Highlands Of Sri Lanka

Day 1
Flights usually depart London in the evening.

Day 2
The group flight arrives at Colombo's Katunake Airport and we transfer to our hotel at Yapahuwa (100km, 3.5hrs drive). Those not flying with the group can meet us at the hotel or the airport in time for the transfer to Yapahuwa.

Day 3
An early start today with a short drive to the Yapahuwa ruined city, a 13th century former capital of Sri Lanka famous for its Sinhalese rock carvings. We then have a short warm up walk which takes us gently through villages and rice paddies, where we can see life unchanged for centuries. The walking is flat and will take approx 4 hours, although it can be hot and humid. Passing a few 'tanks', man made reservoirs, we reach the village of Dehenakgama, where we have a picnic lunch. A short walk brings us to the main road where we meet our bus for the 43km drive to Aukana, where we viait the 5th century stone statue of Buddha, one of the most magnificent undamaged statues of Buddha. A 45 minute drive takes us past the large Kalawewa Tank to Namal Uyana, the famous Iron Wood tree forest and rose quartz rock. It's an easy 45 minute climb through the forest to a Buddha statue with great views of the surrounding countryside. We then have a final 40minute drive to our hotel on the outskirts of Dambulla.

Day 4
We have an early morning visit to the magnificent Cave Temple at Dambulla, for some, the most impressive sight in Sri Lanka. There are colourful and very well preserved paintings and statues of Buddha inside the caves, which date back to the 1st century BC. We then drive to Sirigriya, where the imposing 5th century rock fortress of Sigiriya rises 600 feet from the plains overlooking the surrounding countryside giving far-reaching views. Used as a safe haven from invaders, the route to the top is up a series of steep steps and gangways. From the base, where a moat surrounds impressive water gardens, we ascend 200m, passing an overhanging rock under which superb portraits of native maidens holding flowers and temple offerings still adorn the rock wall. Crowning the flat-topped summit of the rock are extensive remains of the King's Summer Palace from where there are breath-taking views of the surrounding countryside. The descent is much easier and we have lunch in a local restaurant before driving to the 10th century capital of Sri Lanka at Polonnaruwa, the ancient capital of the Sinhalese. Here there are many Buddhist relics and ruins dating from a thousand years ago when Sinhalese culture reached its zenith. Polonnaruwa flourished in the 12th century, after the decision was made to move the capital from Anuradhapura so it was further away from the incursions from southern India. The ruins are therefore younger and better preserved than those at Anuradhapura. We cycle round the temples, palaces, huge dagobas (Buddhist stupas) and remarkable Buddhist sculptures.

Day 5
After a relaxed breakfast we have a short drive to Dimbulagala - Dalukana and the Namal Pokuna Temple where we start our walk. The trail ascends through dense forest and the trees provide some shade from the intense heat. Huge boulders are scattered along the trail and at times we must scramble around them. Eventually we reach a viewpoint on the ridge overlooking a huge tank and sometimes we can spot wild elephants as they come to the tank for water. From the viewpoint we make our way across to a white stupa at the end of the ridge. Every full moon this hill is full of pilgrims visiting the temples and stupas dotted around. We descend steeply down to the main Dimbulagala temple where there is a small shop selling welcome cold drinks. We then drive for about two hours to the Wasgamuwa National Park. Approx 4 to 4.5 hours walking.

Day 6
This morning there is an optional walk round the village close to our hotel and a chance to spot some of the many birds including Egrets, Kingfishers and maybe a Fish Eagle. For those who prefer to relax the hotel has a swimming pool. After lunch we have a jeep safari into the Wasgamuwa National Park. The area became a National Park in 1984 and the name comes from the Sinhala words Walasa, which means Sloth Bear and Gamuwa which means forest. Sloth Bears are now very rare but the park is famous for its herds of Wild Elephants and birds.

Day 7
The next two days takes us across the famous Knuckles Mountain Range. Named after the shape of the peaks, there are more than 35 mountains in the range. We start early today as it's a long day and we have a two hour drive to the start of our walk. The road winds its way slowly into the foothills to the start of the Manigala Trail. The walk starts with an easy descent past rice paddies through the villages of Pitawala Patana and Etanwala. Descending all the way to the river we cross a small bridge and start to climb up through more farmland. We finally emerge at the top of an escarpment where we get great views of the surrounding countryside. It's a hot walk and can be very humid and we will be glad of the small breeze at the top. An easy trail takes us along the top of the escarpment to Manigala Top at 1115m, the high point of today. We then descend all the way to the Illikumbura Forest Office. Some of the descent is a little steep. From the Forest Office it's a 20 minute walk to our campsite by the river where we can bathe in the cool refreshing river water. Today is the longest walk and is approx 15km, 7 hours walking. (Please note - occasionally due to high water levels we use an alternative campsite. The alternative campsite is about 40 minutes drive from Illikumbura).

