Well, it’s been a long run of waterfalls this year and just realized I’ve written 6 other Tour de Waterfalls before this and was very much surprised by it. All in all, it’s so far been a remarkable year for me but sadly, due to the decrease in the rains (anyway this time the rains were few and far between) this might be the last of waterfalls hunts of South Western Monsoons. I’ll have to hope at least this time; the North Eastern Monsoons will arrive on time to cover the falls on that side of the mountains.

After a long pause, I managed to convince Tony finally to join with us for a trip with the permission of his boss. Atha too joined with us but Sheham, our longtime partner, couldn’t make it due to various reasons. It would’ve been nice had we all four could do this but it wasn’t to be. I don’t now have to tell you this is gonna be all about waterfalls (well the name suggest that much) and will come to the point without dragging any more.

Atha picked me around 3.45am on 26^th July and we then got Tony on board and took the Avissawella-Ginigathhena Road. It was good to be back with the old couple as it’s always full of many stories, most of them are hilarious. They kept at it right throughout and I hardly managed to get a word in edgeways. The Kelani River looked placid in the wee hours and the mist hung over her like a veil. We enjoyed her company most of the way. Reaching Nawalapitiya, the skies looked grey, heavily laden with rain clouds and I was thrilled as it meant more water for the waterfalls. You’d be surprised how low the water levels become even after a few days of rain.

This proved to be the case with Ramboda and surrounding waterfalls despite there had been a lot of rains even during last week. We took the Hapugasthalawa Road and then turned onto Harangala. As soon as we turned, there was a nice shop and we stopped for breakfast where they served hot, hot Coconut Rotti with mouthwatering Lunu Miris, delicious Kola Kenda and authentic Peni Walalu. We all stuffed ourselves to the tip and were on our way passing the Hapugasthalawa Tank.

Tour Highlights:

1.  Harangala Falls, Harangala.
2. Gane Ela Falls, Thispane.
3. Wewahena Falls 1, 2 & 3, Kalapitiya.
4. Devathura Falls, Ramboda.
5. Ramboda Oya Centre Falls, Ramboda.
6. Ramboda Oya Upper Falls, Ramboda.
7. Ramboda Oya Lower Falls, Ramboda.
8. Puna Falls, Ramboda.
9. Kandamulla Ella, Ramboda.
10. Mahaweli Maha Seya, Kotmale.
11. Dehadu Kadulla, Kadadora.
12. Kotmale Dam & Reservoir, Kotmale.
13. Nugawela Suspension Bridge, Kotmale.

Harangala Falls

I’ve seen a pic of this on Google maps under places and tried many times to go there but it looked a bit of a detour. However, this time I got lucky as we took Hapugasthalawa-Harangala road instead of Nawalapitiya-Gampola as we’d initially planned. It’s about 12km to Harangala from Nawalapitiya and the road is narrow but in good condition, not to forget that this is one of the most scenic routes in SL. Hope you’ve ready my Tour de Waterfalls 6 as it too was a very scenic drive from N’Pitiya to Dimbula. This is easy to be missed out to the casual eye as not many are aware of a waterfall here. You’ll see the left turn off towards Kotmale Dam in Harangala Junction and soon as you passed it there will be two bridges located close to each other within about 50-100m.

The waterfall is found underneath the second bridge. Pass that and after another 50m or so, there’s a narrow path that goes downhill. Take this and you’ll reach the base of the falls where the Harangala School is also located. There wasn’t a great deal of water but we enjoyed this newfound girl.

View along the way

Mahaweli Maha Seya kept up with us

Closer

From the bridge, upper part of Harangala Falls

We got down and here she is

Not much water

Closer

What would be like when in full flow

Side view

Gane Ella Falls

We continued on along this scenic road where Mahaweli Maha Seya and Kotmale Reservoir kept up with us most of the time. The view would’ve been splendor had the weather was clear but gloomy skies made the pics bleak. Yet this didn’t stop us enjoying the view any less. We found a shop with a view point of Kotmale Reservoir and stopped for a cuppa tea. The reservoir bore very little water and wonders what had happened to all the rain.

Passing this, we reached a shop with plenty of Durian for sale in Thispane Kanda area and Atha wanted to go see. It was great that we stopped there as there was a somewhat larger falls behind the shop. An old uncle (as old as Tony) said it’s called Gane Ela. We didn’t buy any Durian in the end but took many pics of the falls to the dismay of the shop owner.

We saw a few cascades around Rogersangama and it’d be full of them when rains are in full blast.

Kotmale Dam

Roadside cascades passing Harangala

View point

From there

Nice place to relax and have a cuppa tea

Landmark where the Gane Ela Falls is

All along the road it was Hakuru and Tea

Here she is, very low water levels

Base	Must be nice when in full flow

Guess what? This bugger was on the roof of our Jeep, wonder how on earth it got there

Nearly dried up falls in Rogersangama

Very curious but friendly grandpa

Waterfalls of Wewahena

Unfortunately we couldn’t visit Pusulpitiya Raja Maha Viharaya which is at Hedunuwewa Junction passing Kalapitiya, a major town found on this road. We continued till we reach the bridge across Kotmale Oya which is about 100ft in length. This is where Kotmale Oya joins forces with Pundalu Oya but water levels were considerably very low, especially of Kotmale Oya.

Having stopped to take a few pics, we heard a roar under the bridge and leaning against the railing, I saw this nice little waterfall underneath. It looked as if there had been a falls before but the massive foundation of the bridge had more or less made it less curvy in shape. Now she’s falling after the water collects at the base of the bridge like over a wall.

About 500m from here is another bridge and we stopped once again as this is where the Pundalu Oya crosses the road and further down joins with Kotmale Oya. She had considerably more water and looking towards the river we saw about 100m away a beautiful falls. My heart leaped and we jumped out of the vehicle and took the footpath along the river bank to find yet another waterfall hidden to the people going along the road. A bit upstream were the main section and what a beautiful girl she turned out to be. Water level was good and we spent some time photographing her. Just be careful coz the rocks are very slippery here.

We then took the path that went a bit uphill to come on top of the falls we saw. In fact there were 3 falls falling close to each other. The one closer to the road had very little water, one in the middle was the healthiest and the other side one couldn’t be seen clearly. We could only manage a side view and a pilot view of these falls as there was no way to get to the base.

These were a huge bonus and we’d already spent quite a lot of time with these unknown beauties so hurried up towards Paluwatte Junction where Pundalu Oya – Nuwara Eliya road meets this. Took the left turn and reached Thawalenthenna in no time. All along we could see the massive Gerandi Gini Ella in Thawalanthenna but very little water as she was falling in tiny streaks so decided not to take the estate road to go see her as it was time consuming.

The huge bridge where the 1st falls is found underneath, this is Kotmale Oya

Here she is

Had to go some way off the bridge for a clear shot

Closer

Closest

Crossing towards Kalapitiya

At the next bridge, this is Pundalu Oya

Somewhat healthy water levels

Bottom of the 2nd falls

Up close

There is the main section

Wow, very nice

Top

Centre

3rd Falls is there, in fact there were 3 separate cascades

First two cascades can be seen from here, no chance of seeing the third though

Right at the top

No tents needed

Close up

This water stream separates into two making two falls

One we can see

Only a side view though

Bottom

Top of the first cascade, less water

Close up

Here’s the bridge

Admiring the view

Helpful

The gloomy sky made many pics less attractive

Guess these are the houses built for Kotmale Reservoir project

Devathura Falls

This is yet another beautiful falls just by the road before the Ramboda Tunnel. Water levels were lower than I wanted yet she was still appealing to the naked eye. We climbed along the bank a bit up to get a clear view of her upper part but overgrown trees blocked our view. Below the bridge was her lower part but near impossible to get any closer so had to be content with yet another pilot view.

We took the old road where the rock formation is like a Lion’s Paw. This road, especially towards the other end of the tunnel is used by the Ramboda Falls Hotel to park the visitor vehicles, such as buses. It was hard to believe that people travelled along that tiny road for so many years.

View towards Kotmale

Half-filled reservoir

Beginning of the tunnel

She’s here

Gosh, where’s all the water gone?

Trying hard to get a pic of the top

Portrait

Goes downhill

Lion’s paw on the old road

Ramboda Oya Centre Falls

How many times have we driven past this in our lives? It’s almost similar to the number of times we went pass Devon and St. Claire by vehicles seeing them all the time but after some time got really fed up of them and we no longer bothered to stop by to enjoy their beauties. Atha was telling how we took the beautiful view of St. Claire for granted for years but now she’s nearly dead, we regret the times we couldn’t bother to stop by and took in that majestic view.

Ramboda Oya is mainly consisted of 3 waterfalls created by the same water stream. Ramboda Oya Centre falls is the easiest to see but very hard to get a clear pic without people in the way. It attracts many travelers, especially for a quick dip but unfortunately many drunkards too. However, we were lucky to have this beauty for ourselves, only for a short time though and I took the opportunity to take all the pics and videos I wanted in that short time.

Kotmale is everywhere

Few people already on the top

Base pool

After ages, a clear pic

So wide

Silky smooth

Going uphill

Healthy water levels

Ramboda Oya Upper Falls

She’s so high up; you have to climb parallel to the water stream uphill along the concreted path for about 1-1.5km. The path is nicely done with steps all the way but now badly in need of a repair. You can at places climb down to the river to enjoy tiny cascaded along the way. About halfway up, it started to rain heavily and we fortunately had my umbrella. About 20mins later, rain went away and we continued our climb.

At the top, they’ve built a very nice platform with a roof, an area the size of maybe 15’X15’. This place is ideal for a night stay; all you need is a sleeping bag (well I’m on the hunt for one now coz one of these days, wanna go and spend a night up there with that beauty) and some food. She was so tall and reminded me of Devon, except she didn’t have that curvy shape towards the bottom. What it would be like when this one is in full flow, I kept wondering.

We did a Small Documentary and you can check that too. It started to rain and we were glad of the roof. We could see the Kotmale Reservoir in the distance and Nuwara Eliya main road too with the vehicles parked at the side of the road. It was then time to go searching for their third sister and we climbed down pretty quickly.

Path is nicely done

Few of them along the way

Old couple

Mini cascades along the way

Wow	Going was very adventurous

Uphill path is not so much used

View from the platform

Yippeeeeeee!!!

Amazing

Right up

Right down too

The road with parked buses

Good place to spend a night

Man-made framing

Begging for water

Sexy, ain’t she?

Wild berries?

Ramboda Oya Lower Falls

Having reached the main road, I was thankful for the break it offered for me to take pics of the center falls without any obstruction as she was now full of people. We drove back to the tunnel and having parked there went and asked the security officer of Ramboda Falls Hotel (RFH) if we could go down and see the falls. I wasn’t expecting a positive answer as this was a big tourist place, especially with foreigners and didn’t hope they’d allow us inside as it might be disturbing their guests.

To my surprise, we got the ok (could be coz it was old man, Tony, who went and asked for permission. The security officer too was close to his age and it would’ve been this factor that got us the chance. There are benefits of having old people around us sometimes) and we went down the road to the hotel which is some way below.

The falls was beginning to see clearly and we came to the hotel and once again ask for permission which was duly granted. You have to walk through the hotel interior and then reach the main dining hall where they were serving lunch for many tourists, mainly foreigners. We again checked with the staff and they asked us to walk through the dining hall (among diners) and I felt very awkward to do this. However everybody was pretty cool about it and didn’t even make the slightest fuss over it.

The lunch was going strong and the aroma of various foods made my mouth salivating (hope none of those diners got stomachache) and out of the dining hall, it was a breath-taking view of the falls. We even could see the Puna Falls at the distance and all around us was lush greenery and towering mountains. They’ve done a nice path up to the falls from here; about 200m and we followed it occasionally stopping to take pics. There were many foreigners coming back after seeing it probably for their lunch and we had this beauty too pretty much for ourselves just like her center and upper sisters.

