observation we made was that, there were many water streams formed compared to last evening. Most probably that could have been the effect of overnight rain. We tried a few more alternatives. We selected one of the streams and walked along it towards downstream through the thick forest. After walking about 30 minutes, our journey was curtailed by a massive precipice. Then we did the opposite. We walked upstream, and there too, the stream suddenly disappeared without any sign. The reason is that the stream had turned in to a small spring and it had gone through the mountain, underneath the earth crust. After hours of futile efforts to find our way back, we were utterly exhausted and felt desperate.

It was almost noon and we finished all our food that we brought in with us. Actually, we planned to be at the top of Sri Pada by morning.

We continued our search to find the way back and after about another hour or so, we finally managed to find a foot path and that lead us to the same trail we came. By that time, we were already late and we had to abort our journey and return back to the village.

Anyway we were quite happy at the end, to find our way back. We did not use even the simplest of way finding techniques and that made our hike a disaster. Even if you use maps, compass or GPS still there is a high chance of getting lost there, as Peak Wilderness Area is highly dense forest. So it is always advisable to stick to routine paths.

We never knew where exactly we roamed. Definitely, we never come even closer to Adevikanda or normal Erathna route. In fact we must have walked parallel to Erathna route further north of it. Even to-date, I rate this as one of my best hiking experiences.

Sri Pada Mountain

This iconic conical peak is the most sacred mountain in Sri Lanka. It is known by several names like Sri Pada (holy foot print), Siri Pada, Samanala Kanda (Butterfly Mountain) and Adam’s Peak.

The mountain is visited and worshipped by all communities of Sri Lanka as well as foreigners. Buddhists believe that the Lord Buddha once came to the top of this mountain and marked his sacred foot print. Similarly Hindus believe Lord Shiva has set his foot at the same place. Also there is a belief that Adam, the first man on earth set his foot there after he was exiled from the Garden of Eden.

The mountain is about 7300 feet tall and is one of the highest mountains in Sri Lanka. More importantly it has the highest ascend out of all mountains in the country. The climb is around 3000 feet from the foot of the mountain to the summit.

Every year thousands climb to the top to worship the sacred foot print and earn blessings. The Siri pada pilgrimage season starts from December full moon day and ends in April. The off season is usually rainy and it is not the best time to climb the mountain.

The mountain is situated in the western perimeter of the central highlands in the middle of a thick rain forest known as Samanala Adaviya or Adam’s Peak Wilderness Area. It is the principal peak of the Samanala mountain range. The range and the surrounding forest are famous for its rich biodiversity as well as breathtaking natural beauty.

One of the most fascinating sceneries is the sun rise from the top of Sri Pada. Lot of people climb Siri Pada at night to witness this charming cynosure popularly known as, 'Ira Sevaya'.

There are quite a few foot trails leading up to the mountain. Some are quite famous and some are known to villagers and experienced hikers only. I have tried four of the trails and completed three so far. Maliboda trail was tried and failed miserably. The first three mentioned below are the popular ones.

• Rathnapura, Palabaddala Trail – this is the oldest and most celebrated trail to Siripada. This 9km trail consists of the famous waypoints like Lihinihela , Geththampana, Dharmaraja Gala and Seethagangula.
• Hatton, Nallathanni Trail – This is one of the shortest and the easiest trails. Hence the majority of the devotees take this route nowadays. The trail is about 6 km.
• Kuruwita, Erathna Trail – The longest and one of the more difficult trails. The entire length is around 12km. This joins with Ratnapura trail about 2 kilometers before the peak at a place called ‘Heramitipana’. This is the third most famous trail.
• Maliboda Trail – This is one of the more difficult paths. The entire length is around 12km. Starts from Uda-Maliboda village off Deraniyagala and joins Kuruwita route.
• Moraywaththa Trail – The shortest trail to the peak starting from Moray estate, off Maskeliya. It joins Nallathanni path just before Mahagiri dambaya after Indikatupana. The entire trail is around 5km.
• Mukwaththa Trail – This is another not so famous track. The trail is about 7-8 km.

The above picture of Siri Pada Mountain was taken from Moraywaththa trail (at a place called Sandagalathenna). I will bring detailed accounts of the above trails later.

