From Horton Plains to Bogawanthalawa

Hiking Kirigalpoththa Mountain and the Bridle Trail

This hike consisted of two trails: Kirigalpoththa, the famous nature trail, which is also the second highest mountain in Sri Lanka with an altitude of  2388m above mean sea level and the Bridle Trail, which is also famous among hikers and has a history dating back to the colonial era. (Special Permission from the Department of Wildlife is needed to do the bridle trail.)

The crew consisted of me and three of my friends. We left Colombo on the night mail train to Badhulla, which leaves at 8 p.m. from Colombo Fort and arrived at Ohiya at 5 a.m. the next morning. From there, we hired a van to go to Horton Plains visitors' center. It was early in the morning, actually we were the ones who woke up the officer at Horton Plains entrance :D We knew that the earlier you go to Horton Plains, the more sambar deer you get to see and of course we did. After passing the entrance, we saw hundreds of sambar deer roaming the plains. Even though I had visited Horton Plains before, this was the first time I saw that many sambar deer in a herd.

We arrived at the visitor's center around 7 a.m. and started the hike as planned. There's a clear trail to Kirigalpoththa Mountain, which is 7 km long, where one could hardly get lost in the trail. The bridle trail begins halfway through the Kirigalpoththa trail. Our plan was to get to the peak of Kirigalpoththa first and then come back to where the bridle trail begins.

Peak of Kirigalpoththa

View from the top

We were able to reach the summit of Kirigalpoththa around 10 a.m. It was not a difficult hike, but we knew that the hardest part was waiting for us. Then we came back to the place where the Bridle trail begins. There's a stream across the trail called Slab Rock Falls. Coming from the direction of the visitor's center, if you go right, it's the Kirigalpoththa trail and if you go left, the trail goes into the woods and disappears. That's the bridle trail. Now the trail almost doesn't exist since it's not being used. The Lakdasun trail guide and our 1:10000 map backed us up as we went forward.

Slab Rock Falls- to the left Bridle Trail

It was about 11.30 a.m. when we started the hike from Slab Rock Falls to Bogawanthalawa. After about 200 meters, the trail disappeared in the woods. We had no choice but to go through the woods until we reached the next landmark, a concrete slab over a stream. It was another mountain with thick dense thorny undergrowth with creepers blocking our way. After about three hours, we could get to the other side of the mountain with scratches and bruises all over our bodies. Only after that did we see the vague footpath that went around the mountain, which we didn't find on the other side.

However, after walking about 30 to 45 minutes, passing a grassland and scaring a sambar stag, we had to come back to the place where the concrete slab was, as it seemed to be the ideal place for camping since it was getting darker. There was plenty of dried wood around, mainly because it was not the rainy season and no rain at Horton Plains comes with the price of freezing temperatures at night. Firewood was no problem and we set up our small tent. After having a sufficient dinner, we crawled inside the tent, hoping to get some sleep, but it was almost impossible. The FAQ for four hours was "What is the time?" No one could sleep. It was freezing, and the tent also seemed to be leaking.  It was midnight and we had no choice but to set a fire and sit around it till the morning. In the morning, we figured out the reason for the leakage. In fact, it was not a leak or the fault of our tent. It was because of the dew formed by ice. Can you even believe it? Our tent was frozen with ice.

Believe it or not, this is ICE on the tent

Much Anticipated Sunrise at 5.30 am

Expecting many more surprises, we started the second day's hike. There was no trail. We just followed the map and headed in the direction of the southwest, where North Cove Estate was located, through dense undergrowth, with ascents and descents passing grasslands and sometimes going along sambar deer trails. The next landmark was the illegal gem pits located closer to the boundary of Horton Plains. To do gem mining, it must be closer to a river or a place where there is a sufficient amount of water. So as it says "Rivers are highways in the jungle", we just followed a stream until we found a sign of gem mining.

Hard to tackle the trail

Dense Undergrowth

Rivers are High Ways in the Jungle

We walked for more than two hours along a stream and almost incidentally found the first gem mine among the dwarf  bamboo bushes, of which we could not figure out the depth. For the next 2–3 km, there were many gem pits on the bank of the stream. Passing them again, a trail appeared across the grassland. It was a climb and when we got to the top, it was a one-of-a-kind view for the naked eye. It was a valley where several streams met. The next landmark was the turpentine forest, to which we had to go along the mainstream of the valley to the right, where we found a clear trail leading to it. Beyond the turpentine forest is the North Cove Estate.

Abandoned Gem Mine

Gem pit

The valley

The trail leading to the Turpentine Forest

The Turpentine Forest

End of the trail - Entrance to North Cove Estate

North Cove Estate

It was 2.30 pm when we arrived at the trail end, the North Cove Estate, the end of a 23 km two-day hike and we had to walk another 2 km through the tea estate to catch a bus to Bogawanthalawa and then from Bogawanthalawa to Hatton and return to Colombo.

As always, this was a hike with unforgettable experiences, which I take great pride in talking about.