Trek in the Knuckles Mountain Range

Trek in the Knuckles Mountain Range

When one thinks of travelling in Sri Lanka, the first thing that comes to mind is its beaches.But what’s less well-known is Sri Lanka’s amazing hill country. Mostly concentrated in the Central Province, the higher elevations of the island provide a very different environment to the rest of the country. We’re not referring to Kandy or Nuwara Eliya or the usual tourist hotspots that people run to, to escape the summer heat, but country that is significantly hillier.

There are plenty of hiking trails for the casual traveller. Places like Horton Plains and Ella offer a great experience for everyone without being too physically strenuous. But if you like your trails a bit tougher, more exotic, and a lot less crowded, then the Knuckles range of mountains spanning the districts of Kandy and Matale is probably the best place you could find. So called because the folds and peaks look like the knuckles of a closed fist, the mountain range is largely untouched and very beautiful.

Your guide will pick you up from your hotel at around 6.00 am and you will take an hour and a half’s drive

away from Kandy towards the Knuckles region. As you get closer, you’ll notice the scenery starting to

change from palm trees, rice fields and tropical foliage to cloud forest, mountain forest, and verdant plateaus

of pygmy forest. You will be accompanied on your trek by a guide who knows the area intimately as well as

one or two assistants (depending on your group size) who will serve as porters for the hike. The terrain is

fairly smooth and perhaps the most challenging aspect during the rainy season will be slippery tracks and

leeches. You’ll wind your way across the grassland area of the Knuckles and in towards the cloud forests,

finally reaching a plateau that offers stunning panoramic vistas across the forest. then continue on to a hidden

waterfall where it is possible to bathe in the crystal clear slightly chilly water.