For years I have been passing Hunnasgiriya while going home from Monaragala and almost always I would not forget to have a glance at an unknown cascade plunging down Kunckles forest reserve. Repeatedly seen this cascade was enough to stimulate me. January 2016 needed an account opener and the best way of doing it was by hunting cascades.
I met Chamara at around 4.30am and we took off from Chilaw towards Hunnasgiriya. After reaching Hunnasgiriya we had our breakfast before taking the road via Rambukpotha towards Dehigolla. (Dehigolla road is found to the left at the starting point of the town)

The map – click to enlarge

Google earth area image – click to enlarge

Traveling few Km’s along Dehigolla road we reached the bridge across Bambaragan oya. Our first target was the lowest most cascade which could be seen clearly from the main road. We followed a water diversion canal downhill (below the bridge) and at one point took another partially covered foot path to the right which took us towards the base of the fall(overgrown path). We immediately noted that there was a cave on the left bank and we headed towards it. It was a huge cave bordering the waterfall and would have been a nice place to camp during the dry periods. We later got to know that this was the cave where King Shri Wickrama Rajasinghe had spent time with his royal family. Few meters away from the cave there was another well sheltered cave and this is believed to be where he hid while Englishman were hunting him down.

Bambaragan oya as seen from hunnasgiriya on a rainy day

lowest most cascade seen from the road

second cascade seen from the road

on a rainy day

upper cascade seen from the road

on a rainy day

1st and lower cascade

slow shutter

cave and the waterfall

this is where shri wickrama rajasinghes royal family had their bath

where Shri wickrama rajasinghe hid

with a rainbow

After snapping around we returned back to the bridge where by chance we Met Yaparathna. While inquiring about the upper cascades he suddenly decided to volunteer to show us the way and we were so overwhelmed with that offer. Yaparathna returned with a “keththa” and we took off along the right bank of the river. Wearing slippers did ease off the journey a lot, though we later paid the price by donating blood to the blood suckers. Not so far away from the bridge there is a massive waterfall which is about 50m tall. It’s a sight that would make any waterfall hunter mesmerized. Some do call it Dehigolla falls but I would stick on to Bambarang oya cascade.

along the river we go

second fall

upper part

lovely

full length

After taking few selfies we started climbing further up along the right bank until we reached the top of the fall. We were greeted with a lovely view and few meters upstream there were two close by cascades which we named 3rd and 4th (on the opposite side of the 3rd fall there is a 30 feet long cave which we didn’t visit since we had to climb up a bit). From the forth fall we again headed into the bushes and reached the 5th fall. Though we could have gone to the base of it we opted not to. Next we came reached an open area where one could easily camp and from here we headed towards the stream which was wide with plenty of space to hang around.

top of the 2nd fall

towards the main road

another cascade

3rd and 4th falls

3rd fall

4th fall

through the bushes

5th fall

part of 5th fall

the other part

our guide yaparathna

නවහන්දි

top of the 5th

note the rocky walls

we were surrounded by rock walls on both sides

A short climb through the forest of the right bank took us towards the 6^th fall which was a magnificent beauty. My god we were so mesmerized by her beauty and we couldn’t stop clicking. Since the whole river plunges down from a narrow gap through the cliff the locals call it the “Katare”( කටාරේ). We were overwhelmed with this find and we didn’t want to leave her and go. Yaparathna said that there were two more cascades in its upper reaches but to reach those we have to take a 4Km detour and Google maps did justify that claim.

lovely 6th fall

plunging down

gorgeous beauty

close up

close up

saying good bye

Our descent was along a foot path through the jungle until we reached a tea estate where we got rid of the last set of Leeches before saying good bye to Yaparathna the friendly villager.

where we had a snack

selfie time

along the river

a place to camp close to 5th fall

Meda mahanuwara peak

mushroom life

From Hunnasgiriya we took off towards Udu dumbara and from there we went along the Kalugala road until we reached Thalagune where a waterfall could be seen cascading at the backdrop of a paddy field. I have seen this fall before which is named Gedaramada falls but the locals did call it Ellagala. We decided to have a closer look and two local boys did join us in this venture. There was a concrete road across the paddy field (beginning of the paddy field) where we walked along until we had to follow a path through the paddy field and ended up at a mini bridge across a stream. Crossing this bridge we turned to the left and after few meter we took an uphill right turn. Climbing up a bit we came across a water pipe on the left which we followed and ended up at the middle of the fall. From here we got to the base where we had a nice bath to end our tiring day. We did return back on the same route and headed towards Udu dumbara to have a nice lunch before departing towards Bomure.

ඇල්ලගල fall (හුලන්ග් – ගෙදරමද)

ellagala

as seen over the paddy fields

Thalagune

Wooly necked stork

whitish petals

off we go

at the middle of ellagala fall

Ellagala fall

beauty

plunging down

wide angle

To reach Bomure one needs to take a 2Km by road from the kandy road and locals will help you with directions (follow the concrete road and then the concrete steps). Bomure is the location where the last king of Sri lanka was captured so we had to visit the place before getting back home.

cascade at 43km post of A26

its lower reaches

view from hunnasgiriya

Central provincial council been helpful

like in vietnam

where shri wickrama rajasinghe king was captured

click to enlarge

view from bomure

paddy

lovely

wow

Trip Highlights – Attractions in the Area

1. Wawlagala Hike
2. Olu Falls
3. Gorok Falls
4. Malalpola Falls
5. Kithul Ella
6. Wee Oya Falls
7. Rikilla Falls
8. Nalangana Falls
9. Rukmal Falls

Click to enlarge

I was able to watch the ‘Travel with Chathura’ TV show on Derana TV. This show motivated me to do the Wawlagala Hike.

Link Wawlagala

We Started the journey at 7 am and reached Nawalapitiya by 8 am. We had Breakfast at Nawalapitiya and came along the Nawalapitiya Ginigathena road around 5 Km. Just before the Balanthota there is a road to the right which is heading to Seaforth (17 Km). You have to have a 4 x 4 Vehicle to go in this road for first 12 KM.

Scenic road Journey

The Kabaragala Mountain

Condition of the road

Streams

The Team excluding me

Around 10am we reached seaforth and there was a 1 hour delay due to a repair in one of our bikes.

After that around 11 am We started to get route information on Wawlagala.

A Person from the area guided us to reach the Dombepola village from where we have to start the Hike.

There are multiple routes to do the Wawlagala hike. But the Hiking from the the Dombepola is the easiest as per the villagers.

Bandara Ayya’s House – Land mark

The above house is a main land mark for to find the Path. The road ends with this house. You should go up through the steps and there is a small foot path to the right in 20 – 30 Meters which will take through a tea estate.

Take Right

There is a pink colored house after this place and walk along the stated path and finally you’ll reach a small house on the top. This is a house located in the top and follow the path in front of this house. this path goes directly to the top of Wawlagala.

