Introduction

Trails to Adams Peak

Most people know that there are 6 trails to climb Adams Peak. Out of these 6trails 3trails are most commonly used by pilgrims,

1. Hatton/Nallathanni Trail
2. Kuruwita/Erathna Trail
3. Rathnapura/Palabaddala Trail

The other 3 trails are less frequented by pilgrims as they are just footpaths in the jungle

4. Deraniyagala/Uda Maliboda Trail
5. Murraywatte/Rajamale/Sandagalathenna Trail
6.  Hapugastenne/Mookuwatte Trail

But what I’m going to tell you is that there are 2 new possible trails that can be used, these 2 are,

7. Batulu Oya Paradise Trail
8. Batulu Oya Waterfall Trail

Idea of this trail & plan
Around 10yeas back a friend of mine showed me a paper article which had a brief description of the lesser known trails to Adams peak. Ever since reading that article I wanted to explore these trails but due to lack of information and other restrictions it wasn’t possible. However in September 2010 along with a few others whom I met online we did the Sandagalathenna trail and in the following year (i.e. 2011) some ware around January we did the Uda Maliboda Trail and in February of 2012 the Hapugastenne (Mookuwatte) Trail.

By February of 2012 I had climbed Adams peak 6tims using all 6trails. Since my initial plan was to complete all 6trails and once this objective was achieved I decided to retire from climbing this peak. But this decision to retire only lasted a few days because as soon as I downloaded my GPS data of the Hapugastenne trail to my computer I found out that there are 2more possible trails that could be done.

One which I call the “Batulu Oya Paradise Trail” and the other which I called the “Batulu Oya Waterfall Trail”

Hapugastenne Trail (Marked in Red) Waterfall Trail (Marked in Blue) Paradise Trail (Marked in Yellow)

The Batulu Oya Paradise Trail

Anyone familiar with the Hapugastenne trail may remember a place called “Paradise” This name was given to this place by Hiruna and his team. As the name suggests it’s a beautiful place with a stream and a water fall.

But the interesting part was not the beauty of the place, but the stream. The stream that flows form there ends up at Fishing Huts. This became evident when I downloaded the data from my GPS. This trail seams very straight forward all you had to do was to hike up from Fishing huts along the Batulu Oya and then the stream splits in 2, take the left hand stream and continue up stream and after passing a few waterfalls you come to the place called Paradise form their onwards continue on the Hapugastenne trail till you reach the Peak. This stream is even visible on Google earth and navigating this in the dry season will not pose too many complications. (Just a word of caution, travelling up a stream that has a few waterfalls could be very dangers even for seasoned hikers so take care if you plan to do this)

But this trail seams too simple and for more than half of the trail up to the peak you will be travelling along the Hapugastenne trail which did not impress me that much.

Batulu Oya Waterfall Trail

But when I started analysing the Hapugastenne trail in detail I noticed that I have marked a small stream at the base of Adams peak. This stream seems to be flowing in to a valley and the opposite end of the valley is close to Fishing Huts which led me to believe that this stream that flows in to the valley also has to exit at this point. Since Batulu Oya (the river that flows in front of Fishing Huts) is known to be the main river in the area the logical conclusion was that this stream joins Batulu Oya or even may be the source of Batulu Oya. Further analysing of Google earth and the meter map confirmed my belief.

But one problem with this trail was that we would not be able to start from Fishing Huts and continue to climb because once we reach the top part of the stream we may not be able to find the correct branch of the stream that crosses the Hapugastenne trail so if we were to do this we needed to climb Adams peak from Hatton and then descend down to Fishing huts.

Of the 2optios available the Batulu Oya Waterfall Trail seemed like the better option as most of the trail has never been explored before.

Please note that all photographs published in this trip report were taken by Kasun and full credit should go to him for photo documenting this trip.

The Trip 

Even though this idea came to me in February of 2012 due to many reasons the trip was put on hold. However this year I made a firm commitment to myself that I will do this trail. Doing this trail off season is simply out of the question as the water level in the stream and any waterfalls that we may encounter will be dangerously high and there is also the high risk of flash floods.

So the dates were set but a few last minute cancelations by a few members of the team left us with only 3people to go on this hike. Ideally I would have preferred some ware around 6people to be part of the team but postponing was also not an option because the Peak Wilderness has been having a severe drought and doing this trail before the rains start was one of the key safety plans in our hike.

On Thursday (27/02/2014) Myself Kasun and Uditha met at the Pettah privet bus stand and took the 7oclock bus to Hatton the bus reached Hatton by 11.15am and we were dropped at the main bust stand. We then walked up to the Hatton station as the busses to Nallathanni were usually parked there. As expected there were several busses to Nallathanni parked there because of the season and we got in to one of the buses.  However this bus did not leave till 2.30am as it was waiting for the night mail from Colombo to arrive. As soon as the people from the night mail got in the bus departed and arrived in Nallathanni around 4am on Friday (28/02/2014).

The Hatton Trail

Sun Rise on the Way Up

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Since we were in no hurry we climbed it slowly but steadily and reached the peak around 9am. After spending a short time at the peak we started our decent on the Rathnapura trail till we reached the start of the Hapugastenne trail. Then it was sharp decent of around 1km to the base of Adams Peak. Once we reached the base it was time to bid farewell to the Hapugastenne trail and follow the stream in to an uncharted area of the peak wilderness which was later named as the “Valley of Waterfalls”.

The Valley of Waterfalls as seen from the Peak

Descent

Entering in to the Jungle (Hapugastenne Trail Starting Point)

Descending along the Hapugastenne Trail

Pointing Out the Valley of Waterfalls

.	Hapugastenne Trail falling on to the Small Stream that Leads to the Valley of Waterfalls

The water level of the stream (a branch of the Batulu Oya) was low because of the drought and following it wasn’t a problem. Less than 100M in to valley we came to our first obstacle!! It was a small waterfall which did not pose too many complications in getting down.
Uditha and for reasons known only to him wanted to call this waterfall “Sumudu Ella” so we all agreed and named it as Sumudu Ella.
After passing Sumudu Ella and a few small cascades we came to our second obstacle!! Which was less than 50M from the previous waterfall. Descending this falls looked a bit dangerous so we decided to climb down through the jungle till we reached the base of the fall and continued on our journey passing several cascades till we reached another waterfall and then another. Waterfalls seem endless and since we were deep in a valley even my high sensitivity GPS had problems locking on to satellites. We opted for a slow and steady phase mainly because the risks involved were too grate and making a mistake in this valley could be fatal. Our plan was to travel till 3pm and then find a suitable campsite to camp for the night.
3pm came and we still did not come across any site even remotely suitable to pitching a tent. Around 4pm we were on top of another set of waterfalls (3waterfalls close together) and found a slab of small stone on top of the first waterfall. Uditha and I thought its best we spend the night on this rock since it would keep us safe from any flash floods. But the downside was that this rock was too small to pitch our small 2man tent so we would have to use the tent as a blanket and spend an uncomfortable night on top of an uneven rock.
Kasun (the official photographer) volunteered to descend the 3waterfalls and find a better suited place and thanks to his efforts a much better place was found to set up camp. The site was along the banks of a small tributary to the mainstream that we were following.
Uditha set about clearing the site for the tent and I went about gathering firewood and at the same time clearing a path for us to escape just in case the water level increased and we had to abandon the camp.
We skipped lunch because our progress was so slow and so the supper was to be a grand affair. While Kasun was preparing our supper Uditha and I were busy pitching the tent and even before we could get our flysheet up the havens opened and it rained cats and dogs and pretty soon the tent was flooded with rain water.
After having noodles straight from the pot in the pouring rain we decided to stay inside the tent till the rain stopped. By this time the tent was full of water and was better suited for fish than for us but fortunately the rains stopped 1hour later and we set about mopping up the water in the tent with our T-shirts. By this time the water level in the stream has risen considerably and was flowing if furiously.
Since the tent was a 2person tent fitting 3 people it to it was a challenge and our backpacks were put inside garbage bags and were left outside the tent for the night.

The Easy Part

On Top of the First Waterfall (Sumudu Ella)

Planning our Descent Down Sumudu Ella

The Descent

The Trail

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The 2nd Waterfall

Descending Through the Jungle

Trying not to get wet

The Trail Continues

Descending Down Small Cascades

And Another Fall

Reaching the bottom

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.	On Top of Another One

.	More Trouble Ahead

Not Sure How We Got Down But We Did

At the Base of Yet Another One

Finding our way down

Going Down Yet Another Waterfall

Looks Like another Water Fall Ahead

At the Base of a Waterfall

Clearing for the tent

It was a sleepless night spent mostly worrying about the water levels in the stream and trying to keep warm inside our damp tent. Next day morning at sharp 6am we decided step out of the tent and have a look around.
The stream was back to its normal flow and the flash flood that we experienced the previous night has washed away one of our pots along with a few other small items that we could not bring up to higher ground.
By 7.20 we were ready to leave, by my calculations if we continue encounter waterfalls like the previous day we would have to spend an additional night in the forest which none of us wanted.
We maintained a slow and steady pace by this time the vegetation in the jungle has changed indicating that we had come down in altitude considerably and it looked as if we would not be encountering too many waterfalls.
But our hopes were shattered when we started coming across one waterfall after another. Kasun had a very simple approach to descending waterfalls he would always insist on taking the shortest path to the bottom!! Sure footed as a mountain goat he would descend down slippery waterfalls with ease. Being the oldest in the team and carrying the responsibility for the safety of the other 2, I wasn’t at all happy about Kasun’s methods but thanks to his high risk unorthodox method we did manage to save a lot of time.
By 1pm we managed to reach the place where the 2 streams meet and the sight of it gave us such relief because we knew that fishing huts were just a hop skip and a jump away and that we have completed the most dangerous and risky part of the trail.
From there it took us another 1 1/2hours to reach the Fishing Huts mainly because we were in no hurry.

Our Camp Site

A beautiful Day

.	Our Pot was found a long way down stream form our campsite

Do we use the Para cord or not?

Sending the bags down using the Para Cord

Slippery

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Yet another waterfall

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Now What !!

Long Way Down

Made it to the Bottom

and another one

Only Option is to Jump??

Too Deep to Cross

It’s Time to Get Wet (swimming across)

Brunch

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Sending the Bags First

This slippery log fallen across the waterfall helped us to descend to the base

Another small log which helped us

The 2 Streams Joining

The Peak

The Team

A walk in the park

Entering Moray Estate (near Fishing Huts)

The care taker of Hut no 1 was very helpful and offered us lunch and since we politely refused his offer he made us tea and served it with some biscuits. The care taker arranged a three wheeler for us to get to Nallathanni and form thereon we took a bus to Hatton and form Hatton to Colombo by train. Thus ending a highly adventures and high risk trip.

Ever since I read the article on “Kohonawala Village” on Mawbima paper, I was dreaming day and night to pay a visit. As you all know, Ashan beat me to it and it paved the way for a more comprehensive journey for us. My initial plan was to collect some money from the friends and give out exercise books and other stationery for the village kids but it had to be abandoned due to various issues. As a result, after a lot of deliberation, I decided to donate as many books as possible for the yet-to-be-open library at the Kohonawala Temple.

Having spoken to the Dhammananda Thero, who was the chief incumbent of the newly established Kohonawala Temple about one and half years ago, I got a list of the books that were required. Sheham was always willing to go and the two old fellas Uncle Tony and Grand Father Athula too joined in. As this was mainly a reconnaissance mission, I didn’t divulge the details to others. We four contributed and bought some books worth a few thousand rupees.

NG too wanted to join having heard from Ashan but there was no room for her unfortunately in the car. Despite that she too bought a lot of books and handed to us for the donation. Our plan was to leave on the 08th March and that’s exactly what we did.

The Story of Kohonawala:

—This is an isolated village completely surrounded by numerous mountains making it located in the bottom of a deep ravine. Badulla-Passara road seems to be running around this and a few other isolated villages. Namunukula-borne Loggal Oya flows between the border of Urumeethenna, the last village with main-line-supplied electricity, and Kohonawala before joining the mighty Mahaweli at Mahiyanganaya, making it further isolated.

The story behind the start of this village has many different variations. According to the folklore, they origins run far deep thousands of years backwards where the indigenous people of SL, the Veddhas, roamed this island at will. According to one old farmer, the leader of that Veddhas in the village was an elite archer. Once he won a contest of shooting an arrow through a golden ring thus getting the name “Ranpath Mudiyanselage” bestowed upon his clan. Surprisingly all the people in Kohonawala has that as their surname to-date. Everybody is called R.M. and their given name.

The second story is during the 1818 revolution, two people (sister and brother) ran away from the English hiding in this village. After some time there were kids born to them and the population grew larger since then. This too is a very possible one coz nearly everyone looks the same. They all have similar features and identical in many ways.

There are two routes to this stunningly beautiful village. One is from Kahataruppa about 15.5km away from Badulla Town and the other is from Madolsima about 41km from the Badulla town. The first one, Kahataruppa route is the sensible one as the travelling is relatively easier, especially when the Loggal Oya is in a calm and quiet mood.