There even was a rainbow as if to welcome to her and we spent a long time and got back to the jeep after profusely thanking the RFH staff and security. If you happen to go there, do please ask for their permission as they were very helpful in a way. So our heartfelt thanks for them.

Right at the edge is where she falls

View from the road

Near the RFH

Puna Ella in the distance

On the way down

We are here and had to go downhill through the hotel

Hi lady!

Falls in two parts

Upper bit

Middle

Lower, spot the foreigners

Endless greenery

They’re building a platform closer

Can you see the rainbow?

Puna Ella

When picturing her from the A5, we saw that there was a bridge over the top of Puna Falls. It meant that we could go to the top of her and possibly get down to the base (a crazy idea you might think as many have given up that notion). We passed the Kandamulla Falls on the way and just around the corner was the estate road of Rangbodde Estate to your right. Follow this, just bear in mind, there’s a security officer at the entrance and you have to ask him for permission to enter the estate road.

We got the clearance and arrived after 100m or so at a bridge where Pundalu Oya was gushing underneath with a lot of water. It was only the Pundalu Oya that had considerable amount of water. It was such a beautiful view and we followed the road another 100m to see on to our right the top of Puna Ella. Both parts were clearly visible, even though they look to be falling very close to each other; they were considerably away from each other at the top, maybe 100ft or so.

From here, I could see the Devatura Ella, the full length falling from a very high point, RFH and Kandamulla Falls too. It was a rewarding experience and we enjoyed it a lot. There were carrot beds on the slope and the farmer came to see what the heck we were doing there. When I asked if there was a way down the slope to the base, he just laughed at me at first, then seeing I was dumbly serious, he said if we were to follow the estate road some more and there is a place to get to the water stream and then we can come up along it. “However, it’s so difficult” were his paring words.

We arrived back at the gate and thanked the security guard and reached the base of the Kandamulla Falls which is at the road side. There was very little water and we took a few pics and headed towards Pussellawa where our destiny drew closer to Kotmale.

This is from the viewing platform on the main road

Close up

The cables blocking the view

Right at the top, we went nearly to the top

Bottom of the Kandamulla Falls

Mainly rocks, little water

Upper parts of Kandamulla Ella

Just like others, water levels were very low

Entrance to the Rangbodde Estate (funny pronunciation and spelling)

Here’s the bridge I told you about

Pundalu Oya gushing down making the Puna Ella about 100m from here

Only Pundalu Oya had sufficient water levels

Top of the Puna Ella is down there

Estate Road

Here we are

You see this part from the road clearly but impossible to get down to the base

Very nice

The other falls of the twin originated from Puna Oya

Closer

RFH

Full package of Devathura Falls seen from here

Zoomed in

Another cascade closer to Kandamulla Ella

Kotmale Reservoir & the Dam

We went past Helboda Falls and Delta Falls, both of were nearly dry and didn’t bother getting off and taking pics. We then turned to the Pussellawa-Ulapane Road, just another narrow road but condition was good. This runs past Maswela (Mawela), Kadadora, Kotmale, Naya Pana, Nugawela and Kalugalhinna before reaching Ulapane North. This was yet another scenic road. By taking this we managed to do the full circular route around Kotmale Reservoir (now you know the reason for the name of the trip report) and reached Kadadora where the turn off for Mahaweli Maha Seya is.

Without turning, we went a bit forward to reach the Kotmale Reservoir Viewing Platform. We had to buy tickets and the place has a museum too with various old pics. At the viewing point, we got a panoramic view of the reservoir and could barely notice the viewing platform we had tea on our way in the morning from the Harangala Junction. It was very nice scene but we didn’t spend a lot of time there.

Turning around, we went another 500m or so along the road to the dam where we had to show our tickets. Just remember you have to buy tickets at the viewing point and they are valid for both the viewing point and the dam. You can’t drive along it but can take a nice leisurely walk along it. I was mesmerized by what I saw and amazed by the sheer size of it. It was so long and high but water levels were so far down.

This is a great example of ingenuity of the engineering. The gloomy weather conditions somewhat destroyed what otherwise would have been a sensational view.

If only there was a bit of a clear blue sky, the day would’ve been perfect but we had to be content with what we got. The dam connects the two roads we took today. Even though we wanted to spend more time enjoying, we had to get a move on and bid farewell to this wonderful creation and headed back on the way we came to go see another engineering marvel of modern times, Mahaweli Maha Seya.

Ticket office is right here

Here it is

(Click image to enlarge)

Going towards the view point

Marvelous view

Here’s the dam

Entering the museum

(Click image to enlarge)

(Click image to enlarge)

(Click image to enlarge)

Mockup of the project

Inside is full of historical pics

Outside, plenty of these

At the gate to the dam

High security measures

(Click image to enlarge)

Walking downhill

Hiya frentho!

Side view of the dam, millions of blocks of black stone

That’s what the fella says to Tony

Lone line of lights

Closer to sluice gates

Appeared out of nowhere

Guess what, these leaves were scratched trying to embed visitors names and their affairs, typical stupid travelers

Anything alarming?

Time to go

Here’s the plaque, too small for you to read

Old & the Handsome

Mahaweli Maha Seya

This is well sign posted and can’t be missed. Take the left road from Kadadora and go uphill about 1.2km to reach this mammoth stupa. Surprisingly after nearly 3 decades, this is still only partially finished due to various reasons. I’m sure money would have been the most pressing issue. There is a legend that said whoever joined these two hills would die soon. As a result, they had to build something in this caliber to try and avoid it. Whether it was true or not, chief organizer of the express Mahaweli project, Late. Gamini Dissanayake died within 10 years of the project commencement.

Resembling Kalutara Chaithya, this too has a smaller stupa inside the main structure. It started raining as soon as we reached here but soon it went off giving some precious light to take pics inside. It was in a way, very strange how the echo is inside. Even if you whisper quietly, it’ll multiply by many times and everyone can hear as if you spoke into a microphone. There were four Buddha statues placed around the smaller stupa that were milky white. Looking at the serene looking Buddha was so peaceful. It’s always like this when you look at a Buddha statue. You could forget everything else and just keep looking at this statue that spreads compassion to everyone.

There was a shop near the stupa and we had some tea as lunch was deliberately skipped over traveling. We then got the directions to Dehadu Kadulla and went back the way we came.

Video of Mahaweli Maha Seya.

Mighty one

Plenty of work to do yet

See the steps to the side?

Kotha

Zoomed all the way

It was nearly muddy

The tiny stupa inside, similar to Kalutara

On the steps

Not an ancient one

Very peaceful inside

Serene looking Buddha

Top of the inner stupa

Here’s the roof

Close up

Dehadu Kadulla

This is on the same road but very much closer to the main road. As soon as you turn to Mahaweli Maha Seya road, you can see this about 20m away to the right.

According to the sign, this was one of the entrances to Maya Country from Ruhunu Country (guess you can remember Ruhunu, Pihiti & Maya). It further states that King Dutugemunu hid his royal sword at this place. I hope modern so-called kings haven’t or won’t destroy places like these searching for those swords as it’s been a maniac recently. Even the National Museum wasn’t spared in the process and even today we haven’t been able to recover what was robbed. It was the one those incidents that proved super humans are really existing.

After that, while the darkness was enveloping the surrounding, we decided to go looking for what is believed to be the second longest suspension bridge in Sri Lanka after the Ruwanwella Bridge.

Video of Dehadu Kadulla

The legend (Click image to enlarge)

It was very close to the main road

The steps that had been built from the entrance, now preserved

Getting in

Here we are, very narrow, guess it’s because of security

From the other side

Pilot view

Nugawela Suspension Bridge

This is visible from the main road about 1.5-2km from Kadadora along Ulapane road near Kotmale Holiday Resort and International Training Centre. This looked dilapidated and looking closely over it really was the case.

The wooden planks used for the bridge were badly in need of replacement. Some of them had simply fallen off and most others were at the brink of breaking to pieces. We even saw the villagers have put up a tire on a cable not far off to cross the river. It was so dangerous.

I hope whoever responsible will see to this and do the necessary things to make sure this bridge is usable safely. Moreover, it’s a hallmark of the country as very few suspension bridges are available in Sri Lanka nowadays.

Close to Kotmale Holiday Resort

Dilapidated

Tony, with shaky legs, leads the way

Very risky

Oh yeah, his face says it all

Another risky option of crossing the river

Signs of an old crossing

Very old iron bridge at Kalugalhinna

Panoramas of the Journey

Enjoy these panoramic views too.

Pano of Ramboda Oya Centre Falls

Ramboda Oya Upper Falls in a Pano

View from Ramboda Oya Upper Falls

There are two side-by-side falls here

Kotmale Reservoir from the viewing platform

From the dam itself

Long dam in a Pano

Well, folks, it’s been a fruitful journey in many ways. I gotta see many things I had been dreaming for ages plus there were surprise bonuses as well along the way. Mahaweli Maha Seya and Kotmale Reservoir are very appealing so wouldn’t mind seeing them again.

I don’t have to say that for the waterfalls I guess as I’m one of keenest fans of them and won’t miss a chance to see them. It was good to be with the oldies again and Tony used up his quota of traveling for July with this trip. It’ll have to be in August when he can join us again providing he gets the approval from the top.

Thanks everyone taking the time to read through and I’m praying there would be some more opportunities to do a couple more Tour de Waterfalls in the foreseeable future.

Will see you guys with the next report (no idea whatsoever what it is gonna be about) and till then this is Sri signing off.

Take care and keep traveling.

Cheers

Sri…

This mighty rock was noticed when I was at Menikdena. It was situated closer to Kandalama Lake. I definitely knew it can be a good view point of Kandalama lake and surrounding area. Later I came across the archeology site called Kaludiya Pokuna (This is not the famous Kaludiya Pokuna at Mihinthale) also situated at base of the Erawulagala Mountain.

So our plan was to first visit at Kaludiya Pokuna archeology site and then to find a path to climb the mountain.
Early morning I joined with Anupama at Dambulla. After having the breakfast we drove along Kandalama road and came to Kandalama lake bunt. Kandalama lake bunt was a good place to view all surrounding isolated mountains.

Kandalama Lake. Erawulagala (695m) –Left peak and Gal Koth Kanda Right peak (631m)

Peak of Erawulagala is shown by black arrow and Gal Koth Kanda is shown by red arrow

Dambulla Peak, Punchi Dambulu Kanda (329m) and Menikdena (865m)

Beliya Kanda (බෙලිය කන්ද) (613m)

Ritigala

Yakkurugala (යක්කුරුගල) is seen in right hand side. Gedaragalapathana (ගෙදරගලපතන) is seen in left hand side

Pidurangala (පිදුරoගල) and Sigiriya (සීගිරිය) pooped up

Famous Kandalama Hotel-Heritance Kandalama

Directions from Dambulla Town. Kaludiya Pokuna archeology site is shown by black circle. Red circle shows Erawulagala Peak. Green circle shows Iththakanda peak. Gal Koth Kanda is named as Dickandahena in the map – Click Map to Enlarge

We travelled over Kandalama Lake bunt and found the pathway towards Kaludiya Pokuna Archeology site. It was shown by some boards. Road goes parallel to Hotel Green Paradise and then behind the hotel. Later it goes through thick forest and ended up at archeology site in about 3-3.5kms. We passed Thimbirawa (තිම්බිරාව) Lake also on our way to the archeology site.

Take the road behind the hotel. Shown by the arrow

Don’t turn at Archeology board. Go straight. (Shown by arrow)

Erawulagala is seen over Thimbirawa Lake

Kaludiya Pokuna Archeology Site-Dakkhinagiri (දක්ඛිණගිරි) Temple.

This temple complex was built by King Saddhathissa (137-139 B.C). It’s name is Dakkhinagiri temple and now the term Kaludiya Pokuna is used due to blackish water found in the pond. It was developed by King Aggabodhi and a chapter House has been constructed by him. Several inscriptions, some caves with inscriptions under the drip-ledges, a dagoba, pillars, a residence of monks, remains of a monastery can be seen in the site.

