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TRAVEL
242
July14
HIKE 1 –
TEMPLES
The first of the hikes begins on the
second morning and is a relatively easy
ramble of 10km – a perfect warm-up for
the mountains ahead. The trailhead is
a short tuk-tuk ride from Pilmathalawa,
a town on the outskirts of Kandy, and also
the location of my charming overnight
homestay (see “Accommodation”,
below).
The route takes us (me and guide
Amal) through low-lying rice farms and
to a series of three significant yet off-
the-beaten-track temples, each one built
in the 14th century on a separate rock
plateau, with great views of the steamy
countryside.
Buddhist Sunday School is in session
when we reach Gadaladeniya Temple,
and the kids are sitting attentively outside
the main shrine, chanting scriptures
in the Pali language. For one reason
or another, it’s mostly girls, each with
an identical hairstyle of two long plaits
and a stark-white uniform offset by the
vermillion robes of the monk instructor.
Further hiking through local farms
follows, before a visit to Lankathilaka
Temple, reached by dual staircases
hewn out of a rock mountain; one of
the staircases dates to 1344, the other
to 1913.
The last of the three temples is called
Embekka, and it includes a notable
Drummers’ Hall whose timber pillars
have survived 700 years with their ornate
woodcarvings intact. There’s nobody
Accommodation, part 1
The first two nights of the trip are spent
in an atmospheric homestay west of
Kandy, and it’s a refreshing change
from a hotel. A lovely retired couple
runs the show, and I also meet their
cricket-obsessed son and chat with
him about the Indian Premier League.
Almost all meals are included on
Moonstone trips, including the ones
at the homestay; they’re as delicious
as they are enormous – dinner on the
first night, for me alone, is a bucket-
load of rice served with three curries,
two salads, papadums and fresh fruit.
The next morning at the breakfast
table I’m given six slices of toast and
six parathas, together with a range of homemade pickles, preserves and
chutneys. Oh, and an omelette, a plate of bananas (two varieties), three
wedges of papaya with lime squeezed on top, a pot of tea and a fresh
avocado juice. I make a pretty decent dent in all of this, yet the mother
seems genuinely concerned that I’m not eating enough.
about, but that doesn’t stop two elderly
local gents from doing the name of the
hall justice by beating a rhythm on a
pair of ornate drums. It feels like it needs
some vocal accompaniment, but I’m
hardly going to inflict my singing on a
mellow farming community of Sri Lanka.
Our walk is done in time for a late lunch
– a Chinese-style stir-fry at a roadside
eatery on the way back to Kandy.
There’s a footnote to the religious tone
of the day: a visit to the Temple of the
Sacred Tooth Relic in Kandy. This one
is very much on the beaten track, with
a queue, a metal detector, and a stern
official berating tourists for showing too
much flesh. (Bring a sarong.) Inside,
you’ll struggle to get a glimpse of the
namesake tooth, but there’s still plenty
at which to marvel.
From left:
Temple on a
rock plateau
Chanting
Sunday-
school
attendees
A centuries-
old temple
painting
Carved
wooden
pillar