The road from Kahataruppa is motorable up to Urumeethenna in a high ground clearance vehicle. From Urumeethenna it’s extremely difficult terrain but we saw a tuk tuk crawling right up to the river. The other one is from Madolsima close to the police station. There’s a sign board saying the Kohonawala Vidyala, 9.6km. This means a treacherous walk downhill to the base of the ravine (Loggal Oya Valley) where the Kohonawala village is located. (Note: According to Ashan who did this stretch some time ago, it’s about 4.5-5km in total. This 9.6km board apparently a wrong measurement)

The main income comes from the farming of paddy, pepper, vegetables and fruits. They are self-sufficient in many areas save for electricity and a proper road. Things like coconuts are hard to come by. Kohonawala School has classes up to grade 5 and above that means an 18+km up and down hike to Madolsima. Many kids don’t want to continue to do it for the next 6-8 years and leave their school life after grade 5.

There have been dramatic changes in the lifestyles of the villagers ever since Olaboduwe Dhammananda Thero arrived from Horana having seen the plight of these people. He had got ordained at the age of 16 and been a practical monk for the last 17 years. The people of the village had no idea what Dhamma means until he arrived. There were no religious rituals conducted let alone learning Dhamma.

We saw the undivided loyalty from many of the villagers to the temple and him. They treat him like their savior. Kohonawala doesn’t have a temple, and it’s temporary located at the Praja Shalawa and the monk had started building an image house and a temple from scratch with the help of various donors and villagers. Unfortunately, the going is at a snail’s speed but that hasn’t stopped the willpower of this courageous human being in a saffron robe.

He’s ordained 4 little boys and sent them for further studies to a Kalubowila Pirivena claiming that they need everything possible to improve the living conditions of the village after him. We found him to be very caring, helpful, courageous and cheerful person who has devoted his life for the well-being of these neglected people.

Anyhow, these were not without the typical obstacles that bar one’s path. He’d been repeatedly harassed by a very few people and even today, he’s living among threats and hardships. Among the many requests of the villagers, the main one is a bridge across the Loggal Oya and a better paved road to their village from Urumeethenna. Very long time ago, then divisional secretary had made a road but since his transfer from Lunugala (where Kohonawala belonged) to Passara things have taken a wrong path.

One of the interesting things about Kohonawala is that not only the people have names, but houses too bear some very thoughtfully given names such as: Bo Sevana, Thenne Gedara, Chamika Niwasa, etc.

If the powers-that-be can improve the road and build a bridge at least wide enough for a tuk-tuk and a Dimo Batta Lorry, it will help them sell their produce to the outside world easily making their lives more comfortable. We heard the farmers who grow paddy so far away from their homes (as far as 9-10km) and take them a whole day to bring a single sack of paddy to their homes. It means if they harvest 10 sackfuls of paddy, it will take them 10 days to bring them back to their homes unless they get laborers to do it paying Rs. 400/- a day.

So I bring these to you my friends who are willing to help others, and can get folks who have means to do so to get together and do something for these people in need.—

The Tour Highlights:

1. 10km of hike to Kohonawala Temple from Urumeethenna (up and down).

2. The village life of Kohonawala.

3. Treacherous 2km hike towards Madolsima with an elevation of about 450m.

4. Tasty yet unheard typical village foods.

Day 01

Our plan to leave Colombo at 1am got shattered when neither Tony nor I heard from Sheham. Both of our calls went unanswered and naturally we were worried coz he’d never before been late. Tony had even undressed and gone back to sleep when Sheham called around 2am.

I got a call from a relieved Tony and we finally left for Athula’s who was sound asleep amid all these jitters. Picking him we made good time and reached Beragala when the sun was creeping up above the eastern mountain tops. Buying a few egg rolls and snapping a few more pics of this wonderful dawn, we pushed towards Haputale. The whole valley to our right was being illuminated by the vivid rays of the morning sun and it really was breath taking.

Sheham had a headache so Atha took over the driving while he had a nap. Towards B’wela we were enveloped by the mist. Driving through the misty mountains we reached Badulla around 7.30am. We quickly bought loaves of bread for breakfast and hurriedly drove along Passara road till we came to Hanwella road, 2km away from Badulla. We called the monk who had been traveling overnight and reached Urumeethenna waiting for our arrival.

The Kahataruppa road is newly carpeted and in very good condition. Finally we reached the Pela Bodhiya at Kahataruppa where the Saturday fair was in full swing. It was a wonderful experience to go back in time and see a typical village fair. What is most extraordinary thing was there were mainly elderly people and kids. Grandparents still are coming to the fair with their grandchildren, that is the norm in our good old villages.

We bought some juicy looking nearly foot long bananas 12/- each. The shop owner had a change of heart when he figured we weren’t local, otherwise it’d have been only 10/-. However, in Colombo, it’d have easily cost double that price. Driving towards the hospital we reached a junction where there was a road branching out to the right. It looked nothing like the one we were on, just a normal gravel road with plenty of rocks and pit holes scattered throughout. When we asked if it was the road to Kohonawala, people started looking at us with “Are you crazy in your head?” written all over their faces. They all as in one declared that we can’t go to Kohonawala by car. “We’re not planning to go right up to the village in the car” I tried to pacify them, “only up to Urumeethenna” I further added.

They still looked aghast. “You can’t even go that far coz the road is terrible” they insisted. “Ok, we’ll do our best and go as far as possible” Sheham chimed in. We went downhill and the road was terrible but not terrible enough to turn us around. If it was anyone other than Sheham, he would have had a stroke then and there. After a bit the road was concrete paved and we began to relax but it lasted mere seconds than minutes as it was only a short length.

This is always the case in rural areas where they concrete very short lengths of the whole road but put up the politicians’ faces on boards claiming the credit. Those boards alone must be costing quite a lot of money and they could have put it to repair the road more. Typical stinking Sri Lankan politics at work. About a km down there was a Canter lorry parked and filling a huge water tank from a nearby source. The driver like all the others warned that we can’t go any further than a few hundred meters. He then asked if we knew the road. “We don’t and never been here before either” was all we could add. But Sheham and Atha pushed on and we were most of the time walking besides the car to reduce as much weight as possible and filling the mighty holes with rocks so that the car can go.

We met a kid who said the monk was waiting and we continued our agony. People were looking at us a group of clowns had come for the annual festival. I bet they’d never seen a car on that road. Finally after so much of maneuvering around we were at the Urumeethenna. Dhammananda thero was there with a few people to greet us and we were allowed to park in the shop. The shop owners served us with tea and allowed us to have breakfast before walking another 5km to the temple. While we were finishing the meal, there were 3 guys from Kohonawala, one of them a 10-year old kid named R. M. Samantha (remember they all have the same surname), to help us carry the stuff.

We had about 30+ books and some coconuts (very scarce in Kohonawala) along with some rations for the temple. Suddha and Asela took the stuff on to their shoulders while little Samantha carried the banana bag refusing all the way to have one. The walk was a sheer climb downhill and we were in no time soaked with sweat. The monk kept telling us about the village revealing plenty of secrets. Viyan Gala, the monumental rocky mountain was towering to the North East very much similar to the Lakegala in Meemure but not so majestic. The yet-to-be-built Kohonawala temple is technically located at the base of the Viyan Gala and the monk has plans to build a Stupa on the top as many people are trying to blast it in the hope of digging some treasures.

The reason the rock got its name Viyan Gala is the kings used to place those special huts on top. Destroying the mother nature and very important archeological sites for hunting treasures is the biggest epidemic in our country nowadays. We arrived at a Bo tree named Anpitiya Bo tree due to the famous religious ceremony of “An Adeema” done to pay homage for Lord Paththini. According to the monk and villagers, nobody is allowed to drink and drive through here. The vehicle will stop and won’t start until the driver is sober again. Passing that the road runs through sugar cane fields and the treacherous hike towards Madolsima was clearly visible. We could see the mango tree under which lies one of the mostly used Ambalama in the modern era.

For a typical villager, it takes about 2hrs to hike the 9km distance (bear in mind it’s 4.5-5km according to Ashan) with an elevation gain of about 600m. However the downhill journey takes only about an hour, half the time. Madolsima is the key town for these people, especially for kids who are studying above grade 5. They have to do this 5 days a week. Just imagine walking 18+km climbing up to 2000ft every day. My legs shudder just thinking about it. We finally got down to the base of the valley where Loggal Oya flows. She was very calm and not so deep owing to less rain this time. We saw signs of sand digging but they had put up a notice giving the permit holder’s name and number. Whether they stick to the rules, only the people know.

This is where they ask for a bridge to be built. The river is about 30ft wide but when in full flow will easily double that. If the authorities can build a bridge at least wide enough for a tuk tuk, it’ll be a turning point. Having crossed the river, we started ascending and reached the first house and stopped for some water. The house bore the typically designed front area with short mud walls around and mats laid out on top for people to sit. All the houses have got a solar panel each giving them a taste of what electricity really is. I’m not sure if they know how to maintain the panel and the battery. One of the donors had given a generator to the temple housed in the community hall temporarily. Most of the media and other visitors misunderstand when the monk ask for roofing sheets, cement and metal to build a temple as they think the community hall is the temple. Well, let me tell you it’s not and the officials have asked the monk to evacuate ASAP.

He can’t start a Sunday school or do Poya rituals as there are meetings held in the hall. So it’s a dire need and if he can get the temple finished, at least partially by Vesak, it’d be a great thing. This is a good opportunity for people celebrating Vesak in Colombo very lavishly to do something more worthwhile. All the people and organizations who are screaming for the well-being of Buddhism can start by helping these extremely remote temples. People in places like these really need a place to worship their religion and when they don’t get it it’s so much easy for those extremist groups to get in and manipulate them. There’s no point shouting religious conversions if they really do something for these people in the first place without waiting for those rogue cults to take advantage of their ignorance and helplessness. We were so impressed by the will power of Dhammananda thero as he was well off in his village temple at Horana but decided to defy the obstacles and go help those who in need.

Numerous times we asked Samantha to have a banana from the sack but he adamantly refused. The monk explained saying that people don’t eat outside their houses as there’s a female devil (Yakinni) that come to haunt them if they did. Not trusting their beliefs, the monk had gone out and had a pack of rice on a rock when he heard this blood curling howl of a woman. He said the pitch of the voice is so strong it can numb you can send you nuts. So he asked us no to eat anything till we got to the temple. Also we were asked not to drink water from the Oya as tendency is so great for us to get sick. There is another devil called Great Grandpa (Muththa). What he does is excrete on the floors of the houses. When there is human excretion on the floor, they say the Muththa has come. However ever since the temple started and they started playing Pirith over the loudspeakers, these ghost problems had reduced considerably.

We met a very old person who was introduced to us as the Secretary of Defense of Dhammananda thero as he stays in the temple protecting him. Coincidentally, he is the father of Suddha. Having sweat it out like never before we finally reached the community hall cum temple around 11am. Gosh what relief to be able to put down our baggage and rest our feet and backs properly. Asela immediately put a pot on the hearth boiling water for us to have a cuppa tea. The monk had arranged for a nearby house to boil some freshly dug 100% organic manioc with a unique Lunu Miris. The elderly man brought them immediately and set about serving us. You drink plain tea with sugar before meals and after a while have the meal, usually yams, and drink plain tea again without any sugar. It tastes grand, I can tell you folks.

The special Lunu Miris is made of 12 different varieties of chilies (Miris and Kochchi). You gotta see it with your own eyes guys. The dark mud green very thick broth like Lunu Miris is the hottest thing I’ve had to date and might well be for my whole life. It tastes so delicious and manioc disappeared in seconds. Unlike normal chilly flavor your tongue doesn’t get hot by this but the inner walls of your mouth. You just need a pinch of that to demolish a plate of any kind of yam. We devoured on the meal and the sugar-free plain tea which followed afterwards was heavenly. After the hearty meal my legs complained of lack of exercises. Now would you believe that? I’d been walking well over 6km laden with the baggage but the legs saying not enough. What crazy legs I’ve got.

There was this Mama who talked very passionately about Kohonawala, especially the hardships they have to undergo. He willingly offered to take us on a village tour and we jumped in. There were a lot of kids hanging around the temple coz the monk is so kind. He has started farming and boasts all kinds of green leaves, vegetables, yams and fruits. To be honest, he’s self-sufficient save for rice and coconuts. The villagers bring him the alms for both morning and lunch but he doesn’t need to depend on them. What he says is that there might be a time the villagers not able to provide him with food, so he should be able to find his own. He’s been to a Aranya Senasana (temple in the jungle) and claims that the Buddhist monks are taught everything from cooking to construction to sewing. That is taught so that they can survive with minimal facilities and improvise on what little is available. For us, he’s done just that, living on the bare minimum and improving what is available.

We went to the half-finished image house and foundation laid temple waiting for someone to do the needful. Samantha’s brother R. M. Vajira joined us too. The small shop that is the only one in the village belongs to Samantha’s and his father had given the land for the temple. He’s also a very capable native doctor. We went to see him but wasn’t at home so went further downhill. We came to another well-built house with a beautifully designed garden and went to say hello. This is where high ranking officials or females stay should they have to spend the night in the village. The aunty had just come from Kahataruppa fair and we saw her mute daughter. There are two mute people and a disabled kid for the whole village and Sheham said it could be due to marriages from the same family. However monk disagreed saying there were only 3 people like that and all the others are in very good health conditions. Nevertheless we noticed the identical facial features of the people. They all look more or less the same.

