Off-season Journey to Sri Pada(අවාරයේ දෙදිනක ශ්‍රීපා ගමන)

Amidst strikes, out of bound universities me and my friends, at home spending not-so-enjoyable free time with fading future hopes :'( We decided to free ourselves by doing what we love most-exploring and hiking. So here it is, our first hike, a two-day off-season journey to Sri Pada aka Adam's Peak.

There are 6 routes to reach Sri Pada. Among them, the most popular route and of course, the easiest and probably the one that I hate most, is the Hatton-Nallathanni trail which has now become a 99 percent concrete paved short way. Since we sought some adventure, we chose the Erathna-Kuruwita trail. More than 80 percent of the journey through this trail is through dense, undisturbed forest and if you want to stay close to nature while you travel, this is one of the best.

It was almost 6 in the morning when we got off the bus (route no. 99 Badulla-Colombo) at Kuruwita with a crew of five, had our breakfast and got some directions from a local. From there, the town closest to Sri Pada is Erathna. Fortunately, we could catch the bus to Adavikanda, which lies between Kuruwita and the trailhead and get closer to our destination. Within one hour, the bus reached its final stop, Adavikanda (it was 7.45 am) and from there, it was a 20 minute walk to the trail head.

The trailhead was a tiny footpath. Beyond this point, there was no civilization until we reached the peak. So we took our maps out and had GPS ready. It was a 13 km journey. The elevation at the trailhead was 300 meters and the elevation at the trail end was 2250 meters. That is almost 2 kilometers straight upward to reach the peak.

Right from the beginning, it was a continuous climb. We could clearly see 'Kuruganga' flowing down the valley right beside the trail. As we climbed up, it was just a matter of time before we found out that the leeches had already begun to trouble us, so we stopped by a little resting place we found, removed those blood suckers. It was only about a 45 minute hike from the starting point and we had an added crew member! It was a doggy dog! and believe me when I say that this guy turned out to be a real low-cost guide for us and stayed with us throughout the entire journey till the end.

New crew member..!

So the resting place, this is where we met a guy, a technician working in the hydro power plant's water collection center (located 2 km from the trailhead, there were 2, working 2-day shifts). He told us to apply salt as a precaution against the leeches and truly, it was like a magical repellent that the leeches were trying to move away from the salt.

Back to the journey, from there, we didn't stop until we reached the place called 'Warnagala' and where the 'Warnagala Ambalama' which used to be a permanent resting place, now aged and decayed. The water collection center was close by and Warnagala falls was just about 100 meters away. I almost forgot, on the way, we found a lot of plants bearing fruits, especially sour guavas. There were huge trees full of them and we just couldn't help ourselves from filling our bellies.

Guavas

Warnagala Falls

On the way, we visited the water collection center, met the guy we met before, had a little break with snacks with him. He even invited us to have tea, which we kindly rejected as there was a long way to go. Warnagala Ambalama was a little ahead, a 10 minute climb. From there again, we had to climb down about 100 meters to get to the waterfall. To this point, only about 2 km of the journey had been completed.

OMG! There's so much to tell and I'm gonna make it so brief...

And we started climbing again. On the way there were several resting places-'Ambalama' but they all seemed to be worn out, just like they hadn't been used in years. We were climbing uphill continuously from the start, at some points we ran. We were not sure of how many mountains we climbed, but still no sight of the Samanala mountain (to the starting point of the Hatton-Nallathanni trail, the peak of the Samanala mountain is clearly visible). At one moment, we thought the mountain we were just climbing was one of the mountains that belonged to the Sapthakanya (The Seven Virgins) mountain range. As we climbed, we could clearly see the vegetation changing and felt the weather getting colder. The forest canopy had grown so high that it made the forest so dark and shady. Streams were everywhere, hundreds of them with freezing, crystal clear water.

On the way, while climbing, our main topic was survival in the jungle. Well,  as you see, at this stage of the journey, we were at a place where human contact was in no way near and five of us felt something in our minds trying to invade. One of my friends brought up some ideas on survival that were from the Man Vs Wild tv series produced by the Discovery channel and 3 of my friends had already watched some episodes and I had not. By the time I write this, I have watched a whole season of it and recommend it to all who love exploring.

Seethagagula

So next we arrived at the place called Thummodara. An 'Ambalama', a resting place was there. We had just arrived in a valley connecting two mountains. The trail was leading to the other mountain, so we had to cross the river. It seemed to be a branch of  'Kuruganga' but at that place it was called 'Seethagangula' (means cold river) and of course, as the name implies, the water was freezing cold. After a little snack break, we continued our journey. Well I must say I would never really get tired of these breathtaking sights all the way through the journey.

First view of the peak

The journey continued, but there was still no sight of the peak. The climb was getting even harder. Frequent steep climbs and slippery rocks due to rain   were all over the trail and we had to pick up pace since no one of the crew had any idea when we would reach the peak. Then after about 2 hours, we arrived at the place called 'Idikatupahana' and for the first time, this was the moment we saw the peak of Sri Pada through the clouds, but to reach it, it seemed that there were still 3 mountains to pass. It was about 1.30 pm and we decided to have our lunch at 'Idikatupahana'. A larger resting place was also there, but it was also worn out. Didn't waste any time, we were back on our journey within half an hour.

