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Published: December 24th 2013
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A 2 hour train trip took us to Haputale. On our first afternoon we visited a monastery run by Benedictine monks. The grounds were surreal with English rose gardens and pear, apple and orange trees instead of banana and jackfruit, all overrun by little toque macaque monkeys. The monks make strawberry and orange marmalade and the money they make selling it is part of their income.
We walked through a bird sanctuary on the way there and bought a bag full of sliced mango topped with chili powder from a boy manning a fruit stand. It sounds like an odd pairing but is actually very good.
The next day we hiked Horton's Plain, an enormous national park that has both forest and grasslands. The park rangers do a great job of keeping plastic out by checking knapsacks on the way in. A lot of people litter here, throwing their rubbish out car windows or just leaving it in piles at the beach or wherever. But there are signs all over the park asking people to refrain from smoking and drinking and to take their garbage out with them, and they seem to be working. The area used to be
a game park for British colonial hunters and so there are introduced trout in the streams that have done quite a number on the endemic shrimps. But it is wonderfully maintained as a nature preserve and we saw plenty of sambar when we arrived. We never saw the monkeys in the forests but we heard them, as well as plenty of junglefowl, Sri Lanka's national bird.
But the real draw was the view at World's End, an escarpment that overlooks an 800 meter drop. From here we could see all the way to the coast. It was simply incredible. Matt and I sat down and ate our lunch with our legs dangling over the edge. In Canada, there would be so many safety railings around the drop you wouldn't be able to get very close. Don't get me wrong, I think safety and order are good things, and there have been several deaths from this spot, but there is something so awesome about looking over this natural view without anything man made getting in the way. There was no one else around when we were there and every breeze made me catch my breath and lean back toward safety.
It was really cool.
The next morning we climbed the 171 meter high Diyaluma Falls and swam in the pools up top. On the way up we passed an old rubber plantation with trees still bearing scars and dripping the white liquid from which rubber is made. The climb took about 1 1/2 hours and we didn't see anyone else on the trail or at the top. We splashed around 4 different pools and two minifalls, all just above the big falls. The water was warm and clean and after we'd walked back to the bottom we were told that elephants use the pools in the evenings to drink from and bathe.
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