Pekoe Trail Stage 01: හන්තාන සිට ගලහ

No matter how much I ride around on my bike, I’m really not a hardcore hiker. But somehow, the urge to climb a mountain hit me, so I dragged a few friends along (none of us had any real experience climbing mountains).

I reached Kegalle around 11 PM the night before, showered, grabbed dinner, got a good night’s sleep, and dragged my buddy out to head to Kandy by 8 AM.
All five of us met up, grabbed breakfast, hired a van, and headed up to the Ceylon Tea Museum—which marks the official starting point of Pekoe Trail Stage 01.

Honestly… the initial stretch was pretty boring. We couldn’t catch any scenic viewpoints until we gained significant elevation.
Near the top, however, we unlocked a breathtaking viewpoint overlooking the Dumbara valley. From there on, the hike turned into genuine fun (though the rest of the gang was practically cursing me during the final stretch).

By 4:45 PM, we finally descended onto the Galaha main road. Just as we were planning to call a car, a local bus pulled up and we hopped right on.
We hit Kandy by 5:30 PM, hung around for a bit, and by the time I made it back to Kegalle, it was around 11 PM.

Honestly, I highly doubt any of those guys will ever agree to go on a hike with me again! 😂

#PekoeTrail #Stage01 #HikingSriLanka #CeylonTeaTrails #Hanthana