The World's End Hike

 

Feb. 24

            We got up in darkness and our tuktuk driver was there waiting for us.  We headed quickly out of town and most of the trip was along quiet roads where we were almost the only vehicle out there.  A disadvantage of travelling by tuktuk is that you don’t have the view that you get out of a car but that didn’t make much difference before sunrise.  On bizarre occurrence was that as we were driving we heard a large zap above us with some visible sparking.  Our driver looked up and slowed down but kept going.  As we slowly continued, a few dozen feathers floated down in front of us.  I guess the wiring wasn’t well-insulated and an unfortunate bird landed on the wrong spot and went from roosted to roasted.

            The roads kept getting smaller and we got to the main park gate to get our tickets.  The hike we were doing was called World’s End and was supposed to have a spectacular view but usually misted over by 10 am, hence our early departure.  The road got narrower and elevated along many narrow switchbacks.  We stopped at one point to watch the sun rise, which was beautiful from the height we were at.

            We got to the hike departure point, which was a series of small buildings around a parking lot with several buses and vans.  The cafeteria wasn’t open yet (you’d think they would be, they could have sold tons of coffee and pastries) nor was the gate to start the path.  Our driver had lots of friends among the other waiting drivers but made sure we knew where to line up.

            Once the gate opened, passing through it was slow.  At the entrance they checked all backpacks and removed all non-reusable plastic.  Our chips were put in a paper bag but our reusable water bottles were fine.  Once we got past that, we headed down the wide, well-maintained path for our hike.  Most of it was very easy with washrooms along the way and long stretches that could have been navigated by wheelchair.  There were only a few spots where you needed to go up and down hills but you felt them more than usual because the altitude robbed you of breath.

            We did the loop clockwise and most of the first part of the hike was through woods not so different from a Canadian hike and we stopped to watch a woodpecker for a while.  Eventually we emerged at the lookout spot which was busy but not crazy crowded.  To be honest, the view was nice but far from amazing, perhaps because there was some mist in the air so that the horizons were fuzzy.  We stopped for snacks and obligatory photo ops before proceeding.

            The way back was hillier but more interesting, with grassy fields, marshes and scraggly trees.  Along the way was a nice waterfall to check out and enough elevating that we were out of breath a few times.  Overall, a nice but not a “must-do” hike.  The path made it very accessible, and many seniors were doing it without too much difficulty.

            Back at the entrance, the cafeteria was finally open so we had some coffee and buns before heading back.  Our friendly driver was in no rush and waited while we refueled.  The trip back was uneventful but at least we saw what we were driving through in the daylight.  Once we got back we had a late breakfast and then lazed around our room and hung out on the porch.

            For dinner we finally tried out the shortcut from our place to a restaurant on the hill above us, which saved us a lot of time.  This place was the Tripadvisor #1 rated restaurant in town, which says a lot about how small Haputale was.  It was a fine, family place with decent food but nothing exceptional.  It filled up with tourists because of its online pedigree and it probably was the best place in town.

            We walked back in the dark and wondered which way to go at a few spots where the path split but made it back safely.  We spotted a few more fireflies along our route which is about as exciting as Haputale gets most nights, I think.