Knuckles - The stuff of legends

Team of 5

2 Days in January 2013

Public Transport

My usual travel buddies, Prishan and Lathika and I were arguing about which hike to do next - Knuckles or Peacock Hill. After research showed that Peacock Hill was not that great a challenge to surmount, we concluded on Knuckles as the place to go. We made one mistake - Global Warming.

It is now coming to a stage where weather patterns had become so erratic that it cannot be predicted by the greatest of equipment for a span over a week. We checked the weather over Knuckles before planning and it all seemed manageable. Light showers in patches and a good deal of sunlight - stuff that we are quite used to. But let me get to that later.

We spoke to Dinesh Deckker, a seasoned and ardent traveller who runs Nadegura.Com to get more info on the topography and landmarks on the trail that we were going to take. We decided to take the route from Kandy > Wattegama > Bamberalla route. Planning the travel time was painstaking because we were using public transport. We finally settled upon taking a bus from Fort to Kandy at 3.30 am as the first phase. It is advisable to get to the station at least an hour early if this is a long weekend. Lots of folk are going back to their hometowns and therefore the long queues for outstation buses. Our promised 3.30 am AC bus didn't turn up because the driver was hungover from last night (Or so we concluded). The next available AC bus was the 4.30am. Our connecting 'flight' from Kandy to Wattegama at 7.15 am. Thanks to our hungover bus driver and the even more hungover new bus driver, we missed the train from Kandy to Wattegama by 5 minutes. So bus it was from Kandy to Wattegama.

We reached Wattegama in about one and a half hours to catch the bus from Wattegama to Bamberalla - where our trail was supposed to begin. I can't remember the route number. Its 682 or 628. But you can't miss it. Once you're on the bus, just get down at the final stop at Bamberella. Don't confuse Thawalantenna, the bus halt with Thawalantenna the town. You need to get down at the latter which is at the end of the bambarella route. There is a little grocery titled 'Thilaka Welanda Sela'. Thilaka aiya is a legendary name among Knuckles hikers since the trail starts from his shop. There are two

routes to take. One is the slightly longer and better laid 'Knuckles Peak Road' or the shortcut that cuts across several private estates to reach the trail head. We only had a couple of maps from the Survey Department and a compass. So we took the Knuckles Peak Road. There is a nice little bungalow on the way titled 'Sandalu' at the bottom of the Knuckles Range. We met the manager Anil on the way to Bamberalla and he showed us around the bungalow and was forthcoming with some useful tips. Sandalu Eco Resort can be booked through the following link. The trail divides into two at this point - one going to Sandalu and one going to the foot of the trail. There is about a kilometer of hiking to do before you reach the trail head. Once you reach a concrete road, look for a little sign on the ground reading 'Knuckles Peak Nature Trail'. You need to turn right from here and now you're on the trail.

The hike

It was drizzling from the time we started. And it just got worse and worse once we started the hike. The weather was atrocious at best making the hike bordering on dangerous. Being the absent minded buffoon i am, i took all the essentials needed in my backpack - except for a raincoat. And paid the price heavily. Not to mention that my bag was not water proof. So except for a couple of clothing items, i didn't have any dry clothing at the end of the hike. Always always make sure that you carry dry clothes in a water proof bag.With the rain came another complication. Leeches. It was like being in 3D version of the movie '300'. The Battle of Thermopylae and all that. You can't afford to stop for too long in any given place when its raining this hard. If you have a phobia on leeches, DO NOT do this hike during the rainy season. We initially just flicked off the little creatures with our fingers, but they were persistent. Ultimately we just gave up and let them have their own way until we reached our camping spot. They would fall off eventually leaving little red dots on your body.
It can save your life in a hike like this.

The mist was extraordinarily thick and the path is treacherous. Keep in mind that this is not a path on a road
map. So there is basically no road. This is of course the case with any hike. But the beauty of the land we live in is just stupendous beyond. You will have to wade through overgrown Mana fields, bamboo forests and all other sorts of wilderness. Add to that a couple of absolutely gorgeous waterfalls that are just a hand's reach away from you and then it's just heaven on earth. The climb becomes very steep in some places requiring you to use both hands and legs. Given the muddy and slippery nature of the trail thanks to the rain, this adds an extra element of difficulty. Travel as light as possible and be properly equipped. I cannot stress this enough. The mist will reduce your visibility at times to like 5 meters. You can of course do this hike when there is absolutely no rain at all. Then the degree of difficulty is lesser - if you're into that kind of thing.