Excavation of this archeology site has not been done completely.

Boundary of Archeology site

Remaining

Stupa

Chethiyagaraya (චේතියඝරය)

Foot print stone

Slab inscription

What slab inscription says – Click Image to Enlarge

Chapter house

A cave with an inscription. There are about 50caves with drip ledges scattered at archeology site. We didn’t visit there as that was somewhat out of our way up

Content of stone inscription

This is called Kaludiya Pokuna. Filled with mud now. There is another pond as well

Ruins seen at the edge of the pond

Care taker at archeology site was kind and he said the peak can be approached from archeology site. But he has not been there before. We started the hike from archeology site.

There was a clear foot pathway from there but became less clear in a while. It was easy to climb in dry forest as there was no undergrowth. Main obstacle was scattered stones over the ground. Initially steepness was gradual and then became acute. We climbed at the edge of a rock and then got on to it. It was the first open area which gave the view of Kandalama side only.

Next part of the rock can be only climbed in it’s left hand side. That part was covered with Bamboo trees. Later it was cleared and we came to on top of that rock. It was the second open area which gave better surrounding view. Initially we thought it as the peak of the mountain but it was wrong.

Then we headed towards actual peak. First we had to pass some bushes and then dry forest met.

After about 2hours journey from archeology site, we came to the highest point of the Erawulagala Mountain. There was evidences of some constructions and later knew as an ancient Stupa. This place provided best panoramic view of surroundings.

We noticed Sigiriya, Pidurangala, Ritigala, Beliya kanda, Kandalama Lake, Ibbankatuwa Lake, Dambulla Rock, Punchi Dambulu Kanda, Manikdena¸ Arangala, Gedaragalapathana and Bakamuna side.

After enjoying the scenic view we reached to archeology site in one and half hours.

Going up through dry forest

It was easy to walk under forest cover

This was initial rock and we went on left hand side of it

Second part of the rock, only can be climbed in it’s left hand side

Bamboo part. But it doesn’t stretch much

On top of second open space

Shrubs before the peak

Peak and ancient constructions over it

Other end of the mountain. It also has similar height

Just beyond other end of the mountain, Gal Koth Kanda was seen. Menikdena is far away

Yakkurugala. Might be another good view point

Thimbirawa Lake and bunt. We came over it

Bakamuna (බකමූණ) side

Beliya kanda

Kandalama Lake and it’s island

Dambulla temple with it’s rock and Punchi Dambulu Kanda

Archeology site within the thick forest

Ibbankatuwa(ඉබ්බන්කටුව) Lake

Ritigala (රිටිගල)

Heritance Kandalama Hotel

Bird’s eye view of Sigiriya. Pidurangala is in it’s back

Gedaragalapathana (ගෙදරගලපතන)

On the way back

After successful climb

Thank you for reading. Have a safe climb

Merging 4 maps to make one map was difficult just like the hike – Click to enlarge

For years I have wanted to conquer the highest point of Knuckles and lack of any good information on it was the reason why I didn’t attempt it. Out of nowhere the thought of climbing Gombaniya came in to my mind and I called my friend at Panwila. He was ever so willing to do this hike, Amila also joined at the last moment to make matters more interesting. I know few more guys were also willing to join, but this sudden decision (as always) made it difficult for them.

Gombaniya is a mountain range and is located on the western border of Knuckles conservation its vegetation is almost similar to Horton plains because of its high altitude. The mountain could be reached from Rathnatenna (Alakolle estate) or Nelummale watta (Kabaragala side). The shorter but complex route is Rathnatenna side. We arrived on the previous day to Panwila and stayed the night there. Next day morning we cooked our two meals and left on the first bus to Huluganga. From Huluganga we took a trishaw to Alakolle estate upper division and walked towards Rathnatenna resort. This resort at the end of the jungle is a superb place to camp or rest. We had our breakfast at this point and started marching towards the forest. The path initially was through an abandoned tea estate and was going in parallel to a stream. We were constantly climbing uphill crossing streams. At one time we came across a waterfall and had to crawl along a slippery slope to bypass it. Close to the waterfall there was a hump nosed viper posing for a picture and we didn’t disappoint it. We somehow came on to a flat rock which provided some stunning scenery on the valleys below and the mountain range which we had to tackle. We noted a triangular peak protruding out of Gombaniya range and this was going to be the entry point to the range for us. In a glimpse everything was covered again in mist and we started heading towards the base of the range.

what sight to start the day (hulu ganaga falls)

road to Allakole estate

Gombaniya on a clear day

on the way scenery to Rathnatenna

wild berry’s were yummy

Gombaniya covered with mist

Rathnatenna resort what a relaxing place

Dull blue flycatcher

mountain forest

along the stream

a cascade

perfect background

giving a hand

lovely beauties found all over the ground

the pink version

a white beauty

only found near streams

snail droppings

first view point

the second view point

plenty of valleys to get lost

the triangular peak is the place where we need to enter the mountain range

the abyss we climbed up to enter the range after tackling bamboo and nelu

The Bamboo and Nelu bushes with slippery slopes were not helping us on our final ascend. Somehow we crawled and reached the Gombaniya range from the right side of the pointed rock. After getting on to the range we started walking along it through the pygmy forest and shorter version of bush bamboos until we reached the first flat rock. From here we went further and reached the second flat rock which was sloped but yet a spectacular view point. On one side we could see the adjoining mountain (Yakkungegala / Rathnatenna kanda) forming a remarkable drop towards Wallapomulla side. The river flowing at the bottom of the abyss called Kuda oya later meets up with Kalu ganga which rises from Kalupahana. When the mist got cleared we saw far away lakes at Mahiyanganaya. So on a clear day one could enjoy a spectacular sun rise over the eastern ocean from here and witness a magnificent sun set from the west. On the other side of the mountain Campbell’s lane forest reserve and Hunnasgiri peak was seen clearly whenever the mist thinned off. The mist was blowing towards us like clouds crashing into us. There were so many unforgettable moments which I couldn’t convert in to paragraphs but only relish in my memories. The range was a long one but covered with forest cover and we did proceed along it until the mist settled permanently. It is said during the flowering season the whole range is covered with thousands of flowers (especially Binara). We did come across many flowers during our expedition though they were found spread in a scattered manner.

first view once getting on to gombaniya range

unknown

time for exploration

first flat rock

beautiful leaves

it cleared out on and off

what a diversity

another beauty

are we in heaven?

the drop from heaven

gombaniya peak seen far away

the best view point

towards Rathtota

hunnasgiri range

towards Wallapomulla

Yakkunge hela drop

note the cliffs

far away lakes of mahiyanganaya could be seen

kuda oya meets kalu ganga on its later part

lovely

Yakkungegala or Rathnatenna kanda

mist been blown away from the abyss

Madulkele

Campbell’s lane reserve covered with mist

hanging free

gombaniya range

nelu

wow	Bladderwort(Utricularia spp.)

red tree tops

lovely isn’t it

more to go

flowered bed

heavenly

what a seat!

sheer drops

imagine been here

spooky

grandfathers beard

I really love this one

had to stop here

The extreme cold winds caused us to shiver at 12pm so we had to take our lunch to gain our lost calories and get ready to descend back. The descend was going smoothly until we lost the path at one place and out of nowhere a shower poured down to terrify us. Fortunately most of us in our group were knowledgeable on trekking so following some fruitful discussions and decisions we found the path running close to the waterfall. At this point we came across a horned lizard who was a good poser too. There were only 3 or 4 leeches that worried me during this hike and the high altitude should be thanked for that. We entered the tea patch covered with mud and continued along the estates until we got a trishaw to Panwila. This was a memorable and once in a lifetime adventure that was done with caution. There are plenty of valleys to get lost and if you don’t climb from the proper place you are going to be in trouble. Hope this would be helpful to others who want to venture in to Gombaniya in future.

lunch time

mist was becoming permanant

in to the mist

I will always snap these

Binara

most flowers are either purple or pink

bamboos are providing some comfort to this shivering soul

down we go

bye bye

crawling at sometimes

horned lizard

the team at end destination

he decided to have an ice cold swim

looking back

Thanks for reading!

It was a wet Sunday morning when I woke up for a steaming cup of coffee and the usual Sunday paper. There was this article about a village that, according to the exaggerated version of the journalist, saw the morning sun signing checking in around 9am and then signing out early evening around 4pm.

Naturally I got hooked and tried to imagine what it would be like to live in a place like that. I was craving for that experience when out of nowhere Ashan sent in the report of his journey to this beautiful place.  Yet it didn’t have what I was looking for so got my old gang together and went there, not just for a quick visit, but to stay there overnight to witness this strange occurrence. Well you know all about that journey by now, don’t you?

We were quite taken in by the fact that Rev. Dhammananda Thero who is actually from Horana area, had gone to this ultra-rural village trying to help these innocent villagers without a temple to worship let alone a monk. It must be appreciated the amount of energy and effort he has put into convert a then abandoned community hall into a temple. The kids and even the adults were not aware of the usual religious rituals as there was no monk to do those for them. Now they have not only Dhammananda thero but four more little monks to carry on the good work in to the future.

Sadly there are few obstacles for the chief monk to stay in the community hall cum temple. There are factors that try to undermine the good work done by the monk and they try to evict him from the community hall even though the regional secretary has given the approval. So he’s now trying to build the temple on a land given by a villager. It’s only partially completed and if there is anyone or an organization either government or non-government willing to help complete this, it’d bring lot of good for the people and the village.

I must also mention the good work carried out by the Kohonawala School, especially the principal Mr. Jayasena. NG and the team had visited the school and were very much impressed by what they saw. If only the people got together and used whatever resources available for the betterment of the village, they would see a dramatic change in a very short time.

Ok, that is where the situation stands and after my visit, NG, one of the hard core Lakdasun member and a very good friend, arranged an eye camp with the help of Vision 20/20 for these people. You must have seen her report, (she was forced to write a report after a very long time) if not do check it out. Dr. Asela and his team had traveled all the way from Colombo and walking down to the village via Madolsima and staying the night amid minimal facilities conducted the eye camp following morning distributing a lot of eye glasses for free. What’s more, on their way back, they had had to repeat the process all over again for another huge crowd at Urumeethenna. Hats off to them for such a noble effort.

NG didn’t stop there. She took on another big task. If you read my report, you must have seen the 8-year old handicap boy who was badly in need of a wheelchair. She initiated the project to get him a wheelchair, not just another one but a custom built one that can tackle the rugged terrain of Kohonawala. Well by the time you read this, he will be rolling around in his new and tailor made wheel chair that was donated by the kind donors who insisted to remain anonymous. I’ll be sure to send in a detailed account of the event afterwards.

Guess it’s time I got to the story at hand. From the first time I saw Viyangala, the beautiful lady towering over Kohonawala as if protecting it from the evils of the urbanized parts; I wanted very badly to conquer her. She had all the hallmarks of a gorgeous lady and in my first visit I kept inquiring about her yet not many encouraged my thoughts of climbing her. A mysterious veil had been draped over her keeping the outsiders as far away as possible. We later got to know that there are rumors of treasures on top of Viyangala and villagers discouraged or most of the time reported anyone, be it somebody from the nearby villages or outside, to the forest officials and Madolsima police. That’s the last thing I wanted so decided to do it with the help of the chief monk and the villagers.

Day 01

The unforgiving drought had hit most of the country, especially Uva and North Central bringing the day to day life to a standstill. Kohonawala too had been a victim of this merciless curse depriving them of drinking water and water for farming. We experience the drought hit Welimada, B’Wela and N’Eliya few weeks ago. You can read all about it too. When I called the monk to check if it was ok to come and climb, he was all encouraging and decided to go ahead as there was no better time like the present. One of my partners in crime, Atha too agreed to come with Prasa (mini version of Hariya) and we initially planned to do it on Saturday and Sunday but figured it would be a nightmare traveling up and down with the people going to and from their hometowns. So I decided to make it on Friday and Saturday instead. This is when things went haywire and Atha got all confused of the dates.