We didn’t see any youths, say age between 20-30 and when asked our guide Mama said they had all gone out of the village and not likely to return. Mama asked if we wanted to visit the disable 9-year old boy and we went to see him. What a tragedy it is. He’s been lying on his back ever since he was born and suffering from born deformation. The mother and sister were there and according to Mama, she has to stay 24/7 by him to attend to his needs. If anyone can donate a slanting wheel chair, that would be a great thing. However we heard that the government is giving the family Rs. 3000/- a month and even built a small house. His father had been admitted to Badulla hospital with fever making life even more difficult for them. That boy can’t speak, he keeps making a noise that none can figure out. Doctors have written him off claiming that can’t be cured. We gave some money for them and left towards a world’s end like place.

We had to walk along a rocky surface and when raining it’d be impossible. The whole area would turn into a giant waterfall during rains. At the end of was a sheer drop of about 400-500 feet. Mama said Suddha’s brother had fallen off while chasing a chameleon and died long ago. The place looked very dangerous and we did short video clips Mama telling us about the village and its history.

Video 1

Video 2

Then on the return journey we spotted a crystal clear rocky pool and Tony and I wanted to go for a dip. Samantha and Vajira looked excitedly while we jumped in and splashed like kids. Sheham and Atha couldn’t resist further and they jumped in too. The crystal clear cool water washed away our fatigue in seconds. Funnily the tiny fish residing in the pool started feeding on our skin softly gnawing at our feet. Tony was struggling as for him it was very tickling. He kept shouting amid laughter from all of us, even from kids. You can see the fish therapy video below.

Video of Fish Therapy

After a mind and soul lifting bath, we got back to the temple to see the monk cutting pumpkin leaves (Wattakka Dalu) for the dinner. There was a Kesel Muwa and it too was plucked while the first ever harvest of Thibbatu from his farm was readied with others. He sent Suddha to buy some Kerosene for the generator claiming he can’t keep us in the dark amid our heavy protests. It was so good to see how closely he associated with the villagers as they kept coming to see him after the day’s choirs. We saw one person carrying a 8-foot roofing sheet on his back from the river, about 2km all on his own. That’s their commitment for the temple.

The dinner was coming nicely. Sliced Kesel Muwa mixed with Thibbatu and tempered dried fish made my mouth water. Pumpkin leave mallung added those punchy flavors. To cool everything down was a sweet smelling Kiri Hodi. The rice was red and organic. We didn’t see any sign of chemicals. It tasted super tendering every morsel of food nursing our tasty buds. That was one the best meals I’d ever had. We saw the people coming down to the village from thousands of feet above from Madolsima. We tested our long range torches around the mountains and were ready to hit the sack by 9. It was a rollercoaster day and we had plans to climb up to the Ambalama on the following morning. The sleep came ever so slowly from the toes through the veins right up to the head and we were dead to the whole world. Not even Yakinni or Ghost of Muththa could wake us up from our reverie.

The sun peering above

Patches of mist covering the view

A couple on the hunt

Looking out for some food

Going was pretty fast

Just reached Urumeethenna

Above the trees is Viyangala

Look at those colors

Asela to the extreme left and Suddha with the sack on his shoulders. Dhammananda Thero and next to him is little Samantha with the rest of my team

Suddha leading the way and you can see Pinky the dog in front

One of the things that I can’t leave alone

The mountains above Kohonawala

The downhill journey was tiring than we thought

Taking some paddy to the mill at Urumeethenna. Just imagine their plight

Anpitiya Bodhiya

Finally at Loggal Oya, see the sand digging point as well.

The team taking a break before crossing the river

Just think how it would be when the river is in full flow

Nice and calm for the moment

Asela carrying the sack now

Famous Madu with a flower

Breathtaking view of Viyangala, the proposed Kohonawala temple lies of the base of her

Not ripe yet.

Taking a much needed break. You can see the concrete patches and the wide road, they just need this done with a bridge across the river

Beyond Kahataruppa

The first house we stopped for a glass of water.

Now very close to the temple.

The defense secretary of Dhammananda Thero and Suddha’s father. He goes all the way to Madolsima just to buy a leaf of Tobacco

Community hall cum temple. We’re finally here

Asela getting ready to boil some water

From left: Samantha, his bro Vajira and Shanika. All with R.M. as their family name

Very thirsty

Improvisation

The list of houses for alms for the whole month. Note the names of their houses (Click image to enlarge)

Super macro with stunning colors

Another beauty

Manioc with that unique Lunu Miris at the side

He’s showing us the path to Madolsima

Unfinished Image house cum Library

The Bo tree

The temple at the base of Viyangala. Urgently need roofing sheets, metal and cement

Vajira and Janthu the dog

Majestic Viyangala

We saw hundreds of mangoes under most of the trees being rotten as they have no means to take them either to Kahataruppa or Madolsima for selling. What a waste?

This is where the high ranking officials are staying if they have to stay overnight

The lady of the house with me and the kids Samantha and Vajira, our guide Mama is behind

The family

This house has only one old uncle and the rest of the household is not there. The boys have left the village

Going downhill

This well is giving water right throughout regardless of the weather

Just sitting next to the well

Akkapana flowers

Being dried to make Kithul Piti

Here’s the kid I referred to. Doesn’t even a have a mattress. A wheel chair would be very welcome

Helmalu System

Going nice and strong

Water falling like steps

Not a lot of water

It’d turn out to be a giant waterfall when it’s raining

The Kohonawala World’s End, where one boy fell to his death

The team

Crystal clear pond before we jumped in

Tony’s being tickled by the fish

Wisps of clouds kissing the summit of Viyangala

Ordered to perfection

Janthu who can’t stay away from the monk

Lakmali

Freshly plucked Wattakka Dalu

Cut to tiny pieces

Just like a painting, ain’t it?

Special kind of tomatoes

Everything you need

One of the many varieties

Fresh Thibbatu being cooked with dried fish

A squirrel feeding on the juicy flowers

What are they talking about?

Kesel Muwa added

I can’t wait any more

Wish I can bring the smell with the pic as well

Perfect ending for a perfect day.

Day 2

As usual we beat the 5am alarm and were up and aimed our torches out hoping to get a glimpse of the misty mountain tops. The previous day the monk predicted that we might not get up till about 10am and would feel the tiredness. Little did he know we were hard core types, may not be as tough as the villagers but we could take a beating. Having folded the mats and sheets, we washed our faces while the morning came fast. Just so you know, the story about the sun rises at 9am and sets around 3-4pm is not correct. What really happens is the sun rays hit the village about 9am and leaves around 3-4pm. Most think it’s dark till late morning and then gets dark late afternoon but it’s not true. This happens as the whole village is located in a deep ravine completely surrounded by over 1000ft high mountains. So they block the sun rays reaching the village itself till about 9am and 3-4pm. Because of this there’s a gloominess hovering around the village. But it is not like many speculate. That was the main reason I wanted to spend overnight.

Samantha who was supposed to guide us up the hill early morning was fast asleep even at 6.30am and Suddha was mumbling in his sleep. So we decided to make it on our own and left at 6.35am. It’s not rocket science as the path was pretty much clear and we started ascending, we met few others heading uphill overtaking us with no problem. Previous evening Suddha claimed he takes about 45mins to reach the Ambalama so we figured it would take us about 2hrs. Walking continuously uphill took its toll on our knees and joints but we weren’t gonna give up that easy. Taking frequent breaks and drinking water we reached the place called Galpoththa in about an hour and I decided to call the temple and woke them up. We could clearly see the temple and when called the monk was surprised to see us getting there that quick. He said manioc curry was in order and to take care.

Then we heard the good news of Sri Lanka winning the Asia cup finally breaking their habit of making it to the final and losing it. I was sick of our team always being the bridesmaid. We all cheered for our boys about 850m above with a magnificent view of the mountains. We could clearly see the path we took from Urumeethenna and the Kahataruppa mountains. There was another temple about 9km away from the Kohonawala temple on top of a rock and accessible easily by road from Kahataruppa. We came across a serpent that was looking for a breakfast. Sheham, who had studied extensively about them, recognized it to be not poisonous. Viyan Gala rose majestically and morning sun rays lighted the tip of it beautifully. Sun was rising directly from Madolsima end. We finally reached the Ambalama by 8am, just under 1.5hrs. Our spirits rose 10ft at our achievement and we took a long break savoring this unprecedented beauty all around.

It was also very heart breaking to see what the villagers have written on the roof and walls claiming nobody cares about them or their well-being. Gosh, why can’t those politicians who go begging for their votes can’t do something for them. Just give them the road and the bridge across Loggal Oya, that’s all they ask for. Other things will follow automatically. Ironically, these people have to climb this 9km stretch to go and cast their votes too. Why on earth should they bother, I kept wondering. Previous evening we saw hundreds and thousands of mangoes that had fallen under the trees without being used. According to our guide Mama, they don’t have the means to take them either to Kahataruppa or Madolsima to sell as there is no proper road or a bridge. What a waste? We’re spending millions importing chemicals induced Apples, Oranges and Grapes while our own organic Mangoes rot under the trees in thousands. If those villagers can sell a mango for just 1 rupee, they could make a lot money and we’d get to buy those for a reasonable price.

Having taken a long break we decided to push a bit further towards the patch of turpentine trees. All in all, we hiked for 2km and climbed to a height of over 1000m from around 600m mark from the village. Madolsima was another 7km away with at least another 300-400m elevation. But we had no time to do the full stretch. In the meantime I decided to shoot a short video of the old musketeers going down.

Video of Old Musketeers

We retraced our steps back to the Ambalama where I shot another short documentary while Sheham and Atha went ahead of us.

Documentary from Kohonawala Ambalama

We witnessed the sun rays hitting the village around 9am from Ambalama. Climbing down wasn’t that easy due to the steepness of the path yet we made good time. On the way downhill we met more people going to Madolsima. We came across some pineapple plants with pineapples. Most of them were still green but one of them had that deep red which I adore. Unfortunately none of them was yet edible and we were ravenous after the laborious task. We reached the temple by 10am sharp, taking 3.5hrs to finish the whole journey. The manioc curry was in the works with a deep yellow and a hunger inviting smell. The monk was cutting a special kind of leaves called, if I’m not mistaken, Thamberiya that you don’t get in many other places. We were looking forward to this feast while Asela served us tea.

There was a meeting taking place at the community hall and we thought it would be best if we left before that. After the Buddha Poojah and monk had his lunch, we were invited for yet another sumptuous meal of Rice, Manioc Curry, Thibbatu Salad and Thamberiya Mallung. Wow, what a meal it was. There were a lot of people who had come to visit the monk and they were delighted to see us. They were very curious about our state of the art torches and cameras and kept patting them at every opportunity.

Finally it was time to bid farewell for this wonderful village and its people, especially the kindly monk who is trying really hard to make this a better place for the next generation. We didn’t forget to make a small donation to the construction of the temple. I know what’s going on many people’s minds now. Coz the same thing was in my mind before coming to this place and see it with my own eyes. Thanks to the things happening in the world nowadays we live in, we tend to look at things and people suspiciously. It’s natural you know coz this world is full of crooks, liars, cheaters, etc. We’ve been deceived and taken for granted countless times and now we just don’t trust anyone or anything. However we felt this monk is different and for real. He said so far he had received donations worth around 275,000/- both money and equipment. He’s keeping records should anyone wanna see. He’s the unofficial records keeper of the village as he has details of all the villagers. He’s even helped most of them to obtain NICs.

But from what we’ve seen I can tell you that they don’t need subsidies such as Samurdhi. All they need are a bridge, properly paved road and a temple with a Sunday school and a library. The monk had sent the 4 small monks for further studies at a Pirivena in Kalubowila coz they will be the future leaders for the village. I’ve given the bank account number of the temple should you wanna contribute. However if you are not comfortable giving money, you could always donate materials such as cement, 8-feet roofing sheets and metal. Further books for the library will be very welcome, they don’t have to be brand new, if you have books on you that are no more in use, please give them away to a place like this without offering them to the termites.

We walked back to the river while Samantha tagging along with us all the way coz he felt sad about our leaving. He kept asking when we’d be back. By the way Sheham has plans to help with solar lighting to the temple if possible. We recrossed the Loggal Oya having folded our shorts shorter. Samantha bid farewell to us and ran back to the lost world. Walking the rest of the journey to Urumeethenna left us gasping for air all the way. About half way through, there was a rustling on the side of the road. When inspected closely it turned out to be one the most poisonous snakes in the world, Russell’s Viper. It was so big about 3ft in length and as thick as an arm. We practically ran at the sight of it. Eventually we made in one piece to Urumeethenna and our faithful Toyota was waiting for us. Viyan Gala looked forlornly at our departure just like Lady Lakegala. Just thinking of her make me wanna see her again, soon. Who knows if she wants to see me too it’d happen sooner rather than later.

Old Folks Crossing the Loggal Oya

Well guys, there ends yet another fairy tale of mine and I guess this turned out longer than I first thought. I do hope I could do justice to the report and add that extra bit of flavor to Ashan’s first ever report. I’m glad I could bring their pressing issues to the awareness of the rest of the world. If they get those dreams fulfilled just like Meemure folks (Thanks to Ana and Wije) did, it would be a great relief for me too.

