Man vs Wild on Havagala

Adventurer is our middle name; my explorer buddy Minol Peiris and myself were notorious in College for finding old legends and places and getting trapped in them. Adventure and exploration of the unknown had always been our thing and exploring and camping in uncharted territory was like a dream come true so we could not wait till our Advanced Levels were over to kick start our life as campers.

The book COLLIN’S CAMPING & HIKING MANUAL was a great help to us especially because we were beginners. So now we knew how to go and what to do on a camping expedition; next was finding the location, that’s when we came across the Sri Lankan Adventurer’s hang out while surfing the net; the Lakdaun Forum. There we came across a trip report to a Mountain called Havagala which any one can climb to the summit and camp there; the stunning images quickly grabbed our mind, this is where we will go. So after much preparation we fixed the second weekend of January 2014 for the expedition. Since we were heading into unknown territory without any contact we prepared documents with all the relevant details of the trip and gave our families.

Havagala Mountain (1400m) or Hagala as called by the locals is located in the beautiful land of Belihuloya in the Sabaragamuwa Province bordering the Horton Plains National Park; the vegetation is a mixture of Montane forest and Manna grasslands with scattered Pine trees. The trail head starts from the village of Laduyaya a peaceful village untouched by the spoils of the modern world. To reach here one must travel to Belihuloya on the A4 main road and turn left up the road next to the Belihuloya Rest House; Laduyaya is 2km up this road passing through the village of Ihalagalagama as well. To reach here by public transport one could take the Colombo – Bandulla bus and get off at Belihuloya; there is no town called Belihuloya, the nearest town is Galagama, when said Belihuloya the bus will drop you right in front of the Rest House; this we learned it the hard way. Then one could catch a trishaw or the Balangoda – Laduyaya bus and get off at the last stop at Laduyaya. Another interesting route will be to catch the Colombo – Bandulla Train get off at Haputale and then take a bus back to Belihuloya. The villagers are very friendly and will show the way up the mountain; they even will lead you to the summit. The nearest Police Station is Samanalawawe Police station; we decided to inform them about the climb in case the unexpected happened; which proved useless when it did happen. So with every thing in place our adventure started.

We got into the Colombo – Bandulla bus at 00:15 hrs on Saturday hopping to reach Belihuloya by at least 05:30 hrs to inform the Police, get directions and start the climb early as possible. The bus ride was quit peaceful; we took turns to sleep so as to keep an eye on our belongings. At 02:10 hrs the bus stopped at Parakaduwa for an early morning tea and left within 20 minutes. At 04:30 hrs the conductor called for the Belihuloya stop, it seems we were the only persons getting off; we got off right in front of the Rest house but there was no town so just as the bus was leaving we asked where is the town and he said this is where people say belihuloya and get off; there is no town. We had totally miss calculated the time and we were in the pitch dark looking pretty lost; adventure right from the start. By the side of the Rest house there was a road leading up which said Ihalagalagama; so we knew we were in the right place but needed the town. We tapped on the gate of the Rest house and the watcher came to greet us, he said the nearest town is called Galagama which is just two bends away; so we geared up and with our head torches lit we headed into the abyss. This area is scattered with houses and civilization but at this ungodly hour it seemed as if we were walking into total nothing. When we came to the town there was one shop opened so we spoke to the people there who were quite friendly as how to climb the mountain, they said we must go to Ihalagalagama and from there a villager will show the path to take; he said we can take the bus starting at 07:20 hrs from the temple on the Ihalagalagama road which can be reached through a short cut through the town. Then we asked as to how far be the Police station, he said it’s about 4km from here in Pambahinna so as we had time we decided to hike to the station. The hike on the road was just amazing, the darkness disappearing thus reveling the environment around us topped up with the morning mist was just as we dreamt it. Half way through we hopped onto a bus as we felt that we may run out of time. The Police station is next to the Sabaragamuwa University which is 100m down the Samanalawawe road from Pambahinna junction. At 06:10 hrs we reached the Police station; they were rather surprised at our request for no one has ever informed them when climbing the mountain, they thought we were from the University as many University students camp on the mountain. We said we will inform them when we come down on Sunday. It is prudent to inform the nearest Police station when going on an excursion like this especially since we are not from that area. We gave them documents with our details, got there contact details and left.

Near the University

The Uni.

On the way to the junction we had our morning snack from a market and caught a ride back to Galagama in a truck from a friendly local. It was now around 06:40 hrs so we visited the beautiful St. Mary’s Church Galagama, had a chat with the Parish priest there and headed in time to the temple; the short cut is a small road next to the church. When we reached the temple the bus was there so greeting the incumbent monk there we got into the bus which left thereafter.

