Galle and Unawatuna | Sri Lanka - The Coast

Sunset over the Indian Ocean

One of the nicest areas of Sri Lanka near the coast is the beach of Unawatuna and the nearby former Dutch settlement of Galle. After a Sri Lanka tour covering all the highlights of Anuradhapura, Kandy, Dambulla, Sigriya etc it makes sense to stop for two or three nights here before returning home.

We stayed at the astonishing Hotel Sun n Sea at the far end of Unawatuna beach with rooms perched right on top of the sea!

Some photographs from this area:

View from the balcony of Sun n Sea Hotel Unawatuna

Fishing on Unawatuna beach

The fish market, Galle

Bananas of all types at the Galle market

Restored Dutch mansions near Galle fort

The ramparts of Galle fort

An antique car in front of a cafe at Galle

The Clock Tower - Galle Fort

Interior of the Dutch Church, Galle

From the deck of the Sun n Sea Hotel Unawatuna

For more photographs do visit www.sujoydas.com

Udawalawe National Park | Sri Lanka

We recently spent two days in the Udawalawe National Park in southern Sri Lanka. While lacking the so called glamour of Yala - the signature park of Sri Lanka - this shrub land park offers a host of wildlife including possibly the best views of elephants at close quarters including many birds and other smaller mammals.

From Wikipedia
Udawalawe National Park lies on the boundary of Sabaragamuwa and Uva Provinces, in Sri Lanka. The national park was created to provide a sanctuary for wild animals displaced by the construction of the Udawalawe Reservoir on the Walawe River, as well as to protect the catchment of the reservoir. The reserve covers 30,821 hectares (119.00 sq mi) of land area and was established on 30 June 1972. Before the designation of the national park, the area was used for shifting cultivation (chena farming). The farmers were gradually removed once the national park was declared. The park is 165 kilometres (103 mi) from Colombo. Udawalawe is an important habitat for water birds and Sri Lankan elephants. It is a popular tourist destination and the third most visited park in the country.

SAFARI COSTS
The cost of a jeep for a single half day safari will vary between LKR (Sri Lanka Rupees)  3500 to 5000 depending on the pick up and drop points. The jeep can take around 6 persons. The cost of the entry to the park per visit is given in this photo below:

Some photographs from our visit to the Park

The land monitor

The best park to see elephants in Sri Lanka

A peacock greets the morning sunshine

A storm brews over the reservoir

Elephants in a jeep jam trying to cross the road

The elephants are not afraid of the safari vehicles

An elephant crosses a river with painted storks on the bank

A toque macaque

A red wattled lapwing

A peacock waits for the rain

Elephant Trail Lodge | Udawalawe Sri Lanka

One of the nicest forest lodges where  we have stayed in recently is the Elephant Trail Lodge in Sri Lanka five minutes drive from the gates of Udawalawe National Park. Udawalawe is the third popular park in Sri Lanka after Yala and Wilpattu but it's well worth a visit and Elephant Trail is the ideal place to stay.

The lodge has around fifteen rooms with high ceilings, a well appointed large bathroom and a sit out overlooking the swimming pool. The best rooms are on the second floor with plenty of light and air.

For more information on the lodge please do visit  http://elephanttrail.lk/

Some photographs are given below:

The park is famous for elephants

The swimming pool and sit out area seen from the rooms

Relaxing by the swimming pool

A room at the lodge

Each room has an independent sit out area overlooking the swimming pool  

Everest Base Camp Trek | New Permits

There has been some confusion regarding the permits needed for the Everest Base Camp Trek.

Currently, the TIMS permit which is required in other trekking areas of Nepal is not needed for the Everest trek and Gokyo.

Instead a local permit called the Pasang Lhamu Municipality permit costing NPR 2000/- is needed and is available on arrival at both Lukla and Namche checkposts.

Other than this the Sagarmatha National Park permit is needed which is available at the Monjo checkpost for Rs 3000 plus 13% tax for Foreign passports and Rs 1500 plus 13% tax for SAARC countries.

No photographs are needed for either of these permits.

For more information on our treks in the Himalaya do visit www.southcol.com

The Boardman Tasker Prize Short List 2018

One of the most prestigious prizes for Mountain Literature - The Boardman Tasker Prize has announced the short list for 2018. As usual the competition for the winner will be fierce and all the books here are worthy of mention.

