A Sri Lankan Hike
10 Nights 11 Days | Private Guided Tour | 1 – 4 Persons
A tour designed for true adventure enthusiasts looking to experience Sri Lanka’s rugged terrain and make the most of a daunting holiday experience. Rough through the tropical humidity and chilled weather.
What to Expect
Sri Lanka’s incredible landscape changes within a small drive of 2 to 3 hours from the city. The incredible greenery and the sight of rolling hills with hidden myths and legends is all part of a good Sri Lankan hike. This tour is all about experiencing Sri Lanka’s beauty and its intricate history sought only if you can stomach the daunting treks and hikes. This is not a luxury experience but a pure thriller through out the time in Sri Lanka.
Trek through Sri Lanka’s cloud forests, tea plantations, past rushing streams and cascading waterfalls on an overland journey by foot. Meet the locals of Meemure, a tiny village that time forgot. Paddle down the Kelani River nestled in the folds of the Knuckles Mountain Range. Summit the sacred pilgrimage site of Adam’s Peak on a sunrise trek that will reward you with breathtaking views. Take one of the world’s most atmospheric train journeys through the cloud forests and tea plantations of Sri Lanka’s highlands. Trek through the Horton Plains to the End of the World, to the top of a 4,000 meter plateau with expansive views.
Highlights
Itinerary
Day 01 - Airport - Colombo
As you land, you will arrive in Colombo 30 mins away from the International Airport and check in to the hotel. Feel free to take an evening stroll through town or get your first taste of Sri Lankan food. But we do recommend getting a full night’s sleep, because the next few days will be quite active.
Hotel: Lake Lodge Colombo • Meals: (Not Included)
Day 02 - Colombo - Hatton
After we’ve wandered down the most interesting city streets, we’ll settle in for our 5-hour drive to Adam’s Peak, a sacred mountain and pilgrimage site in Central Sri Lanka. After checking in to our hotel located in the mountain’s surrounding forest reserve, it’s best to get some sleep to prepare for our nighttime climb of Adam’s.
We’ll rise at around 3 a.m. for our sunrise assault on Adam’s Peak (this hike is only possible from December to April). Thousands of pilgrims trek Adam’s Peak every year to visit the sacred rock known as Sri Pada, or ‘sacred footprint’. This rock formation that measures roughly 2 meters long is revered by many world religions: Buddhists believe the formation to be the footprint of the Buddha, Hindus believe it is the footprint of Shiva, and Muslims and Christians believe it is the footprint of Adam or Saint Thomas.
Hotel: Slightly Chilled Hatton • Meals: Breakfast & Dinner
Day 03 - Hatton - Nuwara Eliya
After returning from your sunrise summit, enjoy a leisurely breakfast at the hotel or head back to bed without any pressure to meet any obligations for the rest of the morning.
In the afternoon, we’ll board a train bound for the cloud forests of Nuwara Eliya for one of the greatest train journeys in the world. We’ll wind past dramatic landscapes of Sri Lanka’s southern highlands, where vast tea plantations cover the hilly slopes and gushing waterfalls cascade down cliff faces. You will spend the rest of evening free and easy.
Hotel: Heaven Seven • Meals: Breakfast & Dinner
Day 04 - Nuwara Eliya - Knuckles
We’ll rise early again today for a relaxed, three-house hike to Horton Plains National Park. The wild expanse of Horton Plains, characterized by a mixture of grasslands and forests including the last montane forest in the country, is the only national park in Sri Lanka where visitors are allowed to roam around freely inside. Here, we’ll visit the multi-tiered cascades of Bakers Falls and summit the sheer, 4,000-meter-high cliff and vantage point known as World’s End. Horton Plains National Park is distinct in its utter solitude. You may not meet more than half a dozen people in a whole day.
After our day in the quietude of Horton Plains, we’ll drive the rest of the way to Knuckles Conservation Range.
Hotel: Dumbanagala Chalet’s • Meals: Breakfast & Dinner
Day 05 - Knuckles
Fuel up on breakfast today for our 12-kilometer, round-trip trek to the unique hamlet of Meemure. Until recently, most of rural villages in the Knuckles Mountain Range remained hidden in the forest and untouched by outside influences due to their utter remoteness. Village life went on as it always had, despite Sri Lanka’s rapid development. Isolated both geographically and culturally, villages like Meemure—where the local population only numbers 400—retained their cultural heritage for several centuries.
For lunch, sit down to a picnic on the banks of the Dindi Oya stream that runs near Meemure. If you’d like, take a dip in the natural rock pools before trekking back to the hotel. In the evening, why not take it easy and lounge in the fresh air, watching the sunset or enjoying an early evening drink? For dinner, enjoy some spicy Sri Lankan dishes at the hotel.
Hotel: Dumbanagala Chalet’s • Meals: Breakfast & Dinner
Day 06 - Knuckles
This morning after breakfast, begin your hike through the cloud forest to Kumbukgolla Village. Once there, we’ll meet the village elders and learn of the ancient legends that are so sacred to this area. You’ll be invited to try a cup of tea sweetened with Sri Lankan kithul jaggery, which is made from a blossoming palm plant.
After thanking our hosts, we’ll continue our hike to the beautiful curtains of cool water at Sera Ella Falls. Take a seat and relax in the cave behind the cascading water of Sera Ella, letting the cool mist spray your face. If you’d like, take an invigorating dip in the crystal-clear but chilly water of the Thelgamu Oya River. We’ll trek back to our hotel whenever you’re ready.
Hotel: Dumbanagala Chalet • Meals: Breakfast & Dinner
Day 07 - Knuckles - Kithulgala
We’ll rise early and have breakfast at the hotel to fuel up for our drive out of Knuckles Conservation Forest and into one of the most scenic locations in Sri Lanka. Kitulgala is one of the wettest regions of the country and is a popular hub for adventures and activities in nature, such as white water rafting.
We’ll go on our own rafting excursion on the Kelani River, which offers stretches of boulder-strewn rapids as well as calm sections to float past the landscapes of thick jungle, tea farms and rubber plantations. In the evening, we’ll visit the home of a local family that lives in Kitulgala. Inviting us into their kitchen, they’ll teach us how to cook traditional Sri Lankan dishes, and we’ll all sit down to dinner together.
Hotel: Borderlands Camp • Meals: Breakfast & Dinner
Day 08 - Kithulgala - Negombo
After breakfast at the camp and possibly a morning kayak session, check out in the afternoon to head towards Negombo. Today you rest easy by the beach.
Hotel: Jetwing Beach • Meals: Breakfast & Dinner
Day 09 - Negombo - Airport
Today, depending on your departure flight time, you can either relax or check out of the hotel. Don’t forget to recollect the memories of your trip with your chauffer and write your feedback.
Meals: Breakfast
Best time to Travel
Ideal time to take this tour is between December and May where the least amount of rain is expected at the Knuckles and Adam’s Peak.
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