Day 8
A short half hour drive to the Narangamuwa Temple at Ranamuregama. We pass rice paddies and coconut groves and enter a heavily forested area. The trail climbs gently for an hour and then levels out and undulates though this wonderful forest. The only sounds we can hear is the birdsong all around us. We emerge from the forest at Meemure village and looking back we get great views of the pointed peak of Lakegala. Passing farms growing pepper and other spices we come to a small shop where we have a simple lunch. Approx 5 hours walking. After lunch we take a truck or trishaws for a bumpy ride to Corbetts Gap, a famous viewpoint. Our bus will meet us here for the 90 minute drive to our hotel at Orutota overlooking the Victoria Reservoir.

Day 9
A relaxing morning after the exertions of the last few days with time to enjoy the garden and pool at the hotel. Mid morning we have a short 18km drive to Kandy and we have the afternoon to explore the town. Kandy is located on a small lake and we can walk round the lake famous for several varieties of water birds and large Water Monitors. We visit the Temple of the Tooth, which houses Sri Lanka's most important Buddhist relic. The Tooth of Buddha was taken from the funeral pyre in 543 BC and only found its way to Sri Lanka in the 4th century AD. There are literally hundreds of worshippers who visit the temple each day and in August the most spectacular ceremony takes place. In the evening we may have the chance to attend a performance of the athletic Kandian Dancing and fire eating.

Day 10
This morning we take the train from Kandy to Ambewela, a wonderfully picturesque 5 hour journey. The train winds its way up through vibrant green tea plantations into the hill country. The train travels at a fairly slow pace so there is plenty of time to take photos. Ambewela station is one of the highest in the country at 1845m. We start walking from the station and take the track through Ambewela Farm, a large dairy farm famous for its dairy products. On a clear day we can see Mount Piduruthalagala, the highest mountain in Sri Lanka. The trail takes us gradually up to a small col where we get a wonderful view down to the tea gardens of Dayagama, one of the largest tea estates in Sri Lanka. Our trail winds all the way down to the village and we have chance to see the tea pluckers at work. We meet our bus in the village and drive to Dickoya. Tonight we stay in simple colonial tea planters bungalows. Approx 4 hours walking.

Day 11
Today we have time to explore the hill country. The climate should be cooler. There is the option today to do a full days walk in the surrounding hills and tea plantations or for those who want to enjoy the pleasant garden of the bungalow we can do a half days walk around the Castlereagh Reservoir which lies just below our bungalow. On a clear day we can see the outline of Adams Peak in the distance.

Day 12
This morning we drive to Boranjamuwa where we begin our walk. We trek easily downhill through a wonderful forest of eucalyptus. Further down we come to small tea plantations and rice paddies, which we follow to a waterfall where we have time to bathe before trekking to our hotel at Belihul Oya set by the river. Approx 4 hours easy walking downhill. For those who would like a challenge there is the possibility today of a longer walk. From the village we take an old horse trail used by the British and climb up through wonderful pine forest for about 4 hours to a gap in the hills. We emerge from the forest at the Kariwatta Tea Estate, high up in the hills at 1800m, with wonderful views in all directions. We descend to a rough road where we can pick up a trishaw to the main road where our bus will meet us. (This longer walk will be about 8 hours).

Day 13
This morning we descend back to the lowlands and drive to Tissamaharama, where we spend the next two nights. We should arrive by late morning and after lunch we have a safari drive in the afternoon. Yala National Park is Sri Lanka's best known National Park and is popular for elephant, leopard, bear, crocodile and wild boar. More than three times larger than Udawalawe at 97,800 hectares, this is the second largest of Sri Lanka's national parks. Its open undulating terrain made it famous for elephants for many years, but recently the park has become well known for leopard. The park, which is primarily shrub jungle with several salt and fresh water lagoons, has one of the highest concentrations of leopard per square kilometre in the world. (Please note that the sanctuary may be closed for 4-6 weeks from September to October allowing the park authorities to check the animals. We therefore go to an alternative area close by, usually the Udawalawe National Park).

Day 14
A early morning start for the short drive to Kataragama Temple. This temple is a pilgrimage place for both Hindua and Buddhists, who come to worship here in the early mornings and evenings. The colourful and noisy temple is always busy. From the temple we drive to the bottom of Wedihiti Kanda, from where we have our last walk to the summit, a walk of approx 3.5 hours. We return to our hotel in Tissamaharama and there will be time to relax in the garden and enjoy the pool this afternoon.

Day 15
We drive to the coast and en route we can visit the Kalametiya Bird Sanctuary, a marshy area around a tank which is very good for bird spotting. We should reach our hotel by mid day and the afternoon is free to relax on the beach.

Day 16
If you are travelling on the group flight we will have an early morning transfer to the airport for the flight to London (approximately 4 hours drive). The arrangements for those not flying with the group ends after check out at Weligama.