Hanthana Ridge and Katusukonda Hike from Kandy with Tea Estates and a Waterfall

The Hanthana range is the wall of hills directly south of Kandy — seven peaks in a line that you look at from the lake every day without necessarily realising you can walk them. This trip does, and because the trailhead is twenty minutes from the city it is the easiest serious walk available from Kandy.

The route climbs through the Hanthana tea estate onto the ridge, where the view opens both ways at once: Kandy and its lake to the north, the hill country running south towards Nuwara Eliya. On a clear morning the Knuckles range stands up across the valley.

Katusukonda is the outcrop at the far end, and the walk out to it crosses grassland and pockets of remnant forest with caves in the rock below the ridge line. There are few people out here — this is where Kandy residents walk, not where tour groups go.

The waterfall at the end is the reward: a pool cold enough to be a genuine shock after a hot walk, and shallow enough to sit in. Most groups stop for an hour before heading down.

Four to five hours of walking with a real climb at the start, on estate paths and open grassland. After rain there are leeches in the tea — harmless, and the guide carries salt, but bear it in mind. The ridge is exposed with no shade, so an early start beats both the heat and the midday cloud that usually closes the view. The pool at the end is snowmelt-cold rather than refreshing; most people last a few minutes and are glad they went in.