Year and Month	April, 2013 (23rd to 25th)
Number of Days	Three Day Trip
Crew	2 (between 29-30 years of age)
Accommodation	Navarathna Ayya’s House in Meemure – 081-3804191(Funny thing coz we kept calling him Navarathna Ayya and Mama both all the time. He’s 49 years old and you can decide what to call him )Highly recommendable and one of the best places to stay in Meemure. You can experience the real village there. There’s nothing he doesn’t know about Knuckles and Meemure and will take you to unreachable places.
Transport	Public Transport / Tuk Tuk / Mostly on foot Col to Kandy – By Bus Kandy to Hunnasgiriya – By Bus (Kandy-Mahiyanganaya) Hunnasgiriya to Meemure – Hired Tuk-tuk (Navarathna Ayya’s) Back to Hunnasgiriya – Meemure Van
Activities	Photography / Hiking / Waterfall Hunting / Sight-seeing & much more
Weather	Excellent (Couldn’t have been better)
Route	Colombo -> Kandy -> Hunnasgiriya -> Meemure via Mini World’s End, Corbert’s Gap, Loolwatte, Kaikawala and return on the same route.
Tips, Notes and Special remark	Meemure has only an old but reliable ISUZU van as public transport once a day to and back from Hunnasgiriya. Depart Meemure to Hunnasgiriya at 5.30am and Reach Hunnasgiriya 7.30am // Depart Hunnasgiriya around 1.30-2.30pm and reach Meemure around 3.30-4.30pm. Weather in Meemure (Oct-Jan = Heavy rains / Feb-Jul = Moderate / Aug-Sep = Very dry). Mar and April would be ideal. Tickets need to be bought to visit the mini world’s end at Deanston Knuckles Conservation Centre (Rs. 30/- each) – The trail is about 2km in length. Athula (0717-015400) is one of the best guides apart from Navarathna Ayya and try to get Nava or him to lead the way. Electricity is a major concern in Meemure and take a portable charger or extra batteries for your phones or cameras. However, Nava Mama will be able to have them charged from the nearby Kaikawala Village or at the Temple where they have a generator (They had managed to get a turbine and supply power but it’s now broken down and a fix is not in sight as yet – Again check with Nava Mama). The tuk-tuk from Hunnasgiriya to Meemure will cost (Nava Mama’s one) Rs. 2000/-. The van will charge you Rs. 140/-. Meemure is still not spoilt, so don’t do anything to spoil it. Don’t leave even a scrap of polythene there. They have plenty of natural water streams so drinking water is not a problem at all. However, if you are doing a trek, do take a small bottle which can be filled easily. Nava Mama’s house has basic but clean and adequate facilities. He also has a camping site at one of his paddy fields where you can see the surrounding mountains, especially the beloved Lakegala, really well. The Fuel Station at Hunnasgiriya is highly unreliable due to constant power failures. If you’re traveling by you own vehicle, do fuel up around Kundasale or Theldeniya. People at Meemure are very hospitable and innocent and when dealing with them, try to blend with the environment. Most of the times, we were a bit worried coz we use lot of English terms in our day-to-day and it seemed that it caused some inconveniencies for the villagers, so be warned. Leave only the foot prints and don’t forget to buy their signature product, Jaggery (Rs. 450/- per kilo). Mobile reception is very weak there but Mobitel does at certain places on and off. (I found this great coz it’s the total isolation I was looking for from the outside world. I didn’t use my mobile for full 48 hours ). Nava mama was not only just a humble villager. He would’ve been a great stuntman in super hero movies. (Check the details at the end of the report) There’s a plea from the people of Meemure regarding their power supply and I’ve given details at the end of the report. Do check if you can help them in some way.
Related Resources	Attraction: Knuckles South – Deanston, Corbett’s Gap & Traditional Villages Trail Guide: Mini world’s end trail from Deanston
Author	SriAbey
Comments	Discuss this trip report, provide feedback or make suggestions at Lakdasun Forum on the thread Jaunting off to the Most Beautiful Village on Earth – Meemure

““Once upon a time, there was this fella who happened to come across this remarkable word and it stuck very deep in his mind. Everyone who’d either been there or heard about spoke very highly of her and this fella kept dreaming about it all the time. He didn’t have the means or the resources to visit her then and dream was the only option he was left with which he was very good at. On top of everything, Meemure wasn’t ready to welcome him just yet.

So he developed his own version of Meemure, about its people and the environment and lived in that world for a long time. Days turned into weeks, then months and finally into years but his dream wouldn’t come true.

However, after many years, this fella’s guardian angles took pity on him and decided to grant his wish. They fast-tracked the proceedings at lightning speed and dates were fixed and accommodation was arranged.
In the meantime, Meemure too was getting busily ready to welcome this stranger. She put on her best dress, garnished with lush green, paddy fields were ploughed and new seeds were planted to grow nicely. The rains clouds were chased away, waterfalls were asked to preserve their water levels and the environment to be nice and balmy. Leeches were asked to stay away from the foot paths and not to disturb this special visitor. Finally everything was ready to welcome this fella and I’m gonna tell you his story””

I met my friend Dimuthu at the Fort station around 5.15am (even though I’d asked him to make it around 4.00am, he only managed that and I was getting the jitters already ) and went on to check the bus time table at the CTB stand and they had nothing to offer and checked the Kandy AC bus and there was one leaving at 6.00am and they actually promised it reach Kandy by 8.45am. I knew better than to believe that but having no better option (Even 5.55am Podimenike Train wasn’t so reliable) and decided to push my luck a bit more.

Thankfully it reached Kandy around 9.00am and having a quick cuppa tea, we got on board the Mahiyanganaya bus and it was due to leave around 9.30am. (The conductor refused to issue tickets saying that we might have to give our seats to Mahiyanganaya passengers asked us to wait and see. I found this to be a bit hilarious but we had no option. However, there were not many passengers and we got our seats and tickets – Rs. 60/- +). It took ages to reach Hunnasgiriya and finally it was around 11.30am by the time we got off and Chanaka (Nava Mama’s relative) and the tuk-tuk. We then had a quick snack of bread and curry, and went to the Hunnasgiriya fuel station for petrol and it was chaotic there as the power supply is so random and getting fuel is very difficult. Chanaka then got Nava Mama’s son to send the petrol in the Meemure van and finally left towards Deanston along Meemure road.

Tour Highlights:

• Mini World’s End trail @ Deanston
• Suriya Arana falls trail
• Navarathna Ella Trail (Through Daluggolla Ella / Ice Wala and Falls) – Named after Navarathna Mama as he was the one who found it.
• Akula Ella (Meemure Ella) trail
• Lakegala Trail up to the base of Lakegala.
• Eli Hatha (Seven waterfalls) in Kaikawala.
• Nava Mama – The Stuntman

Day 01

1. Mini World’s End Trail: 2km

Easy

We reached Deanston Knuckles Conservation Centre around 12.30pm and bought tickets at the counter. The trail is about 2km in length and it goes a full circle of 1.5km and comes around to the beginning. The paths are sign-posted well even with GPS coordinates and easy to tackle. The distances given in the boards appear to be accurate unlike places of Sinharaja and Kanneliya.
You’ll be disturbed by the Reheyyas (crickets) a lot. They kept screaming at the top of their voices and the legend is they live only about a week. After that they simply die wherever they are. It’s surprising the noise they make apparently by rubbing their tiny wings together. To our amazement, I saw the first-ever live cricket that’s green and becomes brown when died. To make thing more interesting, I saw a lizard trying to eat an insect (probably a cricket) and got it on frame.

We reached the observation point 1 after 750m and the view was amazing. You can see a whole mountain range and A26 Mahiyangana highway as well. Thelambugala, Kehelpathdoruwa, Yahangala and many more mountains can clearly be seen from there. I was speechless and the wind was not so strong and we all (even Chanaka, our tuk-tuk driver) were mesmerized by what we saw. We even saw the farmers working in the ravine below.

Surprise, surprise it was Chanaka’s first visit to the mini world’s end. After about another 150m, you can reach the observation point 2 and from there you can see the somewhat dried up Gedaramada Ella and Garandi Ella in the distance. On our way back, we came across what appeared to be bones and a skull of a Stag.
We came back and got into the tuk-tuk to reach Meemure around 1.30pm.

Entrance

Yeah, it’s for us… – Click Image to Enlarge

The first of many millions wows

More to bloom soon

Very artistic

You can rely on these – Click Image to Enlarge

Live ones…

Here the dead ones

Having lunch

Observation point 1 – reaching towards Mahiyanganaya throught Udu Dumbara

Many a miles

Not a big fan of panorama, but had to take it

Farmers at work in the ravine below….

Observation point 2

Almost dried up Gedaramada Falls

Gerandi Ella looking dismal due to lack of water

First of hundreds of thousands

Apparently a stag

I put them all in order

It says it all

General information about Meemure:

• There are about 100 families (population of about 400-600)
• Farming and Toddy tapping are among the main ways of making a living
• Meemure & Kaikawala are surrounded by so many mountains such as:

Kumbukgolla, Kosgolla, Udawatta, Dumbanagala, Attalamittu ,Kaluwelbookka, Sudugala, Gerandi Thalawa, Hellenagala, Mahapatha, Palleherekku, Aluth Deyyange Kanda, Andirigala Kirindiketiya, Warawwa, Palle Wannimana, Kata Kithula , Wannema

• The signature of Meemure, Lakegala is held in place by 4 key mountains. They are:

Komalewa, Labulessa, Galahagommana, Meeriyagolla

• They use a leaf called Thalaa for chewing with the usual ingredients such as tobacco, Areca nut (puwak), lime etc. (given a pic down the report) instead of betel leaves. It tastes like mint and free of stains. Thalaa grows freely all around and has an endless supply unlike betel.
• The water in Meemure (coming down from the Knuckles mountains) is undoubtedly the tastiest I’ve ever had. It makes you feel refreshing, invigorating, revitalizing, reviving and some more
• From Hunnasgiriya, it’s 33km to Meemure (32km to Nava Mama’s house) – The road for about 10-15km is adequately tarred but afterwards it’s paved with different varieties of concrete mixtures and as a result some parts are not up to standards. Anyway, any vehicle can tackle this road, you gotta be careful if traveling by car.
• Along Meemure road you’ll pass Deanston, Loolwatte, Corbert’s Gap, Kaikawala.
• Meemure Primary School has up to grade 5, for up to GCE O/L, they have to go to nearby Kaikawela School (about 2km from Meemure)
• They have a Health Centre that opens only on Sun. So if anyone happens to fall sick, there’s a native doctor at the village or they have to go to Ududumbara for a decent medical facility.