The summit

It was beautiful. Its a bit of a surreal experience at any given time to be on top of a mountain knowing that not many people have been lucky enough to see what we are seeing right now. Altogether there are around 34 peaks in the range with 5 of them being the highest. Our vision was barred with a thick mist on most parts of the panorama. But what we were able to see was extraordinary. Unfortunately it was raining far too hard and and we were shivering even more harder. So none of us were in a position to handle a camera let alone take one out. So that is one sight that will stick in our heads and we wont be able to share it with the rest of the world.

The camp

On our way to the summit we passed a couple of flat areas big enough for our two tents. We decided to come back down from the summit and camp at the last water source we found. It was an open area with no wind coverage. This of course is a bit dangerous. On an area such as Knuckles, being exposed to the strong winds and the climate during night time is not the cleverest thing to do. But we weren't sure of having access to water further down the trail and we were physically not in a state to go any further. Added to this was the drastically lowering visibility due to the mist. So we pitched up camp. We washed ourselves as best as we could from the river/pond that was next to us and settled in for the night.

The night

This was easily the longest night I've ever been through. We all cramped into one tent for dinner and to chat as friends do. But the temperature was atrociously COLD. I've never been a fan of cold temperatures after the Pattipola hike i did last year. But Pattipola was nothing compared to Knuckles during rain. To make matters even worse, there was no chance of making a fire given the rain outside and there was no chance of finding dry firewood either. So it had to be the tents. The rain ceased to a mild drizzle at most but the cold was unbelievable. We were shivering from head to toe although we were adequately covered by whatever dry clothes we had. Two of us camped in one tent and 3 of us in the other. It was a very very long night. At one point i remember waking up and asking the other guys what time it was. There was a loud groan across both tents when someone said its only 10pm. 8 more hours till morning. The wind was in its full force and at one point, Prishan and i were wondering how long the tents will last before they get blown away. Fortunately for us, the ground pins were sturdy and held its own till morning. Through gnashing winds and ice cold temperatures all five us made it through the longest night of our lives and the experience of a lifetime.

The hike back home

It is well documented that the weather in this range is unpredictable. And they were right. We woke up to a gloomy morning still cold as hell and this amazingly turned into bright sunlight and as hot as Colombo within half an hour. The sunrise was just unbelievable. Its as if Knuckles has its own life and dictates its own terms on how it lives. We woke up and looked at the summit that we reached last evening and the climb we had to do to go back.

It was a memorable and extremely rewarding hike. So much learnt for our next camping trip. There is something about the wild that makes you forget the toils and troubles of everyday living. Its like a drug that takes you by the collar and makes you get addicted to it. The difference is, the high that you get from finishing a hike like this will last forever.

Contact me through this post if you need more info on how to get there. I'm no expert. But I'll tell you what i know and better yet, direct you to people who know better. More pics can be found on my Flickr profile here 

Until the next post then, adios.

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Belihuloya to Pattipola on foot : Hiking 101

Team of 7 (Aged under 30)

1 Day in April 2012 (Avoid Monsoon and rainy seasons)

By Foot (Bus and Train at start and completion)

A hike is more often than not, one of those things that the heart wants but the body cannot handle.  This was one of those hikes.It was close to 30kms in length altogether and done in one single day. As insane as it may sound, it was an experience of a lifetime and there are a couple of things you can take away from the experiences we gathered. So read carefully J
We were a group of seven guys all under the age of 30. I thought of mentioning this at the outset since in retrospect, given that we weren’t skilled hikers, I believe this played a major part. We left Nawala at about 6 am and made our way to Pettah by bus. We took the bus to Belihuloya and arrived at our first destination – The Belihul Oya Rest House, about 2 hours later. It’s a 145 km journey. So if you didn’t get enough sleep the previous night, there is no better time than these two hours. After a quick breakfast we got ready to start the hike. One can obviously come prepared with state-of-the-art hiking gear but this is not mandatory. Here is a list of things that we found necessary and handy during the entirety of the hike. 