He was nicely having a nap when I called him around 9.30pm even after having the tickets with him.  The bus was however leaving Pettah at 10pm. I can never explain the panic I got into. I tried calling the temple and informing him of cancellation. He had made all the arrangements and it had just gone 10pm. I didn’t wanna let all the preparation down the drain so decided to go on my own. I’d never got ready in such a short time before and waking a friend of mine reached the high level road around 10.30pm hoping to catch a Badulla bus. As we were going towards Nugegoda, I saw the light blue sign of the semi-luxury bus and looking closer it turned out to be the Madolsima bus. I couldn’t believe my eyes and we gave chase for about a couple of kilometers and caught it.

The conductor was kind enough to let me have one of the booked seats even though I didn’t have the tickets with me. Well it was a pickle of good and bad. I had a dreamless night and reached Madolsima around 6am. Calling the temple I got to know that one of the villagers was on his way to meet me. We got together and having bought a few rations set off to the Kohonawala turn off in a tuk tuk. It’s about 1km and cost me Rs. 100/-. We reached the sign board that says Kohonawala School, 9.6km and started our journey through the tea estate.

The morning chill soon gave way to the rising sun that penetrated the path in all directions. The sun was behind us and we could see towards Kahataruppa miles away. Suddha, the villager that accompanied me, led the way carrying the stuff on his shoulder while I kept stopping every now and then to capture as much as the scenery in my lens. We saw an old person resting on a rock coming from the village. He had a big sack full of manioc (it makes my mouth water just thinking of all that freshly dug manioc with unique lunu miris) taking to Madolsima to sell and buy some stuff for his home. It’s unfathomable the arduous journey they make everyday up and down just to buy the basic items and sell whatever they find under severe weather conditions.

The surrounding countryside looked parched and many Mana patches had been torched by people for some reason beyond me. So it was a mixture of dark green patches of trees scattered across the sun bleached yellowish hills. The ravines below showed signs of life with houses and plots of paddy fields. The charred areas where Mana was burnt added to the already vivid painting. In no time we reached the “Padi Seeya” (100 steps) where there is a steep downhill path through the tea bushes. Already there was a person coming up and a lady holding a baby girl closely behind him tackling the steep ascent. I spoke to him and he was very cheerful and even bothered to show me a worship place of the estate workers high up on top of a rock. The child, even though being carried by the lady right through, looked exhausted as a result of the heat and the continuous swaying. I managed to take a pic of her (one of the few must-have requirements for me during a journey) and we carried on.

The view of endless panoramic mountains kept us company. We got the first glimpse of Viyangala to our one o’clock and the mostly used Ambalama in the 21st century was barely visible. I knew for a fact that it was 1.8km from the temple to the turpentine trees beyond the Ambalama coz Sheham measured it last time we walked up from the village. So it couldn’t be 9.6km from the turn off to the village, I of course had no GPS with me but it’s simply impossible I’d walked more than 7km till then. I guess Ashan had measured the whole length to be about 6km which sounds about right. The Viyangala kept to our right all the way even though having lost some of her lushness. We were soon walking through the turpentine patch and it brought back happy memories. You can check the videos of our last journey below.

Video 1 – Three Musketeers going downhill.

Video 2 – Documentary from the Ambalama.

I was beginning to feel the heat and was glad to be within touching distance from the Ambalama. Having rested our baggage on the bench I swallowed half a bottle of water in one go. I called the temple and spoke to the monk letting him know one hungry fella was on his way. This is when I came across the principal of Kohonawala School, Mr. Jayasena. I spoke to him for a few minutes before saying that we’d bring some books for the school next time. It was the school hols so I didn’t want to visit the school but hoping to do so coz of all the good things I’ve heard. After a much needed rest, we started going down. All the water streams were bone dry save for a tiny trickle of water in the main canal way below.

Despite all this there was music coming from a solar powered radio in one of the houses. We crossed the bridge and were in the village. In a few more minutes we reached the temple, after exactly 2.5hrs from Madolsima. There were the two small monks who are studying in the Pirivena in Padukka, come for the holidays. It was good to see them at last and I gave them the books I brought with me. There was another boy, Udara, also on holiday playing carrom with the little monks. I had a hearty meal of manioc with Lunu miris, unfortunately the drought had killed many chillie crops making it impossible to prepare the unique 12 different varieties Lunu miris. I savored every morsel and the day just wore on. Everyone I spoke to was pretty distraught about the lack of rains and was praying for some. There was this old person who we spoke to last time we went. You can check the videos below.

Video 1 – Inside of Kohonawala – 1 of 2

Video 1 – Inside of Kohonawala – 2 of 2

He was full of stories and this time it was about the elephant that disrupted their lives for nearly a week but a long time ago. None of them could remember an exact time but from what I gathered of everyone present, it is probably more than two decades ago. The elephant had come from Kahataruppa area and been roaming around for nearly a week feeling on the manioc and other crops. He had frightened nearly every one of the village sending them all with whatever they could grab towards Galulla, where Viyangala trail runs through, to their relatives’ places. Eventually the elephant had got fed up either manioc or frightening the villagers and gone towards Madolsima climbing all the way. Wonderful creatures, the elephants.

However none of them knew that their prayers would be answered in a couple of hours. Came the afternoon with the typical heat and we could see clouds gathering towards Madolsima over the Ambalama. “It’s gonna rain that I’ve come here” I said out loud. “It won’t, all those clouds are just for the show” the monk claimed. “I’m sure it’ll rain” I was willing it to rain just to mark my arrival and out of nowhere the winds picked up bringing hundreds of black clouds over the mountains. Birds that were hovering above vanished into the safety of their nests, however at the end of these strong gusts, how many of them were still standing was anybody’s guess. “If the winds keep like this rain will go away” Suddha sounded unbelieving. They had seen these preparations of the unpredictable weather patterns numerous times without a show and now were too skeptical to believe in it.

Then all hell broke loose. The sky was as if heavily pregnant, looming ever so larger than usual with charcoal grey clouds hanging barely with a single thread until she let them all go. The water came from all around whirlpooling in the tree-uprooting strong winds. Simultaneously the mist descended from heaven shrouding the surrounding mountains. There was this muslin cloth draped around us cocooning our community hall cum temple in an almost transparent shell. This must be like how those yet-to-be butterflies feel.

As soon as it came, everything flew off back beyond the mountains. The misty curtain was lifted as if by magic and the stage was set for the after-the-break show. While the drizzling kept at it, the view was superb yet again. Winds went to a faraway land leaving us all in peace and we got back into the open. Suddha was like a kid, all smiles as he had treated some pepper creepers the day before which was badly in need of water. Now everyone got some of their prayers answered. It was good to see those villagers get some deserved water. Hopefully there will be more in the following days. The monk was cooking a polos curry which looked salivating. I went to the water stream some way off and had a wash before settling for the night.

We planned for the following day while Udara and one of the little monks went in search of passion fruit that had fallen in the winds. They both returned with fourty of them having picked up 21 and 19 respectively. They all looked great and we decided to make passion fruit juice for the morning hike giving that extra kick of vitamin C. Meanwhile Suddha was moaning about having to accompany me to Viyangala. This is due to the fact that people’s beliefs about a treasure hidden on top of Viyangala. The legend is that there was a king who had temporarily sheltered on top of this rocky mountain having been lost in a battle with another. He had not built a permanent fortress on the top, instead used it as a transit point on his way to a safer place. “Viyan” means the top cover of a tent in Sinhala. So it makes sense when this mountain is called “Viyan Bendi Gala” aka “Viyangala”, in English, the rock where the tents were erected.

So almost all the villagers are vary of whoever trying to climb this. The people in Galulla village which is closer to the top half of the rock keep their eyes wide open for any intruders, be it one of their own or someone outside. This will result in them giving an innocent phone call to the Madolsima police, forest officials or the Grama Niladhari (Village Chief). One of these factors would rush in and you would have a armful of problems to deal with. However, the OIC of Madolsima police know the monk well and he said if something happens he could explain. He then sent a message to a villager who is living close to the rock, pretty much at the edge of Galulla village informing him of our arrival. The little monks too wanted to join me on this journey and Udara, the little boy wasn’t in the mood to be refused of all the fun. So after a hearty dinner of Kurahan Thalapa and Polos curry I went to a deep sleep hoping to see Viyangala in my dreams.

At the turn off…

Suddha leading the way

Picturesque mountains all around

Some more

Towards Kahataruppa, can barely see our footpath towards the bottom of the pic

Despite the drought, they keep at them

Mesmerized by the scenery

Going towards Madolsima

There’s a rock at an odd angle somewhat in the middle

Here up close

It’s just another routine for the villagers

This is called the “Diya Kandura” and all the villagers that go back and forth clench their thirst

Getting somewhat shady

The platform where they used to have cables to transport tea buckets

Padi Seeya

What a terrifying journey

She was so exhausted

One of the many estate worshipping places so far high

Can’t get enough of them

Just imagine their plight

Charred mountainsides blending with the colors

First glimpse of Viyangala

We have to go downhill. Further afield is the turpentine patch up to where we walked last time

Most popular Ambalama in the 21st Century

The path is almost overgrown

According to Suddha, there had been a tractor path along the now barely visible footpath up to here to collect the tea leaves

The shade was a welcoming sign after the exposure to unforgiving sunlight

Brought back happy memories of the last journey

Plenty of hills but the right hand lady was the one I was very interested in

The village of Kohonawala zoomed from Ambalama

Framed

This must be the most popular but with the least amount of history behind it

Going further downhill

Vibrant colors

When raining, this could be slippery

It was school hols so no visit was possible

Entering the village boundary

As usual, the pot and the hearth are ready to serve the travelers

What more a hungry wonderer like me asks for?

“Pabalu Iringu”, an especial kind

All ready for the Polos Curry

Cooking to perfection

Sleeping without a care in the world

There it comes, everyone was so glad of the rains and I felt like the Rain God.

Finally he decided to go up for precautionary measures

Almost ready

The harvest was rich

New toy for them for the hols

Udara planning his next move while Vajira, the kid from last time, is looking on

Day 02

I got up to the noise of puppies crying for their mother. It had just gone 6am and I could hear the people had already brought morning alms to the temple and little monks were doing the rituals. I got up lazily and strode out to see the Ambalama, higher up in the mountains on the way towards Madolsima. It was a fine morning and the little monks had started to cut the passion fruit preparing to make juice. We had more than enough to make two 1.5-liter bottles, plenty for three kids and two adults. Udara was summoned so he too could join in the workload. While he and one little monk were making the juice, I accompanied the other with a hoe and a basket to dig some manioc from the garden. We managed to find a good haul of them only having to dig at two plants. The chief monk took on the task of peeling and boiling them. I went on with the washing of myself very carefully as the water was a very scarce commodity. By the time I finished the peeled off manioc was in the pot looking creamy white having shed their brown and pink outer cover, all set to be boiled.

I got ready while they went on with their choirs. In no time juice was made and carefully strained into two bottles and boiled manioc already served on a freshly cut banana leaf with hot Lunu Miris. We had milk rice and manioc for breakfast and packed most of it wrapped in the same banana leaf for lunch. Udara had gone and put on a new suit for the journey, would you believe it now? New clothes to climb a mountain through the dense undergrowth? I’m sure lady Viyangala must have been flattered by the naivety of this kid. Suddha still wasn’t fully convinced and looked to bolt at the slightest chance despite numerous reassurances from the chief monk. We bid our farewell to him and were on our way. I was planning to get to Madolsima from Galulla. I promised to come back soon with the wheelchair for that handicap boy. We started our journey while the sun kept coming over the mountains to haunt us with his piercing rays.