Reaching Meemure

We set off from Deanston around 1.30pm and the road to the Meemure is among the best scenic routes I’ve ever traveled. All around you could see mountains stretching into the horizon. Hare park estate has a big tea plantation in the first half of the road and after that it’s solely Knuckles forest.

We reached Corbert’s gap and the view was simply awe-inspiring. I felt really lucky to have been born in this great island that has and continues to give us the best of the best.

Unfortunately, we saw 2 allegedly illegal constructions in the Knuckles high sensitivity area. They can easily be seen among the thick forest patch. There were numerous mentions on the newspapers by the environmental-friendly groups but they apparently had been for no avail. It’s a clear sign of our corrupt system is busy at work.

We then reached the biggest bridge you see on this road at Kaikawala. In January, this year there had been a massive wave of water which had flown right over the bridge (it’s about 30-35 feet in height) and the concrete surface has been moved by about 6 inches. The shop near the bridge had also been washed away and we can still see massive tree trunks stuck nearby. Athula said, it was one the worst water levels he’d ever seen.

Below the bridge, you can see a small waterfall which I called the “Kaikawala Falls”  coz they’ve not been named. They have hundreds of unnamed cascades like that scattered all around and only a handful of them have ever been visited. However, Navarathna mama knows the whole area like the back of his hand and if you have the time, there will be plenty to see.

We reached Nava mama’s house around 4.00pm and his wife had thankfully prepared lunch and we hungrily wolfed it down. They have a very intelligent dog named “Dinkey”. He’s not friendly towards strangers but won’t bother visitors coz he knows them. Anyway you shouldn’t try to pat him or get too close to him. Nava mama had gone to pick some French tourists from Narangamuwa and when we finished our lunch and waiting for Devadasa mama to take us to Suriya Arana falls, he arrived with a French couple who immediately got into conversation with us.

Along the way, sorry looking road but breath taking mountains

Landscape

One of the allegedly illegal constructions

Simple life style

What would you call it coz my vocab is very poor

Grandeur

Click Image to Enlarge

Thousands of waterways enriching those lives

Attractive

Such beauty

Do read it carefully – Click Image to Enlarge

Kaikawala Bridge, see the huge tree trunks stuck? Water went over this

Father and daughter

You are a lucky girlie, you know that?

Meemure – The land of the mountains

Our escort

He wouldn’t let me picture them

Were there to welcome us, sent by Lady Lakegala

Nava Mama’s house

Here’s Dinkey, very loyal and intelligent fellow

The skull and the horns of the buffalo along the Navarathna ella trail

Water Container

2. Suriya Arana Falls – about 2-3km return journey

Easy-Moderate

However, I was longing to go see Suriya Arana Ella and Devadasa mama took us along the path. All along the way we could see the majestic Lakegala watching us lovingly, she was so beautiful and remarkable. Meemure and Lakegala are bonded very closely and it’s inseparable. In this journey we came to know about the Thalaa leaf that replaces betel in Meemure. It has a mint taste and doesn’t leave stains like betel.

Passing beautiful paddy fields (which had grown nice and lush green to welcome the special visitor) we came to a very familiar place. I felt Suriya Arana film was being played in front of our own eyes coz they were all too familiar.

Further down, through the forest we came to the view point of the Suriya Arana falls and I felt exhilarating just to see her from afar. There was plenty of water despite the lack of rain over the last couple of weeks. It has three parts, the top is about 5ft in height and coming down very wide the middle part is also about 6-8ft but narrow. The third bit is the tallest of all, about 20ft and narrow.

Above the falls, there were those creepers where the little monk and the boy play and no wonder they chose that location over many others. Thanks to the director and many others, people all around the world got to know about this heaven on earth.

It was getting darker by the minute but my friend insisted on having a dip in the natural pool. While he was having a cold bath, I took the liberty to roam around and saw a Madu flower. Devadasa mama said that around it grows small white flurry like things that ultimately turned into delicious Madu pittu. On our way back, we met a farmer and my friend wanted some tobacco and lime for a Bulath wita. He gave him a bunch of Thalaa leaves and the ingredients.

We passed a dream house built using mud and leaves where a small family lives. I was very thirsty and asked them for some water. Gosh, it was so tasty and I had a few glassfuls of them in a row. It was so overwhelming to see how hospitable and simple those people are. That’s the way I’d love to live.

Lakegala as usual was waiting for me to come back from the falls. I was so happy to see her again over the lush green paddy fields. She was smiling down at me as if to ask if everything was ok.

We reached Nava mama’s house around 7.00pm and had a nice cup of coffee. Then it was time to reflect the events of the day. The French couple joined us in the crossfire and it was their first time in SL. It felt good to be able to get their pic of my country and they’ve been really amazed at how beautiful this country really is.

After a hearty dinner we got together to make plans for the following day. Nava mama suggested, after my continuous appeals, to do two waterfalls and tackle the Lakegala base falls. Then to our surprise, he revealed one of his closely guarded secrets, “Eli Hatha” in Kaikawala. I’ve heard about 7 falls before from my buddy Harinda and other members from the Lakdasun but this is something different. Nava mama said he hadn’t taken anyone there before, only an officer of some sorts who had helped them with the electricity.

He then suggested not doing the Lakegala full trail up to the top, instead go to the base of it where there’s a nice base fall and a gorgeous pond. After that we were to return home by 3.00pm max and do the Eli Hatha in the evening. Well it’s easier said than done but I was determined to do everything at all costs. He introduced us Athula (an excellent guide) as he wasn’t able to join us in the morning. Even Athula hadn’t been to Eli Hatha. We decided to meet up near the famous Mee tree around 7.00am.

Hiya Lady, here we are finally, sorry couldn’t come before

Lush greenery everywhere

Picture perfect

Would love to spend a few days in here

Along the way to Suriya Arana Ella

Tiny tiny ones too

No idea who this belong to, so we left it alone

I want this in my room

Go on….

The famous waterway…

First glimpse

There she is

Such beauty only created by Mother Nature

Top of the falls

See those creepers where they played

The biggest part

Flowing serenely

This fellow was huge

My friend couldn’t wait anymore

Madu flower

When the mud is washed out, people like these are suitable to be kings…. he’s got a pocket full of Thalaa leaves

Here the thalaa plants

Another panorama

Day 02

We woke up early and had tea. Nava mama’s wife had prepared our breakfast and we got it and started to walk towards Mee Tree and met up with Athula.

Lakegala was looking gorgeous in the morning, wearing a white shawl around her shoulders. The sun was rising above the mountains and the sky was vivid with all the colors you can imagine. Farmers were starting to appear carrying their equipment. Birds were humming their favorite tunes. It was the perfect start for a hike.

I was staring at Lakegala and Athula had to shake me to break the trance I was in. Then away we went searching for the rarely visited Navarathna Ella. It’s named after Navarathna mama as he was the one who found it.

3. Navarathna Ella trail: 6km (via Daluggoda falls: about 3km and Ice Wala: about 5km)

Height – about 100ft

Moderate to Strenuous

The trail started quite easily through paddy fields but started to take its toll later on. The sun was looking down on us making us sweat but I’d trade sun for rain any day on a trail like that. it’d be hazardous to do this on a rain day coz the rocks would be slippery and the trail will be infested with tons of leeches.

However, we were hardly ever disturbed by leeches (coz they had been chased away by my guardian angels) and went happily up and up drinking straight from springs and waterways that delicious water. (I bet it’s better than world famous Evian water)

After about 3km, we reached a small falls that didn’t, as usual, have a name. So I took the liberty to name her Daluggolla falls after the village she’s located. It was a welcome sight and good resting place. We were beginning to get tired and that water kept reviving our body and the fresh air and the lush green kept us going.

Further 2km and we reached the famous Ice wala (Ice pit). As the name goes, the water is bone-chillingly cold and we didn’t have second thoughts of not wanting to go for a dip there. Further up, we came across bones of a buffalo that had died after being sick sometime ago. Villagers had tried to save him by treating without success. His skull and two horns are at display at Nava mama’s house.

Then it was all the way to the Navarathna ella. So many crickets tried to scare us away but we weren’t intimidated by those repeated threats. Athula suggested about 1km before the falls to hike along the waterway but I decided against it coz our energy was sapping at a faster rate that I’d thought and wanted to preserve every joule to combat the rest of the trails. So we chose the path through the forest and finally reached the ultimate goal.

Gosh, how come they are so beautiful? That’s the mystery of the Mother Nature. They simply look gorgeous and I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Athula suggested we take our breakfast then and had giant roti and coconut sambol with that tasty water. After about half hour, we decided to climb down through the waterway as the water levels were low and the rocks didn’t look slippery. The going was faster downhill and about an hour later we reached our starting point and took a left towards the Lakegala crossing the river through Nava mama’s paddy field where there’s a nice camping site.