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The ride through Ihalagalagama was captivating; the people there are so humble and friendly. Along the way we got a clear view of our destination. We inquired as to what time the bus leaves the village tomorrow and he said it leaves at 07:50 hrs, 10:35 hrs and then again at 14:00 hrs; so we decided to catch the 10:35 hrs one tomorrow. At the last stop the driver showed us the path between some houses; heading along the way we found to two strong sticks to maintain our balance when climbing and to protect ourselves from animals. There are two streams to cross to enter the mountain and there we met a wood cutter who led us through a path to the tea estate; we continued along the path where all of a sudden it stopped. Now lost in the middle of the tea estate we tried finding a path up the estate assuming that’s the direction to go; to our luck we met the wood cutter again who said to go through the forest bordering the estate which was 30m directly in front where the path ended. When we came to the edge we saw the path through the forest and signs showing we were entering the Leech country. We had to cross a slippery stream with caution and creep through some thick undergrowth to enter the open; the Manna patches. So far the journey had been thrilling; trekking alone amidst nature is just simply breathtaking.

Our destination !!

The trail head

.	one of the two streams to cross

.	Red circle marks the entrance to the forest from the tea estate; the trail through the estate ends from where the pic was taken!

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This is  the most exhausting part of the climb, from here one must go southwards while ascending, the slope becomes steep at times and there are many deadly streams to cross; they are actually a thin layer of icy cooled water flowing on flat rock which are extremely slippery. About 15 minutes into the climb from the forest we rested to have a snack, once I kept the bag down I touched my spine for a second and my hand was full of blood; I immediately took off my T- shirt as I knew what it was, a blood sucking leech! When I looked at my T- shirt it was as it someone has stabbed me. Minol immediately took out the salt powder and put it on the leech and it instantly came off.  The battle with the leeches did not end there, just as we finished off with that one another one got on my arm!

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The Manna patches

From here one could see the entire valley below and Horton plains on the other side, the view was breath taking. This Manna patch is extremely difficult especially with heavy baggage which in the end cost us valuble time. At one point it seems an endless climb; many a time we thought that the summit was just over the slope but instead another steep climb. We planed to reach the summit by around 13:00 hrs and have our lunch there; from the summit one could get a 360 degree view of the surrounding area. It was already 13:00 hrs and we had not reached the summit yet, so we sat down and had our lunch which was fried meat and bread, the meat gives energy plus since fried it can be kept for some time. Regarding food Dates and Glucose are two essentials when going on long distant hikes which gives quick energy.

Now things did not seem good for us, not only that we had taken too much time but now the weather did not seem to show a good face, from the direction of Horton plains rain clouds were rushing at an alarming rate. Now our cards were up, we could not make it to the summit, for one we had no idea as to how far the summit was and that we could not make it due to the rain. We could not afford to get wet in the rain because due to the cold temperature here we can easily get Hypothermia, a condition which leads to a decrease in core body temperature to the point where normal body functions are impaired.

So now to our great disappointment we decided to make camp at an altitude of about 1200m; we were sad that we would not be able to see the entire world from top of Havagala but the view from the camp site was still amazing. We looked for the most suitable place to set up camp as we were on the slope, and then Minol showed me a considerably flat area just behind a small pine tree, ideal to set up the tent so that it can rest against the tree incase of high winds. By the time we set the tent it was around 14:30 hrs and the clouds were setting in; just as we sat down in the tent for a while to our amazement two wood cutters came to the camp, they were collecting wood when they saw us, we asked as to how far was the summit and they said it was only about 500m away, just a short climb then cross a small patch of forest to reach the summit. Oh how close we were to the summit.

Now the priority was to find a water source as our bottles were almost empty, about 50m away we found a tiny stream close to the edge of the forest, the stream was so tiny we had to hold the mouth of the smallest bottle and fill the rest, the water was clean and a coolness one could never get from a refrigerator. We also managed to wash our selves a bit. The exiting thing about camping is that you get to do ordinary things in an extraordinary way.

Awesome camp site

Making Marmite drink !

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After having a change we set out to light a camp fire and make some Marmaite drink, we got the fire wood from a nearby fallen pine tree, the dried leaves of which make an excellent fire starter, collected some stones and lit the fire using a lighter; the marmite drink was quite refreshing. Even though we could not make it to the summit this was still superb, the cold weather, the magnificent view of Horton plains, camping in the wild; it was paradise, we were living our dream.

Just as we finished our drink around 15:30 hrs it began to rain; the tent was a four person tent so there was ample room to relax a bit till the rain stopped. How wrong were we, we came looking for adventure so here it came; the tent was leaking! We rushed out side to cover the tent with another water proof cover but it weren’t enough; we could not afford to get the inside wet so we barricaded the edges of the tent with all we got, our bags, towels, extra clothes, sheets an all sparring only two sheets. But the damage had been done; we managed to keep the centre a bit dry so cramped in the middle we fell a sleep. When we woke up at 17:30 hrs the rain had stopped and was getting dark and very cold, we set about building the camp fire again, fortunately Minol had kept some of the dried pine leafs in the tent before the rain so managed to get the fire going.  While the light was still there we walked around the camp site hopping to see some rabbits or any other wild life but to no avail. Finally we had done it, hiked and camped in the wilderness; the night sky was clear and with the moon light we did not really need the head lamps. We decided to get up in the morning at 05:30 hrs to check out the sun rise, brake camp at 7:00hrs and head down the mountain to the village to catch the Laduyaya bus at 10:50hrs.

