This is a ‘must see’ destination for any hard core traveller! In fact most hard core travelling locals have already crossed it off their bucket lists. The popularity of Narangala as a hiking destination has been increasing steadily especially in the era of social media. Me and my clique of friends hiked up there last year and it was a good and memorable experience. We reached Narangala at around 10AM, and had quite a lot of fun along the way as it was a long trip from Colombo!
It’s not exactly a hard destination to find, besides these days what is right?! Just put a location into Google Maps, and with turn by turn navigation you’re there in no time. It was around 11AM in the morning when we started to climb, so quite an early start. It was bright and direct sunlight, with not a cloud in sight.
We parked our vehicle near a Hindu Temple (Locals in the area told us it was fine to park there). We started to climb and it wasn’t hard to find the start of the trail. However as for navigating on the way we had to get directions from a few tea pluckers along the route. Think of this part of the adventure as something like navigating your way through a mystery novel! It’s a one of a kind thrill ain’t it?!
Since it was a clear day and since we started at around noon, the sun was directly hitting us, so it’s probably a better climb during the evening when cooler. In any case it’s a good idea to bring plenty of drinking water with you so you can stay hydrated.
The view once you get to the top is amazing, it’s lush with endless green grass; the perfect scenery for a traveller’s instagram. There’s also a stupa monument at the top. Fun fact; the name “Narangala” came to the mountain because of the lemon green grass at the top of the mountain (“Naran” is Sinhala for Lemon)!
On the climb up on the trail I was kind of sad seeing the plastic littering, I actually can’t imagine how they could think of doing that in a place this beautiful. Please don’t litter in the trail to the mountain area. Take whatever you brought along with you in a separate compartment of your backpack. So if you’re craving an adventurous but small hike come over to Narangala, it won’t disappoint!