She was so gorgeous in the morning sun

Looking at us

Gosh….

Blades with droplets of water on them

Me and Athula

Daluggolla Ella closeby

Daluggolla Ella, named by me

Got two parts

Got enough to keep us interested

Such wonderful arts

Ice wala

Ice wala ella

Jaw of the dead buffalo, the skull you saw at Nava mama’s house

The grave full of bone

Where Athula wanted to tackle the waterway uphill

Silk sarees are all around

Navarathna Ella – Massiv

When she’s in full flow, I don’t think anyone can go anywhere near

Roti and Sambol… we didn’t forget to bring the papers back

Welcoming us with Rainbow colors

The base pool look a bit deep but better not attempt it

The top

We came down along the stream, seeing many more cascades nourishing the downhill

Wherever you look, it’s a pic worth taking

Down we went

He was busily finishing his work, but didn’t forget to have a few words with us and even offered a cuppa tea

Nice place for a dip

Hi mate, is it far?

Belonged to a porcupine, but I lost it on the way

Dumbara Kethe Bala Maa Wee Pasenne

4. Akula Ella (Meemure Ella): 3-4km

Height – about 20ft

Easy-Moderate

There was a funny thing about naming the falls. Athula said it didn’t have a name and then I asked the village name she’s located in. she was in Meemure all right and I then decided to call her Meemure Ella. But Athula asked why we couldn’t name it after him and I saw his point. I then suggested Atha Ella and he didn’t too happy about it. However, later that day, Nava mama came to our rescue and said she should be named Akula ella coz Akula means thick forest patch in Sinhala and she’s among a thick forest bit all right.

Along the way through the paddy fields, Athula showed us what they call Diya Holmana (Water Ghost) that the farmers use to chase the birds and other animals away. It really is a piece of giant bamboo with a cover in the middle and either side is cut off to have openings creating two separate containers. It’s balanced in the middle with and one side is facing a water stream which fills it and raises the front side and when the water is released the front bit comes down crashing on to a black stone making one helluva noise. This is a continuous process so long as the water is running and as result, birds and animals tend to keep away from the paddy fields.

The Akula water falls turned out to be yet another gorgeous one. She wasn’t in full flow but it made things easier for us to shorten our distance coz there were creepers hugging the rock through which the water falls down. Hanging on to them you could climb to the top of the falls (It sounds dangerous, doesn’t it? But I wouldn’t do it if it was really dangerous). Athula showed us how to do it. It turned out to be pretty easy coz plenty of very strong creepers hugging the rock bed and a nearby tree made going up easier than anyone thought.

There had been visitors before to this place and you can do rock sliding and do Tarzan-like stunts using the creepers hanging above. I wouldn’t do any of it but Athula showed us how to do them.

Crossing the river for our next adventure

Athula showing us how the Water Ghost works

From Nava mama’s paddy field

Down hill

Water levels were low, making it easy to tackle the path

There she is, at last… Akula a.k.a. Meemure Ella (we climbed along the creepers on the right of the pic)

Good to go for a safe bath

You could climb to the top and the thick creeper is like a bench

Where we came from to the top

From the top looking down

Ahtula showing his skills, we didn’t attempt it though

He was in the top pond

Where you can do rock sliding, according to Athula, very safe

5. Lakegala Trail to the base: 9-10km

Strenuous

From Akula ella there’s about 5-6km to Lakegala base and we started our hike. It got more and more challenging every minute and we had to take breaks constantly. I even felt like abandoning it and head home have lunch and do the Eli Hatha in the evening, but my conscious won’t have any of it.

It can make you feel more exhausted when you are travelling through thick forest and you can’t see the sky or far away and the forest is somewhat dark. Athula was a great and experienced hiker but even he started to struggle due to the intensity of the pace we’ve been going from the beginning. He said nobody has ever done all of those in one day (let alone trying to do the Eli Hatha in the evening) and I wanted to do the impossible and try new ventures.

My will alone kept me going while my legs were rubbery, knees continuing to buckle and energy leaving me like Atlantis to the Int. Space Station. I kept mumbling that I’m gonna get there somehow or the other and thought about the prospects of reflecting back when we will be coming down.

About 4km I heard a waterfall and immediately felt cheerful coz it sounded like a big one but couldn’t get a clearer view through the forest. I asked Athula if he had ever tried to get there but he hadn’t and I wanted to check it out on our way back. Feeling somewhat my spirits up, we hurried on and about 1km up, heard a second fall, apparently smaller than the first one. It too was unreachable due to thick forest and the steep climb downhill.

Another 1km took us into the open and there she was in full height looking down on me as if to say “well done fella, you made it at last”. All my tiredness vanished in no time and we hurried on up the rock. There was a small pond and the bottom was clearly visible and boy, the artistic picture on the floor was simply astonishing. Just above that was a fall about 10ft in height. That place was a part of heaven, let me tell you.

We had some biscuits and my favourite drink, water from Knuckles Mountain Range and what’s more a nice cool dip in that artistic pool. We had our deadlines set and left her around 12.30pm. On the way back, I tried to climb down to the first fall we came across but the climb was too steep and I decided to abandon the idea. (To my utter disappointment, Nava mama said later that day, there is a strenuous path to both those falls along the rocky outcrop – so next time, I said to myself)

We reached the village around 1.30pm and had some plain tea with milk toffee. That tea was superb too. Everything in Meemure is nothing but the best I guess. I had two cups and saying a silent thank-you to my beloved Lady Lakegala, came back home. There was a nice lunch waiting and after that we rested about half hour till 3.00pm to go see Eli Hatha.

Unfortunately not edible

Even Athula was finding it difficult, we were pushing to the limits

Thankfully we didn’t have to climb this:)

Completely different shape from the side, Lady Lakegala waiting for us

Along the way up, got a little breather

Athula the hiking legend

Finally some flat terrain, I could feel my legs smile for the first time

We are there… Hurraaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh…..

The pond at the base of Lakegala, She has drawn and painted a nice pic just for us

The Lakegala base falls, tine but irresistible

My friend trying to get close and bath like it was a shower

View from the bottom

God, somebody’s drowned??? My friend trying his diving skills

Butterflies, and many more

Butterfly conference… they are trying to decide who goes where

Mushy mushrooms adding more colours

Coming down, bit dejected not being able to reach the Lakegala falls

Another panoramic view from down hill

Just over the blades of paddy

Bidding our farewell to Lady Lakegala… Thanks for everything and will see ya again

Typical house built of rocks and tin sheets

6. Eli Hatha (7 Waterfalls – it’s also called the Annicut or the Bunt): about 5-6km from Nava mama’s house

Short climb down to the falls and up is not so difficult.

We took the tuk-tuk the whole distance passing the Kaikawala Bridge and reached Kalu mam’s house where for the first-time, we tasted toddy made of Kithul trees. After that Nava mama and Kalu mama told us about the names of the surrounding mountains and there were so many (must have been around 30+) and I managed to get as many as I could. Then it was time to do the Eli Hatha and we parked the tuk-tuk and climbed down to the Bunt where there was a fall about 40-50ft in height. Such a grand fall missed out by so many, I was both thrilled and shocked.

We were getting an exclusive guided tour to one of Nava mama’s secrets. It was Athula’s first visit to that place. Further up there were 3 more falls in a row, which were somewhat smaller, than their big sister. The other falls were below the big one and we couldn’t attempt them coz the path was so steep and dangerous.

This place is called Pusse Ela and it’s where two rivers (Karambaketiya oya and Maa oya) meet each other and turn into one. So quite significant place and to make it more interesting, there’s a perfect cylindrical hole about 10ft deep like a well and at the bottom it has a hole which the water flows out. This must’ve been a result of water whirl pooling around the same place and creating that well-like shape.

Wanna eat now now now

More mushrooms decorating our path to the bunt

This must be the biggest of all 7 falls

Simply awesome

Flowing downhill, apparently there are more falls down there

The next fall,

On the left there’s like a cave, that’s where the opening at the bottom of the well like place

Three consecutive beauties coming down

Got another one of them looking like one

Here’s the perfect cylinder, note the opening at the bottom

Up close

Flowing freely

The one at the top…

From left: Nava mama, Athula behind, Kalu mama and me

This is where Maa oya (right) meets Karambaketiya oya (up)….become one (left)

We were blessed and protected

7. Nava Mama – The Stuntman

Be warned, that only Nava mama can do those stunts and it’s deadly dangerous for others. I’m putting those pics to show how capable that person is. People like us, well we’re better of watching the magicians at work

The icing on the cake was this 49-year-old humble village man’s love and passion for his people and the village and the environment. He said that he wanted to show us what he can do not to make money or become popular, but to get some donors or the government to help him get two major issues sorted as soon as possible.

He climbed down the well and showed us the hole by putting his head and then legs out, then like an arrow from a bow, simply jumped out into the base of the fall. I was speechless and it was a bit frightening too coz I was scared what would happen if something happened to him. But Athula was not a bit worried coz he knew this person all his life and he swam like a fish out of the water.

Then he climbed along the rock to the next fall and jumped from it about 20ft high right into the base of the pool. (If you’ve seen the stunts those boys making at Galle Fort, you know what I’m talking about. However, this was not so high like the fort but for a 49er it was something remarkable). I was mesmerized by what I saw and told Nava mama that hopefully things will work out for his people and the village fine.