We achieved it

The Plains

Wewalthalawa Plateau is at the background

Yatiyanthota View

The Opposite side

Olu falls Upper part- Not visible to the roads

Dedugala-Dolasbage View

Some Photography

It’s started to rain when we are on the top of the rock. Villagers warned us to not to stay there if it is raining. so we packed up and reached the house on the top. The person in the house helped us a lot. we stayed around 30 minutes till the rain stops.

The sudden rain created some waterfalls on the mountains.

Seasonal Falls

Mountain on the range

Olu falls full view- upper part

Olu Falls

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We reached the place where we parked our bikes and returned back to the Main road. We experienced a surprise on the way. The wee oya water levels went up and Bridges were fully flooded.

A New Experience

Somehow we managed to cross the bridge with the help of the three wheelers and reached the Olu falls

Olu Falls

Olu Falls

Olu Falls

The Wooden Bridge

After viewing the Olu falls we travelled towards Wewalthalawa plateau. on the Way we were able to see the Gorok Falls.

Gorok falls

Is he resting? – On the Way

We took the road to the left at near Halgolla Tea processing centre to go to Wewalthalawa. The Security guard at the gate didn’t allow us to go to the place as we have to get permission from the Estate Manager. So we decided to proceed with other attractions skipping the Wewalthalawa.

Kithul Ella – Attaraction on the way

Malalpola Falls – Attaraction on the way

Wee Oya Falls

Wee Oya Falls

Wee Oya Falls is visible from the road. We didn’t try to go near the falls as we were running out of time. We travelled along the yatiyanthota road and took right from Parussella Junction to go Bulathkohupitiya. At around 3:30 pm we reached Bulathkohupitiya. Then we travelled along the Dedugala Road and able to see several waterfalls.

Rikilla Falls

Rikilla Falls

Nalangana Falls

Rukmal Falls

Team	Rukmal Falls

Sunset Near Dolasbage Mountain range

Sunset Near Dolasbage Mountain range

Sunset Near Dolasbage Mountain range

Sunset Near Dolasbage Mountain range

It was 6:00 PM when we reach the Dolasbage town. We had some snacks nearby shop and it was the end of the trip. We were unable to see the Diyantri Falls and Windsor Forest Falls as it is too dark. We expect to do this another time.

Thank you.

Almost one year back I did reach Nagrak to visit Galagama falls and while we were at Nagrak I did note a peak protruding out parallel to Gommolli range and Havagala range. This seemed to be an ideal place to leisurely hang around and this December while we were itching without doing any hikes we thought of giving it a try to stretch out our muscles. As usual early as possible we left and reached Belihul oya at around 7am. After having breakfast at River garden hotel we started ascending along Non perial road. The view was as always mesmerizing but unfortunately we didn’t have many pit stops because we were on a race with the mist. Locals mentioned that the mist settles at mid-day so we had to get there quickly to capture the surroundings without been interrupted by the mist.

The map – click to enlarge

as seen from Havagala

Nagrak range seen from Gommolli kanda

as seen from Havagala

early morning this was seen close to belihul oya

After tackling 31 bends we reached the landmark with the elevation post. This is where the Ihala galagama trail (via Nas-danda estate) meets the Nagrak road. We halted our vehicle and started hiking southwards along the foot path. From here onwards we had to hike along the mountain ridge which provided superb scenery on either side. After reaching the summit we hiked further until we got down to a cleft with a forest patch before re-ascending to the plateau like edge. This would be a lovely camp site to experience the sun rise on a clear morning. Wide scope of landmarks from Koslanda to Balangoda could be seen clearly but the mist did intervene to obscure our view.

starting point at nagrak

on the way scenery

the path

lovely beauty

worlds end abyss

the two reservoirs

Udawalawe

mau ara

ha ha they were clicking

samanala wewa

layers of mist

Pambahinna junction

Balathoduwa and gommolli peaks

towards nasdanda estate

for the first time i saw adams peak from this region

looking back

Adara kanda getting covered in mist

the path on the ridge

pambahinna junction

towards dethanagala

more to go

Pettigala covered

a place to spend the evening

lovely

ashoka

nice place to camp

kalthota – weli oya paddyfields

mist seen in belihul oya valley

resident at the edge

dam of samanala wewa

path we took

shaa

finally the great drop towards the south

one of those beauties

are we in heaven

through the mist

Balangoda town

wallpaper

ah one of these guys

micro life

if one wishes this is another path to walk

new life

that greenery

tip of the pines

extension of HP

lovely

paradise

where we were

lonely tree

lovely

Non perial tea factory

misty

nagrak bungalow

non perial

the roads we took

lunugamwehera

Weheragala

Dethanagala

Pettigala peak

After hanging around a bit we headed back and started returning along the winding roads. On the way we didn’t forget to stop at those waterfalls which we skipped while ascending up. After a satisfying mini hike we returned back to our homes to end successful journey.

3 man team

shape of sri lanka

banana falls

Non perial falls

The Map – click to enlarge

Trip Highlights

1. Hatale Mini World’s End
2. Hunnasgiriya Peak
3. Huluganga Ella
4. Alakola Ella

We all gathered at Peradeniya and started our trip with 5 Motor bikes. We had our breakfast at Madawala and reached Panwila around 8:30 am.

After passing the Panwila Filling station there is a road to left with the name boards which is the road to go to Hunnasgiriya mountain range.

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Just below the Mini Worlds end

Road condition

Madulkele Tea Resort

The cottages

Knuckles Mountain

At a view point

Hatale Tea Garden

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The Hunnas peak

Hatale Mini Worlds End

View of Victoria

The Team

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Mini world’s end is a good viewing point. The Entire knuckles area can be seen from here.

After viewing the beautiful scenaries, we traveled up to the trail head which starts at the corner of the Hunnasgiriya Tea estate as shown in the map. Riding through beautiful tea estates gives a wonderful experience. We parked our bike at the centre of the tea estate and started the trail.

Peak seen from the estate- Trail head is on the right upper side

After entering the forest path we went around 300 meters in the path and came across a small stream. There is a waterfall at the bottom part of the stream.

Directions

Along the stream

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.	The Waterfall- Low water levels

.	Nice views

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Walking in the forest patch is not much difficult. Its almost a flat terrain with clear footpaths.

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.	Some photography

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Near the peak

Final stretch

At the peak

Wild berries at peak

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Unique

Kandy view

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Knuckles view

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Waththegama

Sripada

Victoria full view

Colors

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Shaheen Falcon Mountain near Hunnas falls Hotel

Peak views

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Shadows

Place where we started

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Peak

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Clear path

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Looks different

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.	Water source

Returning

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.	Our Parking

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Knuckles

Returning back

A lake on the way

We used a Madulkele route to return as we wanted to travel Huluganga. This is a decent route some parts of the are concreted. This joins the Panwila road and we have to take the Bambarella road to reach Huluganga. Huluganga ella is located at the centre od the town. There is a viewing desk as well.

Huluganga ella

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Hydro Project

Alakola Estate Road

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Alakola Ella

Knuckles Again

Alakola ella located 3 km away from the Huluganga town. There is a separate road. We couldn’t go near the falls as we ran out of time.

Its was a great tour at the end and everybody enjoyed well.