Thanks for reading and this is Sri signing off for now. Take care!

6.35am and they’re bringing the morning alms for the monk

Mother and son watching us go

She simply vanished

Joining the two mountains

Going uphill took its toll on the oldies

Reminds me of beloved Meemure

Towards Kahataruppa

Giant mango tree

Heen Bovitiya, very useful medicine in native treatments

The up we go, the clearer the view became

Building a new home

This 500m is very steep at places nearly 70-degrees

Morning creativity

“Come on Tony”

I can’t take my eyes off

Madu, we missed having a curry out of these

Can you see the zig-zag shape path? It’s used by the people coming from the upper tea estates. Just can’t describe how steep it is

No obstacles now

No wind

Looking for some sunlight

Hurrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!!!!!

Over the Ambalama

The two houses close to each other are Samantha’s and the one partially hidden is the community hall cum temple

Here’s the temple about 9km away from Kohonawala on top of a rock. Must be having a grand view

Inside the Ambalama

One of the best snaps

Decided to go a bit more

Where we came down from Urumeethenna

Clouds making patterns all around

We entered the turpentine patch

Mountains kept us company all the way

Wow

Well let’s turn around was the unanimous decision

Rising to the sky

With the aid of sticks

Huge fella

“Anybody home?”

For them it’s just another short journey

Tony and the Calf

Look at the pattern

Irresistible

Wish it was ripe enough

They were accompanying her barking at us

Every house has a solar panel

Macro

One of the tastiest manioc curries ever

Thamberiya Mallung

It’s all ready

The top of incomplete image house is seen on our way back

Looks can be pretty deceptive

Who would’ve thought that we climbed nearly to the top of what’s behind us?

“Ayyo, not anymore” Tony kept crying

Not very far now

Please enjoy the Panos too:

Pano 1

Pano 2

Pano 3

Pano 4

Pano 5

Pano 6

Pano 7

Pano of the frustration of the villagers

More signs of frustration

Viyangala to the right

Matale-Illukkumbura-Pallegama road (B 274) gives access to number of waterfalls and tourist destinations like Riverstone, Pitawala Pathana etc. During this three days journey we covered following waterfalls.

Waterfalls visited during this trip (Order from Matale)

1. Bambarakiri Ella (බඹරකිරි ඇල්ල)
2. Pitawala Pathana Ella-1(පිටවල පතන ඇල්ල-1)
3. Pitawala Pathana Ella-2 (පිටවල පතන ඇල්ල-2)
4. Raththinda cascade (රත්තින්ද ඇල්ල)
5. Wadda Pani Ella (වැද්දා පැනි ඇල්ල)
6. Wambatuhena Ella (වම්බටුහේන ඇල්ල)
7. Bambarungahana Ella (බඹරුන් ගහන ඇල්ල)
8. Sera Ella (සේර ඇල්ල)

Road guide (Waterfalls in bold letters)

Road guide (Waterfalls in bold letters)

Bambarakiri Ella (3m)

This couple of waterfall can be found at Bambarakiri turn of Matale-Illukkumbura road. It is fairly popular place. It has two waterfalls as Maha-Bambarakiri Ella (මහ බඹරකිරි ඇල්ල) 7°29’43.02″N, 80°41’57.01″E and Punchi Bambarakiri Ella 7°29’41.05″N, 80°41’56.76″E (පුoචි බඹරකිරි ඇල්ල).

.

Bambarakiri Turn

Maha Bambarakiri Ella

Maha Bambarakiri Ella –Few years ago it had a deep pool. This claimed for so many lives. Following landslides it became shallow

Maha Bambarakiri Ella

Suspension bridge-Have to cross this and take right turn to Punchi Bambarakiri Ella. This bridge to connect Welannwaththa (වෙලන්වත්ත) village

Punchi Bambarakiri Ella

Looked up

Wambatuhena Ella  (7°33’13.46″N, 80°46’4.34″E)

This 10m tall waterfall is situated in left hand side of the road towards

Puwakpitiya from Puwakpitiya junction. The water stream comes from Pathana village (පතන ගම) and later joins with Thelgamu Oya.

Direction at Puwakpitiya junction- White arrow from Matale side, Red arrow to Illukkumbura and Black arrow is to Puwakpitiya. We were stranded there without having a three wheeler

Wambatuhena Ella

Wambatuhena Ella-Different colors

Closer view of Wambatuhena Ella

Bambarungahana Ella (3m) 7°34’40.19″N, 80°44’4.73″E

This beautiful waterfall is situated at Puwakpitiya village. Getting closer to the waterfall is bit challengeable task. You have to get the foot pathway on left hand side of Puwakpitiya temple. Then walk about 1km to reach the waterfall. The origin is Dunumadala Oya (දුනුමඩලා ඔය).

(Villagers of Illukkumbura don’t know about such a waterfall. Always ask from Puwakpitiya village)

Note the direction of the foot pathway closer to the temple

Pitawala Pathana Ella-1 is seen to Puwakpitiya temple

Pitawala pathana

Have to cross the stream

Bit challengeable

Dunumadala Oya. Red star shows the place of the waterfall. It is better go on left hand side of the stream (red arrow)

The beauty

Bambarungahana Ella

Closer view. It is an energetic waterfall

Sera Ella 7°35’17.95″N, 80°45’18.57″E

She is the queen out of these beauties. Sera Ella is situated at Poththatawela (පොත්තටවෙල) village. The origin is Puwakpitiya Oya. It is one of a widest waterfall in Knuckles range (about 35m width). Two waterfalls can be seen here. Sera Ella has an additional feature of a cave which is situated behind the waterfall. A Bird species called “Seru” were here to give the name – Sera Ella.

You can drive up to the foot pathway towards Sera Ella. There is a nice foot pathway to the waterfall. It branches to the base of the waterfall and to the cave of the waterfall.

This is the junction where road divides to Puwakpitiya (black arrow) and Poththatawela (red arrow). Have to drive about 2km to reach the waterfall

Scenic

Road to Poththatawela

Nicely made steps to the waterfall

Getting down

Getting down

Lateral view

Sera Ella

View from the cave. Fantastic experience

Front view

Front view

Naturally made frog face

Walking from Poththatawela to Kambarawa.

This was a reward for us. After visiting Sera Ella we didn’t have a time to catch the bus from Hettipola to Matale at Illukkumbura. The next available option to get a bus is to walk from Sera Ella to Kambarawa.

The total distance was about 5kms and it took 2 hours to reach Kambarawa. There was a mortable road from Kambarawa to Poththatawela a decade ago. But it has been forested and now only a foot pathway can be seen. This was an unexpected beauty. It was nice to walk along this foot pathway which was bordered by the forest.

Road from Sera Ella to Poththatawela village. Well functioning

Road gets narrow after Poththatawela village

“පැල”

Scenic

Nice to walk here

Old “Sapaththu Palama” සපත්තු පාලම

Water streams crossing the road

Flow

Again road gets wider as we are closer to Kambarawa

Reaching to the Village. Border of Mahaweli development area

Kambarawa Village

Greenish

Pitawala Pathana Ella-1 (Approxiamte-7°33’10.46″N, 80°44’26.73″E)

This 75m tall waterfall is situated at Pathana village. Origin is Pathana Dola (පතන දොල). After making Pitawala Pathana Ella-1 and Pitawala Pathana Ella-2 (Unnamed waterfall, we have named as Pitawala Pathana Ella-2) it joins with Puwakpitiya Ganga.

You can observe the full cascade of this waterfall flowing down from Pitawala Pathana at Puwakpitiya village.

Reaching to Pitawala Pathana Ella-1 is not an easy task. First you have to go to the abounded village called “Pathana Gama” පතන ගම and then take the help of the guide called “Ekanayaka Mama.” (Most of the villagers in Pitawala and Illukkumbura are not aware of this waterfall and haven’t visited there.)

Pathana Village and Redbana Company (Narrated by Ekanayaka Mama)

The story of Pathana Village is interesting. This village was established by Redbana Company in 1960-1970 for cultivation of cardamom. Initially it had about 150 families and functioned as a village with a school and a temple. After 10years this cardamom cultivation project was given up by the company. Then villagers moved to their initial residences and village was invaded by the forest. At the moment only two villagers live at this abounded village. Ekanayaka Mama is one of them.

You have to walk about 3km from Red Bana junction of Matale-Pallegama road (after 33km post) to Ekanayaka Mama’s house. Then another 1hour walk to Pitawala Pathana Ella-1. There is no proper foot pathway to the waterfall and leeches are often come across.

Red Bana junction will come across after 33km post of the road. Arrow shows the direction to Pitawala village

Initially it seems as a mortable road

Nice to walk here

Wow

Road divides into two: left one is the correct one

View of Pitawala Pathana Mini World’s end

Note-People at Mini world’s end

Jumping over the Fence of Ekanayaka Mama

Small house and tree hut

Karagahathanna (කරගහතැන්න) (Left) and Riverstone (right)

Ekanayaka Mama -He showed the ruins of houses of the village.

“Wallapatta වල්ලාපට්ටHunters” were there

First view of the waterfall

Climbing up

Pitawala Pathana Ella-1

Lateral view

Another view

After successful journey

Then Ekanayaka Mama accompanied us for another beautiful waterfall made by the same water stream down to Pitawala Pathana Ella-1. This waterfall is bit taller than the previous one and more beautiful than it. I would like to name it as Pitawala Pathana Ella-2 as it is unnamed. Pitawala Pathana Ella-2 is much popular among Puwakpitiya villagers than Pitawala Pathana Ella-1.

Pitawala Pathana Ella-2 (Approxiamte-7°33’15.26″N, 80°44’27.63″E)

Pitawala Pathana Ella-2

Pitawala Pathana Ella -2. Closer view

Pitawala Pathana Ella-2

Summary of the route. Black arrow shows our approach to Ekanayaka Mama’s house. Red arrow shows the direction towards two waterfalls. Picture was taken from Mini World’s End-Pitawala Pathana. You can’t see waterfalls from here

Zoomed view

Raththinda Ella (7°31’24.00″N, 80°44’59.98″E)

This waterfall is situated at Pitawala village. It is a cascade of three parts and clearly visible to surrounding areas like Pitawala Pathana, Maningala. There is a foot pathway towards the middle part of the cascade from Pitawala village. (About 1km journey). Once you come to the middle part you can go to upper and lower parts of the cascades. There is a nice foot pathway which goes along a private land to connect with other side of the waterfall. We followed the first one to reach the waterfall and other one to come down.

Sun rise over Maningala and Thunhisgala (තුන්හිස්ගල) is far away

Riverstone

View of Raththinda Ella from Pitawala village

Land mark we came across on our way to the waterfall

Another land mark is this water tank. Drinking water project of Pitawala village

Middle part of the cascade

You have to cross the middle part and follow the foot pathway on left hand side to reach the upper part. This is upper part

Top of Raththinda waterfall

Beautiful landscapes

Paddy fields of Atanwala village

Follow the foot pathway down to reach the lower part of the cascade. This is the lower part

Side view of lower part

Surrounding view

Another snap

Towards Atanwala village

Good morning

.	A hotel is under construction closer to Rathninda waterfall. Above landscapes were taken at it’s garden

Wedda Pani Ella (7°31’2.08″N, 80°45’21.27″E)

This waterfall is made by Thelgamu Oya when it flows under the bridge connecting Raththinda and Atanwala villages. It is about 6m height waterfall. To get a clear view of the waterfall, you have to get down to Thelgamu Oya. There is another small but beautiful waterfall about 50m down to Wedda Pani Ella.

Due to the death of a Wadda by falling down from this waterfall is the reason for this name.

Thelgamu Oya flows under the bridge. Just before to make the waterfall

Wadda Pani Ella and it’s base pool

Wadda Pani Ella

Complete view of Wedda Pani Ella

Small cascade found down to Wadda Pani Ella. Photo credit goes to Ashan

Thanks for reading

This was an adventure I always wanted to do, from the moment I saw the documentary in youtube back in 2012. However, due to the lack of experience in outdoor activities, I had to drop the idea.

Then in February, I got to know that Thinuwan had been there. I suddenly got an adrenaline rush and determined to explore the underground lake. By this time, I’ve already done several hikes, and was confident about my fitness level.

So I called my friend, who is also a travel junkie, and assessed our capabilities. Then, carefully picked two others for the journey. The planning went on for about two weeks. Crew members were dropped, picked, again and again. And ended up with 3 of us who were initially there + 4 new members (whom were strangers at that time)

Myself, Sachintha, Kasun, Dulmini and Somang left Pettah around 11pm in Colombo-Badulla bus (Superline Travels – 0777382186) and arrived Bandrawela around 4am.

4.30am at Bandarawela. Arrived ahead of the anticipated time and guess what? We’ve found the perfect place to rest

To our confusion, people were telling different times of bus departure to Wellawaya. Hint- Stay at Bandarawela town. Buses will leave around 5.15-5.30am. We were resting on the roadside on a different path and managed to catch the bus at the last minute.

You have to pass Ella and go on several Kms to get to Karandagolla. We were asked to get down at “10th mile post” by Meththa. This is roughly around 23km RDA sign. Tell the conductor to drop you where the school bus stops at 10th mile post as it’s a popular landmark. Just before the stop, there’s a modern looking lodge on the left side, made primarily with glass. On the opposite side of the bus stop, there’s another lodge. Meththa’s house is few meters ahead. We weren’t keeping a track of the time, but I guess it took more than an hour to reach Karandagolla.

