It took 6 years but i conquered my dream! (Friar’s hood)

In 2012 while we were exploring Rajagala we noted a prominent hill which locals called Balagala / Walimbe and after few map reading sessions we got to know that this was called Walimbe hela / Friars hood (because of the look of a hat of a priest). I was determined to conquer it and in 2014 I actually attempted it while I was turned back by a false 119 complain. Last year when Tharindu scaled the mighty peak for the first time my heart started pounding again with the ever lost desire surfacing back in to the scene. After contacting Tharindu we got in touch with Bandara who was the friendly village guy who provided all the logistics. As Bandara suggested we planned to hike the mountain during the evening hours and descend in the morning and the main reason for this was that we had to walk along the exposed rock and according to them there wernt any alternatives.

Map 1

map 2

map 3

We climbed along the blue line and came down along the yellow (image belongs to Onal)

We reached Gonagolla by 1P.m and had our lunch, also packed our night meals too so that we could save our time for the journey. We were introduced to the forest officials at Bandaraduwa and they were eagerly waiting to join us too. From here onwards it was a 4*4 ride(7Km’s) for me through the Kalugal oya reservoir project. The ride was not an easy one and Harinda had to get down to clear the path at many instances. We halted our vehicle close to “Wiyan bendi gala” and started to march on foot while others went further towards the rock with their bikes. The 1.8Km stretch was an easy walk though it was blazing hot. After halting the bikes we marched through the savanna area to reach the forest patch found below the rock.

as seen from Rajagala

standing out

the giant of east

as seen from Bandaraduwa

ready to go

target

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The forest cover was a blessing for us and we also came across few water streams where there was plenty of fish species to our surprise. In 30 minutes we reached the base of the rock and the daunting height of it was going to be a challenging one. According to the locals this was the only path to the summit but I knew from my map reading knowledge that there should be another.  It was 4.45P.m and we had to get to the summit before we loose light so it was a 4*4 climb from this point on wards. Despite the risk of getting water blisters we opted to climb up without shoes because we believed in our barefoot grip rather than the shoe grip. The initial steps felt ok with the angle of the rock been 45° but gradually the slope was getting tilted towards the worst and looking back down scared the spirit out of our body hence requiring more and more psychological breaks. Harinda decided to hang on to the rope which Gune held on the other end purely as a psychological booster rather than a support role. When the degree of incline turned close to 70° we decided to head towards a forest patch and ascend along it. After a small forest patch it was the final ascend and the time was 10 past 7P.m, the head lights were at work and the ropes were hanging, we only had to hang on to it and climb up the last bit of rocky wall before we reached the summit. I do not recommend climbing along this path on an afternoon, if someone faints it would be the end of his life.

Since it was already mid night the stars had appeared and the lights lit up all around Digamadulla was simply the sight we needed to glance at and rest our tired soles. The pre cooked Dinner packets vanished in to thin air and we were ready to sleep under the 5 Billion stars.

fresh water

the deadly slope

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on the way scenery

Thoppigala

Narakamulla

Rukam

Pulukunawa side

the path

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Omanugala

Dimbulagala seen faintly

Kapapu gala

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last part

green pit

සැප නින්ද

night sky

Next day morning was bit gloomy but yet we could easily identify the landmarks around Digamadulla. We noted many lagoons of the eastern shores , Rukam lake, Unnachchiya lake, Ampara tank, Kondawatwana tank, Himidurawa tank, Iginiyagala reservoir, Iginiyagala peak, Wadinagala, Govinda hela, Walasa gala, Dora ira, Pahankudawa, Kokagala, Rambaken oya, Nuwaragala, Ethabendigala, Ulhitiya, Maduru oya, Omanugala, Thoppigala, Narakamulla, Pulukunawa, Dimbulagala, Kuda walimbe and many more landmarks. There were two points of ruins and one seemed to be remains of a ancient sthupa.

good morning

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tea

looking at his home

Nuwaragala side

.	Ampara forest reserve

shadow of Walimbe

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kokagala and rambaken oya

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Inginiyagala, walasgala, govinda hela and wadinagala seen

Dora ira

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.	Ulhitiya seen over Nuwaragala

group at summit

Kalu gal oya project

ruins

wow

senanayake reservoir seen

Unnachchiya reservoir

ampara, himidurawa, kondawatuwana tanks

lagoons of the east

Nawagiri aru

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Though the guides wanted to descend along the same route we insisted on taking an alternative path and we guided them towards a tree line which ran towards the base of the rock as seen on satellite maps. In no time we were jumping from one branch to another and descending down and finally we reached the rock where we started our proper ascent. After a quick rest we headed back to a stream at the base of the mountain where we prepared a Manyok meal as lunch.

optional path to descend

it was steep too

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a stream

lunch

improvised

products

end product

Finishing the Manyok meal we started walking back towards our vehicle and after leaving our bags behind at the jeep we walked 300m’s further towards “Wiyan Bendi gala”. Wiyan bendi gala had a huge cave where we noted ancestral paintings and modern day vandalized paintings. I must say this is a lovely place to camp because there was a nice stream flowing by the cave too. From Wiyan Bendi gala we headed back towards Bandaraduwa where we thanked our guides and forest officials before departing back to our homes. On the way we didn’t forget to have a dip in Navakiri aru tank too.

looking back

home

happy chaps

common sighting

Wiyan bendi gala

wiyan bedi gal lena

vedda paintings

mixed with modern day vandalism

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bye bye

dip at navagiri aru

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