•  Leach socks/Lots of Sidhdhalepa or any other leach repellant
• Biker gloves/Full-finger gloves (Optional)
• Thick cotton socks
• Flexible, used yet good-soled shoes
• Light and preferably used cotton trousers
• Water and snacks such as biscuits, chocolates etc
• Woolly warm clothing and thick skull caps
• A GPS Device

There is a road called ‘Non Pereil Estate Road’ right next to the Rest House. You may or may not have ‘bokkuwa’ harboring fresh spring water. The locals assured us the water was good enough to drink. But we still had lots of water left within our supplies. So we resorted to just freshening up and re-vitalizing ourselves before the steep climb that is now in front of us.

noticed that as soon as you enter, to yout right at the entrance is a by road of about 10 feet in width going up towards the mountains. This is the ‘Non Pereil Estate Road’ which leads to the Non-Pereil Estate. Key point to note here is that you must always try to travel as light as possible. It is also important that you distribute the weight across group members so that the chances of people falling behind are minimized. The road is almost a main road with a bus service as well so there isn’t any GPS tracking to do yet. Lakdasun.com can give you the detailed GPS co-ordinates which we found quite useful. Once you walk about 3kms up, the road takes a natural turn to your left with a little by road leading you straight into the paddy fields. You can of course take the main road which will lead you straight to the estate, but we decided to take the shorter, harder and much much more scenic route through the paddy fields. At the end of this paddy field there is a local village-type

From the bokkuwa is a foot path leading up towards the pine forest. If you know how to read your co-ordinates correctly, you can come to a place on this path where you can cut across the pine forest and hike through the fallen the pine cones and branches.

The pine forest was a sight for sore eyes and a treat to all senses. The smell of fresh pine was so refreshing and the breeze was not too cold and not too hot against our skin. But the climb is as steep as it can get and before long, we were all out of breath and pausing every 50 meters to re-affirm our bearings. A hike like this can truly make you understand how much of a ‘Kolamba Kakka’ you actually are. An elderly lady from the estate came walking down through the forest and we chatted with her for a bit. She must have been about 70 years old but was as fit as a fiddle. The rest of the way we hiked through some absolutely gorgeous mountains with low lying greenery that allowed us to see the entire Sabaragamuwa province from a bird’s eye view. Personally I came to the realization that a hike is the best way to see the beauty of Sri Lanka J. This area is known as the ‘Ihala-Galagama’ area. Although not advisable, we did this hike during the monsoon season and were mortally afraid that the rain would pour down increasing the ‘degree of difficulty’ (I’ve always been fascinated by that term). But we were fortunate enough to experience only a very slight drizzle which faded away as fast as a teenage boy-band. Leeches did make their presence felt. But there were no severe attacks in any way and we were prepared with salt water and sidhdhalepa to repel the fellows.Some of us who were wearing pants found it more practical to tuck our pants into our socks so that leaches became visible.

Halfway through this leg we ran out of water. But there were enough fresh water streams and rock mountain drips with clean rain water. So we had no problem in improvising a bit and filling our containers. Further down our short-cut we arrived on the outskirts of the Non-Pareil Estate. It is a Tea Estate owned by Stassen’s. We cut across this and came across some ‘line’ houses which housed the estate workers. Since we were travelling light and was on a hike, we did not load our equipment with cooking utensils and rations for lunch. So we were banking on us being able to sweet talk one of these line houses to rustling up a meal for a few bucks. After numerous inquiries the family that was talking care of the estate bungalow agreed to heed our request. For 2000 Rupees, all 7 of us were fed with a hot meal consisting of some superlative ‘pol-sambol’, cabbage, salmon and another vegetable which I cannot remember now. We were also given a freshly made pot of hot plain-tea which was like Scotch Whiskey for us given that the temperatures had dropped greatly by this time. There was a summer hut at the bungalow which we used to chill and rest for a bit before starting on the second leg of the journey.

Lesson number one was learnt at this point. No matter how physically strong you are, you can never compete with Mother Nature. If you have Asthma or any other breath and lung related condition, its best if you come extra prepared for a hike like this and there is no shame in pulling out and going home when you find it difficult. One of our team members conceded that the high altitudes were proving a bit difficult for his asthma and he decided it was time to bail out. Along with him, another member of the team who was feeling the physical pains of the strenuous climb also decided to pull out since he was not confident of completing the hike. In such a situation, it is advisable to let the individuals pull out, keeping aside the moral intention of finishing the hike together. Health and Safety always comes first. Better to die in Colombo than on an exposed mountain J

The other mistake we did was trying to do such a long and strenuous hike in one day. Ideally if we had brought along camping gear, we could’ve camped at the estate with prior approval. But we threw caution to the wind and began the second phase of our hike at about 5.30 pm. This phase upon completion would land us right at the famed World’s End. However, the trail was overgrown and unused for the better part of the year and was almost non-existent. Not to mention the added factor of animals coming out in the night. This is when the GPS device came to our rescue. We were able to point mark the coordinates and walk through the jungle paving a path for ourselves. Daylight was receding extremely fast and by 6.30 or 7 pm we were in pitch darkness with only our flashlights and the GPS device to guide us. Although non-existent, the slight markings of a previous trail was visible upon close scrutiny and we stuck to this with four of us taking turns guiding the pack behind us while one guy was permanently allocated to the GPS device. There were massive holes, rock inclines, fallen tress etc. blocking our way and focus on the part of the pack leader became critical. Not to mention the occasional sounds of animals scurrying to safety and alerting each other of our presence. By this time, the enjoyment of taking in the scenery which we had during the morning session had turned to an adrenaline filled adventure ride.

