Knuckles Mountain Range
A wonderful place for hiking and nature tours:
In the central and southern parts of Sri Lanka there are several peaks that are highly ecological and rich in bio diversity. These mountains are preserved as forests and are the starting points of many rivers.
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Knuckles is one the most important bio diversity environments with range of mountains and a great water and wild life resource.
Loved by travellers for it's beauty Knuckles mountains has become a hot spot in eco tourism in Sri Lanka.
The Knuckles Mountain Range covers parts of Kandy and Matale districts and is separated from the Central Hills by the Mahaveli Valley to the South and East and the Matale Valley to the West. Its name derived from its shape of a clenched fist, which forms a scenic wonderland. What makes the Knuckles mountain range unique is the geographical character of its location. Perpendicular to the mountain range that runs from Laggala to Urugala runs three distinct but lesser ranges while there are other minor ranges running parallel to it.
There are a total of 34 clearly identified such ranges with in the 62 square miles that makes up 3000-6500feet in height.
The three properties recommended for tentative listing, namely, Peak Wilderness Sanctuary (19,207 ha), Horton Plains (3 109 ha) and Knuckles Range (1 7,825 ha) are all part of the central highlands of Sri Lanka.
The Knuckles Range, though within the Central Massif and of the same geological origin as the other two properties, is isolated from them by the intervening relatively low-lying Kandy Plateau. The highest peak in the Knuckles range is 1904 m.
In certain parts of Knuckles Range, within the Knuckles Conservation Forest, the natural vegetation occurs as a pygmy forest with trees just over waist high. A good part of the area in all three properties still retains its pristine vegetation cover.
All three properties possess both natural and cultural heritage features of outstanding universal value.
History
Knuckles Mountain Range is important due to the historical value it carries and therefore it can be categorized as one of the valuable heritages in Sri Lanka. The story of Knuckles (Dumbara Hill) goes back into prehistoric periods. It is said that in ancient times it was referred to as Giri Divaina and as Malaya Rata and there is archaeological evidence that speaks of ancient Yaksha settlement in the area.
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People believe that the name Lanka is derived which much folklore has gathered over the centuries. The Knuckles Mountain Range is an invariable referent in any salutary appreciation of the last kingdom of the Sinhala Kanda Udarata.
The importance of the Knuckles Mountain Range is obtained from several factors. It has a quality to it because of the mountain peaks, the crystal clear and perennial waterways, cloud forests and exquisite fauna and flora. Pregnant with history running into several millennial and a veritable treasure house of cultural heritage, the Knuckles Mountain Range can be considered a as a mirror to the past.
Climate
A remarkable feature of this area is that most of the climatic conditions of Sri Lanka can be found with in the extent of a mountain range. All these hanging climatic conditions can be experienced within half and hour walk through this valley. The location of the hills, the particular effect of the monsoons and the wind factor generate a certain climatic diversity to the area. In fact in these hills one can find characteristics of all the key ecological zones found in the country.
Rainfall
Average annual rainfall lies between 3000-5000ml, and temperature of the region ranges between 5.5 degrees and 35 degrees Celsius. It is through a gap in the mountain that the winds of Southwest Monsoon enter to the Dry Zone. The average wind speed has been measured to be approximately 7.2km/hour and humidity in the range lies between 57%-90%.
Water Resources
Since the main risen in opposition to both the Southwest and Northwest Monsoons, the area enjoys bountiful rainfalls. For this and other reasons, the Knuckles Mountain Range is counted among the richer of the upper watersheds in the country. In fact from these hills flow the richer of the tributaries to the Mahaweli River.
There are three main rivers called the Hulu Ganga, the Heen Ganga and the Kalu Ganga, which begin from Knuckles Mountain Range.
And there are a number of breathtaking waterfalls and small rivers, which can be found in this area. Even today as was in the ancient days water from Knuckles Mountain Range feeds the ancient irrigation works such as Parakrama Samudraya.
Travelon goes to the EAST after a big yawn
Travelon who has been conducting domestic tours within Sri Lanka, has added yet another tour to the East covering many religious sites namely Thiriyaya (North of Nilaweli - with the story of 2 merchants who enshrined the 2 strands of hair of Lord Buddha) Seruwavila, Somawathie and Medirigiriya to mention a few.
