Hikes Sri Lanka – backpackerssrilanka

Gongala Hike – Deniyaya

By Admin on Wednesday, June 5, 2019

Sri Lanka has three separate main mountain ranges named as central Hills, Knuckles massif and Sabaragamuwa Mountain range. Piduruthalagala (2524m) is the highest of Central hills as well as of the Sri Lanka. Gombaniya (1906m) is the highest of Knuckles massif and Gongala (1357m) the highest of Sabaragamuwa (Rakwana) Range.

According to the folk tales Gongala has been named after its appearance of an Ox. This kind of a hike which must do by any hiker. In a sunny day without mist the view is splendid.

How to Reach

Somehow, trekkers need to come to Hayes state to reach the trail head. There are two ways you can come to Hayes state.

Via Rakwana>Suriyakanda Road >Hayes State
Deniyaya>Hayes state

There are few ways even you can come to Deniyaya as well

Galle >Akuressa>Deniyaya.
Matara>Akuressa>Deniyaya
Mathugama>Neluwa>Deniyaya

Mode of Transportation

Public Transport – If you are planning to use public transport you need to find a way to reach Deniyaya somehow.

Bus routes to reach Deniyaya

Colombo – Deniyaya (You can take this bus from pettah bus stand and there are two routes for this bus as well. One goes via Neluwa and the other one goes via Galle) Better Contact pettah bus stand to find the bus timetable (TP – 0112328081) Also you can book the tickets through busbooking.lk for your convenience and avoid the hustle bustle.

Colombo – Galle/Matara – Deniyaya (You can reach Galle or Matara by bus or Train. If you are planning to reach matara or galle by train check on slr.malindaprasad.com for Train schedule. Then you can take a bus from galle or Matara to deniyaya.

Rathnapura – Suriyakanda – Heys estate (For the people who are coming via Rathnapura, this is the best option since you don’t have to come back to Deniyaya. You can get off from Heyes estate, where the difficult part starts.

Once you reach Deniyaya, you have to find a way to Reach Heyes Estate.

Option one is catching a bus from Deniyaya to Suriyakanda/Morning Side which goes via Heyes estate.

Or You have to hire a three-wheeler or Van.

Once you reach the Hayes estate, you have to start the difficult part from there. Road Condition from Hayes estate to Trail head is really worse. Public transportation is not available on this road and if you are planning to use three-wheeler, they will charge around 800-1000 (one way). If you are planning to go, there by your own vehicle you must need a vehicle with good ground clearance. So, I recommend the Motorbikes are the best mode of transportation for this.

Starting the Trek

Abandoned Doppler tower is the main landmark to identify the trail head. There is an office/Controlling center 250M right before the doppler tower. You can park the vehicles/bikes there and start the trek.

Small path (Trail Head) starts from the left side of the doppler tower. There are three Viewpoints in Gongala Range. It’s easy to find the 1^st peak since there is a clear pathway to the 1^st peak. Although its bit unclear the path to 3^rd viewpoint, you might not get lost if you pay attention on your way towards 3^rd peak.

3^rd viewpoint itself provides a 360-degree viewpoint on a day with clear sky. It will take only 2 – 3 Hours up and down if you are in the right path

Pay your Attention

Road Condition of the Hayes Estate to Doppler Tower (Trail Head) is really bad. So, pay your attention on this when planning the mode of Transportation.
Carry Enough water. There are no water sources on your way to peak.
Use leach replicants. Since this is a rain, you can’t predict the density of leeches. Situation will be really bad on a Rainy day.
Avoid rainy and Misty and rainy days as much as possible to get a clear view on the top.
On a misty day, it will be covered with mist and you might not be able to find the way back. And even on the normal days with good weather conditions, Situation will be changes within small time period. So be prepared and have an idea about your location and directions. If it is getting darker or unclear, try to get out of the area ASAP.

Enjoy the journey. Please minimize plastic and polythene. And try to bring at least one plastic bottle back those have left there by the irresponsible travelers. Be the responsible traveler who saves the planet earth. Travel with less number of people. It will increase your experience and satisfaction as well as it will reduce the bad effects on environmental system.

Travel Blog

Knuckles – Five peaks

By Admin on Monday, February 4, 2019

When someone thinks about Hiking and trekking in Sri Lanka, the first thing comes to mind is Knuckles mountain range. Knuckles range or the massif is a collection of 34 main mountain peaks. It provides a huge variety of bio diversity across the 3 districts in Sri lanka. When talking about the knuckles, there are few main entry points to the range. Riverstern, Bambarella, Thangappuwa, Coberts gap, kalugala can be recognized as few of the main entry points. This mountain range Knuckles (Dumbara mountain range) has been named as knuckles because it looks like a clenched fist. Originally it has been called as dumbara mountain range because of the Misty surrounding of the range. This clenched fist or the five peaks of knuckles has become one of the famous treks between trekkers. This post will provide you the essential tips to do the five peaks treks within one day. How to reach There are most common two ways to do this trek. 1^st and easiest one is starting from the bambarella and the other one is starting the trek from thangappuwa. 1^st option (bambarella) is the easiest and most common one to do the trek. There are two ways to reach Bambarella as well. Reaching via Panwila is little bit rough when comparing to the Wattegama road due to the road condition.