Please visit this site to learn more about Siripada - www.sripada.org

A Letter to Younger K

Chavie has tagged me this time and I’m supposed to speak to my own 16 year old self :) So my advice to younger K will be on camping and hiking as usual..

Hi 16 Year old K,

How are things?

I know this is not the easiest age to listen to the advice of older or matured people, but neverthless I wanted to say below few things to you.

Just two months after your sixteenth birthday you will set off for your first major hike in your life. That will be the first of many climbs to Kirigalpoththa. You will camp out at Horton and remember to take two extra pairs of socks and warm blanket. Otherwise you will shiver whole night without any sleep as I did. Ideal would be to take thermal socks and a sleeping bag (but, I know it will be much later that you get those luxuries).

An year or two later you will do a daring hike across Knuckles Region and you will fail miserably if you do not plan it well. Never underestimate the weather in the jungle and 25 km across Knuckles will never be like Colombo to Panadura. Also I’m not asking you to drop your best friends but it is always good to have 6-8 equally fit people if you are doing a very strenuous hike. Never take more than 8 people for your hikes, you will realize why, in your fourth hike to Kirigalpoththa.

Try to get a good haversack that keeps all your belongings tightly packed and always keep two free hands while hiking.

If you want to climb Siripada off season from an off track, study the map at least ten times. Yes, ten times! Otherwise you will spend the night below the mountain, just behind Siripada and spend the whole next day doing circles in the thick rain forest, 'Samanala adaviya’ finding the way out. Moreover you will have to abort the hike and come back to the starting point with blood soaked feet full of leaches.

If you want to climb Saptha Kanya, you have to start from the end of the mountains, never from the middle. Same is applicable to Great Western.

Never camp out in a remote area where there is security threat, without informing the villagers or security personnel. There is a high chance that you might get injured (or even killed), not from the armed ruffians but from your own Army or police.

By the way, take your own camera whenever you go out. I realized now that I have missed many golden opportunities to capture beautiful locations.

I guess this is more than enough for your age and finally I’m posting the scenery from the top of Kirigalpoththa, just to give an impression of what is up there on the top. Forgive me for the bad quality of the picture as it was not taken by a sophisticated digital camera but an old analogue camera when I was 16 years and two months old :)

Keep on Hiking!

Your Buddy,
Older K

Mine will be an open tag :)

Hiking Adventure in the Knuckles

Some years ago while I was still schooling I went with a few of my friends to climb Kalupahana in the Knuckles region. The idea was to climb that mountain on the first day and camp some where there that night and to keep on walking towards Pallegama side across the Knuckles reserve.

On a fine day we came to Bambaraella Estate via Mathale and Wattegama. By the time we reached the estate it was almost noon. Suddenly the weather too changed and it started to drizzle down and we began our journey despite a few warnings from the superintendent of the estate.

The first bit was not so bad we kept on walking along the gravel road towards Kalupahana and then we picked a small foot path after getting some useful tips from the villagers. The path became narrower and narrower. The drizzle now started to fall quite hard on us. The biggest problem was the leaches. Each time someone was attacked by one of them we had to stop and apply soap and salt.

Soon it was getting dark and we had no idea where we are leading to or when we could reach our destination. Our leader of the gang decided not to stop even for a second, no matter how many leaches climbed up your legs. We kept on walking even after the dusk. Now it was pitch dark in the middle of the jungle and rain was bucketing down on us. After further walking in to the jungle we understood that the foot path is now branching out every so often. (It was very dark and foot path was too narrow and those junctions may have been just our imaginations) We took a guess and selected a path and kept on walking.

Suddenly we realized that there is no ending to this crazy walk nor we are reaching the ‘Kalupahana’. So our leader decided to camp out that night in the middle of the jungle.

We made a sigh of relief and started examining every inch of our body for possible invasions of bloody leaches. I remember picking out at least 30 of them from my body. A dozen of them were bulging and full of blood. Some of my friends had even more.

We put all our haversacks on the floor and covered it with a polythene sheet. Then we started pitching the tent. It was a narrow place we hardly could pitch a tent in the correct manner. And rain was falling on us continuously. We managed to pitch the tent with great difficulty and we all (8 of us) crept into it. The tent was built for only 4 people.