Nava mama getting down to the well

Sitting as if on the couch in his house

Looking through the opening at the bottom

Jumps out and swimming away

A relief to see him surface

More action

Now the big moment

Waving at us

The moment of truth, caught in mid-air… I had no time to set my camera to burst settings

Like standing and waiting for a bus

End of the show folks

Ending:

We then reached home and had an early dinner to get up early to catch the 5.30am van to Hunnasgiriya. Got up around 4.30am and bid our farewell to Nava mama, his wife and of course the Dinkey. Got into the van (surprisingly we got seats) and the journey was unforgettable. The sun was peeping through the mountain tops and the sky was the colour of my water colour box. However, I couldn’t convince the passengers and the driver to stop the vehicle for a quick pic.

We had to keep our windows closed due to the cold air coming through, soon the van got filled and the matters got worse coz the Kaikawala van had broken down and we got more passengers and the ISUZU company would’ve been proud of their handy work had they seen it. It was practically bursting at the seams. Along the way, there were songs playing in the van’s CD player and one specially stuck in my mind coz it expressed exactly what I felt right throughout.

The master, W. D. Amaradeva sang this bit.

“Sasara Wasana Thuru – Niwan Dakina Thuru

Pinketha Hela Ran Derane – Yali Upadinnata

Hethu Wasana Wewa – Hethu Wasana”

We all are so lucky to have been born in this wonderful country and even more luckier to see the beauty of this country.

Reflecting the events of the past two days, we reached the Hunnasgiriya town around 7.30am and had sponge cake, banana with what keeps me going, Black Coffee.

After that…? Well it’s another fairy tale of mine but in another report

Do hope the fairy tale turned out to be what it’s supposed to be “a fairy tale” and helped you plan your trips or refresh your memories

The realy beauty of Meemure can’t be expressed with my limited vocabulary, so you gotta go there and feel it in real life. Nothing like actually experiencing it.

Meemure is just like a village out of a fairy tale and hope you enjoyed reading Sri de Meemure and the pics.

P.S. The plea from Nava mama and Meemure people.

They had sweated and toiled night and day to make electricity a reality for Meemure. Nava mama and their welfare society had gone into all the ministries and relevant authorities to get the funding and resources. They had managed to get funds and cables worth 5 million. You’re not gonna believe what I’m about to say.

Coz, they, the villagers, made 180+ concrete electricity poles in the village and put them up and did the cabling and got the houses wired anticipating the electricity will soon come. UNIDO (part of UN) had got a turbine and fixed it in Kaikawala and given the power for about 3 months before it broke down. Then it was taken back to Colombo and repaired and returned to be broken again after about 2-3 weeks. Now the UNIDO claims they don’t have the funds (Around Rs. 100,000/-+) for the repairs and the whole project is at a standstill. The kids can’t do their studies and they find it difficult to move about in the night without power.

The road condition (a lot better than it used to be) is still in dire need of renovation. This is mainly due to the low quality work of the contractors and corrupt local politicians who chase only money not people’s needs.

So if you happen to come across any donor organizations, do direct them to Nava mama so that something can be done to those people in need. There’s a very sad story behind that wonderful village and people.

In red trail ends, green chariot path, blue loolecandura estate – Click Image to Enlarge

It was dawn of Sinhala & Tamil New Year and I wanted to make it a memorable one. All started one year back after hiking Yahangala which was linked with Ravana epic. Yahangala prompted me to go through few Ravana documentaries and important places related to the legend; though I’m not a blind believer I think he was one of the greatest kings in Sri Lanka. While going through some articles I came across a site called chariot path which urged me to pay a visit someday because of the unusual location of it. There was very little information about chariot path and the only way to find out was to go in search of it! This place is being visited by Indians regularly so then why not us been Sri Lankans should not!

3 of us arrived at Gampola on a sunny day trying to figure out a way to get to Frotoft estate so after talking with few locals we were told to go towards Pussellawa. From Pussellawa we gott in to a crowded “Pettarasi” bus which ascended through the delta estate and kept winding around tea estates producing some of stunning scenery which we couldn’t capture due to many reasons. After a bumpy bus ride through the upper Ramboda estates we reached the old Frotoft hospital. We were told that there is a clear trail to the said site but finding the trail head was the main problem. Fortunately we met Nimal at Frotoft estate line houses and he agreed to show us the way. We were extremely lucky to come across this guy at that moment because it was already 1pm. After walking about 1.5km through the scenic tea estates of Frotoft we reached the trail head at the boarder of the estate.

now abandoned old frotoff hospital

kotmale reservoir as seen to Frotoft

on the way towards the trail head

getting misty

this young stream later forms devathura oya

ladscaped perfectly

a lonely tree

this is what we are going to climb

There was a clear path almost all the way and even if it was bit covered at some places, it was not so difficult to keep in track. The initial stretch was almost flat and ran through the bushes and within no time it was a mild continuous ascend. This foot path is used by locals to cross over to the tea estate on Hewaheta side so it will not get completely covered for any reason. Even If you have a look in google earth the trail can be easily identified. The last bit was the toughest since we had to climb in a zig zag manner continuously uphill until we reached the top of the Piduruthalagala range. At this point we tipped of our helpful guide and walked through the mountain range with ease. The walk was through a classical mountainous forest just like walking in Horton plains and in no time we reached our destination which was a large plain area middle of no ware.

entering the forest

it continues through the nelu

Frotof watta line houses where we started the hike

its gonna rain soon

Sitha flowers(Ashoka)(Maha rath mal)

Bowitiya decorating the sideways

spookiness at its best

guess the direction of the wind

colourful mountainous forest tops

It took us about 1.5hours to reach the plains from the trail head and after we got there our exhaustion simply disappeared. It is a bare area with a huge grass land surrounded by short Nelu trees and mountainous forest. The chariot path is a road like path where the “Dandu monara” has been landed and it is said that King Ravana brought Sita devi to this place to show the beauty of his kingdom while flying from Lankapura to Ashoka Vatika!

Quote

The summit of the mountain next to the mountain range overlooking Frotoft Estate in Pussallawa is the place where Lord Hanuman first set his foot on mainland Lanka. This mountain known as Pawala Malai is visible from this mountain range. These hills stand tall in-between King Ravana’s capital city and Ashoka Vatika.

The barren land top of the mountain range is believed to be the route in which King Ravana took Sitadevi from his capital city Lankapura to Ashoka Vatika, which was a paradise on earth. Till date no vegetation grows on this passage except grass. King Ravana is believed to have taken this passage on top of these hills to show Sitadevi the beauty of his kingdom.

The Sita tear pond is found en route by the chariot route, is believed to have been formed by the tears of Sitadevi and has not dried up since, even during severe droughts when the adjoining rivers dry up.

In this area there are many large trees whose bright red blooms add colour to the scenery. These flowers are called Sita flowers. The peculiarity of these flowers is the configuration of the petal’s, stamen and pistil’s, which resemble a human figure carrying a bow, and is said to represent Lord Rama. These flowers are unique only to this area in the whole of Sri Lanka

the chariot path where Ravana took Sita to show the beauty of his kingdom

towards hewaheta

beautiful layers

one of those birds we met

experiencing a different world

The area was gloomy and there were signs of a rain within no time but that didn’t stop us from exploring around. It is truly a paradise and we experienced it at the fullest only on the next day. There was a clear water stream close to Sithas tear pond. There was evidence of recent illegal mining in the area and the other disheartening sighting was all the biscuit wrapping papers left over by visitors. Just before we pitched our tent we came to the edge of the mountain range which was at an altitude of 2000m to enjoy the panoramic view towards Kotmale and upper Ramboda regions. We found a suitable grass patch to camp on and when we were done with our tent it started to rain at around 4pm which lasted until 7pm. During this period drops of rain water started to seep through the zippers and made our life much more difficult! After the rain seized we did mop up our tent and had some bread and butter as dinner before we fell in to an interrupted sleeping process. Neither of us tried to get out of the tent to go in search of Samber because of the misty freezing climate on that day.

mist cleared off a bit

where we climbed from

the drop

we camped here

the plains

Sita’s tear pond(i didnt taste and see if it was salty)

without flowers

here comes the mist and rain

tree tops

Next day at around 4am we woke up and wanted to have a look outside, once we opened the cover of our tent we saw something we never expected to see. It was Adams peak with Hatton- Nallathanni trail lit up and that was simply an awesome unexpected sighting for us. We were pumped up and waited impatiently until the sun rise. We were also expecting some stunning scenery because the sky was already cleared off, so at around 5.45am we jumped out of the tent and proceeded along the path towards Rikillagaskada side where the sun seemed to be rising from. And it finally appeared behind an isolated cloud which lightened up the plains with its shiny orange rays to form some magical scenery. At this point mountain peaks at Rikillagaskada , Knuckles range and Mool oya estate started to become clearly visible.

dawn of day 2

the view of sri pada from chariot path note the hatton route lit up

Dawn over the chariot path

towards rikillagaskada

towards knuckles

the sun is covered

mool oya estate

grandfathers beard

here she comes

breathtaking…!

colourfull indeed

magical path

sun was shining on my tent

scenery at its best

We rushed back to our camp site and proceeded towards the opposite edge of the mountain to witness the beauty of Kotmale valley. It was totally cleared off and only a small patch of mist covering Nawalapitiya town far away was seen. It is obvious why Sitha devi was brought here by king Ravana! From one end to the other one can easily spot Piduruthalagala summit, Kikiliyamana, One tree hill, Pundalu oya, Great western, Totupola, Adams peak at the center, Galaboda range , Kabaragala of dolosbage, Peacock hills, Kotmale reservoir and New Kotmale town, Frotoft estate, Peacock hills, Alagalla, Gampola and Ambuluwawa. This is one of those places which I will re visit in near future for obvious reasons!

