Trail Difficulty: Easy | Moderate | Strenuous | Tough

Trail Head: Knuckles Conservation Centre (KCC) – Deanston

Nearest Town: Hunnasgiriya                          Nearest City:Kandy

Access to Trail head: Knuckles South Trail Map | More about Knuckles South

Route to Knuckles Conservation Centre (KCC) – Deanston

Colombo->Kandy[A1] -> Hunnasgiriya[A26] -> KCC (On Hunnasgiriya -Loolwatta Road)

Total distance from Colombois 160km. Paved roads all the way from Colombo. Condition of the road stretch from Hunnasgiriya can vary from good to bad depending on the level of maintenance. Generally this stretch can be tackled by an ordinary car.

Trail End: Mini world’s End – Observation Point

Total Length: 1.1 km

Elevation Gain: Negligible (Elevation at Trail Head: 1134m | Elevation at Trail End: 1192m).

Approximate time: 1 hour

Hiking Season: Best months are February to September

Permit Required: YES. Permit can be obtained from Knuckles Conservation Centre.

Mini World’s end is an escarpment situated at the southern end of the Knuckles range. From this location, the panoramic view of the knuckles range and some of the villages situated in the foot hills of knuckles can be seen.

The place is called “Mini world’s end” as it resembles a smaller version of the “world’s end” drop situated at Horton Plains National Park.

0 to 350m: From Knuckles Conservation Centre (Waypoint: ME01) start walking down towards the small lake known as “Deanston Lake” which is situated behind the conservation centre. After crossing a small bridge, you will reach the bank of the small lake. From this point you have to walk to your right along the bank for about 10 meters and move in to a small forest patch. As you walk about 50m more, you will come out of this tiny forest patch. As you come out of this, you will find the trail moving beside a wooden fence. As you walk about 50m along the fence you will find a place where you can walk over the fence (Yes !, walk over it J ) to the other side (Waypoint: ME03)

As you walk over the fence, you will have to climb some steps and walk up hills, moving towards a Pines plot. As you enter the Pines plot, you will find a split of the trail (Waypoint: ME04). It is a circular trail that goes via Mini-World’s end. Take the trail towards left.

350m to 1.1km: As you walk in to the Pines plot on the left hand side trail, you will walk along a fairly flat section for about 100m. Then you will experience a mild ascend. As you climb up for about 30m, you will find another trail on to your left hand side moving down hills (Waypoint: ME06). This trail to your left is the “Hapugaskumbura Nature Trail”. You have to walk along the right hand side branch which continues to climb up.

After you climb up for about 100m more, the trail will again become flat. As you walk further you will observe the Pines plots transforming from “Pines Only” to an area where Pines is mixed with some native species of bushes and grass. Continue to walk along the trail, occasionally climbing along stone steps. The trail will climb up to the edge of the escarpment (Waypoint: ME09). From there, turn right and walk along the edge for about 30m more to reach a place where there is a rock extrusion which allows you to walk right up to the edge. Now you are at the Mini-world’s end observation point (Waypoint: ME10).

On your way back: Continue along the edge of the escarpment for about 200m, turn right and climb down along the Pines plots to reach the point where the two trails split (Waypoint: ME04). Distance from ME10 to ME04 on the return path is 1km

Tips, Notes & special remarks:

•  There are no water sources on the trail. Get your water bottles filled from the Knuckles Conservation Center
• Leaches may occasionally bother you.
• Weather in the Knuckles range is extremely unpredictable, thick mist can cover mountains in a matter of minutes. Be prepared for rain.

Way Points

Trail Difficulty: Easy | Moderate | Strenuous | Tough

Trail Head: Knuckles Conservation Centre (KCC) – Deanston

Nearest Town: Hunnasgiriya                          Nearest City:Kandy

Access to Trail head: Knuckles South Trail Map | More about Knuckles South

Route to Knuckles Conservation Centre (KCC) – Deanston

Colombo->Kandy[A1] -> Hunnasgiriya[A26] -> KCC (On Hunnasgiriya -Loolwatta Road)

Total distance fromColombois 160km. Paved roads all the way fromColombo. Condition of the road stretch from Hunnasgiriya can vary from good to bad depending on the level of maintenance. Generally this stretch can be tackled by an ordinary car.