Well, there are two ways to reach the Viyangala, one relatively easy and the other is pretty tough. If one chose to go climb the mountain from Madolsima, it’s the easy way. You have to take the Madolsima – Ekiriya road about 3-4km till you reach the Galulla turn off to your left through the Galulla tea estate. From there it’s another 1-2km to the Galulla village along the estate road till you reach the Bo Tree with a mud hut next to it. This is called the Pahalagama junction. The estate road is concrete paved but only at places. The rest is in not-so-good condition but motorable. From the Bo tree, there’s a path that starts with steps to your right. It’s 3800 feet from here to the last house of the village where you have to climb the last bit of Viyangala. The house belongs to a very hospitable farmer called Gune. “How do you know the exact distance to his house from the Bo tree”, you’re bound to ask me and the answer is easy. Gune had measured it with the Grama Niladhari in the hope of making that path into at least a tuk tuk-driven one. Because they too have to carry their harvest on their heads to the Pahalagama junction to be sent to the town, not so a tough task compared to Kohonawala people. The most unfortunate thing is when they have more than one sacks of things to transport, which is most often the case, they have to do multiple trips back and forth carrying them. However they have to leave somebody to guard those sacks against thieves. Otherwise when they go back for another load, one they brought before would’ve been vanished without a trace. Well that is their plight for you.

Coming back to the directions, when you reach Gune’s house, it’s less than a kilometer hike to the top of the Viyangala. That is always supposing Gune lets you walk through his garden to climb. Well, if you speak to the chief monk of Kohonawala temple first and then he recommends you to Gune, you should be ok. I have given his contact number, so if you wanna climb this, do check with him in advance. However do try not to disturb him unnecessarily as he’s always working in his lands trying to make a living. It’s always best to contact the temple first and get through to him via the chief monk. So it was the easy path but for some mockery of my destiny, I was to take the difficult one from the Kohonawala climbing all the way to Galulla then walk across to Gune’s house.

We passed the village and walked along a tiny footpath that winds up the mountain to Galulla. Ideally we should have started as early as possible, say around 6.30am but all our preparations took its sweet little time. The Viyangala was now to our left looking down on us as if challenging us to climb her. “Who Dares Wins” is the motto of elite British commando unit, Special Air Service aka SAS and it’s one of my favorite mottos and I wasn’t gonna falter having come all this far. The heat kept breathing down our necks and we had made a grave error in our hasty preparations. We had two bottles of passion fruit juice but not a drop of water; gosh I wanted to kick myself for overlooking it. It made me feel worse after tasting the juice as it was a wee bit saltier than necessary. It means only one thing; it will make you all the thirstier. I couldn’t possibly have let three kids aged between 9 and 14 to figure it out. Thank goodness Hari wasn’t there otherwise he’d moaned to death without water.

We made good ground but my fully laden back pack dragged me down making every step a challenge. In about an hour we cleared the trees and entered a Mana patch that was taller than us in most places. We could see the mountains to Kahataruppa and the Ambalama was still way higher up. I kept asking Suddha if the Galulla village is in line with the Ambalama just to get a sense of the height but he said to my great disappointment, that it was higher than that. “Ok legs, be ready for more, this is just the beginning” I mumbled to myself. The razor sharp Mana blades scraped my exposed arms and legs but I hardly felt it as I kept it going steadily up patting the battle scarred legs. After what felt like an eternity, we reached a flat area where there had been a house long ago. Now only the remains of the foundation and a well could be seen. Udara said the grandpa who was the last to live in the house now roams around in a ghost form. That was why he and one of the little monks who had climbed before us were waiting for our arrival. So it’s a well-known thing but I had a lot on my plate at the time than to worry about those unseen spirits.

The passion juice did very little to clench my thirst, nevertheless the kids kept gulping it down blaming one another for adding more salt than sugar. I was the worst affected but not about to call it quits. We continued from there towards Galulla. Well, I think I’ll now save you the trouble of having to read me struggling uphill and get to the point.

Having taken numerous breaks on the way, we finally crossed the wooden post that acts as a gate and reached the first house of Galulla village. The household was very hospitable, more so due to the presence of little monks. After a long pull of water, we were offered some tea, in the monks’ terms “Gilanpasa”. The old grandpa warned us against trying to climb the mountain but we were determined to, especially the little monks and Udara were in no mood to back down. He said that Gune might not be at home, even if he was, he wouldn’t let us go through his garden. “Well, we’ll have to take our chances and go see, won’t we?” said one of the monks and that settled the matter. We dumped one bottle of juice and filled it with water. Thankfully it was a flat terrain that we had to walk till we reached Gune’s house. We did it soon and were at his gate which was closed. On the corrugated tin plate that acts as the gate was painted with a map of some sort and a telephone number.

It was a crude hand drawn map which I couldn’t make head or tail. We saw someone in the distance close to house and Suddha spoke to him. Another came out of the house and told us the gate was unlocked and we could come in. I was relieved and we went through. It’s about 200m walk along a jack tree-lined path to the house. There were lime and orange trees full of fruits but on the verge of falling off due to lack of water. We were warmly welcomed by Gune and one of his relatives Kalu Ayya. The usual offers of water and tea followed one after. That is the typical Sri Lankan hospitality to you.

His house is located at a very beautiful place just below the summit and you can see miles all around, especially towards Mahiyangana, we could see a couple of tanks too probably Loggal Oya reservoir, Hepola Oya reservoir and Dambarawa tank. At night he could see the Mahiyangana town clearly, even the gigantic Buddha statue, Gune claimed proudly. However and atmospherical haze limited our vision and it was hard to beat the glare of the sun. Gune has been living in this house for the last three decades but now he lives on his own as both his parents had passed away. What a beautiful place to have, I kept wondering. In fact his land is the gateway for the winds that are gushing from one end to the other and he has a helluva job keeping his roof intact. After the pleasantries we decided to start the hike. In fact he’s laid a small pipeline stretching about couple of hundred meters halfway to the summit bringing a trickle of water that is being originated amid Mana bushes. We followed it around the rock till we reached the spring. He’d built a tiny squarely shaped structure with a cotton cloth over it acting as a filter. Clever chap, isn’t he? According to his and the villagers’ beliefs, God Kalu Bandara is protecting them, and that tiny trickle of water is a gift from that God to him.

The sun tried his best to inconvenience us but the cool breeze coming from all around the mountains kept us sane. Everywhere were the signs of wildlife as there were dungs of rabbits and wild boars. After tackling through 6-foot tall Mana bushes for the second time of the day we finally arrived at the summit where a tiny slab of the rock visible from the dense grass and Mana undergrowth. We could see all around but that taller than us Mana plants made the visibility not so easy, especially the camera found it hard to focus on anything other than the blades of Mana. It shows no lens can be smarter than the naked eye.

The Kohonawala village was so far down in the ravine that we had to get closer to the edge of the rock for a proper look. We could see a smoke rising beyond the school. We could also see a few houses scattered across only the roofs were visible among the greenery. We managed to shoot three short clips, kinda documentary from this majestic location. Do check them out below.

Documentary 1 of 3.

Documentary 2 of 3.

Documentary 3 of 3.

There was a large Nuga tree growing from a side of the mountain. There was Gune’s house below, far down than I imagined. We could even see the Ambalama but at definitely a lower level. I just couldn’t believe that I was actually here having only dreamt about it last time from the Ambalama. So the tables were changed along with the positions. We took a different and shorter path downhill and reached his house in high spirits. We were ravenous and as soon as we got home Gune handed out plates around for manioc lunch. Gosh, it tasted so much better after a strenuous hike. Having devoured our sumptuous meal we were on our way as there was so much to go. We had 3800 more feet to reach the Bo tree at Pahalagama, you know how the distance came but not before paying a brief visit to Gune’s chena cultivation of manioc that he is so proud of. It’s located facing the Viyangala giving a clear view of Kohonawala downhill. Gune didn’t wanna leave us there so instead followed us to the Bo tree and even called for a tuk tuk for us to get to Madolsima.

Their cries woke me up

Must’ve been darn hungry

Busily making juice for the climb

Other one making tea

Gosh, he’s found some

The hero of the day

Our cache of manioc

Still half built

See the roof is broken due to a branch of the Bo tree falling on it

Inside the Image house

Plenty more to do

Proposed Sanghawasa

They do toddy tapping too

Fresh

And salivating

Couldn’t have have asked for more

The team, from left: Rev. Deepananda Thero, Udara, Suddha and Rev. Chandananda Thero

Gosh, so steep and so far to go for our goal

Passing the last house met on the way in Kohonawala

Gosh, I’m already lagging behind

Fabulous views

Taking a much needed rest

Clear view towards Kahataruppa

Gosh, some more

We could hardly see in front of us

Having run past us, they were waiting in the fear of the ghost

Madolsima path is towards this side

Here’s a close up of the Ambalama

At the place where a house used to be now believed to be roamed by a spirit

That smoke is coming from Kohonawala

Very old grandpa

Waiting for our tea

He was very reluctant to come but decided to help us nonetheless

The drinking water was all we needed

Hi Pinky!

They look great despite the drought

On our way walking towards Gune’s house

Collecting those precious drops of water

This is the 3800-foot long path

They were always leading

Shady

Here’s the tin sheet and the map. Can you see the telephone number?

Shady path to his house

Makeshift Budu Medura

It’s like entering an orchard

Plenty of them

Ripe nicely

Larger version of them, Jambola

But had no time to savor these

Towards Mahiyanganaya

Possibly the Loggal Oya Reservoir

The team before the last bit

Gune leading the way,

Further in the forest patch is Gune’s house and we tackled the path kissing the rocky wall. Note the pipeline

The path towards Ekiriya and Metigahathenna is below

Expecting rains, the paddy fields is like steps carved on the ground

What little water is filtered before sending along the pipeline

Telling us his stories

Taller than us Mana bushes

Rabbit dung

No idea who this belongs to

The temple seen from Kohonawala

Endless mountains

Some more

This is towards Galulla Tea Estate

Here’s the hut in Gune’s manioc cultivation zoomed

No clear footpath

The path towards Madolsima in the distance while you can see the path we took in the light greenery area

Ambalama and the turpentine patch is here

Looking downhill made me feel dizzy

Here’s the team

Took a short cut

Hungry

Gune’s hut at the manioc chena

Ready to cook meals and make tea

Here’s inside

Have you seen Manioc fruits? This came as a surprise but they were not edible

View from the hut. We were there and got down to the tree (the one above the tiny along the slope) on the slope. Looking from here it makes me scared

Going back

Just before Pahalagama Junction

Galulla Tea Estate

Pahalagama Bo Tree, up to here it’s motorable from Madolsima

They’ve built a hut

I like this

It’s not concrete paved all the way but only at places

Final glance towards the mountains and the Kohonawala is deep down

Having thanked him profusely we bid farewell to him and were on our way. We all reached Madolsima around 4pm and I got a bus to Passara while the rest of my team took the journey back to Kohonawala. It’d been a rollercoaster of two days it didn’t end till 3am when I reached home so exhausted even to breathe.

Well I didn’t think I would end up doing this hike at first but instantaneous decisions got me through all that. I hope you guys enjoyed it and I could bring this unknown beauty in style for you.

Enjoy some Panos too.

Pano 1

Pano 2

Pano 3

Pano 4

Pano 5

Pano 6

Pano 7

Hopefully I’ll be able to bring you the scenes of our handing over of the wheelchair to that boy in the next episode. By the time you read this, it’d have happened.

Keeping the fingers crossed.

Take care and keep exploring, this is Sri signing off for now.

P.S. I’m glad to let you know that we delivered the wheelchair to the boy in the village and are now in the process of helping them build the Image House aka Dhathu Mandiraya. Take a look at the Videos of Wheelchair Donation and will send in the details with the next report.

Further, Prasanna (Prasa) and Ana have funded the much needed cement and metal for the Image House. They deposited the money to the account and the monk is in the process of re-starting the building work. Fortunately, they’ve also received money from the government for the Sanghawasa. Hopefully both the image house and Sanghawasa will be completed soon giving the village a much needed temple.