the shadow of the cameraman

golden rays

drops of water

more scenery

the three shadows

perfect framing

walking to the edge from the tent along the chariot path of Ravana

towards pundalu oya and great western

Kikiliyamana range with its towers also one three hill towers can be seen

summit of Sri Lanka

wake up kotmale

sun is shining over frotoft

kotmale reservoir and its dam

Piduruthalagala summit and kikiliyamana

towards peacock hills

gampola kanda and ambuluwawa

not much of water these days

new city of kotmale

peacock hills and dolosbage

top of peacock hills

valley of kotmale

the holy peak

sri pada zoomed

Ramboda area

kabaragala of dolosbage range

the tea estates of upper ramboda

beauty of the wild

living in harmony

Panorama of kotmale valley

team spirit

nawalapitiya covered with mist

Though we were unlucky to spot some samber around there were plenty of signs suggesting that there is a healthy population around. Also we did here a barking deer running screaming through the bushes. Only in the morning did we notice that the stunning view of Adams peak is seen in line with the chariot path symbolizing the importance of this place and the folklore may be true though we don’t have pure evidence. They have also found Ravana Guli(nutritious Aggala prepared by Ravana for Sita to keep her a live) around Frotoft estate, according to some articles I read these were thrown around the area by Sitha who refused to have any.(check this video  to get more info on Seetha guli) at around 8am we started descending towards our next target which was loolecondura estate. According to our guide the path leads towards Loolecondura but later we figured out that he was not correct at all.

clear sky

grass at the plains getting sun burnt

adms peak is directly seen from the chariot path

the three webs

good bye is only for now, i will be back

Descend was very steep and seemed never ending plus the loose quartz were not helpful at all. The scenery towards the estate which we thought as Loolecondera was simply amazing also the mist was kissing the tea estates reminding us how beautiful our mother land is. We rushed down to the estate within one hour but after getting to the estate we faced an awkward situation while trying to get directions towards famous James Taylor bungalow and seat because neither of the estate workers new anything about it. When we showed them few photographs even they didn’t recognize the place so we finally asked the name of the estate and we were told that we were in Mool oya estate and loolecandura was two estates away. So we had to hire a trishaw and head towards Loolecondera. Rather than descending to Hewahata and taking the main road the trishaw guy took us through a tea estate which was totally worth it because the ride produced some panoramic views towards Rikillagaskada. After a rough ride we came towards Loolecondera James taylor museum but unfortunately it had been moved towards Pussellawa. From there onwards we proceeded towards the entrance point which begins near a road side shrine and continued uphill along a poorly maintained estate road. I wonder why they can’t maintain it despite getting good revenue from the visitors.

the steep descent

wow the misty mountains

mool oya our destination

refilling at a water way

finally back to civilization

oh i love these flowers

welcome to mool oya estate

all of them were busy

a yellow eared bul bul

petals every where

After about 1.5km there was a junction and if one took the 1.1km road to the left it will lead to the first ever tea patch planted in 1867 but we decided not to go that way due to lack of time. Further 3.5km along the winding road through one of the most beautiful tea estates in Sri Lanka one will reach another junction where the road to James Taylor’s log cabin and Seat divides. When you wonder around the tea estate you will note how James Taylor has blended with nature and tried to protect the forest as possible while carrying out his tea plantation. Some places are fully shaded with huge trees and other tea patches concealed with mountainous natural forest. A 100m walk will take one towards the remains of James Taylors log cabin and only the chimney and few scattered rocks can be seen at this present day. The location was simply one of the best places on earth to build a cabin. Near by the cabin the well he used can be found and from there onwards there is a foot path which will lead up towards Dotelagala rock.

somewhere close to james taylor museum at loolecandeara

the museum which is closed

the shrine close to the entrance from the main road

name boards

yes you have to pay to go on a broken road

sub mountanious forest blended with tea

lush green

the 3way junction – Click Image to Enlarge

on the way scenery

trees everywhere

well trimmed and tea bushes grown along contor lines

view towards Piduruthalagala range

well maintained tea estate having many summer huts to have a rest

we went to the cabin and pettiyagama estate

peak at galaha very tempting

Dotelegala may be on another day!

the well

the well is not in good shape

remains of the log cabin

few words…. – Click Image to Enlarge

ode to james taylor – Click Image to Enlarge

only the chimney remains

beautiful garden view

We returned back to the junction and proceeded towards James taylors seat and summer hut also there is a pond close to the summer hut. James Taylors seat is really one of those relaxing places you would love to sit on for hours and hours. I just could imagine how this guy would have spent his evenings smoking a pipe and enjoying a cup of tea with leamon overlooking Knuckles mountain range. The panoramic view towards Galaha , Delthota, Rikillagaskada was unforgettable also we noted Hunnasgiri peak, Knuckles / Kalupahana area, parts of Victoria reservoir, a peak at Galaha, Rikillagaskada peak and plenty of paddy fields of Hewaheta region. It was time for us to return back at least before the Nonagathaya so we had to say good bye to James Taylor and the lovely memories of our journey and rush towards Colombo to prepare for the New Year!

james taylors summer hut

meaningful words

James taylor seat

endless view

view from the seat

towards rikillagaskada

Panorama of hewaheta- galaha taken from james taylor seat

kaputagala rikillagaskada

note hunnasgiri peak and knuckles mountains

wow what a view james taylor had

paddy fields of hewaheta

Delthota

the road which leads to the seat

it sums up our day

Mr James Taylor(taken from internet)

Quote

The first commercial planting of tea was on Loolecondera Estate, some 18 miles southeast of Kandy, No.7 field is where the first tea plants were planted.

Mr James Taylor of Loolecondera – now acknowledged as the Father of the Tea Industry – was quite unassuming man who arrived in Ceylon towards the end of 1851 when he was but 17 years old and took up duties as Assistant Superintendent on Lolecondera. He remained on loolecondera for his entire planting career of 40 years and only left Ceylon on one occasion in 1874, when he went to Darjeeling in India to absorb as much tea lore as he could. He was painstaking in the extreme and by reading and experimentation took every opportunity to increase his knowledge of the tea-bush and its fragrant product. In a letter written by James Taylor he starts by recalling that how in his China phase a Cachar (North Indian) planter, Mr Noble, showed him how to pluck, wither and roll tea with a little leaf growing on those old bushes near his bungalow. All the rolling was done by hand and Noble also told him about fermenting and panning and the rest of the process.

Taylor made a further batch under the direction of the old Assam Planter, W.J.Jenkin, whom he met earlier experimenting on Condegalla for the Ceylon Company. A sample of this batch, together with seven samples Taylor had made before, was sent to Weinholt in Calcutta, India, in 1872. Taylor says with justified pride that while the Jenkins-controlled sample was valued a little higher than his own single-handed effort, all but two of these were ‘reported on as being better than the Indian teas then sold in Calcutta’. Up to this time Taylor explains that his entire tea making had been with ‘arrangements in the bungalow verandah’. Many famous Coffee Planters learned the art of tea growing and manufacture from him.

This journey we did some times back, most of the members of the crew are members of “Dumbara Mithuro” Environmental and Cultural Society. The society is devoted for the conservation activities in the Knuckles mountain range. On the other hand expedition in the knuckles forest is another prime objective of the society.

Knuckles mountain range consist of 34 main peaks and the most popular one among the public is “Knuckles” peak( 6,128), while the highest peak is “Gombania(6,253)”. Kalupahana is famous for disastrous cardamom estates, but it locates in the middle of the knuckles range, the peak (5,341) also surrounded by the estates. Our journey was planned in order to achieve the highest peak and assess the current condition of the “cardamom estate” in Kalupahana. We planned the journey in two stages as there is a long distance between Gombania and Kalupahana via forest, and that direction is very difficult due to the steep slope. It’ll take at least 12 hours to reach gombania to kalupaha, and also carrying a heavy backpack to facilitate 3 nights is not possible with the difficult path. (No path, actually we’ve to find a path).

Part 1 – Gombania

We started the journey around 4.00 a.m. at Malabe and reached Bambarella around 7.30 a.m. the first target was “Gombania”. Mr. Talwatta at Panwila helped us to find a well experienced and knowledgeable guide called “Nimal”. Through panwilla, huluganga we came up to “Alakolla Estate” by car and a motor bike. Road inside the estate is not possible with a car up to the point where road ends, but a vehicle with more ground clearance could do.

Factory

The road is ok about 1km after the factory using a normal vehicle, thereafter about 2km road is available up to the resting place constructed by the estate.

Resting Place

This is an ideal place to have a rest, before start the hiking through the forest, better to refill the water bottles. After this point up to another 1 km there is a foot path used by the estate workers. Thereafter we decided to find a direction to reach the peak, with the guidance of the land marks, but on our return we realized that there is a hidden path to the peak, but it is not clear at all.

We had to find our own path and clear the under grown

Gombania mountain range

Hiking through plants

Nimal, our guide explaining the plan to the crew, at this point we’ve done a half of the trek, behind the crew you can see the surrounding area down (Panwila & bambarella).

After that planning session we started the most difficult half of the trek, both the slope and thickness of the forest increases.

You cannot walk steadily and have to bend down.

The mountain is covered with plenty of flowers specially orchids.

The mountain is covered with plenty of flowers specially orchids.

After about 3 hours trekking we reached to the bottom of the rock (peak)

Then we had to go around the rock to reach the summit.

Happy faces at the summit

The peak is always covered in mist and sometimes it clears for few minutes, we captured some village in the down.

we captured some village in the down

Misty mountains

Misty mountains

We spent about 2 hours at the peak while having lunch and started to climb down , at least 3 hours is required to reach the resting place, hence before sun go down we went down.

First day night we stayed at the temple at bambarella

Part 2 – Kalupahana

Next day morning we started the journey to Kalupahana from bambarella, which is fairly easy one, as there is a very clear foot path. Two new members from bambarella joined the crew in place of local members (Nimal and Talwatta) participated in the yesterday.