Thanks for reading.

Land Marks (Click to enlarge)

It’s been while after my last report. I did Wangedigala Hike on September 2014. It didn’t go well because of bad weather condition so I didn’t write a report. Then I planned to hike to HP via Kalupahana – ohiya on December. Again unpredictable weather  condition  stopped me. So I decided to go Ella.

Two of my office mates joined with me(Nishan & Thilak). They came to my house 25^th of December. On 26^th of December morning,  we left to bandarawela. Around 10 am we came to bandarawela and went to buy our checklist items. Then we came to the bus stand to take bus to KithalElla. But we had to stay until to take next bus to KithalElla. Then Someone said it will be take 1hur to next bus. So we decide to hire Tuk tuk to kithalella. Around 11.00 am we came to the Kithaella station. We stayed about 15 minutes at station because Nishan & thilak wanted to some photos of a train and station . After that we start our hike to Ella rock.

To Kithalella Station

Landscape (By TK)

Nishan and Me

At the Station

By Tk

Nishan is ready to Capture the Train

The Train – By TK

Thilak aka TK :P

Here she come – By Nishan

Smile – By Nishan

We walked about 100m  towards to Ella side until finds the trail head that mentioned in previous reports. There is Bo Tree on the left side with foot path. The footpath will take you to the Ella rock. There ware few villages and we asked directions from them. Then we walked considerable distance  on the footpath until we realized we took the wrong path. There was a junction and we took the left side path.  So if you use this trail take the Right side path on “Y” junction. Somehow we manage to get onto the right path.  We came to the shop with summer hut. The trail of the Ella rock Summit goes near the summer hut So we Followed the path and it took us straight to the summit.

First Bridge that we crossed

Searching something to Capture :D

.	TK Waiting for us

Trying to Find the Path

Being Lost

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Landscape – By TK

Finally

The Shop With Summer Hut

We met lots of foreigners On the trail. We had a few breaks until reached the 1st view point of the Ella rock. It was a bit flat area and there was a nice view. You can see the Punch Sri Padaya (Little Adam’s Peak) clearly on this place.  While enjoying the view, Nishan and TK stared to clicking :D. So we stayed about 20 minutes there.

Path to the Haven

TK Trying to Click

Land Marks

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Still Climbing

Before the 1st view point of the Ella rock

Few More Steps

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.	Lovely Place

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Shade

The Team at the 1st View Point

The Gap – By Nishan

Beautiful Soundings

Towards to Buththala – Wellavaya Area

Little Adam’s Peak

Land Marks

Land Marks

We started to hike around 12.30 pm. From there onwards the trail continues to ascend. It continues until the summit. So we had a few breaks while we climb. It was a bit difficult to climb with heavy backpacks but it was fun. We really enjoyed. We reached the summit around 1.10 pm. We started to rest after a long climb :D. Then we had lunch around 2.00 pm. While we reach the summit there were few foreigners and there was and old men Among them. His name was Jinasena (AKA jine). He sells Tea, Soft drinks etc. for visitors. He said he came every day around 6.30 am and stayed until visitors gone.

Started Again

The trail still Ascending

Drinkable Water

Foreigners

Helping Hand

Climbing With heavy weight

Happy Face

Finally Came to Some Flat Area

Uncle Jine – By Nishan

We Made It

A Wallpaper – by TK

Back to Campsite

We started to prepare our camp site around 2.30. we pitch our tent. Then We went to collect some firewood for Campfire. Firewood not a problem in that area. But be careful when you going for camp in Dry season. Lot of Wildfires in Ella area also your camp file might be a reason for a wildfire. Around 3.30 pm we repaired our camp site. We were ready to spend the night on the Ella rock.

Setting Up Tent 1

Setting Up Tent 2

Setting Up Tent 3

Setting Up Tent 4

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It’s Done

Perfect Campsite

Land Marks

Uncle Jine helped us to Prepare the Campsite

Around 6.30  we lit up our campfire and it was light up fast because of the wind. On night wind was very high and few showers fell down. We had toasted bread and BBQ for dinner Nishan Had a vegetarian thing :D. We had little chit chat and we went to sleep. Around 11.30 we got up and came outside of the tent. There was heavy wind around the area and sometimes mist covered whole area. We went to the edge of the rock and we could see the lit up Ella area clearly. Then we came back to the tent and went to sleep.

BBQ Man

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BBQ	Campsite at Night

Our tent – By Nishan

By Nishan

Campfire and the Tent – By Nishan

Nishan Trying to Some Artistic Work with Camera – By Nishan

By Nishan

Our Campsite – By Nishan

While Night Walk :D

On the next day we got up early, the whole area covered by mist and few rains came down. Around 7.00 Am we went to the other side of the Ella rock at that pint you can notice Rravana Ella Observation point of the Ella-Vallawaya Road and Rravana Ella Upper Division. Then we came back to the camp site. Rain stared again. We went inside of the tent and had Breakfast and Packed our backpacks to leave.

Campsite at morning

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Preparing Coffee

Helping Hand

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.	Need Some sugar ?

.	Happy Faces

Ready to Morning Walk

Living in the woods

Straight – By Nishan

More Mist – By Nishan

Lady with Kettle – By Nishan

More and More Mist – By TK

The rain stopped. We packed our things and cleaned up the campsite and left summit around 8.00 Am. We came back to Kithalella Station around 9.45 am. Then we walked to Ella station and Took Train to Demodara to visit The famous Nine arch bridge. Because nishan wanted to take some photos. Then we came home after a Successful hike.

By TK

At Ella Station

The famous Nine arch bridge – By TK

Light – By Nishan

Special Thanks to Nishan and Thilak for the help that they gave to Success this hike and their Photos. Lot of Photos of this Report Taken by them.

Thank You for Reading !!

The End.

Colombo-Kandy railway line was built in British period for the purpose of transportation of tea, rubber, coffee and cocoa. There are important land marks in this rail way line and beautiful section lied between Kadugannawa to Rambukkana. From Rambukkana to Kadugannawa it rises 1300 feet and sometimes going along the edges of the mountain. After Kadugannawa it follows fairly flat line till Kandy.
This is my first experience of a rail hike/rail walk. I found an important blog when I was searching about this stretch. Then my main objective was to cover land marks mentioned in that blog.

We reached Kadugannawa around 8 am and weather was superb following last night rain.
I have visited important places at Kadugannawa in this year. We just entered Kadugannawa station and walked towards Colombo.

