DURING FEBRUARY 2025 I’ll be trekking The Pekoe Trail, a curated 300km walk around the central highlands of Sri Lanka – see map below. I’ll be doing it as a fundraiser to celebrate Their Future Today (TFT’s) 20-year anniversary and aiming to raise £10,000.
If you haven’t heard of it, The Pekoe Trail is a spectacular 22-stage walking route that winds through historical tea plantations. Spanning 300 kilometres in total, these paths were originally used by tea pickers and estate workers more than 150 years ago and many are still in use today. I trekked the first two stages in April 2024, at the tail end of my mega trek across Sri Lanka, and now I’m keen to complete the remaining 20 stages. A section of Stage One, which was 13 kilometres long and fairly easy to walk, was a film location for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Conversely, Stage Two, a 15 kilometre route through beautiful, cool pine forests, was classified as ‘challenging’. Each stage offers something unique: with varying levels of difficulty, elevation gains, distances, and points of interest.
Every penny I raise as I trek will go to support the projects I’ve been involved with for almost 13 years. I’ll also be writing a daily blog/vlog again to share the highlights and the stories of the people I meet, depending on Wi-Fi availability! However, this time I’ll be posting them on Instagram and Facebook rather than on this site so please follow me on those platforms to see my daily updates. If you want to know more about each stage, check out the link Hiking in Sri Lanka: Breathtaking Trails at The Pekoe Trail. And if you’re travelling in Sri Lanka and interested in joining me for a stage feel free to reach out!
Left: The start of The Pekoe Trail, right: Sarath, my trekking guide during Stage 2 with some tea pickers we met along the way
‘Trekking Sri Lanka: More Than a Travel Guide‘
Whilst I’m in Sri Lanka, I’ll also be launching my new book, ‘Trekking Sri Lanka: More than a Travel Guide‘ which chronicles my trek across the country. The profits from all proceeds from all sales in Sri Lanka will go directly toward supporting the projects I’m involved with there as will a percentage of profits made from sales elsewhere. Head over to one of my previous blogs for the details of where the book can be purchased or you can buy it directly from this site if I’m posting to a UK address.
FURTHER SPONSORSHIP
If you’re interested in my cause – supporting women affected by violence and communities seriously impacted by poverty – please click here. Don’t forget, if you’re a UK taxpayer, you can boost your donation by 25% at no extra cost to you by declaring Gift Aid. If you know of anyone or any organisation that may be interested in supporting these efforts please feel free to share my blog link with them. And, if you’d like to get involved in any way please get in touch with me at: ma***********@*****il.com