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SRI LANKA
245
July14
HIKE 3 –
WATERFALLS
“Today we’re walking to some
waterfalls”, says Amal, cunningly
omitting one important detail; we’re
actually walking to the
top
of some
waterfalls. So, while much of the
20km we cover for the day is still
relatively easy, a few sections are
close to vertical.
As if to confirm there is a greater
challenge in store, we’re joined by
a second guide, Raja, a rake-thin,
moustachioed fellow from a nearby
village. He’s carrying a spray-bottle of
antiseptic, which from time to time he
squirts onto my boots. This is to stave
off the many leeches that have made
their home in Knuckles. I’ve also been
advised to wear a double layer of
socks. The precautions mostly do the
job, though one clever wriggler does
find his way onto the back of my leg,
drinking his fill before I realise what’s
happening. Leeches have 32 brains,
by the way, which is presumably why
I’ve been outsmarted.
The aforementioned waterfalls are
a series of three separate cascades,
each one reached by a muddy
scramble and ending in a swimmable
waterhole. I wait until we’re at the last
and highest of them before ditching
my clothes and diving in. (Those
photos are staying safely on my
hard drive.)
We eat lunch while we’re there – a
sardine curry, among other things –
and thanks to the noise of pounding
water and the stunning views of
central Sri Lanka, it’s a memorable
moment.
Equally memorable is what awaits
once we climb up and above the final
waterfall. We’re nowon a high, flat rock
shelf known as a “cloud forest” – and
we are quite literally walking through a
cloud. Eerie and exhilarating.
With clouds, of course, come
rain, and if yesterday’s afternoon
downpour measured a 6 on a scale
of intensity, today’s is a 9. It absolutely
hammers down, and by the time we
get back to camp, my boots are a pair
of miniature swimming pools. But I’m
having the time of my life.