Pekoe Trail Stage 1 Guided Hike from Kandy: Hanthana to Galaha

Stage 1 of the Pekoe Trail starts on the Hanthana estate, on the ridge immediately above Kandy, which makes it the most accessible stage of the whole 300-kilometre route and the one with the best view back over a town.

The walk climbs through the estate onto the Hanthana range — seven peaks in a line, with Kandy and its lake laid out below to the north and the hill country opening southward. On a clear morning you can see the Knuckles across the valley and, occasionally, as far as Adam's Peak.

From the ridge the trail drops into pine and then back into tea, following the plucking paths towards Galaha. This is walking through a working landscape rather than a wilderness: you pass estate line rooms, tea factories and pluckers with their bags, and the guide explains what you are looking at, which turns a green hillside into a system with a history.

Around 15 kilometres and a solid day. The vehicle collects you at Galaha, so there is no return leg to walk.

Around fifteen kilometres and five to six hours of walking, on estate paths rather than a made trail. Proper shoes, not sandals. After rain the tea has leeches in it — they are harmless and every guide carries salt, but leech socks are worth having if you own them. Start early: the ridge view is the reason to do this stage, and by midday the cloud is usually sitting on it.