Journeys in the hill country and beyond!

Having past the halfway point of our stay in Sri Lanka, we realized that we have yet to visit very much of the country and so, we’ve made it a point to start seeing some of the highlights. At the end of February, we took a trip up to Kandy. It is in the center of the country and often spoken of as the cultural capital of Sri Lanka. Kandy was the site of the final kingdom of the country, holding out against the British until about 1815. Our quick trip there was dominated by a much too short (3 hours) trip to the Royal Botanical Garden in Peradeniya. It dates back to the ancient kings of the country, although when the British took over, they applied their tastes to the look of it. We were amazed by the diversity and beauty of the collections. We hope we will get to go back!

 

 

 

There are 24,000 Indian Flying Foxes living here!

 

 

 

Pretty tame monkey troop at the gardens

 

 

A beautiful collection of orchids

 

 

 

Huge bamboo at the botanical gardens

 

The train ride from Kandy to Ella is supposed to be one of the most beautiful ways to see the countryside, so a few months back, we were going near Ella for a meeting and decided to take the train there from Colombo (I’m inserting this trip here because I never got around to it when we went). It was a great trip (much more relaxing than a bus) and truly – the scenery was gorgeous!

 

 

 

A shot from the train window

 

   

The environment and climate changed dramatically as we climbed into the agricultural region of the hill country and even through a pine forest along the way. In Ella, we climbed Ella Rock (about a 4 hour round-trip) for a birds-eye view of our surroundings and a smaller mountain called Little Adam’s Peak (maybe 2 hours).  We also took a bus out to see Ravenna Falls, where we met up with at least 100 other people admiring it!

 

In the cloud forest on the climb to Ella Rock

 

Walking along the train tracks toward our Ella Rock hike

 

A view from Little Adam's Peak in Ella

 

Looking down through the clouds on top of Ella Rock

 

Logan stands on the peak of Ella Rock

 

 

Ravenna Falls just outside Ella minus the crowd at the bottom near the road 😉

From Kandy, we went on to Nuwara Eliya. Due to its cool climate in the hill country of Sri Lanka, it has been given the nickname “Little England.” This area is known for its terraces of potatoes, carrots, leeks, and especially for its high country tea (some of the world’s finest Orange Pekoe).We visited a tea factory (which will be covered in a blog about tea!) and spent a day at Horton Plains National Park. Horton Plains is the most extensive area of cloud forest still existing in Sri Lanka and its cooler climate made for very enjoyable hiking. We first walked the well-trodden 9.5 km loop that includes the “Worlds End” (both a "mini" one and a "greater" one) and a large waterfall, called Baker’s Falls. While the views were impressive, we found this loop a bit crowded and were very pleased with our decision to next climb the nearby mountain, Kirigalpotta. At 2395 m, Kirigalpotta is Sri Lanka’s 2nd tallest mountain (the summit of the tallest is off limits due to TV towers on top). Along this trail, we passed through open grasslands, thick forest patches, rocky outcrops, and along a peaceful river. We only passed a few groups of Sri Lankan visitors, but their presence in no way deterred from our enjoyment of this excellent backcountry hike. As we neared the top, a gentle rain accompanied us. It didn’t interfere much and as we climbed back down and out of the rain, we could see where the rain clouds were encompassing the peak. 

 

 

A veggie stand in Nuwara Eliya

A fish stall in Nuwara Eliya

A samba at the Horton Plains park entrance!

 

A map of the park describes our route around and across the area

 

Through the grasslands at Horton Plains National Park

 

Baker's Falls in Horton Plains

 

Taking it in through the lens at the mini worlds end

 

At the "mini world's end" in Horton Plains

       

Walking through a forested area of the park

     

A water spattered melostome flower

Next we travelled west in order to climb the sacred pilgrimage mountain known variously as Adam’s Peak (where some believe Adam first set foot on earth after falling from heaven), Sri Pada (Sacred Footprint, where Buddha stepped on his way to paradise), or Samanalakande (Butterfly Mountain – where butterflies go to die). There are many other beliefs as well about whose huge ‘footprint’ is at the peak of this mountain, but regardless, millions of people make this journey every year (0.5 million went the weekend before I did!), some out of devotion and others curiosity… probably not just for the exercise though. The 5,200 stairs that comprised the route I took, was a tough journey both up and down, mostly due to the pressure it put on my knees and the 2 AM start made for a poor night of sleep and an exhausting rest of the day. Still, the challenge was exciting and the cultural experience was interesting, so I’m glad I got to go. Sri Lankan Buddhists believe that the more struggle they endure during the journey, the more karma they will receive for their next life. Unfortunately, when we woke up for the climb, Logan was sick, so we postponed a day and then the following day, he was still feeling bad, so I ventured the climb with two women I met from New Zealand instead. He hopes to go back and reach the peak with a few of our Sri Lankan friends from Pitakele in April, but he’ll climb from our side of the mountain – 9,000+steps!   

 

Adam's Peak at dusk

   

Adam's Peak just after dark - notice the trail of lights that illuminate the way

A Japanese welcome gate as we started the climb

A golden fence crowns the fenced temple on the Peak

 

Vihn captured a great monkey shot on his hike down

 

Before we return to the states, we plan to also visit the cultural triangle with its many religious sites and the east coast beaches, including the fort city of Trincomalee, so stay tuned as more Sri Lankan adventures are in store. Before that though, we found out that in order to extend our visas, we needed to leave the country before we reached 6 months. We could have just taken a little one-day trip to India or the Maldives, but since Logan has always wanted to go hiking in the Himalayas, we thought this would be a great opportunity. So, I wrote this blog just before we departed and tried to get it online, but alas, we ran out of internet credit at the airport in route for Nepal. We spent 3 weeks hiking in the mountains of Nepal, taking in tons of cold mountain air (well actually only 50% oxygen at one point) and experiencing yet another interesting Buddhist culture (look forward to that blog coming soon)!

 

Special thanks to our friend, Vihn Lang that visited, for providing many of the photos from Horton Plains and Adam's Peak!