The shortlisted books are below. For more information do visit  http://www.boardmantasker.com/news/2018/8/29/2018-boardman-tasker-award-for-mountain-literature-shortlist-announced

NICK BULLOCK

 

TIDES: A CLIMBER’S VOYAGE

Vertebrate Publishing

An enlightening memoir by an accomplished writer and climber that provides a window into the nature of extreme climbing now and over the past thirty years.

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PAOLO COGNETTI

THE EIGHT MOUNTAINS

Harvill Secker

A widely praised novel by an Italian author that details the intriguing friendship between a mountain cow herder and a city boy from Milan, played out over three decades in the Dolomites.

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ED DOUGLAS AND JOHN BEATTY

KINDER SCOUT: THE PEOPLE’S MOUNTAIN

Vertebrate Publishing

An evocative celebration of a much-loved mountain, presented by a partnership between two of Britain’s finest mountain writers and photographers.

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CHRISTOPH RANSMAYR

THE FLYING MOUNTAIN

Seagull Books

A second work of fiction, audaciously told in blank verse by Austrian author Christoph Ransmayr, that follows the journey of two brothers from southwest Ireland as they pursue a quest for an unnamed mountain in Tibet.

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DAVID ROBERTS

LIMITS OF THE KNOWN

W.W.Norton & Sons

An enthralling examination – part history, part memoir – of the motivations of mountaineers and other explorers, related by veteran US author and climber David Roberts.

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DOUG SCOTT

THE OGRE: BIOGRAPHY OF A MOUNTAIN AND THE DRAMATIC STORY OF THE FIRST ASCENT

Vertebrate Publishing

The long awaited full account of the epic accident and rescue on the Ogre in the Karakorum in 1977, together with an enlightening history of the exploration of the mountain.

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JUNKO TABEI AND HELEN Y. ROLFE

HONOURING HIGH PLACES: THE MOUNTAIN LIFE OF JUNKO TABEI

Rocky Mountain Books

A revealing biography of the life of the first woman to climb both Mount Everest and the Seven Summits, based on her memoirs and completed by Canadian writer Helen Rolfe.

Hotel Namche: The Best Place to Stay

Namche Bazar - June 2018 morning after a night of heavy monsoon rain 

One of the nicest places to stay in Namche Bazar on the trail to Everest is Hotel Namche run by the efficient and friendly Maya Sherpa. The hotel is located in the heart of the town and has comfortable rooms, many with attached baths and electric mattresses!   Maya can be contacted at hotelnamche@gmail.com or 00977 38 540004/540068 or +977 98412 11918.

Namche Bazar Hotel Namche is the long red roofed building in the lower right side of the photo

Entrance of Hotel Namche

Maya Sherpa with a trekker

For information about our treks to the Everest region do visit www.southcol.com

Banff Mountain Book Competition Winners 2018

The Banff Mountain Book competition is one of the most prestigious events for mountain books around the world. The winners of the 2018 competition have just been announced. Here is the winners list courtesy https://www.banffcentre.ca/2018-banff-mountain-book-competition-awards


Adventure Travel
$2000 - Sponsored by Fjällräven

Lands of Lost Borders: Out of Bounds on the Silk Road

Kate Harris, Penguin Random House Canada (Canada, 2018)
"In thoughtful, melodic prose, Kate Harris embraces the spirit of adventure in this story about cycling the Silk Road even as she confronts the entangled nature of science and imperialism in the history of exploration. From permits and packaged noodles to sage-speckled horizons, Lands of Lost Borders relates the ordinary, unglamorous details of life on the road alongside moments of beauty and insight. In her travels with Mel, a childhood friend turned cycling companion, Harris also reveals how the shifting contours of a friendship can form new landscapes worth exploring. All the while, Harris maintains a hope in the power of the exchange of ideas to reimagine borders along territories and, perhaps, within the human heart."

