Knuckles Mountain Range
The rugged peaks of the Knuckles – named by the British for their resemblance to the knuckles of a clenched fist – cover a rugged and still largely untouched area of great natural beauty and biodiversity. The steeply shelving mountain terrain reaches 1863m at the summit of the main Knuckles peak itself and includes stands of rare dwarf cloudforest. The area is home to various species of deer monkeys ,leopard giant squirrels, rare species of lizard such as the horned blacklipped lizard, and an exceptionally fine collection of endemic bird species. Trekkers and those who enjoy the outdoors frequently visit the Knuckles Mountain Range. The range is renowned for its varied topography, which includes rocky peaks, grasslands, and waterfalls.
The most straightforward approach to the Knuckles is from the main Kandy to Mahiyangana Road. Some 27km east of Kandy, at Hunasgiriya, turning on the left takes you up into the range on hairpin bends via the village of Looloowatte (1065m) to reach Corbet’s Gap, from where there are magnificent views of the main Knuckles directly ahead. The central parts of the range – described as a super biodiversity hotspot , are protected as a conservation forest and in 2010 were added to the list of World Heritage Sites along with Horton Plains National Park (the eighth place in Sri Lanka to achieve World Heritage status). There are all sorts of intriguing trekking possibilities in the Knuckles.
Getting There
You can fly into the Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo, Sri Lanka’s capital, to go to the Knuckles Mountain Range. From there, you can go to Kandy, the entry point to the Knuckles Mountain Range, by local bus or cab. To get to the beginning of your preferred path in Kandy, you can either rent a private vehicle or use a local bus.
