December Hike Day 3 (and a little bit of 2:P)

It's so weird that the first post of the new year is a continuation of my last. Oh well.

Entrance to Thotupola Kanda

Remember where I left off? Hungry, tired and with another hike coming up? Well, the cruise cab brought us to the foot of Thotupola kanda. The start of the trail is clearly marked with an informative notice board and it is outside the main entrance gates of the Horton Plains reserve.

Packet was 90% chilli-apparently that's
how everyone survives the cold up there

Did I mention that Thotupola kanda is the 3rd tallest mountain in the country? Yeah. So, I may love to travel, but my pudgy body and wheeze-afflicted lungs clearly didn't agree. Not even 1/4 of the way up, my head started swimming and I was making embarrassing wheezing noises. It didn't help that I was the only one having problems; the others were tearing up the mountainside like pros. 

This is where you realize the value of a good team. Never, ever go on a hike with people you don't trust. See, I didn't realize till too late that thanks to a childhood of breathing problems, my body wasn't adjusting to the altitude-change as well as the others'. We were climbing up at almost a 90° angle and climbing so fast that my ears were ringing. I had to stop and double over to ease the strain on my lungs. I couldn't draw breath fast enough; I felt like I was drowning.

Everyone stopped with me. It was getting dark and I could sense that the others wanted to summit as soon as possible. We'd heard talk that the wild leopards liked to come this way after dark. But they stayed. They stayed until my heart rate returned to normal, until I wasn't seeing double or shivering with cold. They waited until I was ready to move on, and even then, one of the hikers walked slowly with me, stopping often to help me acclimatize. I can't mention you by name guys, but thank you.

And we did it. I was a grumpy old grandma at the top, my teeth chattering from the cold and my whole body just one big ache. The mist was so thick that we couldn't see each other if we weren't at arms' length. There was no view whatsoever so we stayed up there for 10 min tops and started climbing down, fast.

These two photos were taken within 10 seconds of each other

Then the views hit. As we came below the mist line we saw both the sun and the moon in the sky. I apologize for the lack of photos, but I was busy trying to unfreeze my ass. The fading sunlight hit patches of trees and plains far, far away and everything was sooo lit.

We stayed that night at a nearby guesthouse. We rented a room and took dinner with us. Amila aiya was kind enough to organize everything. Unfortunately, we didn't have hot water again but since we were going to a proper 'hotel' hotel the next day, we didn't fuss.

Hill Safari Eco Lodge

We took the morning train to Pattipola from Ohiya (LKR 10x4). The train was SUPER crowded. I still don't know how we squeezed on to it but we did. Then it was stuff-yourself time because the Suwarna Lelee Rest & Cafe (don't ask my why) has heavenly tea and buns. It's a very rough-and-tumble place, mind you but we didn't mind. From there two tuk-tuks (LKR 500 one way) took us to Hill Safari Eco Lodge, a stunning and beautiful new guesthouse run by two talkative gentleman and located down a treacherous road in the Lower Bray Estate. 

Scenic walk

Lower Bray Estate

The best part about Day 3 were the views. Scene after scene of rolling green hills, tea plantations and rocks presented themselves. I speak about the view because Bamabarakanda Falls was over 13km away from Hill Safari and we scrapped our initial plan to walk the entire distance. Instead, we hired a van that had long lost everything except the engine and the front seats to take us there. We gladly paid the LKR 5000 price after we encountered the bone-shattering, vomit-inducing craters that called themselves potholes along the road. I never truly understood the lyric "It's gonna be a bumpy ride" till then.

Bambarakanda trickle

After all that, Bambarakanda Falls was a major disappointment. Ohiya hadn't seen rain in 6 months so  the falls were little more than a trickle. That didn't stop overenthusiastic bathers from jumping in though. Once I saw the collection of plastic bottles, polythene bags and other junk strewn in the water, I thought no thanks.

The rest of the trip went by soon enough. Hill Safari has outstanding food and service. We regretted not having enough time to stay and enjoy everything properly. The tuk tuks came back next morning (LKR 500 again) to take us to the station, where we boarded the Badulla-Colombo (LKR 480x4) train to come home. It was an awesome experience, but I think I've had enough of mountains for a bit now.

(Approx.) Time Taken: 1 and a half days

(Approx.) Total Cost  : LKR 5000 per person 

Satisfaction                 : 4.5/5

Total Cost for the entire trip : (approx.) LKR 45,000

Per person                             : (approx.) LKR 11,500
*All pictures are subject to copyright © Asuka Randeniye 2016