Backpacking in Knuckles

Whenever we have the chance, my family always takes the time to go explore nature and the outdoors. Due to COVID and lockdown, it had been a while since  we had done so. Therefore, in August during summer holiday, we decided to go camping. However, for the first time for myself, we would be going backpacking. We also went with a few good friends, plus some help to carry the many heavy bags we would be taking.

The place in question was Dumbara Falls. It is located in the Knuckles Mountain Range in the center of Sri Lanka. The path to get there is an approximately 10km hike through the forest, climbing up around 874m in elevation.

We started off at Sir John’s Bungalow, a bungalow inside the Knuckled reserve. We stayed here for a night before driving to the starting point of the hike trail. Everyone was carrying a bag with their own items for the 2 nights we would spend in the forest. This included sleeping bags, clothes, toiletries, water, slippers and snacks. We had some even bigger bags containing the tents, food and other items.

The first leg of the hike was a few kilometers long, traveling to ‘Walpolamulla Village’. This was an old, now abandoned village. All the villagers left due to Elephant attacks, except now a small clay house is being used as a bungalow for travelers going on the hike to Dumbara Falls. Our plan was to stay here the next day, on the way back, but today we just stopped there for a break, getting ready for the long journey ahead, straight to the waterfall.

The hike from here to the falls meant climbing up and down many mountains, going through leech infested forests, and crossing rivers and streams. We would have our packed lunch (sandwiches) by a river named Wedda Hena Oya, which we would have to cross by climbing over a fallen over tree.

The hike would then continue, and other than a few breaks we would go straight to Dumbara Falls. We would put our tents down at the base of the waterfall, having a great view of the falls and river. We were all pretty exhausted, so after pitching the tents we would take a quick bath in the river, and begin making dinner.

Right after having dinner and cleaning up, it began to rain. So that was our cue to get in the tents for the night. However, it was also the time that we discovered that our tents waterproofing wasn’t working anymore (as it was old). So that night was pretty uncomfortable, sleeping in a cramped tent, on a rock, with cold rain water dripping on you. I was very happy to wake up the next day and get out of there. We had our breakfast, and began a 20 minute hike to the top of the waterfall.

We then came back down to the campsite, cooked and ate lunch, packed everything up, and began the journey back to the village, where we would stay the night. Right as we began to leave, it started raining, and it stayed this way for the entire hike back to the village. We went back on the same path we came, and after another grueling hike, we were back at the village, in time for a big dinner.

After this dinner, it was a comfortable nights sleep inside a house. The next morning, we would have breakfast, and begin the short hike back to the road where our cars were parked. We then travelled to a villa, where we had some much needed hot showers, dry clothes and a great dinner.

That was the end of this hike. My first ever time backpacking was a very fun experience. I would love to go backpacking again, somewhere else in Sri Lanka, or maybe even in another country.

Learning Outcomes

On this backpacking trip I have engaged with the CAS learning outcome of undertaking challenges. Though this is not my first time hiking or camping, it is my first time combining the two, and going backpacking into a forest, with all our supplies, carrying it all, was an interesting experience.

(Photos from: Harsha Purasinghe & Mangala Karunaratne)