Great Western Mountain (GW) — Talawakelle

16th of March 2019, designed by a group called “Art of Travel,” my son and I embarked on a venture to conquer the sixth highest mountain of Sri Lanka as a part of a quest to fulfil our objective of achieving the task of climbing the ten highest mountains of this beautiful island that we so cherish to call home.

Peaking at an elevation of 2212 meters “Great western” has nothing significantly or remotely related to any western film but situated amidst the tea plantations in Talawakelle named the Great-western tea estate rather perplexingly. One must take a left turn at the Talawakelle town to a point that has only a walking path to the GW railway station at the foothills of this mammoth massif. The access from the town consists of a 14 kilometres drive plus 1.5 kilometres walk to the station and is the last place to fill up on your non-elaborate essentials for the hike.

A two-kilometre walk along the railway track took us to a methodically paved Kovil stairway on to our left where the climb tends to start. At the Kovil our guide Morgan from the nearby village makes an offering to the Gods. To the group, journeying from midnight, this was a break at a point that we were not aware of the madness to come.

Beyond the Kovil the path was deemed invisible and arduous by Morgan. Not heeding, Morgan’s comments were consumed as a joke by these enthusiastic and jovial hikers. A Very Very bad joke that constantly had a tendency to take a turn for the worse. Beyond the Kovil every step was not only invisible but a foot high, shrubs as support and one needed a fellow hiker to shove or pull you up at near vertical angles with temperatures hovering around 37 degrees Celsius. My son and I who generally hike alone were glad that the “Art of Travel” folk had organised this event to be indulged with a crowd.

From the GW railway station, though the mountain looked high, it did not seem to pose any threat to these regular hikers initially. However, what the hikers did not know is that the path to the summit had to be navigated around another hill due to the GW mountain terrain being non-accessible directly. Thereby a mere 700 metre mountain summit from the station becomes six plus kilometres of a long shrubby climb.

We started from the station at 0800hrs, reached the summit around 1200hrs, gaining a height of 736 metres while consuming a minimum of two litres of liquid per person and many energy snacks. At the top, the heat was persistent, and we were battered. Nevertheless, the view from the omnipresent Sri Pada peak to the Piduruthalagala mountains to the Hakgala range and beyond becomes a beautiful site for any weary mind. 

The eventual descent seemed like a mere formality, and we were wrong again. All that vertical climbing was steeper on the descend with slipping, falling and twisting being the order of the day. With many cramps, twisted ankles and broken shoes the crowd of 28 made it down roughly in about two plus hours.

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The destination in terms of it being a site of beauty and elegance was not fully accomplished due to the excruciatingly hot weather and the shrubby approach. However, on the lines of accomplishing one’s ego to bloat, checking the fitness levels at the age of fifty and being able to achieve it whilst bonding with my Son cannot be quantified in any terms possible. 

Also…I could always show this mountain on my way to the hill country and proudly say that I conquered it. For, it stands majestic from afar.