Elephants...

A forest of bamboo-like plants grown very thickly in large bushes was clearly visible, but it seemed like they were crushed, broken and battered and leaves were all over the place. Soon we were able to find the cause- :O ELEPHANTS, well we didn't see any :'( but elephant dung was all over the trail for the next half an hour climb. Samanala Nature Reserve is famous for 'midget' elephants aka 'Kuru-Ali'. Actually, it's amazing how these elephants travel through these mountains and make these steep climbs.

Getting close to the peak...

Next, we arrived at the place where the Kuruwita-Erathna trail and the Ratnapura-Palabaddala trail meet. Our journey through the  forest wilderness seemed to be over because from there on we had the steps to climb, though they seemed to be somewhat irregular, about another 2.5 km to the trail end, the peak. It was getting colder, the vegetation was noticeably different, they were adapted to cold weather conditions. 'Heramitipahana' the next famous place, as we arrived there, the peak was clearly visible rising up in the sky. The mist was invading the area and we had to put our jackets on since it was getting much colder and headed for 'Mahagiridabhaya' (means great rock climb), the steepest climb you would ever find in the whole journey (there were almost 90 degree slopes). This part of the journey was truly the best, like nothing I had ever experienced in my life before. The scenery was so breathtaking that it made us feel like floating in heaven and of course, I must say our timing was perfect, it was around 4 in the evening.

By the time we started climbing 'Mahagiridabhaya' it was windy with mist and much colder. Even with our jackets on, we couldn't stand the cold. Finally, after an almost 11 hour journey, at about 6.30 pm we reached the peak. It was dark and fortunately, the 'Wishrama shalawa' resting place on the peak of Sri Pada was not locked. Otherwise, our only hope was to descend via the Hatton-Nallathanni trail, as it was almost impossible to descend through the Erathna trail at night in the off-season. We decided to spend the night at the resting place. There was a Buddhist monk and two others on the terrace and they were kind enough to give us mats and some clothes to sleep on and even helped us prepare our dinner. The ground was so freezing cold that even with shoes on, we couldn't walk around. The temperature was close to 0 degrees Celsius. Oh! Remember our low cost travel guide? We arranged a special mat for him to sleep on too. He had become a real member of our crew.

At 7 am, thick mist with strong winds

No one could sleep the whole night because of the cold, not to mention there was one who groaned for sometime :D I had never experienced that much cold in my life, just like being put into a deep-freezer. The next day, at dawn, the terrace was getting crowded with tourists. They had used the Hatton-Nallathanni trail to ascend. Last night we had decided to start descending at dawn, but it was almost impossible amid the strong winds and the cold weather conditions, and we were even unable to step out of the resting place. It was about 5.30 in the morning when darkness started to roll back. But not much difference it did because of the thick mist. So we waited and started descending at 7 am but still, the weather conditions were the same thick mist and strong winds, with rain. The descent was on the same trail we ascended. We were fortunate enough to experience more and more breathtaking scenery. As soon as  'Mahagiridabhaya' was finished climbing down, we added some pace and stopped only for a water break.

 After a long way down, close to 'Idikatupahana' near a stream, fresh elephant dung was found along with scattered fresh leaves all over the place. At first glance, we could tell elephants had been there within the last hour. Moving on, our next stop was at 'Thummodara' where 'Seetha Gangula' was. There, we had a little breakfast. The next stop was Warnagala, and everybody was in the mood to have a bath and have a little fun at Warnagala falls. Even though it was noon, the water was cold as hell (It was around 1 pm)

Along the Kuru Ganga...

Then came the most adventurous part of our journey. That was when we decided to descend along 'Kuru Ganga," the river. Wow! That was one amazing experience and at the same time, a very dangerous task. Even we couldn't believe our own eyes. This reminded us of the 127 Hours movie. Truly, there were places that were amazing and scary at the same time. Our guide, the dog, should not be forgotten. Actually, the way we were traveling along the river was not a suitable way for a dog, so we thought. It seemed almost impossible, but he always searched and found the most optimal way and surprised us with his keen sense while we were still struggling to climb down. We traveled quite a distance along the river, then one of the fellow crew members had to face a little accident and suffer from some minor injuries. So we had to find and join the trail again.

So here it is; the end of our journey back to Adavikanda. The descent took us only about 8 hours. Actually, on many occasions, we just ran and picked up pace. As we approached Adavikanda, we noticed that our guide-dog had vanished and there was no trace of him. Later, I heard stories about these kinds of animals helping humans just like this in Sri Pada. Well, as I heard, they were supposed to be gods in the form of animals. Well, I'm not sure about that, but what I am sure about is that we left only footprints and took only photographs.

From the left Udana, me, Buddhila, Dulitha, Supun