I’m sometimes asked what a typical day on the Pekoe Trail is like. When I think back across the 15 stages I’ve completed so far, my answer is that there isn’t really such a thing as a ‘typical’ day.
However, there are some similarities. Most days involve breathtaking views, many across expansive tea estates, simple conversations with local people we pass; the sort of moments that make me stop and realise, ‘This is exactly why I came here’.
Other days involve feeling hot and exhausted whilst trying to find a way of reaching the end of the day’s trail as quickly as possible.
Most days, in fact, involve both.
So, if you’ve ever wondered what a day trekking the Pekoe Trail is really like, here’s a glimpse behind my Instagram photos.
5.30am – Woken by My Alarm or the Cockerel Call
It’s still dark outside at 5.30am. The sun rises just after 6am all year round in Sri Lanka, unlike here in the UK where it varies by a few hours depending on the time of year.
I get up and meet Sarath, my trekking guide, for breakfast, which is usually porridge with bananas, papaya, or whatever fruit is on offer, along with coffee and water.
I might do a bit of leg stretching, but never really as much as is recommended. I’m not very good at this bit as I’m just eager to get out there.
We fill our water bottles and stuff our sack with energy snacks and then hand over our bigger travel bags to someone Sarath knows who couriers them to our next accommodation point. This was not always the case. For the first eight stages of trekking the Pekoe Trail, I carried everything for ten days in one larger sack. That was a big lesson learned. It was simply too heavy for me.
6.30am-ish – Setting Off
Backpack on. Sunscreen at the ready, although I usually don’t apply it until around 8am.
As we join the start of the next stage of the trail, dawn has usually broken. We take a selfie at the start of each trail with us standing to attention by the board. It’s about 06.30 or 06.45 by now and village life is slowly beginning to stir. The cockerels have mostly stopped crowing and, if we’re walking near a tea plantation we might begin to see tea estate workers making their way to work.
The early mornings in Sri Lanka’s Central Highlands is often misty, but as the sun rises the hills slowly emerge. It’s my favourite time of day, which makes it easy for me to get up, get moving and hit the path.
The first hour is usually the easiest. Temperatures can be quite cool first thing, my energy levels are at their highest, and the excitement of a new day, along with chatting to Sarath about our day’s route and what and who we might encounter, carries me along.
The early morning light is something I never tire of. The landscape changes constantly. One moment you can be crossing open hillsides; the next you’re walking beneath towering trees or through tiny villages that don’t even appear on a map, with just a few traditional line houses from which children wave, and perhaps a small Hindu temple.
8.00am – Walking Through Real Life
Apply sunscreen. Drink water and hope it doesn’t go through me too quickly!
One of the things that makes the Pekoe Trail so special is that it combines wilderness trekking with walking through people’s lives. Children are heading to school by now. Farmers have begun working in the fields. Life is happening all around us. Foreigners these days come here to enjoy the beauty and challenge of the trails, but these paths belong to long-established communities and I’m very aware they’re sharing them with us.
10am-ish – Unexpected Encounters
First of all, snack time. Energy bar, small bananas and water. We find somewhere to perch and look out across the vista. If you asked me what I remember most from my treks, though, it usually isn’t the scenery. It’s the people.
The elderly man who insists we stop for tea. The family who invite us to sit and chat despite us sharing very few words of the same language. The shop owner who wants to know where we’re going and what route we’re taking. These encounters can’t be planned and you definitely won’t find them in a guidebook. These are the moments that stay with me long after the trek is over.
Midday – The Reality Check
Around lunchtime the trail often becomes less romantic. The sun is high. The climbs feel steeper and my backpack heavier, even if it is only a day pack. The snacks somehow taste less satisfying. This is usually the point where I begin negotiating with myself and asking Sarath if we’re nearly there yet.
‘Surely this hill must be the last one?’
It rarely is.
The physical challenge is part of the appeal, but I’m trying to be honest about it too. Trekking isn’t always easy. Some days my feet hurt and tiredness gets the better of me. Then I reach the top of a climb, look out across the hills and immediately forget all about the suffering.
1-2pm – Almost There
From here onwards we’re usually coming towards the end of the trail, depending on how many kilometres it is, what time we actually set off, how few rest breaks we took, how many ascents we had to climb and how many people we stopped to talk to.
As we approach the end of the trail, we’re normally entering a small town, as this is where we’ll usually stay for the night. On the descent towards the village we may see women drying spices outside their homes, children waving as they return from school, a tiny shrine hidden beneath a tree, or the smell of wood smoke drifting across a valley. If we’re lucky, we may see some wildlife too, although early mornings and dusk are usually better for this.
We talk a lot about sustainable tourism these days, and rightly so. But for me, walking along these trails is more defined by a slower form of travel that prioritises connection, staying longer in places, using local transport and booking homestays whenever possible.
Arrival
Eventually, the day’s destination appears. Boots come off. A cold welcome drink is normally presented to us. We’re asked how the walk was. Our answer is almost always: ‘Brilliant.’ Even if an hour earlier I was muttering unprintable things whilst climbing a hill.
I might lie down for a bit, then shower with citronella soap to repel the night insects. I usually make a FaceTime call home to check in with everyone, then sort through my day’s photos once Sarath and I have synched them. All of this is dependent on the Wi-Fi being good enough of course.
I might then write a short Instagram post with some of the day’s highlights and pictures of me looking my best 🤣
6pm-ish – Dinner and Conversation
I will have just sprayed myself with mosquito repellent before heading for supper. This year at home I’ve had several insect bites which have become infected and so I’ll be even more careful about sting and bite prevention than I might normally be.
One of my favourite parts of trekking in Sri Lanka is the hospitality. After a day on the trail, a home-cooked Sri Lankan supper feels like luxury.
In all the stages I’ve trekked, I’ve hardly met any other trekkers walking the trail, so the conversation tends to be with locals and our accommodation hosts. We might be told stories about village life, people who have passed through in previous days, or challenges that the local community is facing.
This time I expect to hear about the devastation that Cyclone Ditwah caused last November 2025 and the challenges it left behind. We heard about it and saw the shocking images on the news, but hearing about it from the people who live there will feel different. The cyclone hit the Central Highlands part of the island particularly hard, destroying whole villages, causing a huge loss of life and damaging key sections of the railway. When talking to locals, we gain insights that no guidebook can provide, and this happens every day on the trails.
9.00pm – Bedtime
The sun set more than two hours ago, so it’s pretty dark now and I’m more than ready for sleep to prepare my body for the next day.
Until the alarm goes off, or the cockerels wake me again tomorrow! 😴🐓