(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 2
Day 3
The morning was cold, way colder than the night. After having a little breakfast, some crackers with cheese and coffee, we set out around 8 a.m., heading for the place where the trail branched off to two just after passing the tree-trunk bridge. The previous day, we tried the trail to the right. Since it did not give us much hope, our only chance was to try the trail to the left.
The set of waterfalls, including Doowili Falls, belongs to Kalu Ganga, the river flowing northeast, initiating from the middle of the Knuckles Range. So our decision was based on pure logic; just follow a stream that would eventually lead us to the river and that is exactly what we did. Although the trail got lost, we kept pushing forward, descending, following the sound of the streams and eventually found the starting point of a stream that grew bit by bit as we went down stream with it.
Below are some of the tons of photos taken as we hiked along the Kalu-ganga on the third day.
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| First waterfall (about 10 m) we found, in a cave at the beginning of the stream, difficult to reach. |
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| 2nd waterfall, about 5 meters in height |
The scenery was like paradise that no words could ever describe, and no photos could ever capture the moment that we experienced. We were passing through an intermediate zone between the dry and wet zones of the Knuckles range. We just went along and tried to stay as close to the stream as we could. Along the way, we found so many waterfalls ranging from 3 meters to 25 meters.
As the dry zone was being reached, though the leech problem seemed to be over, more dangerous problems arose. It was as if the nature hinting at us to leave the paradise. At first, it was when the odor of vipers was caught by our poorly functioning noses (due to the lack of energy in the past two days), but fortunately we took extra measures, covering our legs with appropriate clothing in case of such a bite from a poisonous snake.
Compared to the moderately venomous Green Pit Viper found in the wet zone (in Kalupahana area), the Russell's Viper found in the dry zone of the Knuckles range is highly venomous.
Well, for the second one, we did not see that coming. It was a plant that villagers refer to as "Ma-Ussa (මා-උස්සා)", a poisonous stinging plant. At first, we thought it was nettle plants (කහබිලියා) which is a common guess, but it was way worse than that. When touched with the skin, it feels an itchy, stinging, burning sensation, but with a single drop of water on it, you wish you'd want to peel out your own flesh. It was that bad and lasted for almost two weeks. If someone ever asked me to choose between leeches and Ma-Ussa I would definitely choose the disgusting blood suckers very happily.
The third was when we discovered elephant dung along the way closer to the 9th fall in the afternoon.
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| 3rd waterfall, about 4 meters |
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| 4th waterfall, Just like a painting... |
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| 5th waterfall at a distance... |
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| A Giant Pool, few meters deep, more than 10 meters wide |
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| This one was huge, about 50m in total height |
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| This is where we had lunch, around 12.30pm |
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| This waterfall is from another branch, we came from the left. |
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| If you'll ever be here, you would not want to leave - Pure Paradise |
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| Straight down more than 50 feet, only possible option at that time |
It was around 5 p.m. when we arrived at the top of the 9th fall. Water just fell into an abyss between two huge rock mountains on both sides, the bottom was not even visible and the river also vanished. This fall could be more than 60 meters in height. It was getting darker and we had no time to find a way to climb down the waterfall and find the river, so we had no choice but to find a place to camp for the day. This was the dry zone of the Knuckles range. The jungle around us had no thick undergrowth but a high canopy and there was a thick layer of leaves covering the ground. Above all, there was clear evidence of elephants roaming in this area. Since there was no way to the right, which was blocked by a huge rock mountain, we turned right, entered the jungle and climbed up. It was more like a dry zone version of a pine tree forest in the hill country. There was a pathana (grassland) on the top of the mountain. More and more evidence confirmed that the elephants were here within the last few days.
We had to make a quick decision to put up the tent in the middle of the dark forest. After removing the thick layer of dried leaves from the ground, it was dark when we finished putting up the tent. We also made a fire with a fallen tree trunk and had to take extra measures so that it wouldn't lead to a forest fire. Night's plan was to take two-hour shifts for each crew member to guard the tent while others slept.
It was our third day and third night and we still had no clue when we'd be able to finish our hike, or, to be precise, when we would be able to get out of the jungle; food supplies were running out and we were camping in the territory where the elephants roamed while I and a few others had come into contact with Ma-Ussa. We had every reason to be frightened. At this point, I think even the cold-hearted would start to doubt themselves even a little.
The night was very windy, more like gales. The most frightening thing was the sound of breaking tree branches. Every time, we thought it was elephants, regardless of the fact that it was due to strong winds, but later at some point, I thought, what if elephants actually came closer to our camp? What if they were the ones who actually broke those branches? Well god knows...
continued on next post -
The Hike of My Life-4 Days in the Knuckles Range:Day 4
This seems like an amazing hike. I would never dare doing it by myself with friends. Do you know of any guides who would join such a trip?
ReplyDeleteThis post is almost a decade old :) However, since then I've tackled that same hike twice more and each time we discovered trails in some parts that we previously missed. This journey is essentially across the Knuckles range from one end to the other and I highly doubt you'll be able to find a guide from where we started. Also Rambukkoluwa Village, where we ended on the fourth day doesn't exist anymore. It's been deserted due to the Moragahakanda reservoir project and now most of the village is underwater now :( But you can still hike to the upper parts of the Knuckles range and make your way towards Atanwala Village and Riverstone.
ReplyDeleteMy suggestion is that you'll most probably be able to find a guide if you do the hike in reverse compared to what we did. There are guides in Atanwala village who can lead you up to Duwili Falls, which is the main waterfall, or even beyond if you're lucky :)
You can get there via Matale -> Riverstone -> Atanwala Village.
Happy hiking!