Hakgala (Sinhala: හක්ගල කන්ද), is the eighth tallest mountain in Sri Lanka. Situated on the boundary of Nuwara Eliya and Badulla districts, the mountain rises to an altitude of 2,170 meters (7,120 ft.) above mean sea level (Vithanage, 1988).
The majority part of the mountain is covered with forests belonging to the Hakgala Strict Nature Reserve while the Hakgala Gardens are on the northeastern slope. The southwestern side of it has a wet climate compared to the northeastern slope since part of it faces the southwest monsoon.
In the Sinhala language, Hakgala means "the Jaw Rock". Presently, without any archaeological or historical evidence, this mountain is promoted by some locals and tourist agencies as a Hindu place related to the Indian epic Ramayanaya. According to them, Hakgala Mountain established itself from a chunk of a rock from the Himalayas which fell from the mouth of the Monkey God Hanuman.
However, the authenticity of the Ramayanaya is controversial and hence it is today dismissed as a complete myth by Sri Lankan scholars (JRASSL, 2014).
References
1) JRASSL, 2014. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka New Series, Vol. 59, No. 2, Special Issue on the Ramayana (2014). https://www.jstor.org/stable/i40203619. pp.1-112.
2) Vithanage, P.W., 1988. Relief and Drainage. The National Atlas of Sri Lanka. Survey Department of Sri Lanka. ISBN: 9559059009. pp.22-23.
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This page was last updated on 11 August 2023