That whole night I was sitting in one of the edge and was holding one side of the tent wall. I’m sure others also did the same. The water was gushing even through the tent as we have pitched the tent on the foot path and usually those become little streams after a heavy rain. Whenever I fell asleep I woke up with a sudden awful feeling of cold water on my shoulder as I have dropped my arm which was supposed to be holding the tent wall.

Somehow or the other we spent that night. Unfortunately we could neither climb the ‘Kalupahana’ nor cross the Knuckles range that day. It took another few years for me to complete the task but this hike was one of the most memorable hikes in my entire life.

Basics of Tents

This post is a brief guideline for those who are new to camping and hiking. Hope this will help anyone who is eager to buy a tent and do some camping very soon.

Buying a tent

First of all I will give some basic tips on buying a tent.

You can easily find tents in Sri Lanka for very affordable price but make sure you buy a good hardy tent with all the accessories. Basic tent should have following items;

•Inner Tent
•Ground sheet (Usually this comes attached to Inner tent)
•Outer Tent (Fly Sheet)
•Poles or frame
•Guy Lines
•Pegs
•Last but not least a good bag to carry it.

Pitch the tent before buying it and ensure that it has all the items and none of the parts are missing. (The same check should be done before leaving for any hike or campout too.)

Check all the eyelets are in good condition and they are in adequate size to hold poles, pegs and guy lines.

Generally I recommend a smaller tent so two people can easily pitch it. Always suggest a one with inbuilt ground sheet. Also select a lighter one with smaller and flexible poles/frames.

Pitching a tent

These are the basic points to remember while pitching a tent but there can be many more.

•Find a flat, clean area with less rubble, branches, twigs and debris.
•Clean the area before pitching the tent.
•Never select a place too close to river or any water body. This is applicable even for sea shores. Main reason is that water levels can go up suddenly at night. The other reason is that you will find more wild animals/snakes closer to water than other areas
•The entrance of the tent should not be facing the wind direction.
•Try to pitch a tent where you find less wind. Try not to pitch a tent in a mountain gap where you experience strong wind.
•After you pitch the tent, put all your bags and heavy items inside, preferably in four corners so the tent would stay on the ground even under heavy wind.
•Always make sure there is a gap between fly sheet and inner tent
•Never let the tent (inner or outer) to sag. It should be well stretched.
•If there is any signs of rain dig a small ditch around the tent so it will stop any additional ground water coming into the tent
•If you have any kerosene you may put a few drops around the tent (A circle about 1-2 metres away from the tent). This is a good precaution to repel snakes.
•Put all the additional tent-items back in the tent bag and put it inside the tent.

Maintaining a tent

This is the difficult part. Some key points are mentioned here.

•Pitching and removing should be done with care and you should not exert too much strain on tent material.
•Avoid pitching tents near thorny trees and sharp stones. Clear the debris and sharp items before pitching a tent
•After removal, always wipe water and mud off the tent. If you have some time, let the tent to dry before packing.
•After returning home it is always good to pull out the tent from the bag and let it to dry for few hours.
•If there are any torn parts repair them immediately.

Happy camping!

Camping on Top of Bambarakanda Falls

Bambarakanda waterfall and surrounding area is a magnificent place for hiking and camping.

Bambarakanda Falls is the tallest waterfall in Sri Lanka which has a vertical fall about 800 feet. On top of the waterfall it has two smaller steps which are not visible from the foot of the fall.

First, you have to pass the foot of the falls and walk further up towards Ohiya along Kalupahana – Ohiya Road. After climbing about 1000 feet you can get to the top of the fall by cutting across rather thick forest towards the falls.

There is limited flat area to pitch a tent but you can pitch a medium or small size tent with difficulty. Constant gushing wind in this point will make it even more difficult to pitch a tent. There is a small pool of water at the top. On one corner of the pool is bordered by a fair precipice. This is the top most step above Bambarakanda Falls which is visible only if you look at it from a higher altitude. You have to climb either Gonamolli Kanda or Wangedigala to view this complete scenery.

A night at the top of the falls will be a memorable one for any hiker who likes a bit of adventure!

Camping at Edge of the Sea

If you travel to Panama, there is an amazing location close to the coast for camping. This is situated on a rock outcrop by the sea on one side of the sand dunes. When you climb to the top of the rock you will see the sea from the East, A lagoon from the North, vast sand dunes from the South and the Panama village from the West.

