Knuckles Mountain Range

 

Revitalising Sri Lanka’s tourism to be a resilient and inclusive industry

A serene mist envelope an ocean of luscious greenery and hills, deep in the depths of a stillness that is synonymous with Sri Lanka’s highlands. About 180 kilometres away from the hustle of the capital city Colombo, so lies Riverston, part of the Knuckles Mountain Range—a popular nature trail and hike among the island’s many tourist destinations and one of the many project sites that falls under the European Union (EU)-funded ‘Transforming Tourism in Sri Lanka: Emerging from crisis as a strong, resurgent and rebranded industry’ project. 

A series of challengesSri Lanka’s tourism sector has been subject to a series of challenges since the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks, followed by the protracted impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and now, the economic crisis. The impacts of these crises, especially the pandemic, brought to light a host of challenges that continue to compound hardships of the most vulnerable populations that engage in the tourism industry. 

The island does have a penchant for coming together in tough times, for resilience and recovery. However, given the importance of tourism to those at various levels of society across the island and economy, it was evident that the sector needed more support to sustain and grow. 

With the core need of putting people first in mind, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Sri Lanka, with financial assistance from the EU, conducted a ‘Rapid Assessment on the Impacts of COVID-19 on the Tourism Sector’. The assessment found: a) limited intra-governmental coordination and sub optimal mechanisms to promote the tourism sector, b) limited priority given to the tourism sector at the provincial and local level, and c) limited engagement of stakeholders and partners in policy and product development to be some of the key structural issues that prevent the industry from a reaching a faster recovery and increasing resilience of the sector.

Transforming tourismIn this context, to address the barriers identified in the assessment, with financial support from the EU and in partnership with the Tourism Ministry and Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), the Transforming Tourism project was launched. The project’s central focus is to support the Government of Sri Lanka to revitalise and reform the core structures that support tourism—governance, institutions, policy mechanisms, tourism products and promotion, sectoral transformation and financing—to create a more sustainable industry for people and the planet. 

The project works towards transformative change in the industry and to create tourism that is resilient, sustainable, inclusive and to be equipped to bounce back swiftly to generate returns across the whole economy, both for the betterment of the two million people that engage in tourism and country. 

With the Tourism Ministry and SLTDA at the helm and with technical and financial assistance from the UNDP and EU, the policy framework and the institutional capacities of the tourism sector actors were assessed and strengthened. 

A key output of this intervention was the support provided to the government partners to develop the national tourism policy. The implications of these higher-level, technical efforts can be witnessed on the highlands of the island, in the Central province. 

Hidden treasuresBetween the evergreen, mist-laden mountain ranges of Riverston-Knuckles and the infamous rock fortress Sigiriya, value chain and carrying capacity assessments, analysis on product diversification and upgrading potential and the pilot testing of innovative and upgraded tourism products are underway to establish gender-sensitive experiences and services. The interventions are also being reinforced by a promotional campaign that characterises the myriad of attractions within the Central province.

In Sigiriya alone, apart from the rock fortress that is known the world over, there is an abundance of lesser-known attractions that hold promise of drawing in more tourists. Across the province, there are around 40 attractions, including Pathana, Sera Ella, Bambarakiri Ella, Weddapeni Ella, surrounding Riverston. Closer to Sigiriya, there is a plethora of sites like the Ibbankatuwa Burial Site, Kaludiya Pokuna, Ritigala and much more that can increase visitations and augment tourism income for the province.

The Transforming Tourism project works towards building a transformed, competitive and resilient tourism sector, with requisite polices and institutional capacities to deliver unique and sustainable tourism experiences. With two million people depending on the island’s beaches, mountains and unique biodiversity to sustain their livelihoods, the support provided helps address structural governance issues that lays the foundation for more resources to be mobilised for the betterment of the industry, across the island. 

Particularly, the ongoing economic crisis further calls for more innovative approaches to tourism, to leverage the benefits that Sri Lanka’s natural resources offer. The gender-sensitive tourism products in the Central province serves as a blueprint for the rest of the island to transition to sustainable tourism that promotes environmental conservation and also bring sustainable development gains to local communities. 

