The Pekoe Trail

The Pekoe Trail is Sri Lanka’s first long-distance walking trail: 300+ km in 22 stages across the central highlands, passing tea estates, villages, forests and hill towns. The stages are grouped by area: Kandy (1 to 5), Hatton (6 to 10), Haputale (11 to 14), Ella (15 to 18) and Nuwara Eliya (19 to 22). Stage 1 runs between Hanthana and Galaha and the last stage between Kandapola and Pedro. Most stages are 13 to 18 km and take about 3 to 6 hours, so you can walk one stage or string several together. Registered hikers buy a Trail Pass, and some stages need extra permits from the wildlife or forest departments or from private landowners. Stage status changes: when we checked, the official site marked Stage 2 as closed and listed advisories on others, so check it before you go.