The lagoon is connected to the sea with a thin strip of water and the adjoining potion of the sea is formed as a natural pool. The sandy beach is wide as usual and the dunes on the Southern side is even wider. There are small trees and bushes grow on these dunes and they add a distinctive splendour to the entire area. The rocky outcrop slants to the Sea from one side and it is a perfect location for camping. It is quite windy on the top but there are good sites to pitch a tent.

The panorama from the top of the rock is simply stunning!

Horton Plains

This is a unique place for hiking in Sri Lanka. The cool climate will add spice to this picturesque venue. In Sinhala this is known as 'Maha-Eliya'.

There are many routes to this place and more famous ones are via Nuwara Eliya and Haputhale. This is situated aound 7000 feet above sea level, so easily it becomes the highest plain in Sri Lanka. You can reach here by train as well. It is only 7km to the plain from Pattipola Station.

There are three camp sites which can be reserved from the Department of Wild Life. All three sites are really good and I recommend you the one closer to Chimney Pool, which is one of the best camping sites I have ever been.

The total area of the plain (Nature Reserve) is more than 25 sq.km and most area is covered with rich coarse grass. Also there are good amount of forest patches everywhere. These are full of typical short trees with small leaves accustomed to windy and cold climates here. The undergrowth is very thick and walking in these forests is not easy. The same forests and grass land are home for many wild animals

There is no limit to beautiful places that you can visit here. Some of the prominent locations are listed below but there are many more.

1. World's End (a precipice with over 1000m drop)
2. Baker's Falls
3. Kirigalpoththa Mountain Trail
4. Thotupola Mountain Trail

In simple words, Horton Plains is a paradise for hikers!

Lonely Beach at Sangamankanda Point

If you are looking for a lonely but beautiful beach for camping, this is an ideal location. At Sangamankanda Point, I saw miles and miles of sandy beach and not a soul around. In fact this is known as the East most point in Sri Lanka.

This is close to Potuvil - Batticaloa (A4) road and it lies about 25km from Potuvil towards Akkaraipattu. The main road does not go close to the beach, so you have to turn towards the sea side and travel further 3-4 km on a gravel track. For the last bit, you may need to walk through an open land where there is no roads but only footpaths.

At the beach you will see an abondoned lighthouse. From there you will see endless beaches on both sides. One notable feature about Eastern beaches is that it has wider beaches than Southern or Western beaches. Here at Sangamankanda, the beach is over 100m wide.

This place is a real treat for a hiker!

A Guest in the Wild

I once mentioned that a good hiker is a nature lover. It is very important to put an honest effort to protect the nature. We should let our offspring enjoy the nature as much as we do.

Never cut down trees for no reason. I have not chopped down even a branch of a tree during my last 14 years of hiking.

By no means, kill wild animals for fun or even for food. Never harm them even if they are vicious or poisonous. Remember it is you, the guest, in their territory. Never disturb their peace even to take a photograph. At all points avoid making unnecessary noises in the jungle. Animals always prefer peace of mind. In no way behave in a foolish manner, so that wild animals get irritated. Just be a silent onlooker!

Try to use some simple techniques to stay away from possible harmful animals. Wearing boots that cover up to your ankles is essential, while walking in tropical jungles. Also if you walk with heavy foot steps, any snake on your path will move out swiftly. Remember animals usually attack humans for self defense and that too when they get really scared or annoyed.

To view more on hiking guidelines click here and here.

Camping on the Beach

Camping in the seashore is a great experience. Sri Lanka is rich in stunning coastline all around the island so finding a good location is never a difficult task.

Unlike in some western countries, there is very low tide in Sri Lanka, hence usually it is safe to stay overnight in the beach. Anyway it is good to take a few extra precautions before selecting the site. The site should be fair distance away from the waves and good to select a clean supply of water and other necessities. The pegs of the tent would not keep the tent on to the ground due to sandy earth. So it is always good to keep your bag or any heavy item inside the tent all the time. Also pitching the tent need some good talent as it will be quite tricky to raise it up under strong winds.

If you camp on the eastern coastline remember to wake up early in the morning to see the exciting sight of the sun rise over the horizon. If you camp in the western coast line you will be rewarded with magnificent display of colors in the western sky at twilight. You may experience the best of both worlds if you select a narrow coastline or a point in the south! I’ll come up with such terrific places in my future posts.