After many twists and turns and a fair share of agitation, we finally reached World’s End. In essence, we reached world’s end through the back entrance. World’s End was no different from the famous pictures appearing all over the internet with the cement and concrete blocks across the floor enabling visitors to take in the experience. And it was indeed a drop. I am naturally scared of heights so this was the equivalent of winning an Olympic medal. The remaining five of us took a much needed breather on the concrete slabs and finally got on our feet to complete the 4 kilometers that we needed to walk to reach the entrance gate to Horton Plains.

Thus came our next mistake. We had followed a travel log appearing in a local travel blog to the letter up to this point. What the blog did not say was that entering Horton Plains through World’s End is illegal since all visitors to Horton Plains must have a ticket. We continued through Horton Plains towards the ‘World’s End Trail Head’ without this knowledge. I must say that Horton Plains is overwhelming even at night. The plains were absolutely massive with no high level trees as far as one could see. We could feel that we were in territory not owned by humans and there was a sense of eerie observation where we could literally feel the animals of this sanctuary watching our every move. However we were too tired to be worried about it and trudged our way to the entrance. Halfway down the ‘World’s End Road’, we were arrested by an officer of the Wildlife Conservation Department. This is the point at which we got to know that we were trespassing and were on the wrong side of the law. A point to note – trespassing at a wildlife sanctuary is a criminal offence since the officers are responsible and have to account for the safety of visitors. Always, always get a pass or prior approval in an instance such as this. However, we were able to make our situation known to the officer who was then nice enough to drop us not at the top of the Trail Head, but at the entrance to the park itself. From here on it was only 5kms to the Pattipola station – which is the end of our hike. A good milestone to keep in mind is that you will have to pass the turn off to Ohiya on to your right. Continue straight on down the Pattipola-Horton Plains road to reach the station.

The time was past 10 in the night. We were exhausted and there was no sign of human life anywhere close by. But animal life was aplenty. We could clearly see yellow bright lights observing us from the trees and bushes above us, moving stealthily. The noises were getting slightly unsettling by this time. So for the first time in the hike a couple of us decided to arm ourselves with a couple of strong and light branches in the form of protection. It was an overwhelming feeling to be surrounded by so much nature, that one can’t help but realize how small a speck of life you are on this gigantic earth.

Pattipola couldn’t come any sooner. The sight of the station was like heaven for the five of us. The schedule showed the next train to Colombo at 6.30 in the morning if I remember correctly. So we all decided to cover up ourselves as much as possible and lie down to get some sleep.

Then came our next challenge. Pattipola was as cold as a refrigerator. We knew that this was the highest station in the country and were ready for some cold weather - but not this cold. Everything was ice cold. A couple of us who were too tired to care just fell asleep on the benches. But the others walked around in as warm clothing as possible looking for a warm enough place to lie down. Needless to say this was not a great experience. Finally we decided to improvise and hop on a train going towards Badulla and jump on the train going to Colombo which will cross us at some station between Pattipola and Badulla. The train was obviously warmer and we were able to get seats. This was one of the best decisions we made and we were asleep and comfortable in no time.

Somewhere around 6 am, we met the train going back towards Colombo, hopped in and settled ourselves on the floor of the canteen carriage for the 12 hour journey back to Colombo. The rest of the passengers were not very happy with us since we were flat bang across the corridor. But they were not privy to the amazing experience we went through and we felt like kings who should not be disturbed J

If you have the physical and mental capacity, by all means do this hike. But my advice is to do it across two days and camp overnight at Non Perail Estate. Also, get the prior approval of the Wildlife Conservation Department to use the back entrance to Horton Plains.

The links to the GPS Coordinates can be found in this webpage at Lakdasun.com. More pictures of beautiful Sri Lanka witnessed in this hike can be found on my Flickr profile.