Driving sustainable development Tourism has the incredible power and potential to advance prosperity and drive inclusive, sustainable development. The tourism sector touches almost every part of our economies and societies, enabling historically marginalised people and those at risk of being left behind to benefit from development that is local and direct. Sri Lanka is at a critical juncture and leveraging the current crisis to bounce back towards a greener, sustainable and environmentally-conscious tourism offering outlines the country’s pathway to green development. 

RANGE on the edge of RUIN?

Some time after our Horton Plains expedition, Forest Department officials invited us to join them on a hike through the Knuckles range. They proposed climbing the Knuckles range from the Laggala side, then descend to Panwila on the Kandy side through Kalupahana.

It was more or less a conducted tour as arrangements had been made by them. We set out the day before a Poson full moon day in the early evening to the Forest Department circuit bungalow by the banks of the Thelgamuwa Oya situated within the Riverston reservation. This time there were two ladies too both from the Department and also in the party were porters and cooks, so it made us feel as if we were on some colonial expedition.

After breakfast we left for Laggala Pallegama and then turned off from the main road to reach a remote hamlet, Ranamure. At the time this hamlet was isolated from the rest of the world, with the villagers there quite self-sufficient growing their own paddy, vegetables and pulses etc.

Climbing up from there, we entered the jungle and followed a waterway upstream. Extending across the stream were giant climbers called pus wel. We crossed the stream and came out at an open meadow, beyond which stretched the valley and across the valley, the beautiful Knuckles range, casting its spectacular knuckles-like outline across the clouded sky.

It took us quite a while to drag ourselves away from this majestic view and reluctantly we walked down the meadow and entered the jungle again. Finally, we came to a rocky promontory at the edge of the mountain ridge that we were walking along, all the while looking down on the valley below. From here we took a curve around the rocky edge to the slope on the other side of the river which happened to form the right border of the valley of another stream. This became our pathway as it flowed down to rugged terrain.

Climbing up this rocky pathway, we came to a waterfall, with a pool at the bottom, carved out by the sheer force of the water. The rocky banks of the pool extended out just enough to form a platform suitable for us to make camp that night.

After putting up our tents we lit a few Vesak lanterns to celebrate Poson and enjoyed the dinner prepared by the cooks, a luxury we did not have on previous hikes.

The next day we had a more or less vertical climb up the slope of the ridge and it took us quite a while to reach the summit, thoroughly exhausted. It turned out that it was the Kalupahana hill that we had climbed.

The scene from the summit though was quite devastating. Plantations of cardamom had been established with a well laid-out complex of barns and storehouses, and this along with other wadiyas seemed to have caused irreparable damage to the Knuckles reservation.

Apart from the damage to the undergrowth, trees had also been felled for firewood – we saw some where even the bark had been chopped to let the tree die. It seemed the evils of the open economy had invaded these southwestern slopes of the Knuckles.

At the summit of Kalupahana we were received by some officers from Knuckles Conservation who had climbed there from the other side of the range. We had lunch at an improvised Forest Department Circuit bungalow and contemplated climbing the pyramid shaped peak of Tunhisgala but thought better of it. We set off again in search of a camping spot and the next morning came to a pygmy forest close to the summit.

Exposed to the strong winds, the trees here were stunted.

We reached the summit and again what struck us was the man-made destruction visible from this point- barren land devoid of trees, with only sparse mana grass.

Looking back we had a view of Knuckles from the southern slopes.

On our left was Gombaniya, which remained a prominent landmark until we came by road as far down as Panwila.

So ended another hike, our very first to Knuckles but one that didn’t quite live up to expectations because of the presence of human activity in what should have been a pristine wilderness.

Village on the move

“The Village was called Baddegama, which means the Village in the Jungle. The jungle surrounded it, overhung it, continually pressed in upon it. It stood at the door of the houses, always ready to press in upon the compounds and open spaces, to break through the mud huts and to choke up the tracks and paths..”