A Typical view of “Knuckles Mountains” from bambarella

We continued our journey to kalupahana through “Lebonan Estate”

Without any difficulty we reached to Kalupahana cardamom estates within 2 hours and decided to stay at “KMP wadiya”

You can imagine the scale of cardamom estates in Kalupahana, these constructions are permanent illegal things within the knuckles range. Compared to the past now the cardamom estates are not functioning actively as it is prohibited by the rules. But we’ve observed still some “Ovens” which used to dried cardamom are operating. Due to the cardamom estates there is two main threats to the forest. First the under grow is cleared for cardamom plantations and hence in future when the matured trees died, there is no generation to fulfill the gap. Second, for, the matured trees are used for the fuel requirements of Ovens. Once the matured trees are died the “Kalupahana” will just be a grass land.

KMP wadiya

Pictures of Ovens

Cardamom – inside the oven

Cardamom Plantations – see the entire under grown is cleared

We started the trekking for Kalupahana peak early in the morning and had to reach the peak through cardamom estates while having a worm well come from leeches

worm well come from leeches

Sunrise at the peak, while we are striving

Beauty of a Montane forest

Crew at the summit

As I mentioned earlier Kalupahana Mountain is located in the center of the knuckles mountain range, hence you can have a 360 degree view of the entire range could be observed.

Knuckles mountains

Lakegala

Weak sight of Gombania through clouds

We came back to the bambarella via the same route to end our jouney. If you visit kalupahana do not forget to climb the mountain to get a panoramic view of the entire forest.

Hasalaka = Elephant Pass

Ring any bells? How about this formula then?

Hasalaka + Gamini = Elephant Pass

That should certainly look familiar coz those are inseparable names in our recent history and it would only be infants or very young children who haven’t heard this war hero Corp. Gamini Kularathna. I actually had to change the name of my report from “Pride of Hasalaka” to “Lifeline of Hasalaka” coz Hasalaka Gamini is the Pride of Hasalaka.

So here I’m again with the continuation of my fairy tale from breath-taking Meemure and hope you’ve read it and enjoyed it as much as I did (Jaunting off to the Most Beautiful Village on Earth – Meemure).

This banner is at diplay at Elephant Pass, I took this pic in Apr 2011…

This is the destroyed bull dozer at Elephant pass

I left you guys at Hunnasgiriya after our morning snack of sponge cake, banana and what keeps me going Coffee… We had to wait at Hunnasgiriya for a Mahiyanganaya bus longer than I liked due to 25 April being a Poya day.

Finally around 8.15am, there was a CTB bus and we gladly got into it. However, to my utmost amazement, after about 600m, it stopped for tea. Would you believe it, you wait about 40mins for a bus and then it stops for tea as soon as you get into it  I realized they usually stop at that particular place not far from Hunnasgiriya town for a break. I was anyway in a very happy mood coz Meemure was magnificent and everything went according to plan. After another 10mins we were finally on our way, passing Dumbara mountain range.

You gotta see them to believe it. Such beautiful unending, misty mountains, glinting in the morning sun like diamonds, gosh, I was speechless and the bus driver wasn’t kind enough to stop for a quick snap We then reached the newly laid 18-bends and it’s been ages since I last was here and I’d practically forgotten all about it till recent hullabaloo of widening the road. It really is great that they’ve widened and carpeted that bit coz it’d been very difficult for vehicles, especially for buses and Lorries, to maneuver around, causing long tail backs.

They even have put up mirrors at the bends so that you can see the opposite end, I guess this helps when it’s misty and you can see the reflection of headlights of other vehicles coming up or down. Again, the driver won’t have any of my pleas for a quick stopover

Lemme tell you something very interesting happened in the bus. There was this fellow (later he said his name Asela, if I’m not mistaken) and started, I guessed, a typical bus talk and I simply ignored him. However, after sometime, I realized that he was actually talking about preserving the nature and giving us advice what we should and could do. Unfortunately, when I realized this, he was at the end of his speech and requested all the mothers to pack their husbands’, sons’ or daughters’ lunch into a container, not to use polythene covers. Well I felt ashamed of not listening to him properly:-(

His parting words were these: “We don’t own this Mother Nature. We just belong there”. What a remarkable saying it really is. He even sold a tiny booklet of his ideas and things we should do for Rs. 10/- and let me tell you, by the time he reached the back of the bus, every one of them was sold out. It shows that our people really do care about this world, what they need is some good advice delivered nicely and practically. I hope Asela would forgive me for thinking as if he was just another nuisance in the bus. (Hope one day he will get to know this

We reached Hasalaka around 9.30am and went in search of a tuk-tuk. However, I went and spoke to a fruit vendor and asked the directions to Rathna Ella rather than speaking directly to a tuk-tuk and my tact worked. He then pointed at a certain tuk-tuk and said he’d know where to go. He’s been called by his buddies “Deyya” and he asked for Rs. 400/- for the trail head and promised to take us right up and show how to get to Rathna Ella.

We happily got in and went past the Statue of Hasalaka Gamini and turned to our right (coming from Hasalaka town) along the road to Wasgamuwa. After about 1km passing the main bridge across Hasalaka tank, we turned left to Sri Dammananda road which too has a narrow (passable by a small vehicle like a Dimo Batta or tuk-tuk) iron bridge. You can’t miss it

From there, difficult go get the directions, but you just have to follow you nose and ask the villages if you travel by your own vehicle. In about 20mins, we reached the end of our journey by tuk-tuk and I asked Deyya if we could leave our baggage somewhere. He then took us to this Weda Mama’s place (Ashan had used the same place when he went to see Rathna Ella) and got the permission to keep our baggage there. Unfortunately, Weda Mama wasn’t at home but his wife was very kind.

Through his garden, we had to climb (about 10ft) up to the channel which is about 4-5ft in width. Along it, they had built a bunt and we just had to follow it to the Rathna Ella. (Walk in the park compared to what we did in Meemure, but not even close when compared to the surroundings).

Sometimes, the path is too narrow, you gotta be very careful as there’s a steep downhill on the left. We walked and walked thanking the thick forest patch on the right above us sheltering the path from scorching sun. This channel carries water to the paddy fields down hill and the farmers plough and harvest 3 seasons (other areas only two, Yala and Maha) and Deyya mentioned that the water levels don’t get completely dried up. Hasalaka Oya keeps the water levels sufficient enough for those people to farm.

We passed about 3 falls below, which can only be heard and barely seen due to thick grown trees on the downhill below. It’d be really challenging to get down through all that. I though it’d be more feasible coming down from Rathna Ella along Hasalaka Oya as the water levels were not at an alarmingly high. There’s another famous water fall called “Kaluwa Wetuna Ella” before the Rathna Ella. Unfortunately we couldn’t get down to her even though we heard her clear enough. However, there was another beautiful fall considerably high about 150m from the base of Rathna Ella and I’m not sure if it has a name.

The Statue at Hasalaka, behind is the road towards Wasgamuwa

One of the greatest heroes of our recent past….

This is the narrow iron bridge I mentioned about… I’m watching if a vehicle is coming coz you can’t be on the bridge when one does

Haslaka Tank

I love this pic

Along the way, they are getting ready of another ploughing

Up there is the main road but you can’t really see it through the trees

Resting place at the paddy field

Ok, just got on to the bunt and away we went

Some tricky passes (you gotta jump from one to the other or get into the channel )

Shady all the way

This water is precious for those farmers

The first glimpse was through the forest patch above a paddy field and many millions of wows were started there. She was so rich and beautiful and I was staring at her in a trance till my friend reminded me that we could of course get nearer to her I felt very silly.

Then there was the talking rather communicating bull (again you heard it right) and here’s what happened. He was huge and pitch black fellow and my friend asked if the falls is near from him and to my disbelief, he actually nodded not just once but twice. (Reminds you of fairy tales of Andare, right?). My friend too was flabbergasted and he then asked if we’d have any difficulties getting to the falls. Guess what happened? He simply shook his head, twice again as if to say “No, there won’t be any trouble”:-) :-) :-)

I decided not to burden him with further questions and went happily and at a quicker face to reach my beloved Rathna Ella ASAP. We first saw the cascade I mentioned above and she too was about 20-30ft in height. Even though it was considerably dry, the water levels were great and helped us get closer without any trouble. Rathna Ella was like a mother to many falls. If you look closely, she resembles Baker’s falls a bit, like a stretched version of Baker’s falls. (I simply don’t like to use that name as it’s a name of a killer of many Elephants, but what choice do I have?

There’s a path you have to take to get to the base of Rathna Ella, but it’s really difficult to get very close as the water is fiercely coming down with billions of water droplets covering the whole area. You’re bound to get wet completely in seconds. We stayed as close as possible about half hour and then came back to the first cascade and got this urge to go for a cool dip. It’s very dangerous to go for a swim in the base pool, so we chose a harmless, innocuous rock pool and had nice cool dip and it really refreshed us.

After about another half hour, around 11.30am, we left, sadly though, and reached Weda Mama’s place around 12.30pm. On the way back, we met about 2-3 groups of people carrying bottles and food to the falls and felt very annoyed. Hopefully, they didn’t abuse her that much. We reached Weda Mama’s house and there was a nice cocoa tree which donated us one of her juicy cocoa which we devoured after a tiring walk.

Deyya was waiting and we said our thanks to Weda Mama’s wife and departed for Hasalaka town. On our way back, we paid our respects to one of the greatest heroes of our recent history, Hasalaka Gamini, who made the supreme sacrifice for this country. He’ll forever be remembered.

