The Hike of My Life-4 Days in the Knuckles Range:Day 1

(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 ‘Kobbekaduwa’ who had been to Kalupahana a few months ago.

"Kalupahana is located amidst Knuckles Conservation Forest. This area was used for the cultivation of cardamom and more than a thousand people worked in those cardamom estates. The cultivation of cardamom, covering about 2700 hectares, including more than 80 barns that were used to dry cardamom seeds, locally known as ‘Vadi’ in the forest reserve, is one of the major contributors to the degradation of forest habitats in the Knuckles range, which leads to the destruction of forest undergrowth. Even though the Department of Forest Conservation has burned and destroyed most of the cardamom estates and banned growing cardamom, there are still active small scale cardamom estates running behind the curtains."

Small waterfall at the entrance to Rathnagiriya estate

They were going through hard times as the cardamom estates were no longer active. Both of them had lost their jobs and now they engage in cattle farming and crop cultivation. According to them, even their crops were being eaten and destroyed by sambar deer, whose numbers have increased significantly over the past decade. Apparently, after the Department of Forest Conservation banned cardamom estates, poaching may also have decreased as an incidental result.

According to them, the trail to Kalupahana doesn’t exist now. It’s covered by undergrowth and you have to have machete-like knives to clear the path. They accompanied us half way through Rathnagiriya estate, passing line rooms, a bridge with a waterfall, the entrance to Rathnagiriya estate and where there was a landslide recently. The jeep track was supposed to end at a place called ‘Dalumaduwa’ where tea leaves from Rathnagiriya estate were collected, but access to it was blocked by the landslide. Just after passing where the landslide occurred, we bid farewell to Kobbekaduwa and Maniraj and continued our journey.

"Dalumaduwa" - The location where plucked tea leaves are collected

We arrived at ‘Dalumaduwa’ within no time. The upper part of Rathnagiriya estate, called ‘Rathnagiriya-kanda’ was clearly visible and covered with grass (locally called a pathana). To enter the jungle, we had to get to the top of it. It was very windy at the top. We could clearly hear the sound of Sambhar deer. Through the jungle, our first destination was a cardamom barn called ‘KMP Vadiya’ which was in the direction of the north-east, as our 1:10000 map indicated. We found no trail leading in that direction, but a lone mountain covered with thick forest, the top covered with clouds, which we assumed to be ‘Selva-kanda’ (later found that it wasn’t). After a difficult descent from the pathana, we came across a stream. It had carved steps like rocks, which made us even believe that we were on the right track.

Nature forced us to get a rest there after discovering the tons of leeches that had just begun to trouble us, only to know that the precautions, mainly salt powder, were not effective in these kinds of montane rain forests, besides, these were not the typical leeches found elsewhere, they were poisonous.

After a little rest, the journey continued, entering the dense forest patch and going up streams. It was a continuous, steep climb through wet, slippery conditions. Every few minutes, we had to check for leeches. As we climbed up, it was getting colder with the mist. After a while, we passed a small open area in which I thought our camping tent could fit. I marked the place in my mind just in case. The ascent was getting steeper. It was about 3 p.m. when we had lunch on a rock boulder we found, which interfered with a drizzle. It took another hour of climbing to make us realize that we couldn't go any further because a giant cliff was standing in our way. It was getting darker. We made a quick decision to get back to the small open area, set up camp, and go around the mountain the next morning.

Setting up the fire

It was impossible, even with kerosine...

Setting up the camp was nearly impossible due to strong winds and of course, setting up a fire was completely impossible. With the howling winds and cold, the dark night was incredibly frightening and as if that wasn’t enough, even the leeches were second to none in tormenting us.

Continued on next post - The Hike of My Life - 4 Days in the Knuckles Range: Day 2