TikaWeeks #24/2023: Sri Lanka update
Posted by John on 15th June 2023
Resplendent Ceylon is the sole member of Relais & Chateaux in Sri Lanka, the global fellowship of family owned and operated luxury hotels and restaurants. We have enjoyed Ceylon Tea Trails – in the Condé Nast Traveler Gold list 2023 – Cape Weligama and Wild Coast Tented Lodge for many years. Now their sister Reverie Collection – Kayaam House and Ahu Bay – opened in February to critical acclaim. Sharing Resplendent’s core values, Reverie encourages guests to slow down, be mindful, and embrace a simpler version of life, surrounded by nature and harmony.
The Pekoe Trail – Stage 11: Horton Plains to Udaweriya
Just over 13 km in length and 4 hours' duration, this challenging stage starts at the Farr Inn, an old hunting lodge for high-ranking British colonial officials and now a visitor centre run by the Department of Wildlife Conservation, from where almost all visitors start the trek to World's End.
This is the highest point of the entire Pekoe Trail at an elevation of 2170 metres. Depending on the time of the year or even the time of the day, it may be cold, windy, misty or clear blue sky. From May to December, clouds roll over the plains from the east so close to the ground it feels as though you can touch them. In January and February, the skies are blue, the air is dry and the sun beats down like the African savannah.
The name 'Devil's Staircase' was most likely coined by Scottish tea planters living in the area and taken from the long-distance footpath on the West Highland Way in the Scottish Highlands. However, the good news is that there are no stairs! It’s a track following the top section of the Devil's Staircase, from the Ohiya-Horton Plains road to a village overlooking the Udaweriya Valley. The views are truly breath-taking as you wind your way down and around the mountain. On a clear day the view extends to Udawalawe National Park and beyond to the island's southern coastline.
The bottom of the descent is the lowest point of this stage at an elevation of 1618 metres. Leaving the so-called ‘hidden valley’ behind, which lies on the very edge of the tea country in a dramatic south-facing location, you continue into the Udaweriya Valley and join the Ohiya-Kalupahana road. As you begin to ascend look up to the old and abandoned Udaweriya Tea Factory, now largely a skeleton of steel beams. Keep on hiking up the road towards a clear pass, through neat terraces of vegetables planted left and right, with local houses dotted around the valley. The stage ends at a small community housing the Ohiya Tamil Vidyalaya (school) in the lower Ohiya Estate off the Ohiya-Kalupahana road, which is on the right after the junction with Aarumugam organic farm.
Categories: Accommodation, Sightseeing, Sri Lanka, Sustainability, Travel tips
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