Veronique and Jolien were staying at Ella after a tour around the country on a scooter, and joined us within 15 mins.

To our dismay, Meththa seemed to delay the start. It is already 9am when we left Meththa’s place towards the cave in tuk-tuks.

Sanity prevailed! Meththa was not in our tuk-tuks, and he got down with another bunch! Some of us were outraged, as we clearly told him at the point of reserving few weeks ago, not to bring any other party. We had no option but to live with it.

Hiking towards the cave and finding our way through the Mana bushes

Hiking towards the cave and finding our way through the Mana bushes

So here we are! The entrance is rather small and deceiving. Meththa was advising us to watch the steps as there was a snake who used to live close to the entrance. After few meters, we faced the 1st descend. The guides were requesting us to remove shoes, and I was reluctant as I bought them especially for this journey. Some of us decided to keep on wearing.

The entrance…….

Sachintha performing a treacherous descend

After completing the 1st hurdle, it was time for some action with the rope. A point to note here is that, the ground gets slippery and it is recommended to go on barefoot. We had to leave most of the backpacks and pick only energy drink/water/cameras that could fit into two small backpacks.

The descend took more time due to the high number of people involved. The 2nd group was behind us. They were anxious and tried to rush though, which resulted a stone assault on us

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The path towards Nil Diya Pokuna is a mixture of narrow tunnels and open spaces. The terrain just before the Pond is slippery and sandy. Best method to descend is to slide down slowly (Meththa would say otherwise )

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Now we could hear the water stream and all were on toes! But it never really strike us as to how a sound could generate from stagnant water.

Bliss!

Sachintha on the other side of the lake

The pond is actually big, and would like to call it a “lake” instead. Water is crystal clear and you could actually see the bottom. With proper lighting, you could even see the edge on the other side. We took a dip and enjoyed the shallow waters and suddenly, Sachintha and Dulmini said “enough is enough, we are going to swim to the other side”. These two never failed to amuse me and off they go!

Clarity of the water makes you think that the lake is shallow (probably the reason it ended up being called as a pond). But don’t get fooled. If you are not a good swimmer, please refrain from swimming. In fact, Sachintha tried to dive and touch the bottom of the lake and it was impossible. Villagers say that it’s about 80ft deep. There’s high possibility of having a tunnel underwater.

We’ve spent a good 20 mins there and decided to explore the “room”. The route is on the right side of the lake with a heavy ascend through a narrow tunnel. Soil gets slippery so please watch your step. Once you overcome that, you will come to a huge open space. All of us were thinking that this should be the “room” but it wasn’t. The second group decided to stay as they were already exhausted.

The hardest part is between the huge open space after Nil Diya Pokuna and the “room”. It is not recommended to attempt this even with climbing equipment. This is a fatality zone.

Most of the time, you are compelled to traverse on a narrow ledge, and sometimes you won’t find a place to keep your sole or a rock to cling. We were stuck at the same place for about 15-20mins, trying to figure out our next step. Jolien, having an injured rib (probably when squeezing through holes), decided to turn back towards the open space along with Veronique and Somang. Rest of us were determined to complete the journey and kept on going.

Right after, there is another fatal descend. Though it’s a few meters, a slip would be deadly as a deep abyss is right next to it. Sachintha somehow overcame, so was Kasun, with the help of Meththa. Dulmini was half way through and used Meththa’s back to keep foot.

Finally, it was my turn. I too managed half way through, where I got stuck as I could not find a way to move forward (The traverse and descend is about 85 degrees). Meththa offered his palm to keep my sole. When trying to keep the other sole, I lost my grip! :O Meththa too, got unbalanced with my weight, and both of us slipped/slide about two feet. All of this happened within a fracture of a second and our minds were completely blank. Meththa, being a seasoned campaigner, always gave the weight to the walls from his back, and probably is the reason why we didn’t slip further.

After squeezing through a narrow hole, we came to our destination The “room” is more or less another open space, except for one vertical beam like creation (which doesn’t look natural).

Pics from the “room”

Pics from the “room”

Pics from the “room”

Pics from the “room”

This area is full of bats and flies. The flies are attracted to light, so it will be useful to cover your nose and mouth (did I mention bat poop?). From here, you can further descend. But again, it is not recommended (we didn’t either).

After all what we went through, it was bizarre to think about going back using the same route. Now we are back again at the fatality zone. I was hugging a huge rock and trying to move across when Dulmini suddenly yelled “the rock is lose!”. For a second, I too felt it. But the rock was too big to come off in a second. But knowing that I do not have much time in hand, I quickly moved to another rock.

On our way back, it seemed like we took a different route in some areas. There was a place where we had to perform a military crawl, which we couldn’t remember when coming down.

The journey took us around 6-8 hours. Again, we failed to keep a track of the time.

We were all covered with mud. As soon as we got out, we went for a dip in one of the waterfalls close-by. It was refreshing

It started raining heavily, as soon as we got to Ella,. We finally left towards Haputale around 9.30pm after the farewell of Veronique and Jolien, whom would travel to Nuwara Eliya and Adam’s Peak on next few days to come.

It was surely a life changing experience, where I felt my potential.

The “A” Team

SPECIAL NOTE –

The expedition should not be done individually as it is definitely a life threatening activity where a single wrong move / slip will take a toll on your very own life, as well as the others involved. Should you wish to explore this cave, please make sure that you are accompanied by those who are experienced and knows their way in and out of the cave as well as with proper climbing gear only. (Using coir rope as a climbing aid is NOT recommended at all) – Quote from Thinuwan.

When we were (Ashan, Sanketha and Me) climbing Pettigala I pointed my finger to a far end and asked Ashan whether it’s Horton plains. He replied me with a smile “Hariya Nogiya Thenna “. Surprised???? Yes for more than 30 years of my life I had never been to Horton Plains. So I was desperately needed to do HP ASAP and was in a hunger to do many trails within a short period. Within 3 days we ( Me and my friend Thenuka ) were able to cover five paths/trails of Horton Plains

1. Kalupahana-HP jeep track
2. Worlds end Circular trial
3. Thotupola mountain trail
4. Kirigalpottha mountain trail
5. HP to Dayagama trail

As this was my first visit to Hp I wanted to do this in somewhat different (I mean special) manner. My basic plan was like this. In the first day, start from Bambarakanda falls and walk towards HP as much as possible (at least to pass Devil’s staircase) and camp in a suitable place. Then to reach HP early morning next day and do Circular trail and Thotupola trail then camp in campsite No 1 ( we booked earlier ) .After that do the Kirigalpottha last day and descend via Dayagama .

Everything was executed accordingly except camping inside the park (due to Bad weather)

This report concludes the first trail “Kalupahana HP jeep track” i.e. Scenic walk along the solitude jeep track

We left our home around 5.00 a.m. and took a Three-wheeler to Kaduwela. Then we Boarded to a Badulla Bus and got off at Galagama in order to buy some essential items. Then we picked another bus and got off at Kalupahana. After that we hired a three wheeler to V-cut. Surrounding view was splendid

View from Kalupahana

Starting Point of the jeep track (waypoint KH01)

Nice views

Paddy fields too

Bamarakanda falls – Low level of water (waypoint KH02)

Bambarakanda,Wangedigla,Balathuuwa & Gonmolikanda in the Single frame

Endless mountains

Roads were paved with these type of bricks and still men were working

Famous V- CUT(waypoint KH06)

From here onwards we started our original hiking around 11.30 a.m. Although there were short cuts through tea fields we stuck to the main path to enjoy scenery without getting hacked. Since there were only two in our gang we had to carry considerable amount of weight including the tent, Gas cooker ( Given by our Friend Prasanna ) food, water etc.

Stream We crossed

This is the stream which feeds Bambarakanda falls

There were short cuts but we chose the original track as we had ample time

After little while I showed my friend a foot path which leads to Bambarakanda falls. I was not interested to visit the top of Bambarakanda falls as I had done it once (from the bottom). But my friend was desperate in visiting same. So I obeyed to his request and did a detour to top of Bambarakanda falls after keeping our backpacks in a safe place

Descending through pine plots. He was happy

This place is somewhat below the top of Bambarakanda falls. But went there to get the thrilling experience. (Be careful though )

Water fall on the Top of B’Kanda Fall

Top of the Bambarakanda falls

Then we came back to the jeep track and walked along the heavenly path

Path to heaven

Oh……… This was a heaven

Lanka Ella seen far away

Flora

More views

Estate houses

Tea+ mountains

We had lunch here ( Biscuits+ cheese ) filled water bottles from nearby house ( from pipe lines )

Old buildings

Kingdom of mountains

More views

Then we came to a tricky place. One guy said that the left path is the way to Horton plains. We told him that we wanted to do Horton’s plains along the jeep track. But he didn’t realize our intentions and strongly said to follow the path left. But after walking in that path we realized path becoming narrow and it’s not a jeep track. May be there could be foot paths to Horton’s plains from that point. But our intention was to explore the jeep track. So we came back and chose the right path.

This was a tricky place. But As we had a GPS we went straight

Land mark in the path

Tiny waterfall

Another landmark

After this point we encountered a difficult descend

Isolated path

Udaweriya estate at far (As I guess)

Y junction Mentioned in Trail guide(way point KH08) picked the Right Path

The Devil’s Staircase

The Devil

Wow

You should go there and experience it………………

Bridge before the important junction

Land mark

flora

More	A place where we had shelter in a drizzle

Difficult for a driver but Scenic for a walker

Around 5.00 p.m. we reached the most important junction of the jeep track .According to the trail guide the road left will take you to HP ( 3 KM )which very difficult for a driver. We took the left path and proceeded in the isolated scenic road searching a suitable place to camp. As the trail was not broad and surrounded by tea fields finding a camping place was not easy. After nearly 1 km from the junction (near a small water tank) we found a suitable place for camping along a small foot path. Even that place had marginal ground space to pitch a tent. After pitching the tent we cooked noodles for dinner and settled in.

It was windy but we had already tied our tents well using stones. Although it was a tea estate there were no houses nearby and no one was traveling. We had a nice chat till night and went to sleep. Heavy winds hit the tent throughout the night also temperature was remarkably low but it was a rewarding experience to flee away from our usual hustle bustle life.

Trail division – Starting the Most difficult part of jeep track ( Go left ) waypoint KH 11

Going up……..No civilization ………..my favourite section of the trail

Dangerous bends

Our tent ….Nearly 30m away from the jeep track

Cooking was easy thanks to Prasanna’s Gas cooker

We woke up early in the morning and got ready for the final section of the journey around 6.50 a.m. Morning mist had invaded the path and it was a holly experience for us to walk along the path. Sometimes I felt whether these estate works are managed by ghosts as we didn’t see any human till we reached the park. Little by little we were reaching the border of the park. Only decision point was the T junction which was described in the Trail guide and we took the left path. By 7.45 a.m. we reached the Ohiya – Hp paved road

Bed Tea

Mountains covered with mist

Here we Go again

T junction ………..Took the left path (waypoint KH12)

Oh this was my favourite bend

Some white marks in order to ease the driving under misty conditions

Why not have a relaxing break……….It was rewarding

Seen this for the first time

FD land marks

End of the estate and beginning of the forest

Here we are at OHIYA-HP Road ( Not to mention to take the left road )

Remember the land mark (waypoint KH13)

Path was so beautiful and we were forced by nature to walk the next 1.5 km to the ticketing office. While enjoying the scenery we reached the ticketing office around 8.15 a.m.

So this was a historic achievement for me to be at Horton’s plains for the first time. I really enjoyed this journey as well as the four other trails described in next report. Hope you enjoyed the report and till I meet you in the next report Good Bye

Misty path continues

These were very common

Life on life

Near park entrance

Here how HARIYA Celebrates his First arrival to HP

Thanks for reading!

We started from Nivithigala around 9am in the morning. The crew was three and we used a micro sports double cab..

The drive to Delwala was quite effortless. To get to Delwala one has to turn from Kalawana road at Pabotuwa to Uda-Delwala road. From Delwala to Udadelwala road condition not too bad and can be managed by a car with some ground clearance.

After reaching Uda-delwala, there is a gravel road to right as one pass the temple of Uda-delwala. This road can only be managed by a 4wd vehicle or by a three wheeler. Otherwise one has to walk 1 km to reach the starting point of the hike. We were lucky as one boy volunteered to guide us. Otherwise we might have spent hours looking for the waterfall as some places path was not clear.

We reached the 1s waterfall after about 45mins climbed which was not very difficult. (We climbed wearing formal clothes).It had many sections and height was around 40meters or more…..

Glimpse of 1st fall in distance (sorry for poor quality-3mp camera phone..)

1st waterfall……

Upper part of the fall…

Can you see our guide and my friend reaching mid section of fall…

After reaching the 1st fall we started to climb. But the stretch from 1st fall to 2nd fall is strenuous. We had to use all four of our limbs in some instances. It took us 45 mins to reach the 2nd fall. On the way to 2nd fall we reached the top of 1st fall.

Top of 1st fall…….

2nd fall…..difficult to get closer…..

Closer look….

