Leech Zone, No Stopping!

Greetings All,

From Kandy we headed north to the Knuckles Range now part of a conservation area.  It had been dry prior to our arrival but the night before it rained.  Asanga our guide warned us the rain may have brought out leeches.  I hate leeches!  They crawl into your boots and inject an anesthetic before they bite so you don't know they're there.  They then inject an anticoagulant so that once bitten you continue to bleed for hours.  I wasn't too excited about the day's hike and sprayed my boots and socks with DEET to ward off the blood-sucking creatures.  After one last leech check we headed out.

Checking for Leeches

Most of the high mountain tops were obscured by clouds but we did get good views of the terraced rice paddies in the lower valleys.

Knuckles Mountain Range

At one point Asanga announces " We are entering a leech zone (a phrase I coined), do not stop.  If you stop to remove one leech, 3-4 more will attack you!".  I hightailed it through the leech zone and made it back to the village where our van was waiting.  When we arrived at camp we removed our boots and socks to assess the damage.  Marc had 5 bites on his ankle and one on his wrist (yes, they do climb up on your trek poles).

Marc Displays his Leech Bites

Stewart won the competition with 38 leech bites!  I tentatively removed my boots and socks.  Yippee, no bites!  Saturating my boots and socks with DEET worked.

The next morning we woke to clear skies and beautiful views of the Knuckles so named by the British as they resemble a clenched fist.

Knuckles Mountain Range

Everyone now sprayed their boots with DEET before our next hike.  Not long after heading out we encountered a troop of Purple-faced Leaf Monkeys in the treetops.  Endemic to Sri Lanka, these Old World Monkeys are wary of humans and it was difficult to get a good photo.  Marc managed to photograph a mother and baby when they paused in an opening in the forest canopy.

Purple-faced Leaf Monkeys

We also spotted Grizzled Giant Squirrels feeding in the canopy.  They appeared darker than their lowland cousins seen in Yala National Park.



Grizzed Giant Squirrel

We hiked down to the river which we crossed on a cement bridge and passed some village homes. The people living here are subsistence farmers growing rice, cardamon and other crops.  We stopped at a waterfall for lunch before returning to camp.  When we removed our boots and socks, we found no leech bites.  The others in our group sustained only a few bites.  DEET really works.

I'm sure some of you are wondering what does a leech look like and how big are they?  Asanga was brave enough to pick one up and hold it for me to photograph. 

Blood Sucking Creature

We left the Knuckles Range and drove to the village of Maskeliya at the base of Adam's Peak, our next hiking objective.  On the way we encountered more and more vans and buses along the narrow winding road.  At one point there was a standoff between us and a big red bus.  

 

Bus Standoff

 

The red bus won and we had to reverse to let it pass. "Where are all these people going", I asked Asanga. "To climb Adam's Peak" he replied.  I knew that the peak is held sacred by 4 religions and that many pilgrims make the climb but I wasn't prepared for this. From our hotel room we could see a mass of buses in the parking lot below.  

 

Bus Parking lot in Maskeliya

 

Asanga informed us that we would start our hike at 12:30 AM in order to beat the rush to the top for sunrise.  As we headed out we could see the trail and the temple on the top illuminated by lights.

Trail to the Summit of Adam's Peak

The route is lined by vendors selling everything from stuffed animals, silk flowers and food.

Vendor Stalls along the trail to Adam's Peak

 

We entered through a gate and continued up a series of steps.

Gate Leading to Adam's Peak

So far we managed to keep ahead of the crowd or so we thought.  As we climbed higher, we encountered more and more people.  Everyone was making the pilgrimage, old men and women, mothers and fathers carrying babies or leading toddlers by the hand, teenagers and of course us tourists.  About 300 vertical feet from the summit, we hit a wall of people.  It stretched as far as we could see into the darkness.

Throng on their way up Adam's Peak

The summit had reached capacity and now the trail had become backed up with thousands of pilgrims waiting to get to the top.  It had taken us one hour to climb 100 feet so we estimated that it would take us another 3 hours to reach the summit, well after sunrise.  We had no choice but to retreat as it would take hours to climb back down through the throng still on their way up.  We arrived back at our hotel at 6:00 AM.  We had to settle for a view of Adam's Peak at sunrise from our hotel room.

View of Adam's Peak at Sunrise

It was disappointing for us but more so for the locals that were also forced to turn back.  For us climbing Adam's Peak was a novelty but for the locals it is a true pilgrimage.  Buddhists believe that the footprint of Buddha is near the summit while the Hindus believe that it is the footprint of Shiva.  The Christians and Muslims believe that it is the footprint of Adam left when first setting foot on Earth after being cast out of the Garden of Eden, hence the name Adam's Peak.  Asanga estimated over 200,000 people attempted to climb the peak along with us.  

We left Maskeliya and drove to Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka's highest town where we spent the night.  The next morning we did a hike in Horton Plains National Park.  We stopped near the entrance to have our packed breakfasts.  There were a few Sambar stags hanging around waiting for a handout.  I refused to give over my breakfast and one of the stags stuck his tongue out at me.

Sambar Stag

Horton Plains National Park contains a mix of montaine grasslands and cloud forest.  The plateau is at an altitude of 6900 to 7500 feet and contains many species of endemic plants and animals.