- Paula Wright, 2018 Book Competition Jury


Mountain Fiction & Poetry
$2000 - Sponsored by Grimms Fine Foods

The Eight Mountains

Paolo Cognetti, Penguin Random House - Vintage UK, 2018)
"A coming-of-age tale set in the foothills of Monte Rosa, The Eight Mountains is the story of a friendship that forms in the mountains between Bruno, a young shepherd, and Pietro, a boy from Milan. Bruno teaches Pietro how to interpret signs in his alpine world, sweeping the reader up in an exquisite tour of the forests and glaciers. At the same time, the novel shows the cost that forsaking modernity for the mountains may exert, on individuals and their relationships. Sparse in detail but resonating with poetic energy, Paolo Cognetti’s prose glimmers like the surface of a mountain, where even the smallest ripples and fissures may reveal enormous depths. Cognetti reminds us, 'that in certain lives there are mountains to which we may never return.'"

- Paula Wright, 2018 Book Competition Jury


Mountain Literature (Non Fiction) The Jon Whyte Award
$2000 - Sponsored by The Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies

Tides: a climber's voyage

Nick Bullock, Vertebrate Publishing (UK, 2018)
"In Tides Nick Bullock carries us with him on the sought-after dream life of a pro climber, seasonally migrating from Llanberis to Chamonix, and other hotspots along the way. Young want-to-be-sponsored climbing bums beware, all is not glory on this path, for as well as the slippery sea-cliff holds, long runouts and Himalayan storms lie other perils: self-questioning, angst at ageing, failed relationships, and a search for meaning.  Evocative stories which have become campground lore, Nick offers a glimpse into his mind in the life to which he has committed."

- Ian Welsted, 2018 Book Competition Jury


Mountain Environment and Natural History
$2000 - Sponsored by Town of Banff

The Wolf: A True Story of Survival and Obsession in the West

Nate Blakeslee, Penguin Random House Canada (Canada, 2017)
"Cinematic and movingly told, Nate Blakeslee’s The Wolf is the true story of O-Six, an adept hunter and the alpha female of her pack, narrated against the backdrop of the political and environmental history of the American West. Rendered in novelistic detail from the meticulous reports of Yellowstone park employees, O-Six struggles to protect her pack from encroaching wolves as other dangers - in the form of hunters and changing policy - loom. Skillfully crafted in sparse, elegant prose, The Wolf is at its core the bare story wolves and men, a tale older than the mythic American West itself."

- Paula Wright, 2018 Book Competition Jury


Mountain Image
$2000 - Sponsored by Lake O'Hara Lodge

The Canadian Rockies: Rediscovered

Paul Zizka, Rocky Mountain Books (Canada, 2017)
"Paul Zizka has produced an absolutely breathtaking collection of images of the Canadian Rockies.  People from the world over visit the Rockies to take in these views; Zizka captures them at their most magnificent.  Initially recognized for his aurora night photos this collection revisits the area with new themes.  The result is a visual masterpiece."

- Ian Welsted, 2018 Book Competition Jury


Guidebook
$2000 - Sponsored by the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides

Squamish Rockclimbs

Kevin McLane and Andrew Boyd, High Col Press (Canada, 2018)
"As Canada's preeminent world-class climbing locale Squamish deserves the exact, loving treatment that Kevin McLane and Andrew Boyd gives it in their guidebook, Squamish Rockclimbs. Eschewing commercial pressures for brevity and select guidebooks, we are fortunate that McLane and Boyd continue to produce this comprehensive guide to all the known climbs.  Enhanced by essays chronicling the local climbing history and ethic, the volume is the reference of record and an essential tool alike."

- Ian Welsted, 2018 Book Competition Jury


Mountaineering Article
$2000 - Sponsored by the University of Alberta and the Alpine Club of Canada

Contraindications

Alison Criscitiello, Alpinist Magazine (USA, August 2017)

“A heartbreaking story beautifully told. It would be almost impossible to imagine what it must have been like to experience this tragedy except that Alison has opened her heart and shared her experience so deeply. The story honours Anna and their time together and is, I feel, a deeply important read for anyone who travels in the mountains and values love, life and friendship.”
- Larry Stanier, 2018 Book Competition Jury

*Jury member Paula Wright (Associate Editor of Alpinist Magazine) recused herself from adjudication of this category.


Mountaineering History
$2000 - Sponsored by Rab

Honouring High Places: The Mountain Life of Junko Tabei

Junko Tabei and Helen Rolfe, Rocky Mountain Books (Canada, 2017)
“The story of a young woman who begins climbing in Japanese Mountain Club culture in the 1960’s is a tale worth reading in itself. From this complex and often tragic social beginning Junko Tabei goes on to a rich life that manages to include family, teaching and climbing all over the world well into her late 70’s while supporting causes related to the value of a life connected to nature and the mountains. It is a well named and well put together piece of history.”

