THE KNUCKLES RANGE AND MAHIYANGANA

Discover lesser known yet mesmerizing side to Sri Lanka’s captivating sites and monuments. Immediately east of Kandy, visit ancient temples such as the Degaldoruwa Temple, which boasts an outstanding sequence of wall paintings in its underground shrine, in which it’s possible to get a glimpse  of 18^th century social life in the Kandyan Kingdom. Alongside are paintings from the lives of the Buddha, which also display the personal trappings of the 18th century the result of Sri Lanka’s contact with European traders and colonists, showing a mixture of Western and Eastern cultures in its dress and decorations.

Just a few minutes’ drive from Albatross Golfing Resort,the vista is

dominated by the Knuckles Range, named for its five peaks’ alleged resemblance to the knuckles of a clenched fist. The hills here are some of the wildest and least spoilt in Sri Lanka, with huge, though still largely unexplored, trekking and wildlife-spotting possibilities. It was this ruggedness and remoteness which led the people of Kandy, on the numerous occasions when they were threatened by invaders, to leave the city and trek out to the citadel of Hunnasgiriya and camp there until the danger had passed, taking the royal treasures, including the Tooth Relic, with them.

The switchback road around the southern edge of the Knuckles Range leads lo the Mahaweli River and the Victoria Reservoir and its huge dam, now the source of a significant slice of the country’s electricity, with views of the land once inhabited by the aboriginal tribes of Sri Lanka. This area of jungle, bounded by the river and the plains beyond, is the land of the Veddhas, known as Bintenna.

A short drive further east of Albatross Golfing Resort is the small town of Mahiyangana at the end of a hair-raising sequence of 17 hairpins down to the plains. As a truck route connecting the West Coast to the East Coast this route was recently reconstructed and this beautiful carpeted road is now open to the public.

Mahiyangana, was one of the three places in Sri Lanka visited by the Buddha 26 centuries ago – at least according to the Mahavamsa the ancient Buddhist chronicle. The aboriginal people, known as the Veddas, were the immediate beneficiaries of that visit, since they converted to the practice of Buddhism after watching him levitate. A temple in Mahiyangana marks the spot where the Buddha is said to have preached.

Albatross Golf Resort in Digana is also an excellent place to break on a journey to and from the East Coast. Its lush surroundings, world-class cusine, and cooler climate make it a exhilarating place to stay.