This beautiful waterfall is situated within the Sinharaja rain forest. It got my attention in my visit to Sinharaja in Kudawa side. But this was attempted by waterfall lovers from Morning side at Sinharaja. Mr. Thilakasiri (Caretaker of Morning side forest bungalow for a long time) confirmed the foot pathway to waterfall has been forested now. Then I was heard it can be attempted from Ilumbekanda side. From our inquiries at Pothupitiya town, we got to know it can be reached by Denawak Kanda.

After a strenuous three wheel journey (due to bad road condition), we came to Denawak Kanda. Our three wheel driver also agreed to join with us as he has not visited there before. His uncle was kind enough to show us the beginning of the foot pathway from the tea patch, but refused to come with us as he was busy with tea plucking. But he assured foot pathway is clear till the waterfall. Therefore this journey was an expedition for us.

Duwili Falls is indicated by black circle. Black star shows Denawak Kanda

Terrible road condition

Misty forest

Beragala (බෙරගල) Mountain

Scarlet Minivet (Orange Minivet)

Ranwala Waterfall (රoවල ඇල්ල). Situated at Denawak Kanda village. I couldn’t go there

Foot pathway begins. Crossing the tiny dam

Foot pathway to the forest starts here. Note this small house at tea patch

Clear area of the foot pathway

Following rituals

Heen dola (හීන් දොල)

Walking along the river is difficult as it is full of stones

Unclear foot pathway

Ilumbekanda Duwili Falls is 40m in height and it has three parts. We climbed up to top of the third part. Second part flows in two sides. It is difficult to reach lower part of third part. Earlier it was named as “Du Bili Wu Ella” (දූ බිලිවූ ඇල්ල) and later it became Duwili Falls. This is made by Heen Dola and later it joins with Kalu Ganga.

First sight of the waterfall

Note it can be climbed till 2nd part

First step and second step has two parts

Closer view of first part and right branch of second part

Right branch of second part

Fast and furious left branch of second pa

Most beautiful left branch of second part

On top of third part

Surrounding view

After a successful journey

At the end of the day. Captured by Amila

Mihinduthala Buddhist Hermitage (මිහිදුතලා ආරාණ‍ය සේනාසනය)

Mihinduthala Buddhist hermitage is situated 6km from Pothupitiya closer to the great rain forest of Sri Lanka-Sinharaja. It is surrounded by Beragala Mountain, Denawak Kanda and Sooriyakanda (සූරිය කන්ද) mountain range and a natural water stream flows into the hermitage.

This hermitage was started by Rev. Wiharahene Dammasiddhi Thero at 1978. You have to take right turn from the road towards to reach Mihinduthala Buddhist Hermitage.

Mihinduthala Buddhist Hermitage

Natural water stream flows to the hermitage

New constructions

“Dathu Mandiraya” ධාතු මන්දිරය

Surrounding mountain range

Misty forest

Kira Wawa (කිරා වැව)
This small lake is situated closer to the road from Kalawana to Rakwana in between 8-9km posts in right hand side. This was constructed by a person called Kira (1820-1865) without a help from others. He has spent about 25years to build this lake (1840-1864) and used only “Kithul Hula” (කිතුල් හුල) and “Kolapatha” (කොලපත) as equipments.
Later he was given a wheel barrow and a hoe by British government. He was considered as a hero due to this activity.

Kira Wewa is situated on the side of Kalawana-Pothupitiya/Rakwana road

Kira Wewa

Thank you for reading.

This is part of my dream trip and part of Harinda’s dream. On my way to Kehelpothdoruwegala climbing I heard about a foot pathway from Kalugala to Meemure. Harinda has noted a foot pathway from Alugal Lena to Meemure in his Alugal Lena trip. We wanted to combine these two trails and do it in two days with camping at Alugal Lena.

I would like to divide this trekking into few stretches:

1. Hunnasgiriya to Thangappuwa via Corbet’s gap
2. Thangappuwa to Alugal Lena
3. Alugal Lena to Karambakatiya
4. Karambakatiya to Na Ela
5. Na Ela to Kalugala

1. Hunnasgiriya to Thangappuwa via Corbet’s gap.

We reached Hunnasgiriya town from Colombo at 10.30 am. After buying necessary things from Hunnasgiriya we called to a three wheeler to reach Thangappuwa. Weather was gloomy and it was about to rain. We have planned to meet our trekkers (Shiwa and Rajendran) at Thangappuwa. On our way we enjoyed the surrounding beauty. Though we asked to get ticket to visit at Alugal Lena from Deenstone ticket counter, they said no need. We met our trekkers in Thangappuwa at 1pm.

View from Hunnasgiriya to Corbet’s gap: Nawenagala (1487m) covered with mist

View from Hunnasgiriya to Corbet’s gap: Black arrow-Kehelpothdoruwegala (කෙහෙල්පොත්දොරුවේගල). Red arrow-Garandi Gala (ගැරඩි ගල)

View at Corbet’s Gap: Misty peaks

View at Corbet’s Gap: Road to Meemure

View at Corbet’s Gap: Meemure will get electricity from central line through Thangappuwa in near future

View at Corbet’s Gap: Dumbara Valley and Kandy-Mahiyangana road shown in arrow

View at Corbet’s Gap: Red star-Balalgira (බලල් ගිර), Green star-, Black star-Friar’s Hood. Balalgira is a good view point. (Refer trip report )

View from Corbet’s gap to Thangappuwa: Dumbanagala (දුම්බානාගල)

View from Corbet’s gap to Thangappuwa: Mahiyangana town

View from Corbet’s gap to Thangappuwa: Sorabora Wewa (සොරබොර වැව) at Mahiyangana

After having lunch from Shiva’s place at Thangappuwa, we started the walk to Alugal Lena.

2. Thangappuwa to Alugal Lena

Foot pathway to Alugal Lena from Thangappuwa started behind the line houses of Thangappuwa. It has an initial ascent through tea patch and then few ascends and descends. We came across the foot pathways to Kotaganga Falls and Knuckles peaks in our left hand side. We were caught to a heavy rain during the walking and surrounding was occupied by thick mist following rain. Forest department has cleared the foot pathway recently and therefore no difficulty in reaching the destination. There were abundant water streams due to rain. After 3hours journey we reached Alugal Lena.

At Thangappuwa Town. Direction board with distances – Click Image to Enlarge

Smiley faces

Initial ascent of foot pathway

Crossing a bridge

View of Thangappuwa

Pouring rain. This board shows kind of a resting place

Abundant water streams

Clear foot pathway

Foot pathway to Kota Ganga Falls (කොට ගග ඇල්ල

Misty forest

Entering to a plane where five peaks of Knuckles visible. But we were not able to see them due to mist

Black arrow shows the foot pathway to Knuckles peaks. White arrow to Alugal Lena

Having a break to remove leeches

First glimpse of Alugal Lena Mountain

Alugal Lena

Alugal Lena (1515m)

Alugal Lena is situated at the base of Alugal Lena Mountain. This cave is surrounded by old Cardamom estates. Two families have lived there when cardamom estate functions well. Therefore still brick walls can be seen. Don’t know the historical background of this cave. This is an ideal place for camping. We could detect a water source just above and right hand side of the cave. Space is enough for about 20-30 people to stay.

We have spent the night at Alugal Lena and went down to Karambakatiya next day morning.

Note-Enough space in Alugal Lena

Separate place for bonfire

Where we slept. We didn’t need a tent

How we got water

Warm up

Five in the journey. Left and right hand fellows are our trekkers

3. Alugal Lena to Karambakatiya.

Foot pathway to Karambakatiya starts infront of Alugal Lena. Initially it descends sharply through cardamom bushes. Therefore it takes time to go down as need of well control. We came across a “Wadiya” (වාඩිය) where people rest when they come to pluck Enasal. Foot pathway is clear as it is frequently used. It crossed several water streams and went parallel to the main stream. We got 3hours to reach Karambakatiya where road from Hunnasgiriya to Meemure goes. We said good bye to our trekkers after this section.

White arrow shows the foot pathway to Karambakatiya. Black arrow shows the foot pathway from Thangappuwa

Getting down was bit difficult

Old cardamom estates are still functioning. They can’t clear and put fertilizer to Enasal estate. But can pluck them

Cardamom

Peaks are getting cleared from mist.

Tree arch

Getting down from this part was bit diff cult.

Road side beauty

Reaching Enasal Wadiya. Note the foot pathway restarts behind the house

Tree man.

Another sharp descend

“Maussa”(මා උස්සා) plant. When this plant accidentally touches you, will develop severe itching

Some part of the foot pathway has been vanished due to landslides. But if you look around carefully you can find the other end of the foot path way

Toddy Tapping

A land mark. Foot pathway goes closer to this rock

Junction. Take right hand foot pathway

This is the largest water steam we came across

Alugal Lena Mountain. Cave is at the base of this

Abandoned house

Another junction. Take left foot pathway. (White arrow)

Entering to Mana area

Landscaping…

Return to civilization. Brick walls of Karambakatiya village

Directions. Hari (right) shows the direction to Meemure. Nirosh shows direction to Hunnasgiriya. Foot pathway to Alugal Lena is behind them. Few meters after this point towards Meemure, there was a tea shop. We had a plane tea with Kithul jaggery before our next stretch

4. Karambakatiya to Na Ela.

This part can be done by a vehicle. Actually this is the road to Nitro cave. Though we tried to find a three wheeler to complete this stretch we couldn’t. Then we decided to walk with enjoying the scenic view of surrounding. The road goes through Kumbukgolla and then ended up at Na Ela. On our way we came across the foot pathway from Meemure to Nitro cave. (Refer trail guide). At this junction you may notice other foot pathway to Kosgolla Estate. We didn’t follow that one. I wanted to meet Sugatha Mama at Na Ela village to clarify the direction to Kalugala. He showed another foot pathway from Na Ela to Kosgolla Estate. Both foot pathways joined together at one point.

Take first left turn with the bend when you go up towards Corbet’s gap. Concrete road towards Kumbukgolla

Road condition is good now up to Na Ela village. At Na Ela now they are making a parking area for vehicles which go to Nitro cave. Most probably with a ticket counter

Where we came. Black arrow shows Alugal Lena Kanda. Alugal Lena cave is at it’s base. Knuckles peaks most probably at the area shown by the star

The road winds down to Meemure. But Pusse Ela (පුස්සේ ඇල) and Kaikawala (කයිකාවල) are before Meemure

Knuckles massif

Might be one of Seven Falls of Meemure

Corbet’s gap/Attala Mattuwa (අට්ටාල මට්ටුව)

Passing Kumbukgolla village

Kalupahana 2/ “Hellena gala.” (කළුපහන 2/හෙල්ලෙන ගල)

Lakegala Zoomed

Important four way junction. Red arrow shows the foot pathway from Kaikawala. Yellow arrow shows Karambakatiya side. Blue arrow shows the way towards Na-Ela. Black arrow shows the foot pathway from Kosgolla estate. But we didn’t follow this pathway to Kalugala

5. Na Ela to Kalugala.

This was the last stretch and most difficult as it took 4hours to reach Kalugala. We clarified our way from Sugatha Mama at Na Ela. He showed the foot pathway just behind the house next to his home. It ascended since beginning and reached to an open area where panoramic view of surrounding provides. Again it went up through the forest and joined with other road. Then it entered Kosgolla Estate. Though it is called Kosgolla Estate this part only has forest. We were fortunate to visit at Log Cabin of Kosgolla Estate (It is a kind of a cottage). Balcony of this Cabin had a beautiful view of Lakegala. Actually you need prior permission to enter this estate. Then we met estate manager and got permission. After passing line houses we have noticed some Enasal cultivation at this estate.