2nd waterfall with the base pool

We had a dip in 2nd waterfall, base pool…..

It was very disheartening to see the destruction brought by “walla patta” fiasco to this virgin rain forest adjoining Sinharaja.

We had to finish our journey of climbing from 2nd fall as time was not permitting. We hope to cover the remaining 5 falls on next time, probably with one night stay in the forest.

Hmmm! Thought of doing a report after a while and this is one report I couldn’t finish off last year! Im really happy my second home is not in an urbanized area like Colombo and there are plenty of places to hang around whenever I visit there. Chilaw area (Pitigal korale) is known to have 999 lakes which belong to god “Thaniwelle” and few of them are known for their bird life. I will be posting few snaps taken at those locations and if I haven’t mention the name of any bird that’s because I don’t know it or can’t recall the name.

One day both of us visited Anawilundawa a Ramsar wet land which is about 18Km’s from Chilaw towards Puttalam side. The walk along the bunds of Surawila and Anawilundawa lakes were simply awesome and relaxing. All together there are 6 lakes (Maiyawa, Surawila, Anawilundawa, Ihala wewa, Maradansole wewa & Pinkattiya wewa) which belongs to this wet land and the best thing is these are not completely isolated (paddyfields on one side) from civilization. What I usually do is start from Maiyawa junction and emerges at the Surawila lake bund to continue to Anawilundawa bund. Later I appear one junction away from Anawilundawa. This time I took the road which will take one towards the coastal line (from surawila bund) and reached a beautiful beach called Muthupanthiya (the name is given because locals believed that once there were plenty of oysters in that area). But one has to cross the ancient Hamilton canal with the aid of a “Paruwa” first which itself is a fun ride.

Map of Anawilundawa – click to enlarge

Map of Panirendawa – click to enlarge

Sun rise

dancing fish

Suruwila lake

the horizon

a heron

a spoonbil on the trunk

beautiful isnt it?

trees in the lake

a hedge in the lake

lovely path of surawila lake

trying to merge in

a paradise fly catcher

an eagle

a jacana

“Kirala”

they are at work

too busy i guess

a bul bul

unknown

entering Anawilundawa

anawilundawa lake

what a walk we had

a lonely tree out of many

some shade for the lake

mirror effect

yummy

joker

Glassy Tiger

plenty of them

pond heron

a bee eater

locals ostirtch

Lesser whistling ducks

an ibis

a parrot

Reflection

Purple coot

nesting

the canal we had to cross

the mode of transport

muthupanthiya beach

cute isnt it?

the catch

After enjoying Muthupanthiya we returned to the main road and went towards 104Km post where there is board directing towards the east saying Navadamkulam. At Navadamkulam there are two lakes one of them been the Navadamkulam tank and the other been Periyakadawala lake. The walk in the shade of few “mara” trees and a tickling breeze made us pause for few minutes before we went around spotting many whistling ducks, since it was already 10am not many birds were to see. Next place we visited was a famous kovil called Udappuwa which is located in the fishing village of Udappuwa where the Battulu oya meets the ocean (usually at this point the moya kata is closed with sand). The heat at Udappuwa was unbearable but if you are a bird lover there are many birds around who roam along the coastal line. We didn’t forget to visit Thaniwelle devalaya at Madampe on our way back because we had to do some offerings. You won’t miss this place because it’s on the side of the A3 highway close to Madampe. From there we took a short cut and reached our home to end a tiring day.

Quote from Wikipedia

The village is known for its elaborate Hindu temples and unique festivals. In the Tamil month of Avani which corresponds to late July to early August, an 18-day festival commences with the flag-hoisting ceremony and ending with fire-walking in front of Udappu’s Draupati Amman Temple. The 18-day period is spent in prayer and fasting, with a priest reciting the Mahabharata epic to remind everyone of the story of Draupadi, the five Pandava brothers’ common wife, whose chaste and virtuous ways enabled her to recover the kingdom they been deprived of by King Duryodhana. The Draupadi festival comes to a conclusion on the final evening when the entire male population of Udappu walk barefoot over a bed of red hot coals without injury in a ceremony called Tee Mithi in Tamil language

Un quote

the bund of navadamkulam

Polos kottoruwa

munia

huge leaves

contrast

oh beauty

Navadamkulam tank

flowers or leaves

note the fish

narrowed path

couldnt stop snapping these

lovely

lush green

the other lake

framed

male jacana

mode of transport

cotton pygmy goose

beauty

a lilly

fly away ducky

a moth

yellowish butterfly

bokkeh effect

just before turning green

lesser grebe

many ducks

the board says it all

halted

fishing villege

sand blocking the river meeting the ocean

after school female version

after school male version

udappu kovil

side view

gods	inside the kovil

more gods

statue

the initial kovil

living in flood plains

hard life

lovely

@ thaniwelle devalaya

wood art

smoked

offering

Next day was special one for me and few of our family members also joined us on this venture. Our target was a forest patch called Panirendawa belonging to Madampe and Chilaw divisions which has many foot paths. Actually one needs a guide otherwise they will get lost in this forest patch. First we went to visit the ancient iron ore where 7 wells with water could be found unfortunately only one well had water. This place was the main source of iron to some of the ancient kingdoms in Sri lanka and the iron mixed earth is good evidence at this site. We also overheard that the geological department carried out few studies recently in the area. Next was a family hike in the forest, we had to halt our bikes and go by foot. And the walk was ever so rewarding. I still can remember the “veralu” tree we came across where we enjoyed many fruits for a while. There are lots of valuable trees in this reserve and for mammals Deer’s, Samber and the occasional elephant that pays a visit are the known ones. After spending half a day in the Panirendawa east forest reserve we returned back home to end our mini tour.

a name board

Entering Panirendawa forest from hen yaya

remains of melted iron

a natural well out of 7

the one which had water

iron

note the superficial iron stores

entering the forest

dry zone forest at Chilaw

stay away

mushrooms on a bark

tall trees

wrapped together

the only and huge Thekka tree

veralu fresh from the tree

the photographer

lovely purple

Thanks for reading!

Hiya folks, I’m back with yet another fairy tale of mine. This time it’s from my beloved Meemure, where I can’t seem to get enough of. Going back to Meemure was a very sudden plan coz while we were touring Kohonawala on 08-09 Mar; we came across Viyan Gala, another uniquely pointed shape mountain. She reminded me of Lakegala and I kept thinking about her right throughout the journey. At the end, while we were laboring up the hill towards Urumeethenna crossing the Loggal Oya, I made a vow to go see her ASAP.

Our initial plan to visit Meemure on 15-16 March got cancelled as Hasitha became terribly sick at the eleventh hour leaving us no time for a plan B. I couldn’t bear the thought of not seeing Lakegala and suggested Atha to go there on 29-30 March. He shared my views on not wasting our precious time on useless elections and doing something worthwhile. We both were determined to do this by all means. Most of the guys I invited had something or other and in the end and not surprisingly it was down to him and me.

Tour Highlights:

1. Dandenikumbura
2. Gala Muduna
3. Kahatagahawela Falls
4. Iththa Gala
5. Wannimana
6. Camping

Day 01

We left Colombo early around 1.30am and reached Hunnasgiriya around 5.00am having used most of the isolated roads to our advantage making good time. We both were ravenous but most of the shops had nothing but left overs of the previous night so had to settle for some coffee in the end. I called Nava Mama waking him up to inform that we were in Hunnasgiriya. The sky towards Ududumbara was being painted vividly with bright orange, red, crimson, yellow and blue. It’s one of the many types of scenery that one will never get fed up. Sunrise and Sunset are always, no matter from where, mind blowing and I cherish every second of it.

We drove along Meemure road while the morning sun was trying to penetrate the woods. It was a pleasure to be away from the concrete jungle and breathe in some fresh mountain air. They’re widening the road by cutting at the sides. The road is in bad shape due to this and most of the road is full of pot holes and ledges. Hopefully this will be finished fairly soon. It’s about 15km from Hunnasgiriya to Loolwatte and further 17-18km to Meemure. The road after Loolwatte is in fairly good shape except a couple of bad patches where the tarred pieces had been removed by the passing waterways.

We stopped to take a few pics of the morning sky painted with gorgeous colors. The shadows of trees added to the beauty with the contours of the mountains in the distance. I wouldn’t have minded walking along this road at this time as it felt heavenly. However, time was a luxury we couldn’t afford at the time as we had planned something unprecedented even in Nava Mama’s standards. KCC at Deanston was still in darkness and no sign of activity there. It’d’ve been grand if we could be at the mini world’s end when the sun is rising. We could’ve got a super panoramic view towards Ududumbara, Hasalaka and Mahiyanganaya. I had to restrain myself so hard not to venture into the trail without this early and there was no way to get permission.

Passing Loolwatte tea shop made me crave for yet another coffee but we simply wanted to get to Meemure as soon as we could and start on our first hike. We stopped nonetheless at Corbet’s Gap for a few pics of the mountains which were rising majestically to a clear blue sky. From then on, it was a downhill journey along a circular road that entwines the mountains like a giant snake. It’d already gone by 6.30am and we hurried. There were a few places where the road was terrible but we had a somewhat higher ground clearance enabling us to pass without incident. Reaching Kaikawala concrete bridge, we saw a monk who’s going collecting his meals (Pindawatha Wadinawa). He simply stepped out of the road, without even looking back and kept looking downwards till we passed.

There are a few monks who stay meditating in this part of SL as it’s so beautiful and calm. We even came across one such place deep inside the jungle on our way back from Gala Muduna later in the day. Closer to Nava mama’s house, we got the first glimpse of the gorgeous Lakegala. Whoa, what a beauty she is despite being continuously harassed by unforgiving sunlight and intermittent rains.

Finally, we reached Nava mama’s house around 7.00am and he welcomed us very warmly. His wife was already making tea for us. He sure was glad to see us and everything was the same as we’d left before. However, he’s built couple of extra washrooms and added some parking space for vehicles. This is good news for the travelers. Dinky, the faithful doggy of Nava mama is still there barking at any strangers.

I felt so much like coming home coz Meemure is that close to my heart. We devoured on the delicious breakfast and got ready to hit the road. Around 8.30am we left for yet another unforgettable and long hike in my life. We reached the symbolic Mee Tree and walked further towards the Historic Bo Tree where the road technically ends. Lakegala was smiling with us all the way, pleased to see me back. If only she could talk. We walked pass the Mee tree towards the Bo tree and took the path through the lush green paddy fields. I know I’ve said it before but I can’t say enough about the beauty of these young paddy fields. They are so grand looking, especially when the background is bordered with dark green mountains and the sky is royal blue.

At the end of the paddy field is where the new camp site is located. Right next to that is the river (Bembigolla Oya aka Meemure Oya), so no problem with water. I’ll come to the more specifics of the campsite later. We walked passing it and joined yet another pathway bordering even more beautiful paddy fields. It’s such a soothing color for your eyes. Lakegala was with us all the way looking grandeur than ever. This road took us to the Suriya Arana Falls which I’d been there before. To our dismay, we found two tents erected on the rocks near the falls but nobody was about.

I’m not sure if it was legal to camp there even Nava mama wasn’t sure. There’s a lot of activity going on these days with Forest Officers frequently visiting to check if there are any illegal things happening. That’s why now we have to buy tickets if we venture into the jungle. It’s something imposed very recently but not 100% applied. It’s always best to buy tickets to be on the safe side than be sorry. We walked pass the Suriya Arana falls through the jungle footpath towards Dandenikumbura. After about 1km, there was a group of people (6 boys and 2 girls) following us and found they were the ones in the tents. They’d just started following us and had no idea where they were going. Fortunately, when we stopped to refill our canteen, they caught up with us and got into conversation.

It was very careless of them as they had no idea where the path is leading, if the path is safe. No villager was with them. There are Elephants roaming Dandenikumbura and surrounding area so what they were doing was very risky too. You should never venture into unknown territories like these no matter how good a hiker you are without someone who knows the area well. They then decided to follow us as far as Dandenikumbura and then turn around. There’s one lone house still standing in Dandenikumbura that belongs to a great grandfather of Nava mama. It’s well built with cement and bricks with roofing tiles. Around late 1980s, the village had been abandoned and what’s left of the population had migrated to nearby villagers.

The group of people bid us farewell and Nava mama sat under the shade of hundreds of years old Bo tree to tell us the story of Dandenikumbura. I’ve shot a short video which you can see below but let me put it in brief here.

“The Story of Dandenikumbura”

“Dandenikumbura name had come from Dan-Dun-Kumbura (The paddy field where alms were given). The history of this paddy field runs all the way towards A’Pura era and Dandenikumbura is in the path where ancient kings used to come to Kandy from A’Pura and Pollonnaruwa. According to the folklore and history, this is where Maliyadewa Maha Rahathan Wahanse stayed and this paddy field was harvested to give alms to him. As a result, the village had got its name.”

The Video Documentary of Dandenikumbura

The paddy field is now just a bare land with grass and bushes taken full control. This is where the jumbos roam around. We saw plenty of aricanut and coconut trees telling us that there were people living in this area before. After a short walk, we reached the shallow waters of Heen Ganga. Due to the draught that hit the country recently, water levels were very low but still had to wade through about 30m knee-deep water.

