The Knuckles range gets its name from a row of peaks that, seen from the Kandy side, look like the knuckles of a clenched fist. It rises in the central hills of Sri Lanka, northeast of Kandy, between the dry plains and the wet highlands, and it is cloaked in forest that changes with height from dry scrub to cloud forest, wet montane woods and grassland on the tops. Matale, about twenty kilometres away, is the nearest town of size, and Kandy lies not much further.
The forest is a haven for wildlife. Leopards, Sri Lankan elephants at the edges, purple-faced langurs, endemic frogs and lizards, rare orchids and countless butterflies live here, and the mist that settles on the ridges feeds waterfalls and streams. In 2010 UNESCO included the Knuckles area in the Central Highlands World Heritage listing. Villages such as Meemure, famously remote, were reachable only on foot until quite recently, and still feel like a different world.
The roads are another matter: narrow, steep and twisting, often with a patchy surface and hairpins that can be unpaved or washed out after heavy rain. They are also glorious, with views over tea estates, paddy terraces and valleys filled with mist. The climb from the plains passes through spice gardens of cardamom, pepper and cocoa. Riders should take care with landslides and with buses and trucks that take the whole road, and should not expect help if a bike breaks down.
The south-west monsoon, from May to September, brings heavy rain to the western side, and the north-east monsoon, from October to January, affects the eastern slopes, so the weather is rarely fully dry. Leeches are active in the wet and walkers should carry salt or repellent. Fill up in Matale or Kandy, as petrol is scarce in the hills. A simple lunch of rice and curry in a small restaurant, with tea from the estates, is the right ending.