Kadugannawa to Balana
Distance from Kadugannawa to Balana is 4.5km. First important land mark is the highest point (519m) of Kandy railway line, which is situated at 64¾ mile post. Then we have come across first tunnel-Tunnel No-11. Next two important places were Lions’ mouth (සිoහ කට) at 64th mile post and Elephant’s back (අලි පස්ස). No-10 tunnel is seemed as back of an elephant, called as elephant’s back. The section of this Lions’ mouth and elephant’s back provides beautiful view towards Bathalegala (බතලේගල) (Bible’s rock), Ura Kanda (ඌරා කන්ද), Dewanagala (දෙවනගල) and Balumgala (බැලුම් ගල) at Kadugannawa.
Then we have reached Tunnel No-10 at which old rail way line passed out side of the tunnel. At the moment no any traces except signal line pillars.
Train halt at Weralugolla (වෙරළුගොල්ල) is an important place because it is shown in the map as Werly’s Groove. There was another tunnel before Balana (බලන) station-No-09A.Because of water streams flows from Weralugolla mountain they have made the railway line through the 9A tunnel. Just before Balana station we searched for “Aguru Wanga”-අගුරු වoග/ “Wawul Bokkuwa”-වවුල් බෝක්කුව. But it was difficult to get into that culvert. If you want, you can get the foot pathway which is situated at right hand side just before Balana station. An old church is situated there. Water stream starting from Balana Fort called “Katale Ela”-කැටලේ ඇල flows under “Wavul Bokkuwa”.
Balana fort can be reached from Balana railway station.

Starting from Kadugannawa……Water tank at Kadugannawa station.

Railway line is closed.

Dawson Tower

Highest point of Udarata railway line at 64¾ mile post

Class 512 MCG 938 is passing us

No 11 tunnel. It is called as Coco male Binge (කොකෝ මලේ බිoගේ).

Lion’s Mouth (සිoහ කට)

Lion’s mouth at 64th mile post

Coming through Lion’s mouth

View of Balumgala and Kandy-Colombo road

No 10 tunnel is called as Elephant’s back (අලි පස්ස)

Elephant’s back. Locals called it as Bengali Binge (බෙගලි බිoගේ). Because it was built by labours came from Bangladesh.

Going through No 10th tunnel

View of Bathalegala and Ura kanda

Bathalegala and Dewanagala

9A tunnel

Arrow shows old railway line. But we were unable to trace any of it.

Looked back

Train Halt at Weralugolla

In the map it is marked as Werly’s groove (red box). Kadugannawa is shown by black circle. Click image to enlarge.

Part of Weralugolla rock

Class M6 790 is passing us

Tunnel No 09

Rail line watcher….walking is a fun for us. But it’s their duty

Lizard

Captured from the church situated at “Aguru Wanga”-අගුරු වoග culvert

Reaching Balana station….still signs of CHOGUM is there

Balana to Ihala Kotte
The distance from Balana station to Ihala Kotte is 5km. One important area in passing was Hakura Watichcha Gala (හකුරා වැටිච්ච ගල). This was named as sensational rock by British. There is a superb view from here and it was mentioned as “good view” in maps sketched during colonial period. At the beginning of Hakura Watichcha Gala, you may notice a small bridge which is named as “Kudira Palama” -කුදිර පාලම as it was used for horses when railway track is being constructed. You may notice a guard rail way line to prevent the train from falling towards other side when it passes this section.
After 7th and 6th tunnels you will come across Dekinda Bridge-දෙකිද පාලම. To view Dekinda culvert (දෙකිද බෝක්කුව), you have to walk down along left hand side foot pathway just after 6th tunnel. Dekinda oya flows under this bridge.
Makehelwela (මාකේල්වෙල) train halt seems to be non functional at the moment. There is a five arched bridge (Alagalla viaduct) situated closer to Ihala Kotte (ඉහළ කෝට්ටේ) railway station at 59th½ mile post. It is kind of a viaduct which bridges Alagalla Mountain with Kehelwela Mountain and Hakoluwawa Oya (හක් ඔලුවාව ඔය) flows under this bridge. We can only see one of the five arches and other four were closed during colonial era.
We reached Ihala Kotte station then. Travellers who are visiting Alagalla (අලගල්ල) Mountain will get down at Ihala Kotte station where foot pathway started. Then you can visit at Dekinda Falls also from Ihala Kotte station. British have spelled Balana as Ballany and still it is stated at tablet box of Ihala Kotte station. Ihala Kotte railway station is situated at 322m from sea level and no vehicles still have reached the station except train.

Tunnel No 08 came across after Balana station.

Beautiful view

Nice curve

“Kudira Palama” (කුදිර පාලම)-Bridge used for horses

“Good view”-හොද දසුන seen by British

Mawanella Town

Uthuwan Kanda-උතුවන් කන්ද

What a place to stay

Rail track is passing Sensational Rock/ Hakura Watichcha Gala

We met Class Msc 782

Alagalla (1100m)

No: 7 tunnel

Dekinda Bokkuwa (දෙකිද බෝක්කුව). This is about 20 feets long, 30 feet wide and 30 feet tall.

Makehelwela railway stop

Another snap of Alagalla

59½th mile post where “Anji Pahe Bokkuwa”-අoජි පහේ බෝක්කුව is situated

Fainted view of “Anji Pahe Bokkuwa”-(අoජි පහේ බෝක්කුව)

Hak Oluwawa Oya (හක් ඔලුවාව ඔය) flows under “Anji Pahe Bokkuwa”

Reaching Ihala Kotte station

Dead line situated at Ihala Kotte station.

This is how British spelled Balana

Indranatha is getting a lesson for tablet operation from Ihala Kotte station master.

Ihala Kotte to Rambukkana
After passing Ihala Kotte station we reached “Sangaraja Lena” (සoඝරාජ ලෙන) which is situated closer to 59th mile post. The great Buddhist leader called Rev. Welivita Sri Asarana Sarana Saranankara Thero (වැලිවිට ශ්රීd අසරණ සරණ සරණoකර හිමි) has visited here during his novice period. 5A tunnel is the next mile stone will come across in this stretch. This is the second longest railway tunnel of Sri Lanka which is 413m long. It goes through the rock where Meeyan Ella (මීයන් ඇල්ල) falls. Earlier railway line was situated along the steepness and later this tunnel was built due to a railway accident. You can have another good view from this old railway line track.
If you go along the old railway line, Meeyan Ella can be view. British have divided proper Meeyan Falls into two parts before falls here. There was a clear foot pathway till recent but now it is covered with shrubs. When Waterfall has water, it is bit difficult to reach there due to thickly grown Mana. But people will burn Mana during dry season. Then you can walk along the old line but no water in waterfalls.

Entrance of Sangaraja Lena

Small pond at Sangaraja Lena

It is kind of a camping place

A bridge along the pathway of old railway line where one part of Meeyan Falls can be seen

A bridge along the pathway of old railway line where one part of Meeyan Falls can be seen

Meeyan Falls-Part-1 No water

Meeyan Falls-Part-2

The bridge along Meeyan Falls-part-2

Might be constructions related to old railway line

Another article I came across regarding Meeyan Ella. These white circles show the places of waterfalls.

Tunnel No: 5A

Coming out of 5A

A villager we met. According to him a lot of villagers have moved to low land due to Monkeys. Therefore this foot pathway is infrequently used.