Travel safe and responsibly. Take nothing but memories and leave nothing but footprints J

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Adam's Peak - Visiting the Gods

Every year, thousands of pilgrims and trippers make sure that Sri Lanka’s 3^rd highest mountain is vastly populated from the December Poya till the May Poya next year. This is officially the Sri Pada season here in Sri Lanka.

Adam’s Peak is a sacred mountain and a place of worship according to many religions and therefore due respect should be paid while doing the ascent or the descent. During the season and especially during Poya days, the trails are bound to be crowded with young and old alike. Tradition dictates that each traveler coming down the mountain should strengthen the traveler going up to reach the peak by singing encouraging chants in Sinhala. The traveler can accept these words of encouragement and wish likewise asking ‘Saman Deviyo’ to impart blessings on the traveler going down. Yes, this is more than just a hike to the top.

There are as much as 6 trails to reach the top. We were a team of 4 and we decided to use the Kuruwita- Erathna trail. We left quite early in the morning and took the bus from Fort to Kuruwita in Ratnapura. Once we reached Kuruwita, we had to take another bus to get to Erathna. Buses are frequent and many during the Sri Pada season. So no worries there. Kuruwita is the last town on the way up if you’re taking this trail. So stock up on provisions if needed from this point. Remember to take a raincoat at all times just to be safe.

Once we reached Erathna there was still a bit of road left to get to the trail head. A lorry that was going up to the trail head was kind enough to give us a ride. 

The trail is tough. Make no mistake. There is always the Hatton trail if you wish to take an easier route to the top. But if you do decide to take the Kuruwita trail, be prepared for some serious sweat. But what will work to your advantage in the season is that the trail is lit up by lamps within reasonable distances so you don’t exactly need a GPS tracker or a compass to get to the top. But I’m told that the lights are not in operation during off season.

The trail is not deserted during the season and there is always a party climbing with you or resting on the way. The climb itself gives a lot of perspective about human spirit and faith. Elderly women as old as

probably 70 years were taking the climb with us. Difficulty is not a part of the equation since the motivation for most people is to reach the temple at the top. Pregnant mothers, kids, parents carrying toddlers all make the climb. Its quite an experience to just observe people from different walks of life going towards the same end point.

Resting places are aplenty. The ‘Ambalama’ type resting places allow the tired traveler to sit down for a bit, have a rotty, a hot plain tea, regain your senses and re-commence the climb. There obviously isn’t a wide selection of food items given the difficulty that the Ambalam people obviously have in getting the provisions up from the town. There are trained porters who carry stuff from the bottom of the mountain and they seem to be in no visible difficulty at any given time with a sack of flour on their backs. Its just unbelievable at times.

We reached the final Ambalama at the top of the final phase of the climb by about 11pm. We wanted to see the sunrise or the famous ‘Ira Sevaya’ from the top of the mountain. So it was critical that we timed our climb perfectly to ensure that we see the sunrise but don’t stay on top for a long time. Its cold. Extremely cold. I’ve never been a fan of extremely low temperatures anyway. So we slept using whatever space we could find at the final Ambalama. In the season, the final Ambalama can resemble the Pettah bus station. This is also the point at which two other trails also meet the final phase. So the crowd is aplenty. Its nice to co-exist at this point since everyone is extremely tired and is looking a place to sit down and  have a bit of a rest. So be conscientious.

The final climb is relatively easier since there are proper paved steps with iron railings right till the top. It gets steep at times and if you have a fear of heights (like I do),it can get a bit dizzy. But nothing like facing your fears yes? J

It’s an un-explainably surreal feeling once you get to the top. Pilgrims and devotees stand in line to visit the famous shrine, pay their homage and settle down on the East side of the shrine to watch the sunrise. There is a massive gong on a corner of the temple. Tradition dictates that you ring the gong matching the number of times you’ve come to the summit. If this is your first time or in Sinhala, ‘A Kodukaraya’, you ring the bell once.

We were however a tad bit disappointed to not be able to see the sunrise. The weather was overcast and cloudy and therefore visibility was very low in the distance. So we made our way down from the top through the Hatton-Nallathannni trail which is well maintained and traveler friendly from top to bottom. The trail finishes in Maskeliya and from there we took a bus to the Hatton train station. From the station we took the train back to Colombo and put a satisfactory ending to our very first hike.

We used the trip report here from Lakdasun.Com for our reference and I’m sure you too will find it useful.

Photos of the trail can be found on my Flickr profile here. My travel buddy Prishan also has an album on Facebook on this link

(Pictures are by Prishan De Silva)

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