World's End to Belihul Oya via Nagrak Estate

This will be a memorable hike for any explorer. The reverse of the same also can be tried but will be quite difficult due to steep ascend. The entire hike is about 20km.

Right at the top of World's End (Which is in Horton Plains) there is a small path that leads further upwards. Soon this footpath will start to descend rapidly down the slope through thick undergrowth. Some places you may have to move on your knees. After about 4km of difficult track you will reach Nagrak (Nanperial) Estate.

From Nagrak there is a road down to Belihuloya but any hiker can select various short cuts through the tea estate. Nagrak to Belihuloya via the road is about 15km.

It took a full day for me for the entire descend and one of the most interesting was to see how the climate and vegetation change from Worlds End to Belihuloya.

Good to check the path with Department of Wild Life since the worlds end area is within the nature reserve and there are restrictions imposed recently for some of the routes.

Hiking Gear

The hiking gear vary depending on the terrain, climate and the difficulty level. Sri Lanka being a tropical country you have to be ready for heavy rain at any time. The main items would be a strong big enough backpack, Tent with fly sheets, Good boots or shoes that cover above the ankle, easy to carry small made cooking utensils and of course enough clothes depending on the climate. Navigational items like compass, GPS, maps will be very helpful. Never forget torches or emergency lights. You might need additional items like ropes depending on the terrain.

Some basic but important suggestions are given below.

Backback - The golden rule is you should take just enough items, not too much nor too little. Good strong backpacks can take upto 15 kgs but all depend on how much you can carry at a stretch on difficult terrain. It should be one big pack and not number of smaller bags. It is always advisable to have two free hands while hiking. Always pack your bag in such away that you can easily take frequently used items. Always remember where you have packed every single item inside your bag. Good to pack your dry clothes in a seperate polythene bag in case of rain. But remember to bring those polythene bags back! Generally if you pack heavier items at the top it is easier to carry. In that way the centre of gravity of the bag will lie closer to your shoulders and you will find a remarkable difference. Never allow items to hang or portrude from your bag.

Tent - Always take medium or small scale tents. (1-2 or 3-5 people) Bigger tents will be heavy and difficult to carry. Make sure you can fold it and put it in one backpack. Even if you travel as a team make sure one member can carry the tent. A fly sheet (Additional sheet that covers the tent from the top) is absolutely necessary due to unpredicatable and heavy rain. Read this post for more information on tents.

Boots or shoes - Never wear new shoes for hikes. Believe me you will prefer walking barefoot in the middle of the hike :) Try to wear your used but good enough shoes that fits you best. It is always good to cover upto ankles especially if you are hiking in low country. Remember 90% of snake bites are recorded below ankle!

Cooking utensil - This is a tricky thing. It depends on whether you going to cook while hiking or you try to take pre-cooked items. It is very satsifying to have a cooked meal while camping. There are smaller gas cookers that fix to small gas cylinders. Only problem is that, it is difficult to find such small gas cylinders nowadays. Two small alluminium cooking pots are more than enough. Take a few lighters and a few box of matches. Remember that lighting fires in the wild should be done with utmost safety precautions.

Clothes - If you are camping in high peaks or places like horton you must take appropriate clothing to keep you warm. In general lighter cotton fabrics will be ideal for Sri Lankan climates. Good to take a long sleeve shirt as most of the Sri Lankan jungles have thick undergrowth.

I will bring more details about individual items later.

Hiker's Etiquette

Hiker should always be a nature lover. We should try our best not to damage the natural environment. Following guide lines provide 'must do' ones as well as 'good to do' activities for a hiker.

1. Never throw or leave behind plastic, polythene or any non-degradable items while hiking.
2. Always limit carrying non-reusable items while hiking unless absolutely necessary.
3. If you take such material (plastic bottles, polythene, food wrappers etc.) keep a small area in your backpack to bring them back 'home'.
4. Even though items like used paper are degradable, try not to throw them unnecessarily, as they destroy the beauty of the nature.
5. Use only the marked garbage bins (places like Horton Plains) to throw away your garbage.
6. After camping or staying at one place, clean the area and make it look better than what it was 'before you came there'.
7. If possible collect all the plastic or polythene items you find on your way. In a place like Horton you can always bring them back to Wild life office area and put them in the marked garbage bins.