Kandy >Panwila>Bambarella>5Peaks
Kandy>Wattegama> Panwila>Bambarella>5Peaks

Mode of Transportation

By Bikes – We recommend this is the best way to reach since you can reach upto trail head by bikes.
By Car or any other private vehicle. Road Condition is little bit bad after passing Panwila. Things getting worst right after passing the Bambarella Bridge. If you travel by a car or a vehicle with low deck, we recommend parking the vehicle at bambarella and walking up through the tea estate towards trail head. (villagers will show you the way) But you have to walk another 1h to reach the trail head.
By public Transport – There are busses to bambarella from Kandy. Or you can take a Wattegama bus from Kandy and then catch a bambarella bus from wattegama. But you can’t rely on the time table of the Bambarella bus. Then again you have to walk that extra 1km through the tea estates until you reach the trail head.

You can always ask directions from the Villegers since there are houses until you reach the trail head. Keep the land mark in your mind “Water factory” (wathura factory – According to locals). If you are not going walk through the tea estates to reach the trailhead, passing so called water factory is the best way to reach the trail head by any vehicle. Trail head is 1km away from the water factory. Permission As I got to know this trek requires prior permission (Have to buy tickets). But there is no any ticket counter at the location. If you want to buy a ticket better buy it from the wattegama Wildlife rage office. Best Season We did this on a 31^st of December. It was a rainy season. But luckily it didn’t rain. Best season for the trek is February. Use leach protections if you are travelling in a rainy season Tips

Use leach protections
Carry enough water since there are no any proper water source right after you pass the knuckles falls (2L per Person. If you are planning to do camping you might require more)
Consider about the mist and rainy conditions. Although there is a noticeable footpath up until the 2^nd You can easily get lost right after the 3^rd peak in a misty condition.

When you walk around 10-15m after starting the trek from trail head, you will come across a water stream. If you take the left path it will direct you to the five peaks. If you walk 5 meters along the right side foot path you can see the small but amazing knuckle falls. Then you can start the trek again. It will be a steep ascend. So take the breaks according to your fitness level. Before reaching the 1^st peak there is only one place where you can lose your way. You will come across a 3way junction. Left one leads to the 1^st peak where the right side turn will lead you to the thangappuwa (Alugallena). That is the other entry points to the knuckles 5 peaks as we have mentioned at the beginning. SO keep the left until you reach the 1^st peak. First peak had only a small view point (Window like) and there was a cleared area which was used for camping. Second peak seems to be the highest point with a rocky summit. This is kind of a touristic trek. We met more than 15 foreign trekkers and also we did the trek with a German friend. We met him during the trek but we completed the 5 peaks together. Most of the trekkers going up until the 2^nd peak, But sincerely best view comes after the 3^rd peak. Trek with a time frame. You might get lost if it gets darker or if the mist covers the way. On your return journey don’t forget to dip in the knuckles falls. It’s really a relaxing experience. Enjoy the journey. Please minimize plastic and polythene. And try to bring at least one plastic bottle back those have left there by the irresponsible travelers. Be the responsible traveler who saves the planet earth. Travel with less number of people. It will increase your experience and satisfaction as well as it will reduce the bad effects on environmental system. Check the video on backpackers Sri Lanka Youtube Channel –

Travel Blog

Kirigalpotta Hike

By Admin on Monday, July 16, 2018

It’s the 2^nd Highest and Highest hiking destination in Sri Lanka [2,388 m (7,835 ft.)]. Since Piduruthalagala (Highest Mountain in Sri Lanka) can be reached only by vehicle (with Prier Permission) Kirigalpotta has become the highest hiking destination in Sri Lanka.

Kirigalpotta Trekking trail starts from the Horton Plains National Park and the Entrance point of the Horton Plains national Park can be reached via two different ways.

1^st by train

If you are travelling from Colombo, you can take the Badulla train from Fort railway station and you have to get off from the Pattipola railway station. Horton plains ticketing counter has located 5.5km away from the Pattipola Railway station. From ticketing counter to Starting point of the trek there will be another 4.7 km. Total distance from Pattipola station to starting point of the trek will be around 10 km. It’s possible to pic a three wheeler or a van to cover this distance from Pattipola station also possible to do it by foot on your preference but 1st option is recommended since the 2^nd option consumes your valuable time. Spare the time to enjoy the amazing hike.
Also you can get off from ohiya and follow the same procedure since the distances almost the same. Below map shows the distance guide from the both stations (Pattipola and ohiya.)

2^nd By Bus

You can take the Nuwara eliya Bus from pettah bus station and get off from Nuwara eliya. There are few busses operating from Nuwara eliya to pattipola and Nuwara eliya to Ambewela. Then the Rest of the journey would be same as the 1^st But I recommend the 1st Option (Travel by Train) since the above mentioned two bus services are not reliable. Better go there by Train. It will save your time and money.

Fort to Pattipola Train schedule I have mentioned below with reaching time to pattipola for you convenience when you are planning your hike to kirigalpotta.

Once you reach Hortain Plains Park you have to start the trek from the Park bungalow side. From there it’s exactly 7km trek up to the peak. But it will take only 3-4 hours if there’s supportive weather condition. Story will be different with bad weather or Mist. So be prepared for any kind of situation in this amazing trek. Don’t carry plastic and polythene. I have mentioned below few land marks with my photos. Make sure you pass all of those, and then you won’t miss your target even in a mist or bad weather situation. Enjoy the journey. Save this amazing and beautiful location for future trekkers as well. Be a responsible traveller while you are enjoying the nature. Thanks for reading.

Tag Archives: Hikes Sri Lanka

Gongala Hike – Deniyaya

Knuckles – Five peaks

Kirigalpotta Hike