Gangoda sub station

“Fly over” near Gangoda sub station

Tunnel No: 05

Another bend

Reaching Kadigamuwa station

Red arrow shows Alagalla Mountain and yellow arrow shows Motana Mountain

Kadigamuwa to Rambukkana
The Train has just more than five kilometers journey to reach Rambukkana from Kadigamuwa. I have done this stretch separately from Rambukkana to Kadigamuwa but will mention in other way round.
After about 750m from Kadugannawa station, at Kaballawaththa (කැබැල්ලවත්ත) railway line crosses Mawanella-Rambukkana road (B385) as a fly over. This is also a kind of viaduct but you can notice a road instead of water. We walked further towards Rambukkana and came across Tunnel No 04 (called Walkara Binge-වැල්කාර බිoගේ), No 03 (called Kota Binge-කොට බිoගේ) and No 02 (called Wali Binge- වැලි බිoගේ) respectively. Kiriwallapitiya (කිරිවල්ලාපිටිය) is the place where intercity rail accident happened at 2002. At the end we reached Rambukkana station and it winded up the rail walk from Kadugannawa to Rambukkana.

B385 road runs under the railway line. At 1971 rebellions tried to blast this viaduct but it was unsuccessful.

The road runs through the viaduct

Another beautiful stretch

The train goes through tunnel No 04-Walkara Binge (වැල්කාර බිoගේ)

Other side of tunnel No 04

Tunnel No 03-Kota Binge (කොට බිoගේ)

Tunnel No 02-Wali Binge (වැලි බිoගේ)

Towards Rambukkana

This mountain would be noticed on right hand side towards Rambukkana station. It is called Parape Kanda (පරපේ කන්ද)

Towards Rambukkana

This was noticed at the end!!

The place where intercity train met with an accident at 2002 January 13 near Kiriwallapitiya (කිරිවල්ලාපිටිය). Alagalla is also seen at the corner

At Rambukkana station

At Rambukkana station

As a summary important land marks found in this rail walk

Kadugannawa station-Balana Station
1.Highest point of Udarata railway line at 64¾ mile post
2.No 11 tunnel
3.Lion’s Mouth
4.No 10 tunnel-Elephant’s back
5.Weralugolla
6. 9A tunnel
7.“Aguru Wanga”-අගුරු වoග/ “Wawul Bokkuwa”-වවුල් බෝක්කුව

Balana to Ihala Kotte
1.No 08 tunnel
2.Sensational rock, “Kudira Palama”, Good view
3.7th and 6th tunnels
4.Dekinda Culvert
5.Alagalla viaduct

6.Ihala Kotte station

Ihala Kotte to Rambukkana
1.Sangaraja Lena
2.5A tunnel, Meeyan Falls, old railway line
3.Gangoda station
4.Tunnel 5
5.Kadigamuwa station
6.Kaballawaththa viaduct
7.No 4, No 3, No 2 tunnels
8.Kiriwallapitiya
9.Rambukkana station

Thank you for reading

Almost one year back I did reach Nagrak to visit Galagama falls and while we were at Nagrak I did note a peak protruding out parallel to Gommolli range and Havagala range. This seemed to be an ideal place to leisurely hang around and this December while we were itching without doing any hikes we thought of giving it a try to stretch out our muscles. As usual early as possible we left and reached Belihul oya at around 7am. After having breakfast at River garden hotel we started ascending along Non perial road. The view was as always mesmerizing but unfortunately we didn’t have many pit stops because we were on a race with the mist. Locals mentioned that the mist settles at mid-day so we had to get there quickly to capture the surroundings without been interrupted by the mist.

The map – click to enlarge

as seen from Havagala

Nagrak range seen from Gommolli kanda

as seen from Havagala

early morning this was seen close to belihul oya

After tackling 31 bends we reached the landmark with the elevation post. This is where the Ihala galagama trail (via Nas-danda estate) meets the Nagrak road. We halted our vehicle and started hiking southwards along the foot path. From here onwards we had to hike along the mountain ridge which provided superb scenery on either side. After reaching the summit we hiked further until we got down to a cleft with a forest patch before re-ascending to the plateau like edge. This would be a lovely camp site to experience the sun rise on a clear morning. Wide scope of landmarks from Koslanda to Balangoda could be seen clearly but the mist did intervene to obscure our view.

starting point at nagrak

on the way scenery

the path

lovely beauty

worlds end abyss

the two reservoirs

Udawalawe

mau ara

ha ha they were clicking

samanala wewa

layers of mist

Pambahinna junction

Balathoduwa and gommolli peaks

towards nasdanda estate

for the first time i saw adams peak from this region

looking back

Adara kanda getting covered in mist

the path on the ridge

pambahinna junction

towards dethanagala

more to go

Pettigala covered

a place to spend the evening

lovely

ashoka

nice place to camp

kalthota – weli oya paddyfields

mist seen in belihul oya valley

resident at the edge

dam of samanala wewa

path we took

shaa

finally the great drop towards the south

one of those beauties

are we in heaven

through the mist

Balangoda town

wallpaper

ah one of these guys

micro life

if one wishes this is another path to walk

new life

that greenery

tip of the pines

extension of HP

lovely

paradise

where we were

lonely tree

lovely

Non perial tea factory

misty

nagrak bungalow

non perial

the roads we took

lunugamwehera

Weheragala

Dethanagala

Pettigala peak

After hanging around a bit we headed back and started returning along the winding roads. On the way we didn’t forget to stop at those waterfalls which we skipped while ascending up. After a satisfying mini hike we returned back to our homes to end successful journey.

3 man team

shape of sri lanka

banana falls

Non perial falls

We started form my home around 8 am. Reached Wattegama around ½ Hr time. Up to Alkaduwa Junction you have well carpet road from there not carpeted but no problem for drive.

From Wattegama to Alkaduwa town there is around 14Km and just passing the Alkaduwa small town you have to turn right for the Hunnas falls around .5km alongwith the Hunnass Falls Hotel Road. From Alkaduwa to Sembuwatte Lake there is around 6Km.

From Wattegama to Hunnasa Falls and then to Sembuwatte Lake you can drive peacefully but with much care while experiencing comfort of the earth, nice views, small waterfalls, streams. You will never need of put your A/C button On but you would off your car shutters for Natural unpolluted Air. On your way to hunnas falls you can also visit Hunnas falls hotel at your cost but the view from there is quite unbelievable.

You will see the blue mountain ranges and make you fully relaxed. My Little boy also much like to see the Mountains, Waterfalls, Jungle, Flowers and Animals which make me very proud.

We had around 1hr in the hunnas falls & returned to the main road then to Sembuwatte Lake. After a quite interesting drive around 6 – 8km we reached Lake around 11.30am. Such a nice place that was. Calm and quite Lake fencing Tea plantation at a one side and other side is Big & Tall Finesse Trees with range of Mountain View.

Hunnas Falls

Hunnass Falls Closer – one part

Other part

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.	Road to Hunnas Falls

See how beauty….. Sembuwatte Lake is

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You Can have a nice Boat Ride

Here is my guy who is directing us

.	Clouded suddenly for me to have some nice shots

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.	I love this

Clouds are going away

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Nice view of Tea Plantation

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Last year (2015) our team did a hike to Alagalla with a overnight camping. We were able to hike only a part of the Alagalla mountain range. So we decided to hike this mountain another day with a proper plan. Some days later I saw a video on youtube on ‘Alagalla’ which is a documentary done by ITN TV Channel. This gave me some idea about entire Alagalla range.