Simply let your children enjoy the nature the same way you enjoyed!


To view more on hiking guidelines click here and here.

Ohiya to Kalupahana via Devil's Staircase

This is an exciting hike route which takes an entire day but I would suggest readers to take more than one day for this route and try camping out for one night. This will give more time to enjoy the hike and to admire the breathtaking beauty all the way down.

The entire track is about 20km. There is a road (Actually 4WD or Jeep track) from Ohiya railway station to Kalupahana on the A4 road. This is the same road you travel from Ohiya to Horton Plains but there is a 'Y' junction after about 5km. The upper road goes to the plains and the lower road directs you to Kalupahana via Udaveriya Estate.

At Udaveriya you will come to the infamous 'Devils Staircase' (Yakage Padipela in Sinhala) which has a very steep descend. You can cut across tea estates and explore short cuts but you have to be careful not to lose your path. In the process you will come across number of small streams of water which are actually small tributaries of Belihuloya. You can camp either at Udaveriya or further down closer to Kalupahana. I once camped on top of Bambarakanda falls and that was an experience of its own!

The view throughout the hike is simply amazing and I particularly prefer the wonderful sight of Bambarakanda falls and the panaromic view of the hills with entire Southern Province in the background!

Knuckles Range

This is one of the best places for hiking in Sri Lanka. Depending on your liking you can choose either easier or harder track. This absorbing area is situated in the north edge of central highlands.

One important factor is that this forest, gets rain from both North East and South West Monsoons. So it will be quite wet most of the time and a climber should be ready with appropriate gear to fight heavy rain.

There are many roads to enter this area and the most popular one are Bambarella via Wattegama and Luluwatte via Hunnasgiriya. Also you can reach the north side of Knuckles Range via Pallegama. See my past post for details - Pitawalapathana.

Any avid nature lover or a hiker will find the seventh heaven here! This mountain range is home to number of indegenous flora and fauna. There are plenty of hiking routes through this forest and some of the notable routes are Knuckles Mountain, Kalupahana Mountain, Meemure Village and nitre caves. Also if you like further adventure you can do a longer trip across the range from Looluwatte to Pallegama! For that you need some past hiking experience or guidance from an experienced hiker. I will bring each and every track in details with my future posts.

Bambarakanda

This is one of the most fascinating area for hiking. In addition to the famous fall, there are number of tracks leading to exciting places in Horton Plains from here. also there are number of mountains, water falls and streams surrounding this area which would make a hikers a day an unforgettable one.

The simplest way to reach this place is via Colombo - Batticaloa (A4) main road. You have to go pass Belihuloya and reach a small junction called Kalupahana. From Kalupahana you have to take the left turn. This narrow but winding road will take you through one of the most beautiful areas in Sri Lanka with breathtaking beauty. The waterfall, Bambarakanda, the tallest in Sri Lanka lies around 5 km from Kalupahana junction. The same road will take you upto Horton Place and Ohiya but it will need many similar posts to describe the entire journey from Kalupahana to Ohiya, which I will do on a later date.

There is a small but nice lodge close to the foot of the waterfall. From the lodge you can see the waterfall quite clearly and it is one of the best sights in Sri Lanka.

There are number of locations that a hiker could travel from this point. I will name a few of those and try to do an elaborate description later.

• Wangedigala - Half a day hike for an experienced hiker. The whole of Lower Ohiya valley is visible from the top


• Balathoduwa and Gonmolli Kanda - Further away from Wangedigala.


• Lanka Ella - The pool below the waterfall has a shape like Sri Lanka. 2 Hours walk from Bambarakanda Falls


• Seven Basins - 1 hour (or less) walk from the Bambarakanda Falls. Excellent place to experience cool spring water!

Hiking in Sri Lanka

Hi Everyone,

I'm addicted to hiking and camping. Although it is difficult to find time for hiking , as I used to do a few years back , I still make it a point to visit somewhere close to nature and refreshing whenever possible. This blog will update on some exciting places for hiking in Sri Lanka which I have visited and also try to share information on some of the best routes in Sri Lanka.

Thanks

K