Trail End: Observation Point – Dothalugala

Total Length: 3.8 km

Elevation Gain: 250m (Elevation at Trail Head: 1134m | Elevation at Trail End: 1388m).

Approximate time: 2 – 3 hours

Hiking Season: Best months are February to September

Permit Required: YES. Permit can be obtained from Knuckles Conservation Centre.

Dothalugala is one of around 34 mountain peaks that make up the Knuckles range. This nature trail will take you to a significant height up on Dothalugala mountain to reach an observation point where the panoramic view of the southern parts of the Knuckles range can be enjoyed.

The first 2km of the trail, which for the most part is a rough jeep track, takes you from the KCC to the Deanston  forest department dormitory and camp site located at the base of Dothalugala mountain. The trail then winds up along the mountain, through the dense forest, gaining elevation at a rapid rate.

Once you reach the observation point you can take a different route downhill to reach the Camp site making a full circle through the forest.

0 to 2.1km: From KCC (Waypoint: DG01) start walking along the Hunnasgirya – Loolwatta road towards Loolwatta. In 400m you will find a jeep track on to your left going uphill along an abandoned tea field (Waypoint: DG02). Get on to this jeep track and continue to walk along the jeep track. This jeep track leads to the Deantone dormitory and Camp site.

As you walk along the jeep track you can enjoy the beautiful landscape of mountains and the villages scattered among those on to your right hand side. You will experience a mild but continuous ascend. As you walk about 400m along the jeep track it will move in to a forest patch blocking the panoramic view of the valley and the distant mountains (Waypoint: DG04). After a brief walk through the forest, the track will again come out. As you walk further you will be able to see few more peaks of Knuckles in the distance. You will also see villages like “Kobonila” in the foothills of the “Kobonilagala” mountain.

After you walk about 1.3km along the jeep track you will reach a fairly flat section of the trail. As you walk about 300m more, the jeep track will descend a bit, cross a small stream and move in to a forest patch where the Deanston  forest department dormitory is located (Waypoint: DG09).

If you got a serious 4WD you can drive up to this point.

Passing the dormitory, walk along the foot path for about 50m more towards the camp site. You will reach an open area where four trails meet (Waypoint: DG10). There is a trail almost in front of you, slightly towards your left hand side which leads to Dothalugala. The trail immediately next to that, on the right hand side goes slightly down-hill which in fact is the continuation of the trail from Dothalugala. Technically you can take either one of them and return on the other. We recommend you to take the first trail (towards left, uphill) as the climb is more evenly spread without particularly hard sections. Also there is a third trail with a steep climb down towards a stream which is a short trail (less than 100m) to a small waterfall.

2.1km to 3.8km: As you start climbing on the first trail, you will quickly enter the dense forest that covers most part of the mountain. A steady climb will be experienced through the woods; frequently making “U” turns right and left as the trail quickly gains elevation along the mountain side.

Around 450m from DG10, the trail will cross a small stream (Waypoint: DG14). The steady climb will continue for about 100m more and then the trail will become more flat. You will also notice that the surrounding forest now mainly consist of Bamboo (Waypoint: DG15). Knuckles forest got its traditional name “Bata Dhandu Kele” or “bamboo forest” because of this vegetation pattern.

After a brief flat section of about 150m through the bamboo forest the trail will again start climbing up. In the next 450m or so you will pass a section of trail with sharp “U” turns while crossing a series of small streams (Most of them go completely dry during the dry season), until you reach a spot where there is an outlook towards your left with the trail continuing along some stone steps (Waypoint: DG20). You will find occasional descends, but the section of the trail up to this point in general is a steep ascend.