Atha offered to take me “Assa Gudun” and I happily agreed coz I’m so lazy and reluctant to remove my shoes and wade through. Nava mama too wanted have some fun and hoping we would fall, he started videoing our crossing. Atha nearly obliged when he lost footing but I held him tight dearly coz I had my camera inside the pocket. However, he couldn’t save his power bank as he went a bit deeper than his knees and water seeped into his left pocket drenching the power bank and making it redundant.

Crossing the Heen Ganga

Save for that, we crossed without further incident and started the strenuous hike through dense forest towards Gala Muduna. The foot path is wider at many places marking that it’s being used by buffaloes and jumbos alike. We came across two huts (one as soon as we crossed the river) where villagers bring alms to the meditating monk in the jungle near a very tall waterfall. I’m not sure if it’s documented but we couldn’t get to the base as the monk had put up a sign asking the visitors not to enter and disturb his meditation and we duly obliged.

We kept climbing and thanks to the tree canopy, the sun couldn’t bother us but it was very tough going uphill and we had to come back to the village too before it’s dark. We took the torches with us but couldn’t risk walking through that thick jungle in the night amid animals and serpents. After it seemed an eternity we reached the village and got a differently shaped Lakegala looking at us from the distance. Next to her was the highest point in Knuckles, Thunnisgala aka Gombaniya. I’d not heard Gombaniya was also called Thunnisgala so this was news to me.

Unfortunately there had been a funeral in one of the houses so the people were in a rather somber not in their usual cheerful and talkative mood. A 7-year old boy had died having been hospitalized for more than 4 months. It had taken them so long to diagnose a lump in his head and by the time they came to know, the things had gone a little too far. The father of the kid however came and spoke to us even offering us lunch but we’d our packed lunch with us so politely declined.

We met this very old (he claims 84 years but could be older) Muththa (Grandfather) who was very cheerful and talkative. He offered to give us some details about the village and even had a plea for some help to the village. You can see the talk we had below.

Plea from Gala Muduna People

“Gala Muduna Village”

“This reminded me of Kohonawala not because it’s in a ravine but pretty much isolated from the rest of the world. There’s no road to the village and to get to a motorable road they have to walk more than 4-5km. A decent town is about 11km away. They don’t even wanna think about coming towards Meemure coz that’s very strenuous. There are 30+ families living in the village and has a temple and a school with about 20-25 kids.

There’s no main income for them but they’re by and large farmers. They grow paddy, vegetables and tobacco but only for their consumption. They simply don’t have any way of taking their harvest to a town or nobody is coming to buy it as there’s no proper road to the village like Meemure. We saw the poverty-stricken houses scattered about. Most of the houses had only 1 or 2 people living in them and in dilapidated status. Even that very old Muththa is living on his own.

They have a hydro power plant but not a very powerful one. Only 2 bulbs can be lit at any time with that power nothing else. It’s not powerful enough to run the electrical stuff like cookers, fridges, etc. So if someone can donate a generator for their society club, it’d be very useful for the events such as funerals, weddings, etc. Anyone interested in donating something to this village, please contact Nava Mama and he’ll facilitate it.”

The view of Lakegala from Gala Muduna is completely different from what you see from Meemure. She looks more boxy than pointy and the broken part (Ressa) is partially visible from there. Muththa offered to say some poems but refused to do so at the funeral house claiming it’s not clean. So we decided to go to his house and he started off with a poem about King Ravana and I was impatiently waiting till he finished the set of poems to dig further into the history of Ravana.

Muththa signing us Poems from the Past

To my disappointment, he evaded numerous efforts from me to get something useful out of him. It’s the nature of these people coz they’re treating Ravana as a god calling him various names, “Gale Bandara Deviyo” being one of them. I didn’t push too far and we bid our farewell to this beautiful village and started our descent back towards Meemure. Nava mama took us in a different route where we got a view of the top of the waterfall which I named Kahatagahawela Ella (if this is not already documented) coz it’s located close to that village on the other side of the Heen Ganga. This is when we came across the notice printed and laminated put up by the monk asking not to tress pass into his meditation.

Video of Kahatagahawela Falls through the Tree Canopy

He’d specifically asked us to be at one of those huts in the morning should we wanna talk to him. We bypassed the place and reached the Heen Ganga and crossed it. There was this dog who followed us all the way from Gala Muduna and we were hoping she’d turn around at the river instead she swam across the river and joined us all the way back home.

We passed a few abandoned paddy fields at Kahatagahawela coz it’d been abandoned by the villagers just like Dandenikumbura. We were knackered but kept going, fortunately there was packet of Lemon Puff and we had it but the doggy claimed most of it. Nava mama said that it was the first time anyone had come in the morning to Meemure, gone and come back from Gala Muduna so we felt proud of ourselves of being able to do that and coming from someone like him made it all the more special. On our way back, we plucked some Madu Dalu from a tree hoping to have it cooked the following day for our lunch. I’d never had Madu Dalu curry before so was looking forward to yet another first-time experience. We came back to the Bo tree in Meemure where Nava mama’s son was waiting with the tuk-tuk coz it’s about 1.5km-walk back to his house and it’d have been terrible had we had to walk.

We reached back home knackered but feeling overjoyed inside. There was another group of 14 university students (at least that’s what they’d claimed) preparing to go for a mega booze. It was all chaos coz they were preparing this and that and we had to sit and wait till they left finally around 8.30pm for their drinking session. Nava mama had to find a quiet spot for them to go and drink and sing but asked them to finish everything before midnight. Why or why waste your time drinking at a place like this when there’s so much to see.

Unbelievable

This is something I can’t seem to get enough of ever

Just appearing

Loads of different shapes

The winding road downhill from Corbet’s Gap

Mountains towards Meemure

Morning sun lighting up the mountain tops

Our reliable transport mode

This is called Tun Tun, similar to Passion Fruit and can cook

Home grown and fully organic

They don’t escape me that easily

There she’s, beautiful as ever

Lush greenery, charcoal grey and royal blue…

The team ready to rock ‘n’ roll

Searching for food

Being floughed

Towards Kalupahana area, we went about halfway straight and took a sharp right turn

Busy at work in the scorching hot sun

Entrance to the camping site

Art of creepers

Hondapara (larger version of Godapara)

No words to express this beauty

Me and my beloved Lakegala

Everywhere is this green

We didn’t miss Tony

First encounter

They all are working so hard

No exception just because you’re old and a female

Would be a wonderful place to stay overnight

If you read my first report on Meemure, this Grandfather should be familiar

Famous place in the Suriya Arana movie

Balu Dan blooming some great flowers

Entering into the jungle of Dandenikumbura

Atha and Nava mama

This is called “Iththa” and used to bait fish by crushing and putting them in water. The fish get drunk and easy to catch afterwards

See the fence created by villagers to keep the bulls away when the farming season is over

Thick forest cover kept us from the unforgiving sun

Meemure Oya which makes Suriya Arana Falls, flowing downhill

“Hal Bambiya” – The fruit tastes sweet and sour whole the leaves are used as a medicine for Stomachache

The well built but lone house in Dandenikumbura which once belonged to a great grandfather of Nava mama

Ancient Bo tree

Heen Ganga very shallow due to lack of rains

Good for a cool dip but where’s the time?

Knee deep

Guess what? Lakegala looking a bit out of shape

First hut near the Heen ganga where the meditating monk comes in the morning for alms

Mammoth trees soaring into the sky searching for sun

Couple having a break

The path is shared equally by villagers, bulls and elephants at different times

The second hut

Came to the lower part of Gala Muduna, this paddy field has been abandoned

Getting ready for harvest

Harvested paddy field

Lakegala from another angle

“Samanalaya mala ha lamaya se”

Just look at this path, it’s like a trench as the waterways had washed it down over time

As if through a giant canal

The first house

To the left is Thunnisgala and right is my Lakegala

Very fruitful earth they have

These people were very friendly

Looks like plastic

Love the color

Tobacco being farmed for their consumption

Kurakkan being dried in the sun

This is called Thana Hal, a variety of rice

Derelict houses tell the story of poverty, both these houses have one person each living in them

The village is around this paddy field

Very old Muththa with Nava mama with his new camera

We and Muththa

Not posing for a toothpaste ad

Muththa’s house

Betel leaves and aricanut are main requirements for them

Where we had lunch

“Hurry up Nava mama, very hungry” – I kept saying

Some more beauties

Unique

Kahatagahawela Falls (if it’s not documented as yet) through the thick jungle

Couldn’t get to the base

The tree trunk being used as a bridge to cross to the other side but we didn’t as there was a notice

Look at the smiley face,

The lungs of our country, do protect them at all costs

Going was very tough

The waterfall seen from the Kahatagahawela Paddy field which is like many others now abandoned

Closer

Very little water, but closer to this should be ideal for the monk to concentrate on his meditation

Nava mama, Atha and the doggy crossing the river. She wouldn’t leave back

Swimming across

The other side of the paddy field, also abandoned

Towards Corbet’s Gap aka Aththala Mattuwa

Giving us a hard stare

The area we came from is to the left

Freshly plucked Madu Dalu

Mushy mushrooms

Giant cave dug probably by a Porcupine or Kebellewa

Gotchcha

Look at the centre part. It’s as if saying “Ayubowan”

Finished our lemon puff in seconds

Birds had come to feast on the insects

Very tiny but managed to get a macro

The Ayubowan rock is far away

Getting back towards the village

Well-built hut for resting during the day time

Thorny tree

Sun is disappearing below Lakegala

Gosh, what a day we had!

Day 02

Camping Site

• The camp site has 5 camp beds which can accommodate 10-15 people with ease and two well-maintained toilets, one with a commode and the other without.

 • The fire area has ample room for a group of 30-40 people to sit around comfortably.

 • Meemure Oya flows just off the campsite so no problem with water, especially when you wanna have a cool dip.

We finally packed our dinner and got the prepared chicken for our BBQ and went back in the tuk-tuk to Bo tree and walked the rest of the way to the campsite. Salinda (Nava mama’s younger son) and his friend had prepared the site beautifully having swept all the fallen leaves and lit flaming torches which added so much beauty to the dark night. There were two tents erected, one a larger 3-man tent and another camouflage 2-man one. I was so taken to the camouflage one coz it was ideal to use inside the jungle coz of its colors. It’d be very difficult for anyone or an animal to detect it unless they come right on top of it.

After a cool dip in the adjoining Oya, we got ready for the BBQ. Nava mama got busily into the act and it took a considerable time to get that ready. We didn’t use charcoal for the BBQ but wood fire and it came surprisingly well cooked and delicious. After a hearty meal of rice and curry we got ready to sleep in the luxuriously arranged tent. There were sleeping mattresses with pillows and sheets to cover and the atmosphere was nice and balmy.

We wrapped ourselves and went into dreamland. The constant sound of the water flowing and nightlife of the wild animals was a treat to our eyes. One would think it’s so disturbing but you gotta listen to that and see how soothing it really is. I slept like a baby till 5.45am and when I got up all the weariness had vanished into thin air and we were ready to rock and roll yet again.

“Note: It was very sad to see the alcohol (not the traditional toddy) had finally seeped into the life styles of Meemure people, especially the youth as a result of an outsider who’d started yet another camping site. He’s attracted young people by offering them free liquor. It won’t be long before we see the disastrous effects of this in this humble and beautiful village. For the first time in Meemure history, a wife had had to go to the police and lodge a complaint against her husband, who works at this new camp site, for drunken assault. It’s something that has never happened before and natives in Meemure prided themselves of not using alcohol except their good old toddy but things are taking a different route just like Malaysian Airliner MH370.

Therefore it’d be advisable for any traveler who goes to Meemure (or any other place) not to offer alcohol to the villagers. We wanna see the un spoilt beauty of our country and her people as they are without them being destroyed by addicting to alcohol and drugs. This is exactly what the English did to destroy our culture and distance the king from his people and unfortunately it continues to date. Coincidently, I told Nava mama in my very first visit that if ever an outsider comes to Meemure, he’d only think about making money at any cost not the cultural or historical value of this great heaven on earth. Sadly it’s exactly what that’s happening at the moment. It’s now down to us nature lovers to try and put a stop to these dangerous proceedings.”

I love this tent

Where we slept

The fire is going strong

Getting ready

There’s ample room to sit around the fire

It’s time to start cooking

Just got all the ashes on my lens

Ok, here we go. A new method is being tested

This is being kinda boiled by the heat generated underneath. Not directly exposed yet

One of the gigantic mango tress that provides shade

Now fully exposed to the fire and being charred nicely

Dinner anyone?

Would be ideal in the jungle

Good morning!

The central part of the camping site with the kitchen in the corner

Large enough for 3 people

Very comfortable

Nicely done washrooms, there are two

Remains of our BBQ

Scary

Meemure Oya flows making crystal clear pools every now and then

Irresistible

So many different varieties

She was back again at work early in the morning

Found him on the camping ground

Got him to climb onto this stick and see how scared he is

Holding onto dear life

The toddy tree inside

One of the villagers busy at work

Freshly tapped Toddy

I’m not sure if it’s here coz of some kinda superstition

Meemure to Wannimana Trail

After a good night’s sleep, we washed and roamed around the lush green paddy fields taking in the fresh air into our lungs, deeply inhaling the fragrance of the trees, flowers and the river. When we got back to the campsite, we saw a person on top of the toddy tree within the camp premises. He was tapping toddy and we waited for him to get down and have a chat.

