Day 1 (Monday):

Before setting off on our trip we set some goals and stated what we were looking forward to. I wrote that I was looking forward to getting to know the MYP5s better and my goal was to get some serious exercise/hiking in.

Today after driving for a few hours and arriving at a small restaurant for lunch, we hiked about 6 kilometers to Kinchiguna where we were staying the night. We walked to the nearby lake and swam. It was very fun and the people from our grade (DP1) got to know the people in the grade below (MYP5)

Day 2 (Tuesday):

Today we woke up at 6:30 am and gathered for breakfast at 7 and then left at 8. We then went on the bus for about an hour and then started walking towards the waterfalls. After hiking for about an hour, we got to the waterfall and then changed to swim. As expected, the water was freezing. Fortunately for me, I love the cold so I found it quite nice and refreshing. It was definitely the highlight of my day. The view on the hike back was also amazing. We were quite high up in a terrain that didn’t look like Sri Lanka. After getting back, we settled into the Monastery where we were staying and then later went for a walk around the area. It was beautiful and the weather was nice and cool. After that, we had dinner and finally slept.

Day 3 (Wednesday):

Today we had the most hiking. We started off the day at 6:30 and had egg sandwiches for breakfast. The sandwiches were quite disappointing. Since food is very important to me, this day was not off to a great start. Soon after I was even more disappointed to learn that we had to pack them to take for lunch as well. Anyways, after breakfast, we drove for an hour to our hiking trail and took off to see the “Greater World’s End”. The hike there was completely surreal. We were so high up that at points we were literally walking through clouds. We would look back and forwards and just see the white, cloudy mist. When we got there it was even more surreal. Looking down was like peering over into an abyss of nothingness as we had actually reached the World’s End, hence the name. Even when the clouds cleared it was still a very impressive sight: a drop of around 500 meters straight down. It was an unforgettable day.

Day 4 (Thursday):

The event I will be recalling is the fourth day of our highlands week without walls trip. Today was the day we would hike to and climb “devil’s seat”. We started the day quite early, waking up at about 6:30 am and eating at 7. Shortly after eating, we embarked on our hike to the devil’s seat, which was about an hour’s trek away from the monastery we were staying at. At first, we were mostly just walking along the road, much like we did the previous day so it wasn’t too exciting but eventually, we had to take a turn off the road and onto a path that went along the tea plantations. Once we got to the devil’s seat, me and a few other guys found it to be a bit anti-climactic and decided it would be cool to see the view from the top of the tea mound so we started ascending up, through the bush. Walking up and across the tea plantations was quite challenging as it was at times very steep and treacherous but the view on top made it worth it (cover image).

Day 5 (Friday):

Day 5 would be the final day of our week without walls experience this year. Today, I woke up feeling mixed emotions. On one hand, I was quite excited to be going to the highest peak in Sri Lanka as well as to visit the Jagro (strawberry) farm today but at the same time I knew this was our last day on the trip and it would soon be over. After eating breakfast quite early, we set off to the highest peak of Sri Lanka, Pidurutalagala, standing at 8,281 feet (2,524 meters) in elevation. This peak was an army camp and one of the soldiers was nice enough to give us a tour. We were even greeted by many friendly dogs that inhabited the camp in order to not be eaten by the leopards in the surrounding area. After a couple of hours or so, we went back to the hotel, packed our bags, and left for Jagro. As expected the food was delicious. I ordered a strawberry cheesecake and it definitely lived up to the hype. After eating and relaxing for a bit at this beautiful farm, we started on our long-ish (6-hour drive) back to Colombo.

 

Overall, this trip was an unforgettable experience with amazing people with which I was able to make deep, meaningful connections as well as learn about the extensive bio-diversity of my homeland Sri Lanka.

 

Trails:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/embed?mid=1HFz2OzBBoepxNmDC2djZBvZ6DP8xeok&ehbc=2E312F&ll=6.845477447010241%2C80.85329000000004&z=11