Then Deyya showed us the place called “Ambula” (right in front of Hasalaka Police station) for lunch. They served us a very delicious meal of Carrot, Polos (my favorite), Mallung, Papadam (full vegetarion coz it was the Poya) and I simply loved it. The price was too very cheap and we then crossed the road and waited for a Kandy bus.

On our way along 18-bends, we could see miles into Mahiyanganaya area, Hasalaka Oya was clearly visible and I suppose the bigger one beyond that was the famous Sora Bora Wewa. It’d’ve been grand to go for a walk along the 18-bends in the early morning coz you can see the sun rising and the surrounding mountains will be simply amazing to watch.

We reached Kandy around 3.55pm and had nightmarish incident with the Kandy station officers those who were extremely rude and impolite. We then were forced to take the 4.06pm Podimenike instead of the Intercity at 5.10pm or 5.30pm and reached Fort around 7.30pm.

That’s the end of my fairy tale of Rathna Ella, Sri de Hasalaka…. What an unforgettable journey it turned out to be coz Rathna Ella came into my radar very unexpectedly and since then I wanted to go see her.

Hope you guys enjoyed my vivid fairy tale

Cheers… now to the most amazing pic story.

There She issssssssssss

Getting closer, zooming in

Up close, such a beauty

All done and dusted

Grand place to spend a night, complete isolation

Giving them a hand

Talking Bull posing for a pic

Need to wait a bit more

The cascade just before the Mother Rathna Ella

You can see they’ve built a wall and made a small reservoir like

Above the trees, very near

The small cascade flows down

Not overflowing but enough to retain the beauty

.

Steep climb to reach the Rathna Ella

Rock boulders

Some more, apparently in high season, water flows clean above these

Finally full face… she’s a Queen

Breath-taking and majestic

Wish I could hug you

When the water levels are very high, it would be the sight

Wasps’ honey (Bambara Wada)

Curd and Honey??? gorgeous mushrooms

Well….

Tiny falls just below

Mother is watching over her daughter

Had a dip in a shallow rock pool

Bidding farewell

Where did she come from?

Pair of them

Awesome

See you lady, and we gonna badly miss you

“We don’t own this Mother Nature; We simply belong there. We depend on her. So we have no right to abuse her in any way. Protect her by all means…. “

On 1st of May, we took a bus to Ellamalle and then walked towards Ella Rock Point. The day was clear and all the mountain ranges were visible.

Thotupola Kanda

The ‘Double M’ – Hakgala

It was an easy walk though mostly eucalyptus plantations

We came across a lot of spider webs of different sizes

As it was after the rainy season there were a lot of new pine plants all over the place

We reached a clear place and were able to see far away

When we reached the 1st observation point, we could see the Babaragama waterfall and the Wellawaya – Ella road.

The Bridge far below

The top part of the waterfall

As it was just after the monsoon the whole area was green

‘Handa Mama’ was still around

After spending some time at the observation point we started walking towards Ella Rock Point. On our way to Ella Rock I had to listen to several lectures……. and my father was the lecturer!!!

Lecture 1 – Water making its own shadow

Lecture 2 – Protection from fire

Lecture 3 – Part I – Natural Spring

Lecture 3 – Part II – Feeling the ‘water jet’

Lecture 3 – Part III – The beginning of a river

Lecture 4 – Lighting Strike

Lecture 5 – Survey Departments Measurements

At Ella Rock Point, we were able to see all around us and the scenery was beautiful.

Namunukula Range

Little Adam’s Peak

At the start of the hike my father gave me ownership of his camera. During the hike he tried many times to encourage me to photograph wild mushrooms and other tiny plants which I refused to do as I was more interested in chatting with my Loku Amma & Loku Thatha. My father was not too happy about it and he photographed them himself. These are some of what he shot.

.

.

.

.

.

.

However, I photographed a tree mushroom and he says I have scored 100/100 for it. Here it is…

My father calls this ‘Natures Bulls Eye’

Later we walked down to the railway track at Kithalella and walked along the railway track to Heeloya railway station. Here I observed a funny incident. A train that arrived at the station started pulling out of the station. Two ladies who were coming towards the station signaled to the driver to stop the train for them to get in. The moving train stopped for at least 5 minutes and waited for the two ladies to get to the station, buy their tickets and board the train.

We hopped a bus home.

I see this mountain from faraway almost every day but had not got a chance to climb it. My father had told me that the area was controlled by the army and we needed permission to go up there. He promised that he would one day find a way to take me up there.

In November last year my father was invited to join some of his friends to climb Piduruthalagala Mountain. He had asked them if I too could join.

The following day we went to Nuwaraeliya by vehicle and reached the army check point at the entrance to the forest. Although we had permission to walk to the top, the soldiers at the check point were reluctant to allow us to walk. However, my father’s friends made a few calls and then we were allowed to walk.

Although Piduruthalagala is the highest point of the country (2524m) the walk up the mountain along the road was easy. The distance to the top was 5.6km. Walking through the trees was interesting and as the weather was good whenever there were openings in the trees we could see beautiful scenery.

Adam’s Peak far way

Nuwaraeliya Town far below

Waterfall in the Jungle

Along the road there were some thorny bushes that had some wild berries. We picked some just to taste and I got the ripe ones.

Yammy

When we reached the top it looked like a town. There were lots and lots of buildings and antenna towers. Many more buildings were also being built.

We walked up to the top most point where the Survey Department has made a ‘Trig Point’.

2524m

North – South – East – West

However, as the mist had come down we could not see around.

After spending some time at the top we came back down the road in a vehicle and returned home.

You are embedded in my mind….

It was year 2001 and my first-ever train journey was to Diyatalawa with my AL class friends from Fort by 5.55am Podimenike Train. It really was a remarkable and unforgettable journey. We were on our way to do a project on Horton Plains and heading to stay at one of my friend’s place in Diyatalawa.

I was on the foot board the whole journey, highly excited, enjoying it to the max. We passed many things and stations along the way. But one thing in particular got embedded in my mind. That was “Great Western Station”. The entering onto the Station area was grand and I can still remember that day. I’ve been viewing that picture every now and then and couple years back came to know about the GW Mountain which is surprisingly the 6th highest in SL.

But it never occurred to me to do this till I joined Lakdasun (that has inspired me tremendously to achieve greater things) and heard that this could be done. At the Lakdasun gathering on 2nd of March 2013, helped me meet with lots of people with great experience.

I then came across Ashan’s report on GW and thought it would be grand if we could do this. However, it wasn’t not one of my priorities and been in the back of my mind all along. However, t suddenly dawned on me that it’s now or never. I casually suggested this to Harinda in April and he readily agreed. I didn’t wanna wait long and fixed it for first week of May. This was pushed back to second week coz of my beloved Meemure and Hasalaka trips and it turned out to be a hidden blessing as it rained very heavily in the first week.

We panicked and I was very worried. I kept calling Morgan (he’s also called Velli) and checking the weather and it was always raining. I decided to call it off if it kept going on like that and buying the train tickets was also delayed. However, to our great relief Morgan said the situation is getting better on 09 May. It was barely 3 days for the trip and we agreed to get the tickets and go anyway. Unfortunately all the sleeping berths had been booked and had to settle for 2nd class. If it rained we would abandon the hike and do something else like waterfall hunting around Talawakele.

10 and 11 May, the weather improved dramatically and I was beyond the point of getting cranked up. So on the 11th night around 7.30pm Harind joined me at the Fort station and after buying snacks and biscuits for the journey we got on board and were ready to venture into new heights.

General Information about GW.

• 6th Highest in SL. (2,212m – 7,257ft)
• It got its name Great Western from the English who ruled the up country, they named nearby places Somerset, Glassaugh, etc.
• Located right behind GW station with an elevation of about 748m (2,454ft).
• GW station is between Watagoda (from Col) and Radella (from Badulla) and has 5.01km and 3.4km in between respectively. (Good for a rail walk)
• From Colombo it’s 199km and from Badulla 93km to the GW station. Difficult to access by road. You can come from Talawakele to the nearby village where Morgan lives (about 1km away) and then walk from there. If you wanna do that, do check with Morgan.
• Don’t try this if it’s raining coz the path is very slippery. The earth is soggy and the underbrush is so thick. The climb is too challenging, at times near vertical and there are very little footholds and branches to cling onto.
• The trail can be separated into 4 parts. It’s about 6-8km in total. Strenuous trail and shouldn’t be attempted without a guide.

1. GW station to the Trail head along the railway track (about 1.5-2km). There are steps built into the mountain to a Kovil on your left hand side just before an Iron Bridge. You can start your trail either along the Kovil steps or near the Bridge.
2. From the Railway line to the beginning of the Forest Patch through the Kovil. About 1.5km
3. Through the forest patch to the top (about 2-2.5km)
4. Along the top to the summit (about 1.5km)

We had nice and long chat about our adventures and planned a few too for the near future. We decided to get some shut eye around 10.30pm. However, the poorly maintained carriages and seats offered little comfort. My seat was broken and it felt as if sitting on a rock. The whole carriage was reeking of the lavatory which was stinking so bad I found it difficult to breathe let alone sleep. This was my worst experience on a train journey (I’m a frequent traveler) and had jitters about the hike. Harinda managed to get short bursts of shut eye (just like his short breaks along the hike ).

From Nawalapitiya, it was on a crawl due to the mist. It was so thick you could have cut them like cheese and have. This delayed our arrival time by good 1.5hrs. We reached GW by 4.15am and I was glad to get out of that stinky rat hole. Morgan had informed the station of our arrival and they helpfully opened the rest room and let us stay till the morning. Anyhow, the chilly cement benches offered little consolation and I decided to sit and wait till the dawn. By 5.30am, it was light enough and I got out immediately and came out despite the cold. It really was like heaven. They say that you can see the Adam’s peak from the station but the thick mist wouldn’t have any of it.