It was very cold and the sheet and coverings were damp and our jackets were wet too, with these conditions the probability of catching hypothermia was high, so hoping for the best we dozed off at 20:30 hrs after having some canned baked beans for dinner.

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We both work up by 05:00 hrs shivering beyond the normal, we knew we had a case of mild hypothermia so we just rushed out and lit the fire, immediately the shivering stopped. The sun rise was just amazing, the mist from Horton plains and the valley below lit up with the rising sun can not be explained through words. We wanted to do this when we reached the summit but never the less we took out the Sri Lankan flag and our College flag and waved them to victory at what seemed to be the climax of our great adventure, hiked, camped and survived the night on a mountain but destiny had a different plan for us; the climax was yet to come.

Minol with the Lion flag

After catching some amazing photographs we had some bread and beef for breakfast, filled our bottles with water, arranged every thing and broke camp at 07:00hrs as we planned to be down to catch the 10:35 Laduyaya bus. We took the same route we came, we had made some signs on the way up by bending few branches off the pine trees but we failed to look for them as we went down. We crossed those risky streams again and took few breaks, but coming down was definitely easier with our heavy bags. Still on the Manna patch we noticed that there were far too many pine trees than earlier, we knew we had taken a slight de tour but we knew the direction to go, we could see the houses below very clearly and that if we head down the Manna patch we will reach the forest and through that to the tea estate and the village, We assumed our current position to be somewhat north above the entrance from the forest to the Manna patches but all is not what it seems to be.

We began to make some steep descends till we reached the forest line but alas, it was impenetrable, no way of making an entrance; the time was around 09:00 hrs, now we faced the bitter truth, we came looking for adventure so here it is right at our face; WE ARE LOST

For a moment all the episodes of “I shouldn’t be alive” ran through our mind and a thought ran as to where will we be by the end of the day.

We used up all our energy to get down here and it would kill us to go back up and retrace our steps. Now we knew the game was up, that we needed help. It was then that we realized our big mistake, we did not get any contact numbers from the village despite meeting a few; luckily due to our preplanning we had the Police station number. We moved about till the signal came to our phones and we rang the Police immediately but to our greatest disappointment they were of no help, the Officer on the line said to “find yours own way”. It is just sad to see how our Police react to situations like these.

So now we were left with only one option, shout for help thinking a passing villager might hear us owing to the fact that they wonder about the forest often. We began to shout HELP and WE HAVE LOST OUR WAY in Sinhala. Awaiting a replay we decided to move out of our current location and go across the slope towards the south.

Now with the adrenaline rushing through our bodies and the need to get back we were taking great risks by climbing, crawling, jumping, pulling and throwing our bags at times through the bushy slope and not caring about the leeches. Then we came across the most adventurous plus the most dangerous part, we had to cross a 70 degree slope with water running down on flat rock and the only means of crossing it were few grass patches here and there; the face of the rock was so slippery that a slip down would put one in a very ugly situation. Cautiously as we were crossing it we heard some people calling from the valley below; it appeared to be replies to our pleas but they weren’t clear so we called out again.

So finally to our relief we knew that others know that we are lost and should and will come to our help. We faintly heard them say there is a path down, so after crossing the slope of death we rested a bit and began the steep decent and to our joy we found a path through the forest; that feeling of being found I can never be written in black and white.

As we were heading through the forest a man named Gunepala came to us, said that he was one of the people who gave directions and that he was on his way to find us, we thanked him a lot and he invited us for tea to a near by house. We came to a small house made of clay where four smiling faces greeted us. Finally the whole ordeal was over. We immediately did a body check up for leeches as we could not imagine as to how many there must be on us; but to our amazement found none. They gave us plain tea and bananas and we too shared our food. This memory will never fade away of how these people in their simplest way welcomed and treated total strangers like us; such beauty of humanity that it questions us urban folks as to what civilized really means.

To our surprise we still had time to make it to the bus at 10:35 hrs so they helped us to carry the bags and took us to the location but we had just missed it. Many people came out to see us; it seems the entire village knew of our nightmare. A lady, one Ms. Senarathna came up and said the next bus is at 14:00 so she invited us home and gave us lunch. We were amazed at the humility of these people, how different they are compared to urban folk. Even though the present world has touched them with paved roads, concrete houses and electronic media the beauty of their humanity has not been touched, just wonderful people of the earth.

In this two day wild adventure we not only experienced the beauty of nature but also the beauty of man. At 14:05 hrs the bus came and we said our good byes and headed on the last phase of the journey. At 15:10 hrs reached Balangoda and took a Colombo bound bus from there.

So our great camping adventure came to an end. Now safely at our homes the end would have been totally different had it not been for those people whom we showed our gratitude by sending photographs we took with them. So with this beautiful picture in heart I don’t mind climbing Havagala again.

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.	.Heaven on Earth !

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Our saviors !

The Senarathna family who gave us lunch

THE END