Hike to Little Adam's Peak, Ella

The next morning I was awakened by the horn of a train, which coincided with the time the residents of the small town began to go about their daily business. After breakfast at the Sun Top Hotel consisting of eggs, mounds of toast, freshly made pineapple juice and honey made from palm trees, I returned up the small road to Kasun’s house. With his brother and younger cousin joining us, we walked through the tiny town and up the road towards Little Adam’s Peak. Amidst the tea bushes was a large tin corrugated roof structure, from which sounds of kids, dogs, and chickens emanated. Kasun said that over 200 tea pickers lived there, many whom were from Tamil Nadu (India) or were Tamil in origin. In addition to speaking their native language of Tamil, these workers also spoke Sinhalese. He added that the tea pickers (always women) earned about 15 rupees (13 cents) per kilogram of picked leaves and could pick up to 50 kg per day. Many families had around five children, creating a financial burden. Up past the dwelling I saw Hindu temple in early stages of construction.

On the way up, I paused to look at my surroundings – and beautiful they were. Blue and yellow flowers dotted the embankment by the tea bushes. Trees popped up amidst quilted landscape of the tea bushes. Looking forward on the path, Ella Rock appeared in the distance. Buildings occasionally punctuated the green landscape. Kasun explained that there were four tea factories in the immediate area. The government owned the land, but rented it to the tea companies in exchange for part of the profits. Hotels were also going up, especially in the hills. Although they would have a beautiful view, Kasun was concerned about water availability. We also walked past a plot of land with its trees being cut down. These trees were planted by the British but are not conducive to the land (take too much water, not good wood, birds don’t like), so new ones are going to be planted to take the place of the pine trees.

Up more paths and some steps, we arrived at Little Adam’s Peak. Oh, what a green view! The steep slopes were covered in grasses. Nearby hills had grass and were tree-covered. Red busses made their way along the narrow, slithering mountain roads. Near Ella Rock we could see Rawana Ella Falls – our next destination. On clear days, one can see the sea and some lakes, but with the haziness of today, all we could see where distant bluish mountains. After taking in the view for a while, we headed back down the hill and into the small town. Here we had a snack of curd (made from buffalo milk) mixed with fresh fruit, as well as some tea.

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