Its hard to know which is the more appealing name for a remote, rugged, jungle-clad mountain range, “Knuckles” with its robust connotation of organic strength, or “the Misty Mountains” (Dumbara Kanduvetiya in Sinhala), alluring and mysterious and hinting of ethereal landscapes.

 
One of the main access routes into the heart of this beguiling region is from Kandy in the southwest, a stirring journey which surreptitiously transitions a visitor from bustling town centre, jostling with humanity, to serene retreat where panoramic vistas soothe the mind and the distant piercing cry of an endangered Mountain Hawk Eagle (Spizaetus nipalensis kelaarti) is all the conversation one needs.  
 
The Knuckles range is the region best-suited to cardamom cultivation on the island, with its thick forest, high altitude and abundant rainfall and this crop has proliferated here since 1965 when permits were given for its growth between 1,067m–1,372m). Cardamom cultivation allows for an intact canopy but requires extensive clearing of the under-story which changes the forest structure and dramatically reduces biodiversity. After climbing steadily for several kilometers, one reaches a break in the hills, a pass through which one can occasionally glimpse the distant Indian Ocean.
 
Past the Gap the forest seems somehow shrouded more densely in shadow and the road plunges down precipitously before leveling off near the Karambakitya Oya, one of the numerous rocky streams that merge to form the Maha Oya, itself a tributary of the Heen Ganga, which feeds the Lower Mahaweli to the northeast. It is in these secluded foothills that the ancient villages of Meemure and Kaikawela are nestled, their histories dating to the time of the legendary King Ravana, when they were significant settlements which supplied the Kandyan kings with honey and saltpeter mined from the nearby nitre cave. Even today tradition runs deep in these timeless settlements, which evolved unique attributes in their forest-fringed seclusion.  
 
(Content Source : Travel Sri Lanka Magazine)
(Image Source   : prettysrilanka.blogspot.com, mysrilankaholidays.com, dailynews.lk, hemtours.com)