The tour commences from Travelon office on 23rd July (Thursday) and will travel via Na-Mala Resort, Dambulla to reach Trincomalee and Nilaweli. After checking-in excursion to Thiriyaya. Early next morning visit to Seruwavila and Somwathie.
Afternoon visit Medirigiriya and overnight at Girithale Hotel overlooking the magnificent Giritale Tank. On the 3rd day it will be more visits to Passekuddha, Kalkudha and Batticaloa where many Sri Lankans were reluctant to travel due to the protracted conflicts in the East which was prevailing at that time.
After lunch at Batticaloa Rest House travel via Samanthurei, Kalmunei to Arugam Bay/ Pottuwil where recently the Wind Surfing Championship was held with many foreign participation. On the 25th night there will be a B-B-Q dinner at the beach of Arugam Bay (Tri Star Beach Hotel).
On Sunday the group will travel back to Colombo via the coastal Belt with lunch served in the Hambantota area. Many Sri Lankans and expats are expected to join the tour since it has been a long time before travelling to East was relatively safe.
The Travelon domestic senior citizens group to Habarana last week is seen here at the Chaaya Village Hotel entrance before their departure to Colombo.
Jetwing Hunas Falls Hotel
Romantic destination in Sri Lanka:
As any couple knows, planning the honeymoon is just as important as planning the wedding day itself. Traditionally the first vacation that you will take as a married couple a honeymoon has become the period of time where a couple can rest after going through the stress and excitement of the wedding ceremony.
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If you are looking for a very romantic wedding destination that's something about the famous line.
And they lived happily ever after which the ending is a truly magical fairy tale setting. The Jetwing Hunas Falls Hotel in Kandy is one of the best hotels, which is known for a good preference to experience great hotel accommodation for your honeymoon.
It is located in close proximity to Kandy against the backdrop of a lush green forest, tea estate and the breathtakingly beautiful Hunas Falls.
After my long way to the hotel I was happy to see my lovely honeymoon destination indeed.
The staff was very good and they always treat guests with their lovely smiles. Hunas Falls area is most picturesque and has an excellent climate. The Hunas Fall cascades down through lovely tea country and the water is trapped below in a lake. Fascinating sunsets light up the whole range of mountains for miles around.
Considered to be one of the most scenic spots in the country, guests will certainly enjoy the surrounding scenery when relaxing at this popular hotel. Offering stylish decor, superb amenities as well as contemporary refinement in a casual and relaxing ambiance, the Hunas Falls Hotel is an ideal base for you to explore the vibrant city of Kandy.
This good-looking property features beautifully furnished guest rooms that are facilitated with all modern conveniences to provide guests maximum comfort for a relaxed stay. Most of the rooms offer spectacular views of the surrounding. Set in a relaxed atmosphere, the delightful in-house restaurant serves a varied selection of fabulous cuisine for guests to enjoy. The restaurant situated in front of the lake. At a glance the lake was engulfed by the mist. Then few minutes we could see the clear atmosphere even no sign of the mist.
Hunas Falls Hotel offers excellent and flexible conference and banquet rooms, which are ideal to host business and private functions.
There is also a health centre, swimming pool, tennis court, table tennis as well as a golf course available for the convenience of health and recreation conscious guests. When we entered to the hotel we didn't want to go out side because there were two lovely exclusions inside of the hotel location.
There was a small mountain called Mount Shaheen a.k.a. Vehigala kanda was a rocky escarpment (which is also the habitat of the bird Shaheen Falcon). We climbed to this region could spot the peak of the Shaheen mountain which was accessible via a footpath to this peak.
Then we met the lovely cascading water fall and both of us had a nice bath. The water was so cold but willing to take a bath again and again. There were no outsiders came to this water fall except hotel guests.
The hotel had a large garden and since it was filled full of beautiful flowers we felt that we spent our honeymoon at the botanical garden. It was the unforgettable honeymoon destination and we spent our days peacefully.
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