A Sri Lankan Hike

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

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