Passing DG20, as you walk about 50m more you will reach another opening (Waypoint: DG21). Passing this continue to climb through the forest. 200m from this point you will reach two more open areas next to each other (about 20m apart) (Waypoint: DG22, DG23).  As you climb about 100m more, the climb will become less intense, 100m more through the forest the trail will become broader. Another 100m walk will take you to the Dothalugala Observation point where you can see the surrounding over the pigmy forest (Waypoint: DG24)

Your Way back to DG10 (2km): From the observation point, as you turn back towards the trail you climbed up on, you will find another trail on the left hand side to the trail you climbed up. Start climbing down along this trail. Unlike the trail you climbed up, this trail winds mostly through an abandoned tea field with less forest cover. This will give you an opportunity to enjoy the landscape unobstructed. You will also witness how forests slowly recover covering the old tea estate. You will also find several steep descends along this trail. This trail will take you back to waypoint DG10

Tips, Notes & special remarks:

• Make sure that you carry a water bottle. Most part of the trail can be quite dry during the dry month and water sources can become limited.
• The last reliable water source while climbing up is the stream close to the Deanston  dormitory & Camp site.
• Drinking water from streams is safe.
• Last 1.8km of the trail is infected with leaches. Make sure that you either wear leach proof socks or carry a repellent.
• Weather in the Knuckles range is extremely unpredictable, thick mist can cover mountains in a matter of minutes. Be prepared for rain.

Way Points

Trail Head: Corbett’s Gap on Hunnasgiriya -Meemure Road .

Nearest Town: Hunnasgiriya                          Nearest City: Kandy

Access to Trail head: Knuckles South Trail Map | More about Knuckles South

Route to Corbett’s Gap

Colombo->Kandy[A1] -> Hunnasgiriya[A26] -> Loolwatta -> Corbett’s Gap

Total distance from Colombois 170km. Paved roads all the way fromColombo. Condition of the road stretch from Hunnasgiriya can vary from good to bad depending on the level of maintenance. Generally this stretch can be tackled by an ordinary car.

Trail End:NitroCaves

Total Length: 11 km

Elevation Gain: 800m (Elevation at Trail Head: 1216m | Elevation at Trail End: 676m | Lowest point Elevation: 450m).

Approximate time: 5 hours

Hiking Season: Best months are February to September

Permit Required: NO

Nitro cave is a large cave hidden deep in the southern parts of Knuckles Mountains. Inhabited by hundreds of thousands of bats for possibly many hundred thousand years had made this cave a rich deposit of saltpeter (potassium nitrate) traditionally used to make gun powder.

It is believed that this cave was used as a source of saltpeter by rulers ofSri Lankafor more than thousand five hundred years.

Trail to nitro caves start off from the scenic, highest-altitude point of the road from Hunnasgiriya to “Meemure”. This highest altitude point is called Corbett’s Gap (Sinhala: Attala-mettuwa) and “Meemure” is one of the traditional villages hidden deep inside knuckles.

The trail from Corbett’s gap winds down through the unique eco-system of Knuckles mountain range, possibly the only one of its kind in the entire world. The trail then branches off from Meemure road and move towards the Kumbukgolla traditional village. From Kumbukgolla village a narrow nature trail through the Knuckles forest climbs up to the nitro cave.

Please note that it is possible to drive up to Kumbukgolla village if you got a 4WD. If you do that the last 1.2 km trail to Nitro caves is of moderate difficulty and will take about 1.5 hrs. Still there are many reasons to walk all the way instead of driving. Read below to find out why.

0 to 5km: From Corbet’s Gap (Waypoint: NC01) walk along the road towards Meemure. As you start you will experience the climate of a high altitude forest. The view all around is magnificent. From Corbet’s gap you can see several mountain peaks ofKnucklesRange such as Kalupahana, Lakegala and Dumbanagala and all most up to the Indian Ocean off easternSri Lanka.

As you walk towards Meemure, you will experience a steep descend. The road alternatively moves in to forest and come back to the edge of the mountains giving you an opportunity to enjoy the magnificent views of the mountain ranges. You will be walking 5km along this road, descending approximately 500m from the elevation at the Corbett’s gap. On this stretch, not only you will see the vegetation changing from high altitude forest to low altitude forest, you will also “feel” the climate change.

