Kings of the Night Mail II : The Great Western!

It's been 2 years since I last blogged. Two years dammit!!. So much has changed over these two years that it feels almost unnatural that I'm writing about a hike again. Prishan is now a 'kalu sudda' living and working in Sydney. I'm married with a daughter who's almost an year old. And Indika is still trying to figure out the meaning of life (That hasn't changed).

Prishan decided to take some time off from his fabulous Sydney life to come visit his folks here in Sri Lanka this month. He told me about this plan when I was in Australia last year and asked me to have a plan ready to do another hike. And I wasn't supposed to talk to Indika about it yet then because he wanted to surprise his folks and Indika is a blabber mouth. 

But of course, true to form, I had zero plans ready when he landed. So the next step obviously was to google 'highest mountains in Sri Lanka' and see what comes up that we haven't done so far. That's when Great Western popped out. Fabulous name, fantastic location - looked like the stuff of dreams.

Turns out that looks come with a price. There wasn't a lot of information online about trails to the Great Western - the 6th highest mountain in Sri Lanka. The few trip reports we found strongly suggested that this should not be attempted without a local guide. As we researched further it soon became apparent that this is unlike any hike we've ever done so far. It seemed more difficult than getting PR to Australia.

The planning
If you've followed our previous hikes, you would know that we've so far never hired a guide. We never claimed to be smart either :) So we decided to take the same approach this time around too. Thankfully, someone had uploaded a KMZ trail with waypoints online on a local expedition site (I think it's on Lakdasun). So Prishan downloaded this and loaded it onto his trusted GPS device. That device has saved our asses a number of times in the past and we were ready to trust it again.

There wasn't a heck of a lot of pre-planning involved except for the standard stuff. You don't need a permit to climb Great Western. So that was one less thing to worry about. But you do need to plan the travel pretty carefully.

Great Western is not a town. Its a small, sleepy, train station on the main line towards Badulla. The mountain is right behind this station. Its situated in the Nuwara Eliya district, but the closest major town - Talawakele, is also quite a drive. It must be said that the only way to get to the station is via train itself. The station overlooks a number of settlements below which had formed around the many tea plantations in the area. From a higher elevation you can see gravel roads leading to Talawakele, Kotagala and Radella. But there are no bus services. Its mostly used by estate vehicles getting from point A to B. So the lifeline for the locals is this one small train station situated above them them to get to other parts of the country.

This is where the first major planning milestone kicked in. Since the only way in and out is via train we had to look at all the options available for us to get to Great Western and also to get out of it (Unlike Prishan, Indika and I had to get to work on Monday). Its always a good idea to start a hike -especially one like this - as early as possible. The weather forecast was sunny. So we knew by experience that its best to get some miles behind us by the the time the sun hits boiling point. Given all this, we settled on taking the Night Mail leaving from Fort at 8pm. If our past hikes have taught us anything, its to never expect an easy ride on the night mail. We were leaving on Friday - just before Independence Day. Fridays are like D-Day on the night mail. There's a massive swarm of people getting in from Fort and it does not clear up at all until you get to at least Nawalapitiya. With a baggage of 15-20kg per person, we knew this was going to be hell from the get-go if we tried to get in from Fort.

So we tried something else. The night mail starts its journey from the Maradana station. However, the first passenger station is the next station - Colombo Fort. So its kind of illegal to board the train from Maradana. However, i'm not sure to what extent the rule of law is applied in this case because when we got to Maradana, there was still quite a number of people on the platform waiting to board the night mail. We did hear sporadic arguments between rail officials and passengers - presumably about the same issue. By some luck of foresight, we had spoken to a couple of authoritative figures in the railway department via personal contacts and had unofficial clearance to board from Maradana. Much thanks to Prishan's father for helping us with that. Thanks to this move, we were - for once - able to get seats for all 3 of us from the start of the journey itself. This time we traveled in the second class as well (yay!). Its hard to describe how massive an advantage this is given that we had a monstrous climb to do in a couple of hours. Once again, we don't endorse getting in from Maradana given questionable circumstances. But if you can pull it off that's fantastic.

As usual, Indika was coming to Maradana by train and missed it by a couple of minutes. So we had to hold the seat for him (again, not exactly legal) until he caught up and got in from Fort. The train was full within a matter of seconds once at Fort and we were getting slightly worried that we would have to give up Indika's seat. But before any escalations, he got in the train and we got ready for the 7 hour journey ahead.

The night mail on a Friday is filled with groups going on trips out of Colombo. The carriage we were in was also mostly occupied by one such group. They seemed to know have an extensive Sinhala playlist hardwired in their brains and kept us entertained with some excellent singing and playing for the better part of the journey

The Great Western!

