A Long Way Back

(From Bambarella through Kalupahana along Kalu-ganga to Rambukoluwa and Pallegama) Continuing from  The Hike of My Life - 4 Days in the Knuckles Range:Day 1 Day 2 Amidst the freezing cold and thick mist, we managed to pack our camping gear early in the morning and start the hike. Our plan was to climb down a little further and find a way to go around the mountain to avoid the cliff, so it took about one and a half hours when we were climbing another mountain, which seemed to be to the east where the huge cliff was, and could get to the top of it where there was another cloud forest beginning from the top, which we had no choice but to cross. You can see the mountain I mentioned below (first photo) and the forest on top (second photo). If you zoom in, you’ll notice the cardamom trees, which are about 6 feet tall. This is the sight that made us jump for joy, since this was the first clue that our first destination was closer.

(From Bambarella through Kalupahana along Kalu-ganga to Rambukoluwa and Pallegama) “The hike of my life” as the title says, was an experience of a lifetime for me and four of my friends, which pushed us to our limits for four days in the wilderness in the Knuckles Range. Day 1 On July 17th, 2013, it was 7.30 a.m. when the Wattegama-Bambarella bus reached its last stop-Bambarella, 38 km away from Kandy. After getting some misleading directions, we finally found the entrance to Lebanon Estate and along the estate vehicle track, we headed for Rathnagiriya Estate. Lebonon estate vehicle track Lebonon estate On the way, we met ‘Maniraj’, a farmer living in that area who used to work in a cardamom estate in Kalupahana 15 years ago. He showed us great hospitality by inviting us to his house and also put us in contact with another person named ‘Kob