An Unforgettable WWW trip – Sri Lankan Highlands

Every year the Overseas School of Colombo organizes a trip called Week Without Walls or WWW. As we go through 10th grade and DP1, we’ve got the choice to choose our own trip. This year, I chose to go on a trip called Sri Lanka Highlands which is a hiking trip. We left for 5 days, and during this time, we hiked a different route, with different landscapes and different levels of difficulties as well as different amounts of distance. I chose this trip because before moving to Sri Lanka, my family and I were used to going hiking very often so I started to miss it. Even if I used to not really want to go hiking I always end up enjoying it and having fun!

My goal was first of all to build boundaries and get closer to my classmates as well as to create unforgettable memories that we all shared together. Then, my “more concrete goal” was to take photos to keep these memories with me and also to capture these beautiful landscapes that were particularly amazing. Also, I’ve always only done one or two consecutive days of hiking so I really wanted to try to walk everyday for a week because I was quite curious about what we can feel, how can collaborative work lead us in a sport such as hiking and also how to overcome the new challenge of walking everyday which has build our physical and mental strength.

Day1 – Bambarakanda & Belihuloya area

We left OSC early in the morning to be able to start what this trip is made for: hiking. During this first day, we made the shortest hike of the trip. We saw the Bambarakanda Falls which is the highest waterfall in Sri Lanka: 263 meters high. We walked around 45 minutes to see the Lanka Ella Falls in which we all have been able to swim in. It was a really nice hike but it was very hot  even though we were in the middle of a pine forest at the beginning, because it was around 12 am. I actually don’t even know how everyone got inside but we all did it even if it was very cold, as it is the most refreshing swim hole in Sri Lanka. It was a really great moment that is probably one of my highlights of this trip. We didn’t stop at one hike. We had to walk 8 more kilometers to join our camp at Kinchigune. For this second hike, as for the first one, we were lucky because we didn’t meet any leeches! This second hike was 8 km and we walked in 3 hours. We passed through a typical Sri Lankan village as well as a rural landscape and the tropical forest.

Day2 – Lipton’s Seat & stage 13 of the Pekoe Trail

On this second day, we took a tuk-tuk ride to reach the starting point of the hike: Lipton Seat. The tuk-tuk ride was really bouncy and sportif! The view at the top was amazing; on one side we had mountains and valleys and on the other side we had the view of tea plantations. We started the longest hike of the trip: 18 km, with the sun and a touch of fog. We walked in the middle of tea plantations, villages, forests and more. I really liked the change in landscape because we can see different aspects of nature in Sri Lanka. It also makes it more interesting because we are not always seeing the same types of landscapes. Unfortunately, it started to rain at the middle of the hike and so leeches showed up. As it was sunny, no one was prepared to face the leeches! We all had to fight against them because we didn’t have our leech socks on us! I felt like an explorer in an unknown environment, like in movies, because sometimes we had to move around vegetation to be able to go through. We could barely see the path! After 5 hours of hiking, and half under the rain with a very dense fog, we all arrived in one piece!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day3 – Stage 12 of the Pekoe Trail

On this third day, we took the train to our next destination: a hike of 15 km in the forest and the edge. The view from the railway was amazing even if the fog was present. Once we arrived, the boys got into a car and us, the girls, took a tuk-tuk to reach the starting point of this hike. We started in the pine forest, it was quite humid so the ground gave way a little under our feet. I think this was one of the most challenging hikes, because we had to be careful where we put our feet, because the ground was slippery and there were holes, we had to climb over fallen tree trunks, and we had to make our way through the dense vegetation. Overall, the view was stunning, the fog made the landscapes even more mysterious. Unfortunately it started to rain again during this hike. But this time we were prepared! We were wearing our leech socks! We still had to remove them because there were too many but it was more comfortable to have them on. It was quite challenging also in the way that the path kept going down and up as well as because sometimes the vegetation was so dense that we couldn’t see where we were stepping, but we also had to watch out for branches passing overhead. It really looked like an adventure for me! Then, it is probably one of my highlights, we walked on the railway line and passed through a tunnel! Walking on the railway line allowed us to have a magnificent view on the valleys and tea plantations. Finishing the hike under the rain and the fog, we had a comfy social moment during which we had a lot of  fun playing Bluff and Werewolf at the monastery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day4 – Horton Plains National Park and Nuwara Eliya

On this fourth day, we traveled to Horton Plains National Park for the World’s End hike. It was a 9 km hike, we walked around 3 hours and 30 minutes. This is one of my favorite hikes, it was quite fun as the path was quite challenging sometimes. The view was supposed to be stunning but the fog was still there!! Instead of saying an amazing view, the fog gave the landscape a mysterious side that I found quite cool. Even if we didn’t have the chance to see the view, the World’s End was pretty impressive! Then, we stopped at an amazing waterfall, before continuing hiking. I really liked the landscapes; it looked like Scottish or British landscapes, I honestly really didn’t feel like I was in Sri Lanka! I think that one of the reasons I really liked this place is because the landscapes look like the landscapes I can find in my home village in France. After the hike, we stopped at Jagro Farm to have some strawberry sweets. It was absolutely delicious but the portion was too big… We finally reached the Grand Hotel to chill out! We all profited from the gym, the swimming pool, the garden and the snooker room! After almost a week of hiking, it felt really good to have some time to relax! Yet! This day is still not over! At 6h30 pm, we all left the Grand Hotel for a night frogging hike for 2 hours. A guide took us along the edge of the Piduruthalagala forest reserve to observe endemic species of Sri Lanka such as frogs, snakes and lizards. We saw a lot of different species of frogs as well as two rhino lizards. To conclude this long journey, we had a huge and delicious buffet at the Grand Hotel! After dinner, we had a very good time playing Werewolf together!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day5 – Stage 6 of the Pekoe Trail

After a massive breakfast, we started our journey by hiking on the way back to Colombo. The part of the Pekoe Trail was 9 km, so we walked for 3h. I first thought that we would never be able to come back to Colombo because we’d go back and forth on the paths because we couldn’t find our way! However, it was very enjoyable because we were in the middle of tea plantations, and the view was amazing! After going round in circles a few times, we finally were able to reach the meeting point to find the buses and be able to go back to Colombo. On our way back, we stopped to have lunch and then finally reached our final destination, the Overseas School of Colombo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reflection

One of my highlights of the trip has been our social moments that we shared together after dinner. We played the card game called “Bluff” and “Werewolf” which allowed us to have a lot of fun and a good evening. Something I will always remember is that we hiked two consecutive days under the rain, and as Nuwara Eliya is a place situated in altitude the climate was quite cold, so our clothes couldn’t dry and we had to wear our wet clothes for the next hikes.

The difference between the 3 “types” of places we slept in are very interesting. The first night we slept in tents, which was very interesting. We had one tent for 4 girls. It was really funny because we were at the complete opposite of the social place and so the farthest tent, the way to access it was quite complicated and we didn’t have any lamp to enlighten us. Then the two next nights were in a Catholic Monastery. Many people say that the Monastery is haunted and when we arrived it was effectively the type of place in which every single horror movie can be shot. The place was more comfortable than the tent even if it was a bit dark. We spent our last night at the Grand Hotel which, I think, was everyone’s best night. It was very luxurious, huge and fancy. We had an enormous dinner and breakfast that we all appreciated a lot. We all profited from the gym, snooker room, garden and swimming pool to relax after a week of hiking!

This choice of order was quite judicious because we gradually increased the “comfort level” which made us feel good everytime. The only common point between all these places was that it was quite cold!

You can have look on the Pekoe Trail website to have more information on it: https://www.thepekoetrailsrilanka.com/