We arrived at Great Western at about 2.45 am. The moment we arrived, we saw that we were not the only group doing the hike the next morning. There was another group of guys at the station - braving the cold and trying to find a place to settle down. In our pre-arrangements, our contact had spoken to the station master about our arrival. So he had a small bare room ready for us to settle in and have some shut eye. The first thing we did was put on some warm clothes. For most of us Colombo dwellers, the gust of air from the home freezer is enough to send some chills to the nether regions. This was not much different. We also unraveled our tent bag and got the tarpaulin out and spread it on the floor since it was far too cold to sleep on in only our warm clothes.

We couldn't sleep much. All three of us rolled around restlessly and barely settled in. Not because we were excited for the hike ahead. Because it was so damn cold! Its common knowledge that it is always coldest just before sunrise. But this was like a punch in the crown jewels. A good reminder about how cold its going to be on the summit when we camp tomorrow night. We did the best we could and was up by 6 am to start the journey

That's when we saw our first sunrise at Great Western. And it was just as we expected - A Salvador Dali-isque painting with the mountains giving depth and vibrancy to an already multi-hued sunrise. To our right we could Adam's Peaks and the trail of lights guiding pilgrims to the Sacred Footprint We snapped a couple of pictures and had some breakfast that we brought from Colombo and got ready for the hike. Mysteriously, there was no sign of the group that we saw last night when came to the station. We assumed they might've either waited for a train to head back home or had started the hike that night itself - which is dangerous since the area is known for a small leopard population. We were of course well prepared for leopards. Prishan had brought along a fruit knife. A damn fruit knife! (So glad we were doing the hike in broad daylight.)

The path to the top

To get to the trail head you have to walk just over a kilometer on the railroad itself towards Badulla. We mounted our heavy luggage on our shoulders, filled our water bottles to the brim and got on about our way at about 6.30 am. It was an uneventful but pleasing walk. At that time of the day, you hear absolutely no sound whatsoever, except for the occasional chirp of crickets and the mountain winds circling around the massive trees a at the bottom of Great Western. Below us we could see the small community settlements waking up and getting getting ready to start their day.

We've read all the trip reports we could possibly find online and kept an eye out for the notice board and the stairs for a hindu kovil. We found it just a little over a kilometer into the walk and just before a steel bridge that was built over a passing stream to allow the train to go through to Badulla. We weren't really tired as such at this point. So we took a couple of pictures and started to climb the stairs - the first steps into the mountain.

As i mentioned at the top of this post, its been two years since we did a hike. And we were harshly reminded of this no sooner than a couple of minutes into the stairs. The stairs were high and of uneven height. And our backpacks were extremely heavy. Our physical fitness was next to nothing thanks to the desk jobs we do. Pretty soon we were huffing and puffing to the top of stairs. Once we got to the kovil we immediately plonked our bags down and took a seat. Embarrassingly, this was like 5 minutes into the actual hike. But we knew there was no prize for getting there fast. We just had to get there eventually. So we took it as slowly as we needed to without rushing.

Before long we saw what the trip reports were talking about. Most of the climb up was 60 to 70 degrees at least. Its next to impossible to attempt this without any supporting rope or climbing gear. This is also when we found out that Indika had bought kohu lanu instead of actual rope along with him. Fat lot of good that's going to do in this terrain. So we had to improvise. And like proper mountain goats with luggage on our backs, we used the wild shrubbery on the sides to haul ourselves up. Needless to say this was as dangerous as it got. The soil underfoot was loose and shifty. It didn't seem as if this area had seen rain for a couple of weeks. And the wild shrubbery was..well.. shrubbery. You cannot always expect them to hold your weight and not come loose from the root itself. There were two places which were really tricky. The angle was easily 70 degrees. One wrong foot and its a one way ticket to the rail road below. The one positive we had going for us was that Prishan's GPS device was on point and we were on the correct path though it looked like we were competing on Survivor.

An hour or so into the hike we came across a small stream which we read about on the trip reports. Its so small that you could easily miss it or ignore it thinking it was a collection of rain water. The problem with this mountain for hikers is water. Especially if you plan to camp at the top. The summit was still quite a distance away and this was the last water source available. The three of us collectively had about 8-9 liters of water space available. Most of the weight when you hike is actually added by the water that you carry. But there was no avoiding it. So we stopped for a break, refreshed ourselves filled our water bottles to the brim.

The next 500 or so meters is quite standard hiking territory. Thick jungle on both sides, marked trees serving as waypoints etc. But after that you come across two more really sharp and high inclines. It looks very daunting from the bottom. Especially since you're already quite worn out and have so much weight on your shoulders. But again, it had to be done. Its not recommended to steer away from the path and go through the shrubbery and undergrowth. Yes, there may be better footing and gripping. But the mountains are notorious for all kinds of snakes. That's not something we were fully equipped or trained for and not something we wanted to deal with. So the incline was the only way up. Again, like the said mountain goats, one by one, we hauled ourselves up using the shrubbery on the sides. It would've been so much easier if we Indika had listened to instruction and bought proper ropes instead of kohu lanu which aren't strong enough to tie up a box of biscuits. I should've taken some pictures of the incline to share here. But trust me, that was the last thing on my mind at that time.