The map – click to enlarge

Hiking Alagalla can be done in three routes/paths;

1. [Train] Ihalakotte –>Poththapitiya(2km Walk) –> Alagalla (2-3 km hike)
2. [Train] Gangoda –> Poojagala (1-2 Km hike) –>Alagalla (1km hike)
3. [Bus] Pothtapitiya –> Alagalla (2-3 km hike)

We adopted the the 3^rd option as it is best suiting for us.

With our previous experience we designed a proper plan for the trip. We all gathered at Pilimathalawa at 7 am and had our Breakfast there. Then we got in to a Kandy-poththapitiya bus and reached Poththapitiya around 8:30 am. Several route buses are working in this route.

At Poththapitiya there is a road by the left of the Bus stand which is the road heading to Alagalla mountain. If you followed this road you can reach the Alagalla trail head. You ask direction from Locals they will guide on this.

In 100m on this path there is a tea factory and we should take the right side road. After walking 1km (approximately) from tea Factory, we reached the Tank located in the Estates. This is the last place to get water. Walking up another 1km from this place you’ll reach the trail head. With our previous experience we reached there within 30 minutes.

Hiking Alagalla

Half the way

The Team

The Potato Rock

Sinha Kata

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Climbing the rock is a risky task. When climbing through this ‘Sinha kata’, an extreme care/confidence required. Working as team is much needed.

Please watch the climbing video

Top of Alagalla

Train Arriving Ihala kotte-zoomed

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The Team

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.	Top of Alagalla

From the top

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The Range

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Our next target is to reach Poojagala. To reach Poojagala we have to go through the ‘Katusu Kondha’. It’s little hard as it’s name. A 30 m rope will be helpful for descending this.

Team – top of Katusu Kondha

Descending With rope

Katusu Konda

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After successfully descending the Katusu kondha we entered to the forest path. We observed several camping sites in side this forest. There are leeches in this path.

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.	In the forest path

Reached Poojagala

Work in progress

Siri pathula at Poojagala-

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Good viewing point

Some visitors

Train from Colombo

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.	Hatharaliyadhdha town

The Chaythya is in construction at the top of the Poojagala. Yo can get water from this place. There is a tank at the top. Water is used for drinking also for construction works. There is a pipeline from Gangoda to Poojagala. Also there are concreted steps to go to Gangoda.

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.	A Cave at the bottom of Poojagala

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We reached Gangoda station at around 3 pm. There is a train at 2:45 pm to Kandy. Luckily the train was late and it came to the station at around 3:15 pm. We got in the train and got down at Kadugannawa.

Thank you for reading!

In 2013 I did a grand tour around Thissamaharama and Kataragama and this year I thought of extending it further away towards Hambanthota. In this report I have focused on few places I haven’t visited already. As usual I left early morning and reached Bandagiriya to start off my day.

Map around Bandagiriya – click to enlarge

Map around Hambanthota – click to enlarge

Map around kirinda and thissa – click to enlarge

Map around kataragama – click to enlarge

• Bandagiriya
• Yahangala
• Lanka Salt factory
• Martello tower and light house
• Leonard wolfs old quarters
• Gallows
• Hambanthota cemetery – Englebretch tomb
• Andare’s tomb
• Veheragala aranya
• Wilpita rmv / Nadigamwila rmv
• Dalada viharaya kirinda
• Talaguru hela
• Bembawa
• Yala magul maha viharaya
• Maha naga rmv
• Kanda suridu gama cave temple
• Sella waturuwa RMV

Bandagiriya (  6°14’26.56 “N  81° 8’41.37″E)

Few Km’s after passing Mattala I reached a turn off towards Bandagiriya tank. By the side of the road is a rocky plateau with two pagodas on top of it. The top provides some stunning scenery of Hambanthota area. There were few caged inscriptions in the vicinity too.

wow what a sight

steps towards Bandagiriya

inscription

ancient steps

Bandagiriya tank

new and old

huge tank

Yahangala (  6°13’7.55″N  81° 9’55.81″E)

From Bandagiriya I took the road towards Pallemalala and few Km’s before Pallemalala junction I came across Yahangala archeology site. The site was well maintained and the two pagodas provided some lovely photographs.

Yahangala archeology site

kema

ruins

yahangala

a pagoda

the 2nd one

Lanka Salt factory (6° 8’32.11″N 81° 8’28.37″E)

My next stop was at Lanka salt factory though I had been to the salt plant / factory in 2009 Nirosh insisted me to have a look around and I warmly accepted that offer. For me the most interesting artifact was the salt train which was used many decades back.

salt at the salterns

inside the factory

the product

this was used to bring salt in to the factory

Martello tower and light house (  6° 7’19.23″N  81° 7’37.16″E)

Martello tower is a short and unique defensive tower used by the British and to reach it one needs to take the rest house road. The old light house is also located few feet away.

Martello tower

entrance

inside it

light house

Leonard wolfs old quarters (  6° 7’21.02″N  81° 7’41.73″E)

From the Martello tower we headed towards the coastal line and came across famous Leonard wolfs quarters which is now a museum. We opted not to visit the museum.

Leonard wolfs old quarters

side view

Gallows (  6° 7’18.37″N  81° 7’48.22″E)

From the museum we headed towards the pointed land plot adjoining the walking path where the remains of the Hambanthota gallows could be seen. As I heard only 5 convicts (mainly 1818 rebellions) were hanged at this point.

hambanthta gallows

Hambanthota

Hambanthota cemetery – Englebretch tomb (  6° 7’38.37″N  81° 7’33.89″E)

Next stop was the catholic cemetery close to the bus stand of Hambanthota.

Henry Engelbrecht, the first game warden of Sri Lanka’s most famous Yala national park was a Boer Prisoner of War who tended the sanctuary for 21 long years with great devotion. It was in search of the camps where he and some 5,000 others like him who had been shipped here from South Africa had been interned that Britisher Robin Woodruff first came to Sri Lanka four years ago

Englebretch tomb

zoomed

Andare’s tomb (  6°10’35.12″N  81° 9’49.83″E)

After saying good bye to Nirosh I headed towards Udamalala junction of Thissa road. There is a statue of Andare so it’s easily identifiable. Take the road until you reach Kuda wewa and get directions from locals. The tomb of the famous comedian of ancient sri lanka lies close to the lake where he fell dead.

tomb of andare

kuda wewa

where he fell dead

some ruins

Andare statue

Veheragala aranya (  6°11’23.51″N  81° 9’2.28″E)

After visiting Andare’s tomb I headed further along the road until I reached a lovely hermitage where a pagoda could be found on top of a rock. There are lots of ruins scattered around and there were well refurbished drip ledged caves.

path to Weheragala Aranya senasanaya

top of weheragala

new pagoda on weheragala

a kema

Shrub forest of hambanthota

steps towards the ancient pagoda

cave at Weheragala

Wilpita rmv / Nadigamwila rmv (  6°13’48.63″N  81°17’18.93″E)

From Weerawila I took the Debarawewa road and just before reaching the bridge across Kirindi oya there was a sharp acute elbow turn on the main road. I took the road towards the right and went parallel to the river until I reached Wilpita ancient temple which was about 6Km’s away from the main road. There was a huge restored pagoda and many ruins of ancient buildings in the temple premises. It is believed to be done by King Mahanaga

Nedigamwila RMV

ruins

click to enlarge

Dalada viharaya kirinda (  6°13’14.53″N  81°19’52.24″E)

From Wilpita I headed towards Kirinda and just before reaching Kirinda – Thissa road I noted a name board of temple on the left and decided to pay a visit. At this temple there is a small restored pagoda and few monoliths scattered around.