He got down eventually with a container of freshly tapped toddy and we talked to him while Athula (hope you can remember him from our first encounter) brought us tea. After about half hour Nava mama came with our breakfast of Kiribath and Lunu Miris which was delicious like all other meals. He was furious with the group who stayed in his house coz they’d been drinking till 2.30am in the morning shouting and hooting keeping the whole neighborhood awake. As a result we got a bit late to start our journey. This is something we should never do, going and making the lives of those people uncomfortable just because we want to have a good time.

After that we started our journey and walked up to Bo tree with the toddy tapper and leaving our baggage at his place we walked towards Kalupahana through the jungle. We met one of the great grandfathers of Meemure, E.M.P.G. Ekanayake who’s nearly 90 years old. Would you believe that he’d climbed Lakegala when he was 83 years old? That shows how strong the people of Meemure are.

Our plan was to reach Wanniyamana, yet another flat land like Ressa with a deep ravine to the left of Lakegala. Nava mama kept telling us old stories of how he as a kid roamed the jungle at will with his parents and brothers and sisters. That’s how he knows the whole area like the back of his hand. Walking parallel to the River we entered the thick forest and started climbing up along a hardly ever used footpath. Nava mama said the hunters roam these areas as there are no forest officers let alone travelers, save for ones like us, so it’s a good opportunity for those who hunt animals like Barking Deer, Sambar Deer, Wild Boars and various others. We came across Aththikka trees and Nava mama informed us from that emerged the little insect called Konduruwa. The villagers call this tree Dimbul as well.

After a tiring climb, we reached Iththa Gala from where we could see the Daluggola Falls (I named it after the village) and the paddy field next to it. The water levels were low but not too bad. Straight ahead was the Thunnisgala, highest point in Knuckles Mountain Range soaring high into the sky. This was a very nice vantage point and we gave our battered legs a good 10-minute break. The doggy that had followed us from Gala Muduna had joined us for this as well and even she was panting heavily due to the nonstop hiking. She must be a well-trained dog coz not once she barked inside the jungle keeping very quiet.

From Iththagala we saw the top of Thunnisgala and just below the summit is Belumgala and further downhill to the right is Kudagala shaped like a bed. There was another pointed summit further to the right which is called Rehenaketu Pathana. Beyond this lie Walpolamulla, Laggala, Atanwala, Pitawala and Rathkinda. The famous Knuckles Doowili Falls are also placed beyond this point. We then came to a huge tree which Nava mama introduced as Gammalu. This is also called Blood tree coz if you cut the bark of this, there’s a liquid flowing very much like blood. Nava mama showed us and I was so surprised as it flowed just like blood does out of the skin and the cut made on the tree looked exactly like a wound on a human.

We had to hurry as we were planning to leave for Colombo the same day so pushed on through the jungle until; at last we reached the ultimate goal of Wanniyamana. This is yet another unheard and not often ventured place. It looked just like a Pathana on top but a lot smaller compared to many others in the country. We could see as far as Gala Muduna and the mountains beyond that towards Corbet’s Gap. My beloved Lakegala was just a touching distance away and a deep ravine about 500ft separated us. Thunnisgala, Bambaragala was behind us when facing Lakegala. Ressa too was clearly visible from this strategic location.

You can observe the shape of Lakegala from a side angle from here very clearly. She’s more or less separated into 3 parts, two big ones on both sides and a tiny pointed shape in the middle. Towards Ressa, the mountain looks flat and sloping. We couldn’t believe the distance we’d travelled during the past 36hrs or so. It was a photo shoot out all along and even the doggy was enjoying herself running here and there. We did a documentary from the top of Wanniyamana and you can see that below.

Documentary from Wanniyamana

After it felt like an eternity, we decided to climb down coz it was nearly 2.00pm. I was very sad to leave Lakegala behind but vowed to myself to come back to see her as soon as possible. Climbing down was less tedious and Nava mama told us that all of the forest there used to be Chena cultivation about 2-3 decades ago. There were rocky boundaries marked by the people who grew Corn, Kurakkan, Enasal, etc. those days.

After a long journey we reached the Lakegala Oya where there was a suspension bridge erected by the villagers to cross over during rainy season. Nava mama used that to show his balancing skills and I shot a short video too.

Nava Mama’s Stunts.

We reached the Village but couldn’t contact Nava mama’s house so that Salinda could come in the tuk tuk to take us home. We decided to walk the rest of the way but met an American who’d recently done a motor biking tour in India, now doing it in SL. He was very impressed to see our pics and asked about the village. Fortunately about halfway through, Salinda and Athula came in the tuk tuk to pick us and I’d never felt so glad to see a tuk tuk.

We reached home around 4.15pm and after a quick wash, Nava mama’s wife had cooked the Madu Dalu which was delicious. The lunch was a feast and we ate like a hungry pack of wolves. Nenda was however cross with Nava mam for bringing that doggy home coz Dinky was furious and waiting to pounce on her and chase her away. But Nava mama made fun of that saying it’s high time Dinky got a partner for him. We bid our farewell to our hosts and were on our way back around 5.15pm.

Having reached Hunnasgiriya around 7.00pm, it was all traffic-free till we reached Colombo close to 11.00pm.

It turned out to be another memorable journey for us, especially me as Meemure is very much close to my heart. I simply love going there again and again and looking at Lakegala all the time. I hope you enjoyed my fantasy tale as much as I did getting this across to you.

Take care and keep travelling but protect the Mother Nature at all costs.

On our way

Early risers

Just like a bouquet

Age is no barrier

Typical day-to-day life

Ekanayake Mama, who climbed Lakegala at 83

Aththikka aka Dimbul

Plenty of water sources with clean water

Life on the Dead

Atha tackling a fallen tree

Doggy kept following us all the way

Used to be Chena Cultivation

Looks very much like blood pouring out of a wound

Wrapped tightly around

Nava mama taking pics of Thunnisgala from Iththagala, Daluggolla falls is just in the middle of the pic next to the paddy field

Thunnisgala, Belumbala , Kudagala and Rehana Ketu Pathana

Daluggolla Falls and the Paddy Field

Sheer climb most of the way

Even Nava mama was exhausted

Wow

Out in the open, you see Andirigala to the extreme left and the base of it is Nava mama’s house

Only a little to go

Whoa! There She is

Busy at work

Mighty Lakegala

Portrait of her

Towards Gala Muduna (left) and the rest of the mountain range

Look at the sheer drop

There it is about 500-600ft

Have similar one like this taken from Ressa

Atha’s knee kept complaining, thus the bandage

Ravana Balakaya

Won’t get enough of looking at her

Getting down

Royal blue

Signs of big trees chopped and branches grown around the main trunk. Results of Chena Cultivation

The suspension bridge

Nava mama showing his balancing skills

“Anybody home?”

Back into familiar territory

Very nicely done

Some of the plots are yet to be planted

Towards Gala Muduna

Bean cultivation

She was sad to see us go

Back to Meemure Oya

Very little water

Time to go

Ekanayake mama still at work

Ambul Dodam

Very cute fella. He was crying when we went in but settled down to pose for the pic

Saying “Good Bye”

Million petals

Enjoy the Collection of Panos below:

Pano 1

Pano 2

Pano 3

Pano 4

Pano 5

Pano 6

Pano 7

Pano 8

Pano 9

Pano 10

Pano 11

Pano 12

Pano 13

Pano 14

Pano 15

The map – Click to enlarge

After a tiring hike to Hunnasgiriya peak with my friend Niroshan, we reached Kandy where I decided to stay the night at and complete a long awaited rail hike from Kadugannawa to Rambukkana. So next day early morning I took a bus and proceeded towards Kadugannawa where I had some breakfast before stepping on to the railway track. After snapping a Udarata menike train which was halted at Kadugannawa I started marching downwards towards Balana. The first landmark I came across was 64 ¾ mile post which is the highest point of Kandy – Colombo railway line which most of the people are not aware about. From here onwards the rail line deviates away from the main road. Tunnel 11 is the first tunnel one would come across after Galboda station where tunnel 12 could be found (when coming from Badulla side). After passing this small tunnel the sight of mighty Bible’s rock and the endless view towards Aranayake side would please any hiker on any given day. Other major landmarks seen were Kabaragala of Nawalapitiya, Ura kanda, Devanagala, Uthuwan kanda & Gampola kanda. Not so far from Tunnel 10 there is a semi arched rocky part just like an opened mouth of a lion and the Englishman have named it “Lions mouth”. Passing lions mouth one would reach tunnel 10 which resembles a back of an Elephant so it was called “Elephants back”. For more interesting facts about this stretch please refer this link. Next tunnel I came across is Tunnel 9A which had an interesting piece of history. There wasn’t a tunnel at this location during the early periods of the Kandy Railway line but the continuous dripping of water along the rock caused maintenance difficulties for the railway staff and the Englishman were forced to drill the rock and build a tunnel to overcome this problem, there are remains of the old railway line at this location which I missed out during my visit. This interesting stretch of the railway ended at Weralugolla station.

Starting point

a fan on the top of 782

special box

Dawson tower at kadugannawa

a morning chat

looking back through tunnel 11

Bibles rock

Devanagala

Kabaragala peak

towards Dolosbage

Lions mouth

looking back through the lions mouth

Elephants back

Tunnel no 10

two in one pic

Ambuluwawa

Bibles rock and Ura kanda

Uthuwankanda

Entering tunnel 9A

Tunnel 9A which was built on a later day

the silent death machine

Weralugolla

While at Weralugolla I inquired from the locals if it was possible to reach Balana fort from there and they said one needs to walk for 45 minutes to get to that site and I decided to proceed to Balana and get a trishaw to save my valuable time. Passing Weralugolla and while continuing towards Balana one would come across tunnel 9 and once you exit it you could enjoy the majestic view of Alagalla peak all the way long. After reaching Balana I hired a tuk tuk and went towards Balana fort which was about 4Km’s from the station. To reach the fort site one needs to walk along a tea estate for 10 minutes. The historical Balana fort is a superb view point towards Mawanella and Aranayake areas. Unfortunately only the foundation of the rampart and few steps remain on this current day.

Tunnel 9

Majestic Alagalla

Signal post

a mile stone

reached balana

Balana fort

view from the fort

what remains

steps to the fort

the path to balana fort

After returning back to Balana and enjoying a soft drink I started to march along until tunnel 8 was reached. The heat was getting worse and the thirst also was getting on to me but seen how an elderly lady was walking along the railway with a pole in her hand kept me motivated. Just before reaching Ihala kotte one would reach a beautiful scenic stretch which is boarded by the rocky hill on one side and a steep drop on the other. This panoramic stretch is known as the Sensation rock / Hakura wetunu gala. The panoramic view towards Mawanella and the paddyfileds at the foothill were a memorable sighting for me. Before reaching Ihala kotte I passed tunnel no 7, 6 and a mini station called Mahakehelwela.

part of history now

13 tons

tunnel 8

they walk along the railway coz they have no option

lovely surrounding of the railway

Mawanella town

view from sensation point

Ihala kotte

pano from sensation point

Uthuwankanda close up

had to pass a huge pack of them while they were stairing on me

any guesses

Alagalla range

tunnel 7

tunnel no 6

Narrowed path

bare footed

towards ihala kotte

Endless scenery

leafless

stay away

another guy who was in a hurry

Ihala kotte station

Passing Ihala kotte one would reach a scenic point just before entering tunnel no 5A which is supposed to be the second longest railway tunnel after Singimale of Hatton and my mobile phone torch assisted me on this walkthrough because I forgot to bring a head lamp. Next station was Gangoda though it’s a small station it was neat and lovely. The walk from here to Yatiwaldeniya was a long one and in that process I only passed tunnel no 5 (Yatiwaldeniya seems to be an abandoned station).

Next station was Kadigamuwa which was about 1Km from Yatiwaldeniya and at Kadigamuwa I was forced to fill my water bottle and refresh my self. Passing Kadigamuwa I came to the overhead bridge of Rambukkana – Mawaneela road and watched how vehicles passed below me for a while before starting to march towards my end destination. Tunnels 4, 3 & 2 were the only interesting locations I came across before reaching ground zero and the railway track for the first time started to go parallel to paddy fields indicating me that Rambukkana has been reached. This stretch along paddy fields without a shade was very difficult but it was the end which I seeked for many months. I have done most of the scenic stretches of Badulla line and gone through all the tunnels except tunnel no 1 at Mirigama. So until I do that small part I said Audios to the Rail tracks by taking a train to Colombo and reached home at around 5.30pm (not bad ha??).

fathers trustful shoulders

framed

oh whats that light

a beast exiting one of the longest tunnels in SL (Miyangalla tunnel)

exiting tunnel no 5A

tough life

Alagalla changing shapes

reached Gangoda

tunnel no 5

beauty of the wild

artistic

another beast

and another

vegetation along the railway

impressive station

more to walk

Kadigamuwa station

friends for ever

over head bridge at kadigamuwa

marching towards rambukkana

tunnel no 3

a board with tunnel number

leaving tunnel 2

more friends

placed in order

a kingfisher waiting to catch a train

rat snake

the curves

finally met paddy

captured

contrast

End point

Hope you enjoyed reading, thank you!