After a few more meters, the trail turns sharply to the left and the scenery changes dramatically. The overall trail is like a side V going up the mountain. This is because the terrain right behind the station is a proper rock face. So the hike  has to be attempted from the side of the mountain. Once the trail turns, you can feel the familiar surroundings of a mountain top coming into sight. A bit more and you come out of the thick jungle and towards the highest part of the mountain. The last bit is quite precarious since the trail goes on the very edge of the mountain. Given that we were carrying a lot of weight, our center of gravity changed constantly. So we had to be careful not to place a wrong foot or grab a wrong branch to avoid toppling over. One miss and you will end up at the train station at the very bottom. Add to that the strong winds blowing across the rock surface - it was a recipe for disaster. We took all the time we had to take and bit by bit navigated this stretch of the trail. A key milestone here is the makeshift Hindu kovil on the very edge of a rocky outcrop that's on the very edge of the footpath. Locals come up here pretty frequently to collect dry firewood.

At this point you can see the summit which is about 15 minutes away. The path is still on the edge of the mountain but its not as dangerous as what we just passed because this wound through a thick growth of bamboo and other sturdy trees which i cannot name. A rule of thumb when hiking in groups is to keep a couple of meters of distance between each hiker to avoid the branches hitting your face from the slapback of the hiker in front of you. We found it slightly difficult logistically here because the opening was not that wide and our backpacks and tent constantly got snagged on the growth around us.

We navigated the final 15 minutes of the hike, ignoring the muscle pains and cramps and reached the summit successfully.

At the summit

If not for anything, you should climb Great Western just for the view from the lookout point. Its simply awe-inspiring and unlike anything we've seen before - and we've done our share of mountains. To our good fortune, the atmosphere was completely clear with no hint of mist whatsoever. From this point you can very clearly see Adam's Peak, Piduruthalagala, Saptha Kanya range, Haputale range, Kikiliyamana and many more renowned summits of Sri Lanka. Right below us at a 90 degree angle, we could clearly see the Great Western Railway station. We could also see the rail track winding in and out of mountain range all the way up to Devon falls from one side and the Radella grounds on the other. In front of us, right bloew were the 4 or 5 settlements that live on the main income source of this region - tea. We could also see the gravel roads leading upto Talawakele and Kotagala from these settlements. Our view was open for almost 300 degrees or so since the lookout point was on a bit of an outcrop on the summit of the mountain. No words nor camera can describe how simply breath taking the views were that took in.

The one negative was the sun. It was scorching and beating down hard and we were starting sweat profusely. Dehydration was going to be a problem if we didn't setup camp soon and get some shade between us and the sun. It was critically important given the fact that we had to ration our water supply as well. The campsite is about 50 meters behind the lookout point and was placed between some pretty tall trees which provided a considerable amount of shade from the sun and the wind. The last few burning embers of a campfire done the night before, probably by another hiking group, was still visible. We setup tent as quickly as possible and pulled a makeshift clothesline from Indika's coir strings to hang our clothes. Once this was done, we settled into the camp and had some lunch before settling in for some much needed rest.

Great Western Mountain has since of late become a popular destination in the outdoors community. And as it turned out, today was no exception. While we were having our afternoon nap in our tent, a couple of gentleman donned out in full hiking gear made their way to the top and past our tent and walked directly to the lookout point. We peaked out and spoke briefly with the local guide that accompanied them. We just wanted to make sure that we were the only ones camping at the summit on that night.The two gentleman explored the area and left after about 15 minutes. Only Prishan and I were awake at this time. Indika was already passed out. About half an hour later, we heard another group coming up to the summit. It was like freaking Galle Road! This time we didn't bother to peek out and say hi. The group commented on the campsite and walked past us towards the lookout point.

However, it appeared that these guys were going to be up here for sometime. So Prishan and I got up from our partial slumber and went out to say hi. Turned out that these were the guys who were at the railway station the night we came. They had gone to Morgan's house and spent the night at his place to start the hike after breakfast.

Morgan is probably the most well known local guide in the area. If you google trip reports to Great Western, his name is the one name that comes up constantly. He's also regarded as the unofficial caretaker of the Great Western mountain by locals and authorities alike. There is no inch of the mountain that he isn't aware of. We got into conversation with him and learnt about the surrounding terrain and the history of expeditions to Great Western. Apparently there was no trail whatsoever about 7 years ago until the locals (Morgan included) cut through the forest and made it slightly hiker friendly. There were also more water sources a mile or so away from where we were camped. But nowadays they're all dried up and the little stream we passed was the only available source within hiking distance. Morgan has made a livelihood of leading hiking parties to the top of Great Western and to other hiking locations in the vicinity. He also doubles up as a vadey seller on the trains to and from Great Western with his heavenly vadeys. If you're not confident of doing this hike on your own - call Morgan.