Pagoda at kirinda dalada viharaya

siri pathul gala

Talaguru hela & Nimalawa Monastery (  6°14’2.17″N  81°20’38.98″E)

From Kirinda I took off towards Yala junction and headed along Palatupana road until I came across Nimalawa road. 1.5Km along Nimalawa road one would come across the entrance to Nimalawa aranya. But unfortunately no one is allowed to head to the monastery other than 11am to 1pm period. Somehow I got permission to visit the nearby rocky Thanaguru hela where a pond, few steps and caves could be seen. More ruins were in the vicinity but was covered by shrub forest.

road towards Nimalawa

wild boars at Nimalawa

Talaguru hela

a stairway and an inscription

read if you can

a kema

view from the top

a cave at thalaguru hela

a moonstone

Bembawa (  6°17’16.94″N  81°23’11.64″E)

Next I went towards Yodakandiya and took the Kirinda – Sithulpauwa forest route until I came across the wild life gate of Yala. The DWC gate and the office lie on an archaeology site with an ancient pond and some ruined buildings.

Bembawa archaeology site

pagoda

more ruins

Yala magul maha viharaya (  6°18’14.39″N  81°24’0.28″E)

Few Kilometers after entering the park the Sithulpauwa road goes through a vast archeology site called Yala magul maha Viharaya. This hermitage is a branch of Sithulpauwa temple and it’s believed to be the site where King Kavanthissa & queen Vihara maha devi tied the knot. The pagoda is a restored one and one cave has been modified as an image house. There are many caves in the vicinity but didn’t have time to explore. An interesting shadow of Queen Vihara maha devi could be seen on the huge rock in the premises. The lovely caretaker was very kind to offer me a tea and some biscuits at the temple. (Kaluarachchi is the caretaker at the site (0779733239))

Yala magul maha viharaya

restored

a cave

main image house

another cave

inside a cave

original doorway

Queen Vihara maha devis imprint

unique inscription seen on the clay wall

serene location

the view

Maha naga rmv/ Yodakandiya temple (  6°15’34.99″N  81°18’34.87″E)

After returning back to Yodakandiya I came across a road side temple at the eastern edge of the Yoda wewa tank. There are some ruins in the temple but the most interesting finding was the two  cobra headed guard stones. Close to the temple gate one could get down and reach below the bridge which the B422 runs. I accidently noted the ancient sluice gate of Yoda wewa. It’s really surprising to find such a structure just below a bridge which millions of devotees pass by.

Yoda wewa

evening shift

ruined image house

a statue

found at yoda kandiya temple

cobra

ancient sluice gate of yoda wewa

Kanda suridu gama cave temple (6°23’27.15″N 81°18’32.95″E)

From Thissa I took the Kataragama road (B259) and on the way at Kanda suridu gama I came across a road side cave temple. There was an inscription pillar at the site too.

long cave

katarama

Kanda suidu gama Gal len viharaya

an inscription

Sella wathuruwa RMV (6°26’25.62″N 81°17’27.12″E) 

Next stop was Sella Kataragama, passing the Sella kataragama maha vidayalaya we came across a road to the left which took us towards Wathuruwa temple. There were ruins of many buildings and an inscription pillar belonging to King Nisshankamalla era.

After enjoying a hectic and extensive traveling day I headed home via buttala to plan my next trip to Ambalanthota.

pagoda at Waturuwa RMV Sella (a privet donation)

lovely

inscription pillar

ruins of a building

pagoda

“If you have fallen love with mountains, you have to celebrate valentine day by climbing a mountain”

Where Alagalla is situated

Red circle shows Alagalla peak and black circle shows Pooja Gala (it is mentioned as Ingurugala in the map. Green star shows the Poththapitiya junction where we started the climbing. Yellow arrow shows Ihala Kotte station. Note both Ihala Kotte and Poththapitiya are closer to Alagalla peak not to Pooja Gala. Red star shows the approximate place of Gangoda substation. (As it is a substation, it is not shown in the map). Pooja Gala is closer to Gangoda station. click image to enlarge

Different phases of Alagalla

View of Alagalla from Balana fort

View of Alagalla from Kandy railway line

View of Alagalla from Kandy railway line

View of Alagalla from Kadigamuwa railway station

We got Poththapitiya bus from Kandy Good shed bus stand and reached Poththapitiya around 8.15 am. There was a well paved concrete road starting from Poththapitiya junction towards Alagalla tea factory. We got right hand side road at Alagalla tea factory which winds through Alagalla tea estate and line houses. The left hand side foot pathway at Alagalla tea factory is towards Ihala Kotte.
As it was a Sunday, numbers of locals were starting to climb Alagalla. They mainly targeted the Pooja Gala. It was nice to see even old ladies and small kids. The road got narrow and became a foot pathway which goes through the forest patch initially.
Then we came to a Mana patch which was half burned by a fire made by someone’s careless work.
When we were climbing the mana patch, the peak of Alagalla was noticed with it’s waving flag. There was a foot pathway to Pooja gall with bypassing the peak.
At the end of the mana patch rock climbing part was started and it ended at the highest point of Alagalla. It was time around 10.15 am.

Well paved concrete road towards Alagalla tea factory

Alagalla tea factory. Locals called it as “store” ස්ටෝරුව

පුළුන්

Walking along estate road

The last drinkable water source

Estate road in a brighten day

Kind of a junction, turn to left hand side

The crowd….

Through Alagalla tea estate

Road becomes foot pathway and entering to the forest patch

It was a continuous ascend Starting of Mana patch

Climbing through mana patch. Foot pathway was well clear after mass hike on independent day

The view when we looked down

Surrounding view…

Surrounding view…

Half burned mana patch

Majestic view of the peak

Alagalla peak

Alagalla peak

This boy was carrying his sister all the way to the peak

Smile of young hiker

Starting of minor rock climbing part

This is the way….

Window view

Summit of Alagalla with the flag

Majority bypasses the peak and going to Pooja Gala

Railway line and road

Standing Buddha statue with temple which come across along the way from Mawanella to Rambukkana

Garbage disposal area at Alagalla

Alagalla tea factory

Hatharaliyadda-හතරලියද්ද town

Another nearby temple at Gangoda

Vandalism

Macro view…

I am at the peak….