This is how Leonard Woolf described Baddegama in his classic book ‘Village in the Jungle’. That village in Hambantota was abandoned by the villagers and after the last inhabitant Punchi Menika died, it was engulfed by the jungle.

Walpolamulla, a village in the jungle located in the Knuckles mountain range awaits the same fate as Baddegama. The last inhabitants of the village abandoned Walpolamulla last week, driven away not by the encroaching jungle as in Woolf’s story, but by a group of marauding elephants.

Walpolamulla is perhaps the smallest village in Sri Lanka with just three families made up of seven members. You have to walk 8 km through the jungle to reach Walpolamulla from Rathhinda - the last point where a vehicle can go. In the past few weeks, jumbos have come into the village that extends to nearly an acre and damaged houses in search of food. The oldest villager Kapilaratne Banda is in hospital after being attacked by an elephant.

With no help at hand and the danger ever present, the villagers took the hard decision to abandon their home. Kapilaratne Banda has lived all 74 years of his life in Knuckles. The footpaths across the jungle are as familiar to him as the lines criss-crossing the palm of his hand. On June 13 he was walking with his wife Pinchi Amma to the neighbouring village of Malkirigoda when they encountered the jumbos around 8 in the morning.

Pinchi Amma was quick to hide, but Kapilaratne was not so lucky. One elephant attacked him and then perhaps deterred by Pinchi Amma’s screams, went back to the jungle. Kapilaratne’s leg was injured and villagers had to carry him through the footpaths to a motorable road. He is still being treated at the Matale hospital. “We did not have elephants in this area before. I’m so scared now to walk across the jungle,” said Pinchi Amma, fear written on her face.

Elephants are new to Knuckles, but there are reports of a herd of about 12 wild elephants now roaming the areas of Walpolamulla, Atanwala and Rathhinda. The first signs of the jumbos came about eight years ago according to the villagers. Dr. U.K.G.K. Padmalal head of the Zoology Department of the Open University who has done extensive research on the biodiversity of the area confirmed that these jumbos are from the outskirts of Wasgomuwa. When water and food become scarce there, they start moving to the Knuckles area. This is a seasonal movement and elephants penetrate the boundaries of Knuckles usually in July/August and go back to Wasgomuwa in November/December. These four months are thus a time of fear for villagers like in Walpolamulla, struggling to protect their crop and their lives from this new threat.

Sans crackers or other means to ward off the elephants, the villagers’ method of chasing away elephants is very primitive - they beat an empty can, as hard as they can to make a loud noise. These animals not being used to human interaction may retreat momentarily but will soon get used to this method, they fear.

Sanjeeva Kaviratne, MP of Matale district and an activist for the conservation of Knuckles is trying to find a solution for the villagers. “Places like Walpolamulla have to be preserved as part of our heritage. It is an ancient village that goes back to the Ravana era.

We are trying to re-establish Walpolamulla by providing safety to the villagers, ” he said, adding that they are discussing the possibilities of building an electric fence around the small village with authorities and experts in the field. This may be a workable solution considering the size of the village and the fact that elephants are in the area only for four months of the year.

“But the Morahakanda and Kalu ganga development projects may drive more elephants into the Knuckles area,” said Dr. Padmalal. He fears the proposed Moragahakanda reservoir and its catchments areas will disrupt the elephants’ traditional paths and more elephants will be trapped in this area. There are other villages located in the Knuckles’ border and any unplanned development will create another war front for the Human Elephant Conflict, he warns.

However, these debates are far removed from the Walpolamulla villagers. The last inhabitants of Walpolamulla were hesitant to move away from their ancestral grounds, but last week they bundled up their belongings to face the inevitable. Being descendantsof ancient warriors, they have not abandoned all hope.

Though having lived through the terror of facing an angry wild elephant, Kapilaratne Banda was talking of going back to his village where all his ancestors have lived and died. “When Walpolamulla is safer, we would like to come back again,” he said, hope brightening his eyes.