- Larry Stanier, 2018 Book Competition Jury


Special Jury Mention
Bert Riggall's Greater Waterton: A Conservation Legacy

Beth Russell-Towe, Fifth House Publishers (Canada, 2018)
“Bert Riggall’s photographs from the first half of the 20th Century frame some fabulous writing about the people, terrain and history of the Greater Waterton Region. The images alone tell a fabulous story. Sid Marty’s Mistakis-The Backbone of the Earth and Kevin van Tighem’s God’s Breath should be required reading for anyone who travels to southwest Alberta. This is a story of the origins of a regional conservation legacy that to this day strives to include the landscape, flora, fauna and people who live in this very special part of the world.”

- Larry Stanier, 2018 Book Competition Jury


Special Jury Mention
Atlas of a Lost World

Craig Childs, Pantheon Books (USA, 2018)
"With the aid of archaeological findings and anthropological research, Craig Childs travels from the present to the prehistoric past to meet the inhabitants of the Ice Age. Across the Harding Ice Field, Paleolithic burial sites, and more, Childs illuminates the fragile humanity within the seemingly mythical past. At the same time, Childs issues a warning for a warming planet as he reminds us, 'Going ahead without stories or family is like falling off the edge of the earth.'"

- Paula Wright, 2018 Book Competition Jury

For more information on the event and the Banff Festival November 2018 do visit
https://www.banffcentre.ca/

Everest Three Passes: Rhenjo La (5337m) Crossing

The Rhenjo Pass as seen from the third lake of Gokyo

The trail to the top of the Rhenjo la pass

Rhenjo La  - The crossing of the pass from Gokyo to Thami

The Rhenjo La is one of the three high passes on the Everest trek the other two being Kongma La and the most popular one is the Cho La.  The Rhenjo La can be crossed from the Gokyo side as well as from the Thami - Lungden side. However it is advisable to cross the pass from the Gokyo side as the climb from the Lungden side is extremely long and tiring.

Gokyo 4750 metres  to Rhenjo La 5357 metres 

We left Gokyo at around 6 15 am and headed out towards the pass on a trail that skirted the third lake and climbed gently for an hour. The trail then began to climb steeply following a series of switchbacks for another 45 minutes to one hour until it reached a flattish plateau from where there was an excellent view of Everest and the other peaks including Makalu which started peeping over a rock face.  This plateau can get snowed under and there are cairns to show the way. From the plateau the trail swung to the right and began climbing again through rocks and moraine. The pass can be seen from here with a row of prayer flags strung across the rocks. The climb from the meadow to the top of the pass would be another hour.

Gokyo to the top of the pass 3 to 4 hours

Looking down towards the Lungden side of the pass with the peaks of Rolwaling

Looking down from the pass towards the Gokyo side

Rhenjo La 5357 metres  to Lungden 4400 metres
The pass has an excellent view both to the north and to the south. From the pass a very steep stone staircase leads down to an emerald lake which can be seen from the top. Pass the lake and the trail swings left following the natural contour of the valley. In about an hour or so there is a large lake on the left side - the trail passes this lake and climbs gently until it reaches some yak herders settlements made of stone. This part of the walk can be extremely cold and windy especially if it is foggy and cloudy. From here the path heads downwards and the lodges of Lungden can be seen in the valley below around 30 to 45 minutes away. Lungden has four or five lodges now so accommodation is not usually a problem.
Rhenjo La to Lungden 2 to 3 hours 

Lungden 4400 metres  to Thami 3800 metres
It is now a pleasant stroll down the valley following the Bhote Kosi river. In around 40 minutes you reach the village of Maralung which has a couple of lodges. The trail continues to lose altitude and reaches the village of Taranga in another half hour. From here it is about  60 to 90 minutes pleasant walking to the lodges of Thami.
Lungden. To Thami  2.5 hours to 3 hours

Thami  3800 metres to Namche 3450 metres  3 hours to 3.5 hours

For more information on South Col's treks do visit www.southcol.com 

For the crossing of Cho La pass please do visit  http://sujoyrdas.blogspot.com/2016/01/everest-trek-crossing-of-cho-la-pass.html