SriLankan Airlines presents ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ for fourth time

SriLankan Airlines Manager Media Development Deepal Perera 

addressing the media whilst (from left) Founder and Director of Mountain Biking Worldwide Phil Evans, Lanka Sportsrizen Chairman/Managing Director Thilak Weerasekara, and Lanka Sportsrizen Asst. Manager – Special Events and Recreational Activities Ryan Fernando look on

Mountain biking showcasing the beauty of Sri Lanka

SriLankan Airlines is presenting ‘Rumble in the Jungle 2018’, the challenging mountain bike race across four districts of the central highlands that showcases Sri Lanka’s astonishing landscapes. Expected to draw hundreds of international and local competitors, both men and women, the event will take place from 9 to 15 June.

SriLankan Airlines, a member of the prestigious oneworld global airline alliance, has a rich tradition of organising and supporting events in a wide variety of sports from marathons to horse racing, including adventure sports.

‘Rumble in the Jungle’ has become a much-looked-forward-to event for mountain bikers as far afield as the United States, Canada and Japan. This challenging and exciting five-stage race, which was first held in 2014, will wind through the forests, villages and tea plantations in the districts of Monaragala, Badulla, Nuwara Eliya and Kandy, to give competitors a unique and exhilarating experience.

‘Rumble in the Jungle’ is designed to challenge riders and give them a unique and life changing experience, taking them through humid jungles, mountain-hugging tea plantations and across the island’s highest mist-swathed plateau. The course takes competitors along muddy jungle trails, rocky jeep tracks, river crossings, waterfalls and steep climbs on concrete roads, much of it inhabited by wild elephants, leopards, sambar, spotted deer and exotic birds.

Details of ‘Rumble in the Jungle 2018’ can be found at http://rumbleinthejungle.lk/ where riders can apply to participate, book flights and plan their entire journey. Prizes will be awarded equally for men and women from 1st to 5th places. Both male and female age category winners will also receive trophies. Stage prizes will be presented equally to the first man and woman to win each daily stage. All competitors who complete the entire race will receive medals and memorabilia.

Competitors will gather in Negombo on 9 June and will be transferred to Kuda Oya in the Monaragala district where the race will commence the next day. The First Stage starts from an elevation of just 100 metres above sea level and climbs 2,386 metres over a distance of 77 km in a single day up to the famed hill station of Haputale.

Day Two involves a series of loops from Haputale to the area around Lipton’s Seat, a spectacular viewpoint named after the famed tea pioneer Sir Thomas Lipton. A total of 57 km will be travelled on this day, with ascents of 1,857 metres. The highlight of the day will be a thrilling 1,200 metre descent through tea plantations, and the day also features two grueling climbs of 500 metres and 700 metres.

Day Three will start with a tough 1,300 metre climb on a rocky trail, past Sri Lanka’s tallest waterfall – Bambarakanda Falls - before riding across mist-swathed Horton Plains, home to some of the most unique vegetation in the country where leopards stalk herds of sambar. Riders will travel 66 km and climb 2,900 metres on this day, finally descending to the storied town of Nuwara Eliya, known as ‘Little England’ for its quaint colonial culture.

Day Four involves descending through tea plantations and forest trails from Nuwara Eliya and climbing up again, this time to the Knuckles Mountain Range. Along the way they will travel through elephant infested wildlife sanctuaries around the Victoria, Randenigala and Rantembe dams on the Mahaweli River - travelling a total of 100 km with ascents of 2,003 metres. The day ends at Mahiyangana, an area surrounded by picturesque paddy fields.

The final stage on Day Five goes through more mountains, including the famous viewpoint of Corbett’s Gap, and jungle areas that include river crossings, totaling 55 km and ascending 935 metres. Rumble in the Jungle ends at Hettipola, from where competitors will be taken by coach to the historic town of Dambulla to celebrate their success.

The event is organised in collaboration with SriLankan’s longtime partner Lanka Sportreizen (LSR), one of Sri Lanka’s most premier tour operators which has considerable expertise in adventure tourism events (www.lsrtravel.com).

SriLankan Airlines operates a route network of 105 cities in 47 countries from its hub in Colombo and also connects to over 1,000 cities in 160 countries through its oneworld partner airlines.