The Hanthana mountain range is quite popular, mainly for the beautiful scenery it offers once you start the journey of reaching the top. The delicate hill country of Kandy is a 3 hour and 33 minutes from the capital of Colombo, but definitely worth the long and interesting journey.
A little about the hills
The mountain range stretches all the way from Kandy to the town of Galaha, 20 kilometres south. The range has seven peaks in total, the highest being ‘Ura Kanda’. Easy to get to from most Kandy hotels, the tributaries of the river separate the hills from one another. The western end freshwater springs feed the waters of Mahaweli river.
For the nature lovers
Hanthana is named a protected nature reserve and is home to around 120 different species of birds. Animals such as wild boars, civets, fishing cats, hares, monkeys, foxes, leopards, and hedgehogs have made the hills of Hanthana their home. Back in the day, the people of Kandy were allowed access to the range only to collect firewood, allowing a large number of animals to roam freely throughout the forest.
Safety first
Pay enough attention to the instructions given, such as the advised times to climb. Earl’s Regency is approximately 30 minutes from the mountain range, therefore, time your journey correctly to start your hike before 9 AM. It’s advised that you descend the hills by 3 PM, as darkness can fall without much warning and the descend can tend to become a little tricky.
Roland Lefevre is a travel writer who specializes in creating features on leisure as well as business travel destinations across the globe. Google+