We had to pass a sharp ascend after Kosgolla estate to reach Ambalama. Following that it was a sharp descend till Kalugala. We hired a three wheeler from Kalugala to Ududumbara to get Kandy bus.

Starting the journey behind the house

Climbing up

Beautiful view at open area

Lakegala is shown by star and Kalupahana 2 is shown by arrow

The foot pathway we followed is shown by white arrow and black arrow shows other pathway. This is the junction

Entering to Kosgolla Estate. There were short cuts between proper pathways at the estate. We followed them

Dried waterfall inside the estate

Log Cabin of the estate

Splendid view of Lakegala from Log cabin

Moving away from Log cabin. Then you will come across the quarters of the estate. Estate manager was there

Kosgolla Line houses. Pathetic situation is children at this line houses don’t go to school. Then they have to go to Kalugala (2hour climbing) to buy household things

Proper cardamom section of the estate

Passing the estate

Passing the estate

Ascending up again

Directions to Kosgolla Estate

Reaching Ambalama (අම්බලම)

Faces tell the tiredness of the journey

Descended to Kalugala

Kandy-Mahiyangana road is shown by black arrow

Mahiyangana Town and Mapakada Lake

Getting down

Flat section….

Entering to Kalugala. This boutique is a land mark if you do this trail in other way round

Pathway in summary: Black star shows the starting point at Hunnasgiriya. Followed up to Corbet’s gap/ Attalamattuwa (Red star) then to Thangappuwa-Alugal Lena trail head (Brown star). Walking from Thangappuwa to Alugal Lena and then to Karambakatiya is shown by red arrows. Green star shows starting of road from Karambakatiya to Na Ela. Purple star shows the starting point at Na Ela and Purple arrows show the pathway to Kalugala via Kosgolla Estate. Ahs star shows the end point at Ududumbara. – Click Map to Enlarge

Thanks for reading

As Knuckles is a well known mountain range in Sri Lanka we felt guilty for not going hiking in this range. So after a few cancellation we decided to do this hike however. We got into a Colombo – Kandy bus from Mawanella around 06.45 am. We reached Kandy railway station around 7.20 am and wait for Matale train. We got into the slow train and reached Waththegama around 09.00 am. We took some bread and other items from Waththegama town.

Luckily we were able to catch a bus to Bambarella. The bus left around 09.30 am from Waththegama town. We were talking with the bus conductor and passengers regarding our knuckles route. BTW bus conductor told that he knew about the route and entrance point.

We reached Thawalamthenna around 11.00 am and we crossed the bridge and then keep on walking. So we came to a place where the steps are going on left so we decided to change the dress and start the hike.

The bus will take you to last stop; we had to walk from there…

You have to start the trail from this point

Suddenly a person whom travelled with us from Waththegama came to us and inquired about us. He said he was from Wildlife department. He asked us for the permission letter we obtained from department. So we convinced him and said that we were not aware of that permission issue. He said we should have to take an entrance ticket for Rs. 30/= and need to obtain a guide from there. He further pointed out that entering without permission will lead to 6 months jail or 200,000 rupees penalty.

Providing identification details to wild life department officer

We were able to compromise him that we are doing hiking from day one and nature lovers so no need to afraid on us and we provide our NIC numbers and including addresses so that he could trust us. BTW there was no one we can buy entrance tickets. So we said we will pay them when we are returning.

The Officer helped us on start of trail

So please take necessary permissions from wild life department or an entrance ticket from trail starting point and obtain the help of a guide

Then he accompanied with us for a while in walking and he showed the way to estate. We took our breakfast just before the estate and start our walking. When we came to estate we took left and walk. We had to walk nearly 4-5 km throughout the estate roads. After a long walk along the estate roads we came to the point where the real hike begins.

Walking along the green blanket of nature is an amazing experience

The gloomy background was a warning which we didn’t care of it

Walking through estate roads…

We came across this stream, unfortunately she was not that much water flowing..

Crew is walking through a bridge…

There are lot of streams crossing your way during the journey

Starting point of the actual trail, you will find directions in your RHS

A concrete patch of road leading to a small name board was the point where we had to start our real hike. It was already 12 and we were heading up for the mountains. At the beginning the surrounding was only covered with mana plants and as the period was drought, it had all dried up and we had to put an immense effort to battle it out with the sun.

Suresh is standing along with name board of Knuckles Peak Nature Trail…

After about 300m of ascending we came to a waterfall and spent some time there and started to move forward. After crossing the waterfall, it was easy for us to ascend because we had to go through the trees. After about half an hour of ascending we came on top of the 1st mountain. And then we headed towards the second one. It didn’t take much time for that within half an hour we got there.

.	A hidden beautiful waterfall always add values to a hike

But still time was running out and it was already 3.30pm then and the mist has started to cover up. So we made our stride as quickly as possible to the 3rd mountain as there were no suitable places to put up the tent in the second one. The path was bit clear, but we had to cover quite a lot of ground to reach up to the 3rd one than the other 2. As it was getting darker and as still we didn’t reach the top we were bit hesitant to go forward and we thought of tent somewhere over there. But before that we decided to send someone up to the top and see whether it is possible to go up that day itself. Aashik voluntarily took up the challenge and went to the top. Within 15 minutes he came down and said that the summit is not far away, and we could reach there in a 15 minutes time. And specially told that summit was the better place to put up the tent. So we all went up to the summit and after that we put up the tent as soon as possible.

The path is clear and you have to keep on walking towards top

Walking through bamboo jungle…

The range can be seen completely after you pass waterfall and continue your walk

BTW do not forget that Knuckles requires a long walk than you think

Entering into misty world..

Capturing a moment in mist

Yes we were staying on top of clouds :-)

It was a hide and search run with nature

But, to our unfortunate it began to rain heavily and the most unfortunate thing of all was that our tent became a pond and we were as frogs in the pond. Any way it was not going well for us. We tried to pour out the water with the baskets we had, but in vain.

Then we decided we should shift the tent somewhere else because it was not a pit where we had put up the tent. All the water was poured into our tent. Then 2 of us went out and found a better place. Then we shifted the place. After about 2 hours of intense raining, it began to ease up. Then we slept in the wet cover after consuming the dinner.

When we got up in the morning, it was really a heavenly place to see. If you are a real nature lover u will pump out your heart at it. We were amazed at seeing those beauties. After admiration, we took up our breakfast, bread and Tin Fish sambol.

View from our tent, where we were able to survive the flooding last night inside the tent

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.	Make your shadow over mountains (edited image and couldn’t find the original)

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.	Shadows tell how higher you are…

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.	It was slippery while climbing down..

Then we decided to descend down wards. The path was slippery as there had been rain previous night. We kept our strides carefully and descended down. Within an hour and a half we were able to reach the bottom.
We were able to get a fish therapy in river (just near the bridge) and got refreshed. All you had to do is just put your legs there and small fishes will come around your legs.

And then we reached Thawalamthenna we got to know that the buses scheduled that day weren’t working. So we had to walk to the next town. From there we got on to a public van and reached… after that we got home taking a bus from there. It was one of the memorable hikes we had.

Gal Koth Kanda-It’s unique appearance

View at Pahala Erawula area

This is the rock which looks about to fall

Most right peak is Gal Koth Kanda. View at Kandalama Lake bunt with Erawulagala

Triangular shape Mountain

Where it is situated

Gal Koth Kanda is circled. Map mentions it’s name as Dickandahena. But nobody knows it. – Click Map to Enlarge

Gal Koth Kanda got my attention in my Erawulagala climbing. (Refer report on) There was a triangular shape mountain next to Erawulagala and it was a separate mountain from Erawulagala range. I got to know it as Iththakanda but that name was wrong. Then people at Erawula inappropriately name it also as Erawulagala.

There is a unique appearance of this mountain. It has a large rock at top of the mountain which looks about to fall.

We followed the same way up to Erawula junction and got right turn from there to reach Erawula. (Left turn is to Kandalama Lake bunt and Kaludiya Pokuna). Then we passed Pahala Erawula School in right hand side and noticed a house in our left hand side just before Pahala Erawula Lake. A girl at that house confidently told it can be climbed behind the house but no foot pathway now.

So we started the climbing behind this house. Though there was no foot pathway it was not difficult to climb. There was minimal under growth and layers of dry leaves. Always we aimed the peak of the mountain and made our way towards it.

We started the journey behind this house. It is Mr. Punchi Banda’s house

Starting the hike behind the house without a proper foot pathway

Forest department boundary

At some places old foot pathway is clear. Recently nobody has gone to top. Therefore foot pathway was not clear

Getting to the rocky part of the mountain

After about 1/3rd of the journey we reached to first observation point. Surrounding peaks: Yakkurugala යක්කුරුගල (most right), Manikdena මැණික්දෙන (middle), and Gedaragalapathana ගෙදරගලපතන (most left)

Nearby Pahala Erawula Lake

Peak. More to go

Climbing is bit difficult now

Beautiful Yakkurugala is seen in back

This is the rock which seen as about to fall. But actually it is stable

Angle is more now. As there was no foot pathway we went up along the way we thought easier

Gal Koth Kanda has two peaks. The highest point and unique shape rock which is about to fall.
First we reached the highest point of the mountain. But last part of climbing was tough. We spent about one and half hours to reach the peak since start. At this point we had a panoramic view of surrounding areas. Erawulagala, Sigiriya, Pidurangala, Ritigala, Kandalama Tank, Dambulla rock with temple, Punchi Dambulu Kanda, Ibbankatuwa lake, Manikdena, Yakkurugala, Arangala peak, Ambokka, Etipola, Wilshire Mountain, Gedaragalapathana and Elahara-Dambulla road were seen clearly.

This was the most difficult part. We had to squeeze through this narrow canal like area to reach the peak

We climbed like this

Some more to peak. Angle is more now

This is the peak of Gal Koth Kanda

Erawulagala. I have reached to highest point of it shown by the star. (Refer trip report). Note there is a huge gap between Gal Koth Kanda and Erawulagala. So these two are different peaks

Dambulla-Bakamuna road

Nearby paddy fields and Chena. Wewala and Erawula area

Kandalama Lake and it’s island. Now it is connected to main land

Distance view of Kandalama Lake

Ritigala

A-Dambulla Temple with it’s rock. B-Punchi Dambulla Kanda and C-Ibbankatuwa Lake

This is the other peak-Rock which is about to fall. Pahala Erawula Lake

Other nearby peaks. A-Yakkurugala, B-Manikdena, C-Arangala, E and D different peaks of Gedaragalapathana

We are on top of Gal Koth Kanda

I wanna fly

Other peak is the cream of mountain. It is the rock which seen as about to fall. Reaching on top was challengeable. It is not possible to go from top of the mountain to this peak. We descended to some extent and moved towards right side. There was a bamboo patch and later about 30m climbing with 700 angle. Next section was bit tricky as we had to go along sharp rock area like a knife. My friend refused to take such a risk as both side of this ridge was steep. I accepted the challenge and reached the second peak.

Bamboo obstacle

View of second peak

This is the most challenging part. Black arrow shows narrow ridge like pathway. Star shows the peak

On top of second peak-Vandalism

Place for flag at second peak

View of Pahala Erawula Lake and it’s bunt

Design

Summary of the path we climbed up to second peak. Yellow line indicates the steep section we climbed and my friend is at the area shown by circle. Then I walked on this ridge like section shown by red line to reach second peak

After enjoying the surrounding view we went back to road in about 45minutes. There was a nice water spill at Pahala Erawula Lake. We had a bath there to relief our tiredness

Pahala Erawula Lake

Water spill

Group of Little Cormorant

Yakkurugala captured on our way back. Might be next target

Thanks for reading. Have a safe climb.