Even though you can drive this stretch, we recommend you to trek instead, because walking will let you experience the climate change better, something that is very difficult to experience anywhere else in the world. Walking will also give you adequate time to enjoy the landscape and observe some of the rarest birds, butterflies and reptiles, especially lizards.

Your walk along the Meemure road ends at a point where there is a sharp bend to your left and a by road to your right (Waypoint: NC13). This by road, a jeep track for all practical purposes, leads to the Kumbukgolla traditional village.

5km to 9.8km: As you start walking on Kumbukgolla road you will cross a large stream in about 200m (Waypoint: NC14). This is one of several water sources you will find on this trail.

Road to Kumbukgolla pre-dominantly winds through a tropical rain forest, occasionally reaching the edge of the mountains providing greats views in to the mountains.

In about 2.2km from the turn-off from Meemure road, you will reach KumbukgollaVillage. Few houses and the Kumbukgolla primary school will be amongst the first signs you see (Waypoint: NC22) of the village. This is a traditional village hidden in the middle of the Knuckles range completely surrounded by forest covered mountains.

As you walk through the village occasionally you will reach points were you can see the panoramic view of mountains on far left hand side. You will see beautiful paddy fields of villages such as “Kayikawala” and “Meemure” covering mountain sides with narrow green steps (Waypoint: NC27).

About 9 km from the trail head, the jeep track will again move in to the forest (Waypoint: NC29). For about 500m you will see no signs of the village.

You have to walk to the end of the jeep track (Waypoint: NC34) which is 4.8 km from the turn-off from Meemure road. At this point you have completed 9.8km from Corbet’s gap.

The entire 4.8km of the jeep track to Kumbukgolla from Meemure road is a continuous climb down. There are points were you will see by roads branching from the main jeep track. These are at waypoints: NC19 (1.76km), NC27 (3.16km) and NC30 (4.15km). Remember to stick to the main jeep track avoiding the by roads.

9.8km to 11km: Once you reach the end of the jeep track start climbing down on the foot path on to your left. As you walk about 100m you will see the trail making a slight left turn in a section paved with stones (Waypoint: NC 35). You are now walking towards the forest covered mountain where the Nitro Caves are located which you can see in front above the forest. Continue to walk along the foot path passing small paddy plots, village houses and chena. After about 350m from where the jeep track ended, the trail enters a bushy forest patch (Waypoint: NC38).

After walking through the forest patch for about 350m you will reach a point where you will find a trail taking a steep descend towards a house on your left hand side (Waypoint:NC42). Don’t climb down from here. As you walk about 100m along the trail you will find a similar trail on to your left climbing down to a river (waypoint:NC44). Take this trail and climb down to the river. In about 50m, you will be on a large bed rock the stream flows over and drops about 10m down creating a mini waterfall (Waypoint:NC45). From here, turn right, walk about 20m along the bed rock crossing the stream and find the continuation of the trail in to the forest (Waypoint: NC46). This is the lowest point of the hike with an elevation of 451m, also this is the last reliable water source.

As you move in to the forest you will encounter a very steep climb for about 40m or so. After that the climb will become moderate with occasional steep stretches. At about 75m from the stream, the trail takes a slight right turn and continues its climb up (Waypoint: NC49).  About 250m from the stream you will pass an area which looks like a dry stream with a large rocks on the right side (Waypoint: NC 52). Passing this, in another 50m the trail starts the last 50m of steep climb at a point where there are two large trees with ash color bark next to each other. (Waypoint: NC 53). Passing this point and, climbing through two large boulders reach the opening of the Nitro Cave (Waypoint: NC55). Enjoy the stunning view ofLakegalaPeak straight in front of the cave over the forest.

Tips, Notes & special remarks:

•  Make sure that you carry a water bottle. Most part of the trail can be quite dry during the dry month and water sources can become limited.
• Drinking water from streams is safe.
• Last 1.2km of the trail is infected with leaches. Make sure that you either wear leach proof socks or carry a repellent.
• Extremely strong winds can be experienced around the Corbett’s gap during the months of July and August.
• Weather in the Knuckles range is extremely unpredictable, thick mist can cover mountains in a matter of minutes. Be prepared for rain.

Way Points