The team on top of Alagalla

Alagalla peak provides a good view towards Poththapitiya, Mawanella, Rambukkana, Hatharaliyadda and Ihala Kotte. Then we continued towards
Pooja Gala. The drop between Alagalla and Pooja Gala was connected by the slippery rock. After getting down along slippery rock, we entered another forest patch where we found two or three camp sites.

Rest of Alagalla range

Other part of Alagalla range where Pooja Gala is situated

Reaching slippery rock

Iron road embedded in the rock

Getting down along slippery rock. It was around 10-15m long

Getting down along slippery rock

Getting down along slippery rock

Entering to the forest patch

First camp site we noticed

Going through forest patch

Going through forest patch

Pooja Gala with pagoda

Pooja Gala is situated at other end of Alagalla range. There is a newly built Stupa, small pond and sacred foot print. This is the main attraction of Alagalla these days. Pooja Gala was crowded and we spend a little time there. Then we started to get down towards Gangoda side. Unfortunately we missed foot print and pond.
The pathway was slippery due to dust and sand. We reached Gangoda station by 12.45 pm and got into Kandy train to reach Ihala Kotte.

Have to remove shoes before enter

Starting of the foot path way to Gangoda

The pagoda

Buddha statue was inside the pagoda

.	Getting down towards Gangoda side

Getting down towards Gangoda side

The view

Intermittent concrete steps

The view when we were coming down

They requested to have a snap

View of Pooja Gala

Uthuwan Kanda-උතුවන්කන්ද

Fainted view of Bathalegala -බතලේගල and Ura Kanda -ඌරා කන්ද

The train

The pathway closer to the rock

It was recently built

Better to keep in mind

The shrine

Reaching Gangoda station

Our next objective is to visit Dekinda Falls (දෙකිද ඇල්ල) which is situated closer to Ihala Kotte station. There are two ways to reach Dekinda Falls. One is follow the foot pathway towards Poththapitiya and reach the top of the fall. According to the person who described it is bit long.
There is a separate pathway to reach the base of the fall. We followed that and had a quick dip from the fall. Dekinda fall was fairly dry these days.
It ended up a good day of travelling.

White arrow shows the foot pathway to Alagalla. You can reach the top of Dekinda Falls by that. Red arrow shows the pathway to base of the fall.

Dekinda Falls
This 30m tall waterfall situated closer to Ihala Kotte, inside Alagalla forest reserve. It has upper part and lower part.

Dekinda Falls

Dekinda Falls-lower part

Dekinda Falls-lower part

Thanks for reading

Sembuwaththa lake and Hunnas falls are popular places for a day visit. This is close to Elakaduwa a small town in the Matale District where the famous Hunnas falls Hotel located.

Location

There are several routes the reach Elkaduwa. We went through the Katugasthota-Waththegama route and took the Ekladuwa road from Waththegama. After travelling around 9 kms  there is a road to the right side which goes to Hunnas falls Hotel. Hunnas waterfalls is

Located at 1 km at this road. To reach Sembuwaththa we should come back to the junction again and travel passing the Elkaduwa and travel around 5 kms. There is a road to the right side and must travel around 4 kms.

Hunnas Falls (Lower)

This is the Waterfall located below the Hunnas lake/Hunnas falls Hotel. This is maintained by Estate workers Housing Co-operative society of Hunnasgiriya Estate. There is a Leisure park with Natural pool / Summer Huts etc.

Map – Click to enlarge

Ticket

Its our family trip and we reached the Hunnas falls by 10:30 am. The falls located 100meters away from the road. It was a rainy season and there were quite a lot of leeches on the path and also slippery.

.	Hunnas Falls

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Determined!

Hopes

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Full view

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pool	Well Maintained

Hunnas lake visible

Sembuwaththa Lake

Sembuwaththa is most popular amoung the people in the central region as a family day out location. There are options available for visitors to spend the day!

1. Beautiful views in the Lake
2. Boat ride
3. Natural pool
4. Kids play area
5. Cottages & Summer huts
6. Walking trail around the lake
7. Night outs

“Sembuwatta, a paradise like location which is a lake of natural spring water, serves as one of the major attractions of the hill country. It is set amongst the sprawling tea gardens, and reflects the environment at its most magnificent. Towering from the lake are the beautiful green mountains with a thick pines forest where you can take time to climb up. Beside the lake, there is a pool with natural spring water, there are summer huts and cottages around this magnificent lake …

The mass expanse of deep blue waters, complete with misty mountains and tea gardens, create an atmospheric scene and the perfect place to lose yourself in your own thoughts and envision the remarkable things you’ve seen on your travels through Sri Lanka. This is a popular location for shooting films and telegrams.” – http://sembuwaththalake.com/

This is a project managed by Estate workers Housing Co-operative society of Elkaduwa Estate.

Map – click to enlarge

Ticket – click to enlarge

Road to Sembuwaththa is narrow and not in good condition. Some parts of the road is concreted. The ticket counter/office is located near Elkaduwa tea factory. We can drive up to the lake and there is a parking area near by lake.

The Lake

View from Parking area

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Beautiful Landscapes

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A Boat ride

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Summer Huts

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.	The Parking area view from the opposite side

Some Photography

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The Natural Pool

The are excited!

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Enjoy

Lake view from the pool

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The Hut

Cottage

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.	The are at work

Walk around the lake

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Thank you.

The map – click to enlarge

I have been to Bathalegala twice and on both occasions I did note the massive mountain close to it which is called Ura kanda / Ashraff kanda. It is well known by many because in year 2000 a helicopter carrying Minister Ashraff and 14 others crashed mysteriously causing their tragic demise. This 980m mountain is said to be tough to tackle and many who have attempted have done it from the rocky side, during the rainy season. So we decided to give it a try from the easiest side which is from Kumarapura. As always Google earth helped us in picking the desired route.

I met Harinda early morning at Debathgama and headed towards Kumarapura. After halting our rides we started checking the maps and suddenly out of nowhere we met Nande. Since he was willing to guide us we were happy to get his assistance. From Kumarapura to the summit we decided to climb through the newly planted forest patch which was an easy task despite the continuous ascend. Nande’s Dog Tommy also decided to come with us and we were more than please to have him with us. Last bit of the ascend was bit tough but there were unlimited trees to hold on to.

ඌරා කන්ද as seen from bathalegala

on the way scenery at Kumarapura

mountains of Yatiyanthota

yeah some blessings

towards Karawanella side

Wewelthalawa

the path

Harinda with selfie cam

Tommy the guide

nande and tommy

he is sweating

last climb

The summit area is a vast forest patch with plenty of room to camp under the shade. Though this is known to be a leech infested mountain we came across only one leech. From the summit point we headed towards the sloped Mana patch to enjoy some stunning scenery towards the central hills. I must emphasize that this is one of the best places to identify many landmarks of central hills. For example we saw mountains from Kurunegala to Yatiyanthota including knuckles range & Adams peak. We also didn’t forget to roam around the mountain ridge and to have something for lunch.

at the summit

view from the top

Mawanella town

Bathalegala

Alagalla

piduruthalagala range seen at the backdrop