My morning side trip is a long awaited one and finally arranged for two days. After finishing our blood donation journey to Ilumbekanda Duwili Falls  Amila, Sanadaruwan and I stayed the night at Rakwana. Ashan joined with us in next day morning at Rakwana from Moneragala.
First we travelled to Kadamuduna from Rakwana to visit at Sooriyakanda and Sinharaja Buddhist Hermitage. On the way we enjoyed 10hair pin bends at Buluthota (බුලුතොට). Harinda came all the way from Colombo by his bike and joined with us at Sinharaja Buddhist Hermitage

Bridge is under renovation

Passing Buluthota ten hair pin bends

The byroad at right hand side at Kadamuduna to Sinharaja Buddhist Hermitage and Sooriyakanda

Sinharaja Buddhist Hermitage
We visited at Sinharaja Buddhist Hermitage and then followed the foot pathway towards ancient cave situated within the premises of hermitage. The place where they plan to build new Buddha statue provides nice surrounding view. When we were coming down from the temple we noticed a beautiful pool which is used by estate owners in their visit. Though this area is popular for bird watching we didn’t see many birds.

Junction of the road. Red arrow is the direction to Sooriyakanda Towers. Black arrow to Hermitage

Entering to the Sinharaja Buddhist Hermitage

Nowadays most valuable tree in Sri Lanka

This hermitage functions as a Pirivena also

Beautiful foot pathway towards ancient cave. Good site for bird watching

Common tree I have seen this area

Ancient cave

Snapped behind it

Old Buddha statue and manmade pond

Stupa

Hariya is entering the scene

The place where new Buddha statue is built. This provides a good surrounding view

Rakwana Town zoomed

Kabaragala 2 is seen. (1291m)

Nearby tea estate called Aigborth estate

Pool used by Estate owners

Sinharaja rain forest

Harinda provided transport facilities to us by his bike to transmission towers of Sooriyakanda. There are three transmission towers situated there: SLT, SLRC and ITN. This is not the peak of Sooriyakanda. At this place you can have a good panoramic view with blowing wind. Famous Sooriyakanda burial is also situated close to SLRC towers (later I knew). No need to permission to go there but if you visit at one of transmission towers then need permission. This is 4km walk.

Transmission towers at Sooriyakanda

View of Gongala (ගොන්ගල)-highest mountain of Sabaragamuwa Mountain range. Sooriyakanda occupies government transmission towers in contrast Gongala is the place for transmission towers of privet channels

Where we came

Sooriyakanda peak (1310m) is behind SLT tower

Kadamuduna (කඩමුදුන) Holiday Bungalow made during colonial age

Turning point of Kadamuduna to Sooriyakanda is situated about 2km before Sooriyakanda town. We bought necessary things for cooking from Sooriyakanda town and hired 2 three wheelers to reach the starting point of 7km walking to Morning side bungalow. This road starts about 2km from Sooriyakanda town towards Deniyaya.

Walking to Morning side bungalow is first through the Carlton tea estate and then through the forest was a nice experience. Gongala-highest peak of Sabaragamuwa Mountain range was seen and southern plateau was visible beyond that. Road may get confusion at two sites. One is within initial 2kms. At this junction road divided and we had to follow right side one. Last junction was just before Morning side bungalow. Initial part was a continuous ascend through tea estate and forest patch. After one point climate changed from dry clear weather to typical morning side weather-misty cool weather. When we are close to the bungalow we were heard songs of some afternoon visitors of the bungalow. It took about 3hours to reach there.

Shopping at Sooriyakanda Town

Starting of Morning side road (Black arrow). Tarred road will continue to Deniyaya

Notices

Southern plateau

Gongala transmission towers

Bad condition of the road

Having a rest

This is the junction where road gets divide. Note this building construction. Take right hand side pathway. But it is not difficult to find the correct road

Sinharaja Forest

Sooriyakanda Towers

Handapanthanna side (හදපාන් තැන්න)

The way through the woods

Don’t know the name

Last junction. Black arrow towards Morning side estate and white arrow shows Morning side forest bungalow. But before this junction you may notice the forest bungalow in right hand side bit far away

Morning side and Morning side Forest department Bungalow.
Morning side is situated in east corner of Sinharaja rain forest. As it is always covered with mist it is called Morning side since colonial age. Mist and drizzling is part and parcel of morning side weather. Though it is similar to Hortain plains weather, temperature is not that much low.
Forest department bungalow has two rooms containing 10 bunk beds. Thilakasiri-care taker of this bungalow supplies meals when you provide food items. They have a solar panel to supply electricity but if not possible they will use generator. Therefore Thilakasiri is always careful in using electricity by visitors. They will not provide pillows or bed sheets for beds. Two bathrooms are there but not repaired for long time. Basically this bungalow is not in good condition, if can tolerate with average conditions you can stay there.

Misty bungalow

Gloomy

What you can see when you looked out

Rest of the day we relaxed at Bungalow.

Activities can be done at Morning side
1. Get relaxed
2. Visiting at Morning side tea estate. On the way you can visit at Morning side water fall.
3. Bathing at Natural pool at morning side tea estate.

Though Thilakasiri was the main cook we had our own cooks

Next day morning following breakfast we walked to Morning side tea estate. Road to morning side tea estate is mostly clear and distance about 2km. After about 1km the foot pathway to Morning side waterfall is situated in left hand side. This foot pathway is a clear one and sound of the water fall can be heard. It is about 5m tall waterfall

Get ready with Alum before walk

Misty road

Misty forest

Early morning jogging

Directions to water fall

Morning side waterfall

Road side beauty

Then we entered Morning side tea estate. As this was a Sunday nobody was there. Newly built bungalow and old estate bungalow could be seen.

Entering to Morning side tea estate

Morning side new bungalow

Morning side tea estate

Black and white

Old bungalow under renovation

Fill with mist

We followed the road towards Iththakanda (gate is there at the beginning) and after about 1km, the foot pathway was noticed in right hand side towards natural pool. (This is the border of tea estate and forest). We walked there about 500m to reach natural pool which is a nice place to have a bath.

Ashan shows the foot path to Natural pool

Crossing a water stream

Important junction where take left foot pathway to reach the pool

Natural shallow pool

Risky job over the pool

Water stream above the pool

Mini waterfall

Following our lunch we made our return journey in 1 and half hours. On our way back we got caught to rain. We waited at Sooriyakanda town for a bus to Embilipitiya about 3hours and somehow reached Embilipitiya around 7pm.

Team with Thilakasiri –Man in saron

Adapted for wind

Way back

Lonely man

Ghost

Good bye morning side

Thanks for reading.

The map = path in green, Hanthana 1 & 2 in stars – click to enlarge

Hanthana is one of the well-known hiking destinations in Sri Lanka especially among university students. There are two points named Hanthana 1 & 2. Altogether there are about seven peaks, Hanthana 2 comprise of first and second peaks with towers which we had to skip due to permission issues. Rest of the range belongs to Hanthana 1 where the highest peak of Katusu kanda (Ura kanda) is located. This mountain range located in Central Sri Lanka lies right in the center of the central hills and been isolated by all other prominent peaks make it one of the best view points of central highlands.

I have done many hikes but Hanthana was never in my list so it felt like a piece of a jigsaw puzzle was missing. This time I was committed and I was privileged to be joined by few of my Lakdasun friends. Harinda did arrange a van so we could get to Kandy and return back leisurely without worrying about the transport problem from Kandy. We arrived at Peradeniya at around 7.30am where Nishan joined us. Then we proceeded towards Uda Peradeniya and from there to Upper Hanthana guest house. The last bit of the ride was through a typical mountain forest and we wished we had time to walk that distance. At Upper Hanthana the security guard showed us the trail head and we were on our way in no time. First part was through the mountain forest and after crossing a stream we reached the pines plot. The path was a clear one and been marked at many places by university students. Next was leech country, the tall mana was causing many problems but having a path was a great relief. With a small ascend we reached a tea estate where we removed the leeches and started marching up. The views were splendid so we did have a mini break appreciating landmarks. The tea estate ended at the base of the main range where we had to cross a stream and proceed through the forest. The forest patch was a small one and within no time we reached the range. The clear foot path took us towards the third peak where almost all the Hanthana hikers end up. It was sunny plus windy but the on and of cloudy nature made it a pleasant stay. From here Kandy city, Peradeniya University and many landmarks were seen clearly. I would go in detail later on the landmarks.

starting to march through the forest

Pines

leech country

first glimpse of kandy

ambuluwawa seen on the way

gampola town

Peradeniya campus

through the tea estate

yellow

will never miss out on these

crossing s stream

green velvet

I had plenty of ambul pera

what a path

shiny mana

towards the famous peak

the rays which filter through the clouds make things perfect

3rd peak

view towards Uduwela

hanthana range

Peradeniya

first and second peaks

we explored all of this later

clear path

From the 3^rd peak we wanted to get to the other end of the Hanthana range and end our journey. So we started climbing further up and entered the forest patch on the edge of 4^th and 5^th peaks. There were foot paths at some places but most of those weren’t used frequently. We did come across some interesting terrain and some flora which was totally alien to us. Walking on short mana was also tricky but we had no other option on many occasions. The path we took was parallel to the edge so we came across few sheer drops with splendid viewpoints. The 5^th peak was totally an awesome walk with many splendid lookouts. On and off we came across few water streams but those may dry out during extreme dry periods. Flowers were the main attraction but the winds never allowed us to take clear shots. Katusu kanda was our end destination but to get to it we had to climb through a forest patch and to make things worse there were these trees with long roots hanging from branches obscuring our path. Squeezing our bodys through these tough roots weren’t easy at all since those were very rigid. After battling our way we reached the Katusu kanda range (6^th peak) and a small climb bought us towards a ridge where we took some group snaps. From here it was a small hike towards Katusu kanda where we spent about one hour. There is cave below the hood where we had lunch without been disturbed by the winds.

From Hanthana range one could easily appreciate Kandy and Peradeniya towns, Alagalla, mountains at Mawathagama, Hunnasgiriya, Etipola of mathale, Wiltshire, Hunnasgiriya peak, Gombaniya, Knuckles, Kalupahana and other knuckles mountain peaks, Meda mahanuwara peak, Vicoria reservoir, Digana town, Hanguranketha area, Kukulagala, Galaha, Delthota and whole of Piduruthalagala range, Pussellawa, Peacock hills, Kabaragala, Dolsbage peaks, Aranayake region, Ura kanda, Gampola town, Ambuluwawa, Geli oya town, Uthuwankanda, Peradeniya university and mighty Mahaweli river were few landmarks I could recall.

and no path

Alagalla

the pines patch we tackled

kabaragala at the backdrop of gampola

pano towards Peradeniya and galaha road

through the forest patch

the gap we crossed

window view

life in the shade

lovely isnt it

common finding

burnt trees gaining some life

sheer drop

capturing

looking back

Kandy town

Kukulagala of rikillagaskada seen far away

peacock hills of pussellawa

hunnasgiri peak touching the clouds

plenty of these

found a nelu flower too

more to go

Geli oya and galagedara

Pano towards Digana

Katusu kanda

enjoying the drop

wow

a shelter

the group of hikers

mahaweli river and paddyfields

and another drop

wow

washed away with time

these were one of kind (tackling these was not easy at all)

difficult terrain

looking backwards from katusu kanda

knuckels mountains seen far away

something new

closing on katusu kanda

medamahanuwara peak and randenigala reservoir

drop towards digana side

group picture minus me

katusu kanda

on top of it

towards galaha

flag post

through the cave

piduruthalagala range

paddyfields

mountain tops

pano towards galaha

After having lunch we started descending directly downwards towards Upland watta of Hal oya. First path was along the short mana and later we were tackling 45 degree sloped rock surfaces and at last a hectic stretch through tall mana which drained all our energy before we reached the line houses down below. From here we took shortcuts and reached Sarasavi gama where we were united with our van driver. The nearby stream helped us wash away the mana before saying good bye to Hanthana range. While Nishan and I stayed at Kandy that day others took off towards Colombo with many happy memories. anthana 1 and 22222

the slope

getting down

what a landscape

flat sloped rock

the last and hectic mana patch

looking back towards katusu kanda

Thanks for reading!