Why this ride
The stops in between: Peak Wilderness Protected Area, Horton Plains National Park and back through Peak Wilderness Protected Area. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,300 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Sinharaja Forest Reserve and Horton Plains National Park
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 489 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 11 h 46
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Sinharaja Forest Reserve
Sinharaja is the last large patch of primary lowland rainforest in Sri Lanka, a dense green world of towering trees, streams and constant dripping humidity in the south-west of the island. The name means lion king, though there are no lions; there are, however, leopards, purple-faced langurs, giant squirrels and an extraordinary number of species found nowhere else, especially birds, frogs and plants. It was listed as a World Heritage site in 1988, and ornithologists come from all over the world to see the mixed flocks that move through the canopy, with blue magpies, jungle babblers and drongos travelling together in noisy, colourful groups.
Read the complete Sinharaja Forest Reserve write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Sinharaja Forest Reserve is where the day begins. Next is Peak Wilderness Protected Area.
2. Peak Wilderness Protected Area
At the heart of Sri Lanka's hill country rises a sharp cone of rock that Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and Christians all hold sacred. Sri Pada, known to many as Adam's Peak, stands at 2,243 metres, and on its summit is a large depression in the rock shaped like a footprint. For Buddhists it is the footprint of the Buddha; for Hindus, of Shiva; for Muslims and some Christians, of Adam. The mountain lies within the Peak Wilderness Protected Area, a large expanse of montane forest that is part of the Central Highlands of Sri Lanka World Heritage site, listed in 2010.
Read the complete Peak Wilderness Protected Area write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Peak Wilderness Protected Area comes up about 143 km into the recorded legs. Next is Horton Plains National Park.
3. Horton Plains National Park
Horton Plains is a high, cool plateau in the central highlands of Sri Lanka, at around two thousand metres, and it feels a world away from the island's beaches and jungles. The ground is rolling grassland and patches of stunted cloud forest, wind-bent and covered in moss, with rhododendron and wild flowers at the edges. The air is thin and cold, and in the morning you may see breath and frost on the grass. Sambar deer graze in the open, and the park is home to many endemic birds and to rare small mammals, such as the Horton Plains slender loris.
Read the complete Horton Plains National Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 244 km into the recorded legs you reach Horton Plains National Park. Next is back through Peak Wilderness Protected Area.
4. back through Peak Wilderness Protected Area
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Peak Wilderness Protected Area write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Peak Wilderness Protected Area, late in the day. Next is Sinharaja Forest Reserve.
5. Sinharaja Forest Reserve
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Sinharaja Forest Reserve write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Sinharaja Forest Reserve. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Sinharaja Forest Reserve to Peak Wilderness Protected Area
Sinharaja Forest Reserve → Peak Wilderness Protected Area is 143 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Peak Wilderness Protected Area to Horton Plains National Park
Peak Wilderness Protected Area → Horton Plains National Park is 101 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Horton Plains National Park to back through Peak Wilderness Protected Area
Horton Plains National Park → back through Peak Wilderness Protected Area is 96 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Peak Wilderness Protected Area to Sinharaja Forest Reserve
back through Peak Wilderness Protected Area → Sinharaja Forest Reserve is 150 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.