The Knuckles Range is one of the most beautiful sights in Sri Lanka.
The name "Knuckles" was given by early British surveyors, but Sri Lankans refer to the area as "Dumbara Kandu watiya" which means "fog laden mountain range".
The area is characterized by its striking scenery often wrapped in layers of clouds.
The remarkable feature of this area is, most of Sri Lanka's climatic conditions can be seen within the extent of the mountain range. All these climatic conditions can be felt within half an hour of walking through this valley. The location of the hills, the effect of rain and wind create a certain climatic diversity in this area.
In these hills one can find the characteristics of all the main ecological zones found in the country.
At high altitudes, in some areas of the mountain range, there are rare species of flora and fauna, some of those are not found anywhere else in the world.
Although the mountain range is about 0.03% of the island's total area, it has a significantly higher share of the country's biodiversity. The area has abundant rainfall, as it is a major rise in opposition to both the Southwest and Northwest monsoons. For this and other reasons, the Knuckles Range is considered one of the richer upper watersheds in the country. In fact, most of the tributaries of the Mahaweli River flow from these hills.
There are three main rivers, called -
(1) Hulu Ganga
(2) Heen Ganga and
(3) Kalu Ganges, which start from the Knuckles Range.
And there are a number of spectacular waterfalls and streams that can be seen in this area. Even today, as it was in ancient times, water from the Knuckles Range fill ancient water reservoirs such as the Parakrama Samudraya.
Nowhere else in Sri Lanka you can find such a collection of magnificent mountain peaks.
The highest of them are -
Gombania - 6248 feet
Dumbaragala - 5389 feet
Knuckles - 6112 feet
Kalupahana - 5341 feet
Kirigalpotta - 5403 feet
Wanniman - 5110 feet
Dotalugala - 5164 feet
The changing terrain of grass covered mountain peaks interspersed with streams and cascading waterfalls make the 18,512-hectare Knuckles Range a trekker's paradise.
Popular hiking trails -
(1) Trail to the Little End of the World from Deanston;
(2) Trail to Dotalugalu from Deanston;
(3) Trail to the Nitro Caves from Corbett's Gap;
(4) Trail to Augallena Cave via Thanappuwa from Corbett Gap;
(5) Trail to Kalupahana from Meemure village.