We joined the group of guys who had gathered on the lookout point to see a spectacular sight that happens twice a day (sometimes once, sometimes none) at the Great Western railway station below. There is only one rail track in and out of the station. But there are two trains coming from Badulla and Colombo which have to cross each other at this station at 12.20 pm and 2.40 pm respectively.

From our vantage point, we could see both trains approaching from both sides on a seemingly collision course. The train going downhill reaches the station first and moves to the second track on the station. We could see that the train coming from Colombo was behind schedule. By the time the train from Badulla reached Great Western, the one from Colombo was barely making its way past Devon falls. It had to go through 2 or 3 more stations before it could reach Great Western. It was almost half an hour later that this train reached Great Western and switched on to the first track to make its way uphill towards Badulla. What's fascinating is that we could clearly see the entire journey that these two trains were taking from miles apart. Apparently there is only one other vantage point in Sri Lanka where you can witness this - albeit not as clearly as this. I think its Ihala Kotte. But i might be mistaken.

After bidding us farewell, Morgan took the guys back to the base of the summit where they were supposed to catch the train back to Colombo. Indika woke up by this time and we went on a quick tour across the summit to explore the area and take some pictures. Since it was quickly getting chilly again, we collected some firewood along the way as well to build up a camp fire.

Once back at the campsite, we accumulated the firewood on a side and started to build a fire as close as we possibly could to the tent without endangering the tent. We followed the traditional campfire method and lit up the smallest figs first and gradually loaded much thicker figs on top of each other. Before long we had a strong enough fire going. There were some big chunks of half burnt firewood leftover from last night's campfire. We added these carefully to get some longevity from our fire. Morgan advised us to keep the fire size to a bare minimum. Which is understandable given that we were surrounded by some dry forest all around. We had our dinner and some casual conversation around the campfire and decided to tuck in for the night at about 9.30 pm

Sleep is rarely comfortable on a mountain top and this time was no exception. I had a couple of layers of clothing on myself - hands and feet included and still couldn't stop the cold air cutting through. By 3 am, the cold was simply unbearable and none of us could sleep. At this point Indika decided enough is enough and braved the cold to go in search of more firewood with Prishan tagging along. I decided to blow on the receding embers and revive the fire with the leftover material until Prishan and Indika returned with more firewood. Pretty soon, we had a healthy fire going again. The next hour or so was spent warming ourselves as best as we can.

Our plan was to start the descent the next day by around 6.30 am. Once we were feeling comfortable again, we tucked in for a couple more hours of sleep.

The hike back to the station

On our way up, we were able to complete the hike in 4 and a half hours. So we knew we will take probably lesser time than that to go downhill - which will put us right on schedule to catch the 12.20 Podi Manike train to Colombo Fort.

We leisurely got ready, rolled and packed up the tent, collected our garbage and started the hike downhill at about 7.20 am. The journey downhill was not any easier given the steep slopes and the lack of guiding ropes. So again, mountain goat style, we had to grab the bushes on the sides and lower ourselves carefully down the mountain. This time it was even more scarier because you could see the drop that you would take in case you mistimed a grab or stepped on a loose rock.

If i remember correctly, by about 10.30 we took the last step out of the kovil where we started the journey from. Morgan had told us about a man made water fountain which the locals in the line houses use to shower and wash up. So instead of turning towards the station, we turned the other way from the rail track and walked over the steel bridge. Not even 100 meters more and there it was- an oasis of running water. We quickly stripped down and one by one got under the ice cold water. This was indeed a blessing. All the tiredness accumulated over last two days were quickly washed away. So much so that we were fresh enough to do the hike again (not!).

By about 11am we got ready, picked up our bags and started the final kilometer across the railroad towards the station. We successfully boarded the 12.20 train to Colombo and settled down for the 7 hour ride back to Colombo

And thus finished our hike to Great Western. I thought Namunukula was the hardest hike I've ever done. But that's child's play compared to Great Western. What an adventure! I've still got cuts and bruises across my arms to remind me of this episode. If you do get a chance, please attempt this hike as its a once in a lifetime experience. Hopefully it wont be two more years until i get a chance to put up a post as this again.

These are the trip reports that we found useful when planning the hike:
Report1, Report2, Report3

Useful numbers:
Morgan: 0770-791002
Great Western Station: 052 3528744

Do email me if you need further info. Until next time then, travel safe.

Miranga

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