Horton Plains National Park

As we entered the forest I could hear rustling in the trees.  A troop of endangered Purple-faced leaf Monkeys were feeding in the tree tops.  This is a different subspecies than the ones we saw in the Knuckles Range.  Here they are Trachypithecus vetulus monticola or Bear Monkey.  They have thicker coats and are missing the white patch on the rump of the lowland species. 

Bear Monkey

Our hike took us to two viewpoints along the edge of the plateau and to Bakers Falls.  As we were leaving the falls, a guide from another group pointed out a rare Rhino-horned lizard (Ceratophora stoddartii).  The males have a strange long, sharp horn composed of a single conical scale on the tip of their snouts.  Their horns are used to establish territory and in courtship.

Rhino-horned Lizard

We'll do a few more hikes in the highlands before heading to the beach for a little rest and relaxation.

We hope all is well back home.
Peggy and Marc

Where Have all the Leopards Gone?

Greetings All,
After leaving Myanmar we flew to Colombo, Sri Lanka via Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  We had a few days before meeting up with our next trek group so we visited Yala National Park in southern Sri Lanka.  Yala is Sri Lanka's second largest national park and is said to have the largest leopard density in the world.  We set out to explore the park with our guide, Arran, hoping to find a lot of leopards to photograph.

There are plenty of other animals and birds in the park to enjoy.   Yala harbors 44 species of mammals and 215 species of birds including 6 endemics.  One of the first birds we encountered was this Malabar Pied Hornbill.

Malabar Pied Hornbill

We rudely interrupted two land monitor lizards in the process of mating.  They reared up on their hind legs and embraced lovingly or so I thought.



Land Monitor Lizards

There was a lot of hissing going on and when the male started getting rough, the female had enough and made a hasty retreat.  Yala is also home to herds of wild water buffalo.  Around the periphery of the park most of the water buffalo contain genes from domestic stock.

Wild Water Buffalo

The Little Green Bee-eaters were especially prolific.  They flitted back and forth across the road alighting on branches nearby which made for a great photo.

Little Green Bee-eater

There are four species of deer in the park.  By far the most common are the Spotted Deer.  This handsome buck posed nicely for us.

Male Spotted Deer

There are more than 90 species of waterfowl that inhabit Yala's wetlands.  We observed Cattle, Little, Intermediate and Great Egrets, Red and Yellow-wattled Lapwings, Gray heron, Black-headed Ibis, Indian Pond Heron, White-breasted Water Hen, Lesser Whistling ducks and this beautiful Painted Stork.

Painted Stork

The Asian Elephant herds of Yala number from 300 to 350 individuals.  Most of the males are tuskless owing to the British shooting out all the large males with tusks in colonial times.  We did spot Nalaka, one of the few males with tusks.

Nalaka, male Elephant w/Tusks

The breeding herds containing the females with calves were more difficult to spot.  They tended to stay hidden in the jungle.  One small herd of about 7 individuals came out of hiding for a mud bath.  The adults sprayed muddy water on their back to cool down.  A tiny calf tried to emulate mom without much success.  He had not yet mastered the numerous muscles in his tiny trunk.  When the herd left the waterhole we got a good photo.

Asian Elephants

Almost everywhere you look in Yala you see Peafowl.  One Peacock was doing his best to impress a Peahen.  His tail feathers were extended in a brilliantly colored fan which he shakes violently to attract her attention.  At first she seemed interested but soon turned away and strolled off.

Peacock Displaying

There are two species of monkey in Yala.  The Toque Macaque is endemic to Sri Lanka.  They hang around the rest stops looking for an opportunity to steal food.  We managed to hang onto our breakfasts.

Toque Macque

Not wanting to miss anything we spent two full days in the park.  It gets really hot around noon and the animals tend to be less active.  Most people take a break around midday and return to their lodgings to rest.  We found that you can still spot animals when they come to one of the park's many waterholes to drink.

Spotted Deer Drinking at a Waterhole

One of my favorite smaller animals was the Grizzled Giant Squirrel.  They are found only in Sri Lanka and India.  They are near-threatened due to hunting and habitat loss.

Grizzled Giant Squirrel

Another small mammal spotted at dawn and dusk is the common Black-naped Hare.

Black-naped Hare

We were nearing the end of our second full day in the park and had yet to see a leopard.  We were getting desperate.  Others staying at our camp were getting good sightings but we always seemed to arrive minutes too late.  We decided to bend the rules and stay in the park past sunset in the hopes of getting a sighting of one of the cats that had been eluding us the past couple of days.  One of the top guys in the wildlife department, Chandre, was with us so weren't too concerned about staying late.  He wanted to see a leopard as badly as we did.  Finally, success!  A beautiful female leopard slinked out of the jungle to get a drink at a nearly waterhole.  Despite being some distance away and the growing darkness Marc was able to get a descent shot.

Female Asian Leopard

Time to head out of the park before it got much darker!  Thank you Arran, Chandre and our driver Koshala for being so patient and willing to remain in the park for 13 hours two days in a row for us to get good sightings and photos of Yala's elusive inhabitants.

We hope all is well back home,
Peggy and Marc