We started snapping away and a dark cloud was heading our way making us skeptical. However, after about 15mins, it went away as if seen our concerned looks. Morgan arrived with hot coffee and packed breakfast. We washed and changed into combat gear and went away around 6.30am.

The map I found

Just arrived…

Early morning, couldn’t wait anymore

Lovely station…

She’s watching us

It really is Great

Here comes the Nawalapitiya bound train from Nanuoya

Good old German W3 engines at work

Step 1 – GW station to Trail Head

The mist got thicker but Morgan predicted good weather, free of rain. We passed a small but abandoned hut which had built for a watcher man. The reason being, rocks had fallen from the mountain onto the rail track last year closing the line to Badulla for full 48hrs. They even have put up a notice there. Army’s demolition team had had to blow those rocks away and clear the path.

We reached the trail head, about 7.00am where whitewashed steps leading up to a Kovil is clearly visible on the left hand side. This is just before an Iron Bridge, where there’s another trail. The trail through the Kovil is relatively easier but longer whereas the one off the Bridge is difficult but somewhat short. We obviously had no debate over which one to take. (You guessed right, the easy one )

Flowers at large at the station

So cute

Never ending penchant for the flowers

Some more

Still going strong, coz made in England

Mist hung thickly

Walking to the starting point

Fine Pine forest

Specially when it’s raining real hard

Where the rocks had dislodged

Rocks which were blasted by Army…

Iron bridge before the kovil steps…

The fellow I went with…

Step 2 – Trail Head to Forest Patch

Up we went along the steps, and according to Morgan there are nearly 200 steps up to the Kovil. It’s been built after a promise (in Sinhala, Bharaya). It goes like this:

Nallusami was a KP (a sub Superintendent) in one of the estates and once he had got lost on the path of the mountain. He got panicked and reached the point where now the Kovil is built. (It used to just a small worshipping place). According to the story, he’d found his way like a miracle and to show his gratitude to God Paththini, he’d promised to build steps right up to the Kovil from the railway line. He did build them and overtime, the villagers have renovated them.

Morgan did the rituals at the Kovil and as always, I asked for good weather (which was duly granted) and having filled our containers to the brim with the spring water near by, we went along the foot path up. The going was not to bad coz the path was clear and Harinda took his nice and short 30-second breaks. Along the way, we found the hooves’ marks of the stags on the earth and Morgan said they might’ve just crossed the path. We also saw the markings where jungle fowls had been digging for their breakfasts and wild boars for their previous night dinner. The mist kept coming in keeping the sunlight away (which was a blessing) and the chill in the fresh air kept us going.

About 1km away, I was hungry and good wait no longer for breakfast. We sat on the path and had a sumptuous (in my terms) meal of hot hot Roti, mouth-watering Lunu Miris and Dhal. Cream crackers dipped in Dhal and Lunu Miris was just the icing on the cake. Harinda kept hiding the cheese for the summit. We got our things ready, not leaving even a scrap of paper behind and got back on track. Soon we entered into the thick forest and it was dark inside the forest.

Entrance to the Kovil

The 200 steps

Our super-duper guide Morgan

Paththini Kovil

Overlooking the lush greenery

Morgan doing the rituals

Giving us blessings

Tea estates below

Gorgeous

Another 30-second break

Misty tree

Stags’… just been there

Harinda is catching up

Horton plains like

Breakfast… delicious

Mini train coming to taste our BF

Gosh, now the hard bit

Step 3 – Climbing up to the top.

Things got more and more difficult the sooner we reach into the steep bit of the climb. Morgan said that the forest department people based in N’Eliya doesn’t visit the forest up in the hill. They apparently, just come by train and walk about the tea estate below and go back to their warm offices not caring what’s happening up in the hills. We saw so much evidence to prove that wood choppers had been busy at work. So many trees had been cut down and we came across many not-so-big tree trunks yet to be taken away. Some had been left to rotten so that they can be used as firewood.

Morgan said that the forest department officers arrest anyone who’s even trying to get some firewood in the tea estates below saying that they destroy the forests but not really looking where it actually happens. They are barking up the wrong tree.

After sometime, we came across a funny looking tree with white trunk, but to see the bark had been gnawed by stags. I was very curious coz they had very greedily taken it clean off. Just out of my never ending curiosity, I just picked at a remaining piece and chewed it. Wow, it tasted nice, mixture of sugar and peppermint with a touch of bitterness to it.

I kept chewing it like chewing gum most of the up hill journey. Then we came to the most difficult part with a very steep climb through thick bushes, rocks and slippery earth. However, climbing up is easier compared to coming down. It’s just scary. Once the steep got too much for us, Morgan had to climb first and give us his rope to support ourselves up. Same way we came down but Harinda nearly went all the way to the GW station, but managed to hold onto the rope bruising his arm.

Photo taking opportunities were hard to come by coz we sometimes had to use our arms as well to support us. Harinda kept switching himself to 4WD (all four limbs). After a lot of huffing and puffing we were finally on the top but the journey was far from over. We had another long way to walk across to the summit at the other end about 1.5-2km.

Looks like Batu

So many artistic things

Not edible

Katu Imbula?

Dead ones

Stag’s favourite meals, barks of this tree

No artist can match this..

Close or far, she’s great

More arts of the Mother Nature

Still misty…

Harinda is showing the damage done to the forest

Very difficult going

At last, reached the top… plenty more to walk

Step 4 – Walking across to the Summit

We reached a rock surface and were surprised how high we actually were. We got a great view of (still partially covered by the mist) Radella Broadcasting tower, Nanuoya and beyond that Piduruthalagala Mountain range with the telecommunications towers, Hatton-Nanuoya road via Thalawakele. It was such a great panoramic view.

Moving further on, we saw the rock forming the summit of the GW and about 100m below we saw kinda Hawk or an Eagle perching and screeching. We managed to take a few pics of the fellow (pity didn’t have about 40+ zoom on me) but my 20X plus digital zoom got me a passable pic. I had to use Harinda’s back instead of the tripod to eliminate the shakiness at the extreme zoom range.

Passing a makeshift Kovil, only with a Trishul which had been dug out by the searching boars. Just beyond there was a tree with fertilizer bags hung like flags. Morgan said many think that this is the summit and turn around but not so. Then it was the camping site and as I said above, there were only charred remains of wood remaining, no plastic or papers strewn about. So whoever did the camping had done a tremendous job (hoping they didn’t throw anything over the rock to the bottom) and hats off to them.

Just through a thick bush, we reached the summit. Some team from Kandy had gone and put up a flag not at the correct place but Morgan had put it up near the actual summit. There is hardly any room to sit and wind is fierce. Be very careful coz the edge is always wet due to mist and deadly dangerous.

We had our remaining breakfast, more Roti, cheese and cream crackers with the precious Lunu miris and dhal. It took us exactly 4hrs to reach the top (by 10.40am) and decided to stay till 11.30am hoping the mist would clear enough for a few pics. Around 11.10am, I decided it’s pointless to wait anymore but Morgan reassured it will clear away. About 11.15am, the mist cleared even though partially, and we managed to get a few pics and turned around.

Mist was so stubborn…

Tea estates below…

Grand pic

Jutting out of the rock… love those colours

He’s the one who was making noises all the time

Know the fellow?

Ready to fly away

This is towards Radella

Rock formation of the summit… more to go

Life on the rocks…

Vividness

Lovely

Morgan was constantly on the phone with the station checking the train times

The three musketeers

This is marked as the summit, but not actually… further more to go

Camping site

The flag carried by a previous group but had hung at the wrong place, Morgan had put it here

Mist enveloping the surrounding and she was so cool with drops of water

Not to be taken away…

Love that water on the leaves

Finally a breakthrough – GW station

Village further on

Morgan’s village, the Kovil in the middle

The ground beyond Morgan’s village

More buildings and villages nearby

Railway and its quarters below

Mist went away completely

The edge is slippery and earth is very loose….

There comes Udarata Menike bound for Colombo

Passing the quarters below

Disappearing

Panoram

Coming back….

Along the way, we stopped by again coz Morgan wanted to show us the Colombo bound Udarata Menike snaking its way to the GW from Nanuoya station. We heard the train but the mist still very stubbornly refused to go away. However, as the train appeared at the bend, the mist went away and we managed to take pics of the new Chinese S12 train. Light blue was very prominent against the green background and it’s longer with 8 carriages and two either side engines than the good old M6 with 6 carriages. However, Morgan predicted those new Chinese ones will be outta service in 10 years…

Then it was time to take on the horrendous downhill journey and Harinda used his rock sliding skills to the max. He made new inroads and paths were cleared as if by magic. He said “I wish I could fly to the GW station from here” and I wanted to help him with my Kung-Fu and replied that I could maybe send him right into Morgan’s village and with luck he’d end up at the Station. He simply wouldn’t hear any of it and trust my skills. Instead he used his own methods and after a strenuous journey we did the worst part and heaved a sigh of relief.

Walking back we came across the Stag-gnawed tree and I wanted another tiny piece of chewing gum. It tasted grand after the exhausting climb. I was relieved to get back to the open area and we heard the Badulla bound Podi Menike coming from GW and waited anxiously for her to appear. It was very clear as we were very close to the bottom and it was easy to point and shoot.

Came back to the Kovil, paid our respects for giving us good weather and making our journey a safe one, replenished our water bottles and was on our way back to the GW station around 1.30pm (It only taken 2 hours for the downhill).

Near the station, there was a butterfly beauty bathing in the sun. She said that she just returned from Adma’s peak and posed for a few pics for me. The workers were redoing the track changing the old sleepers at the station.

We were hoping to catch the 2.15pm train back to Colombo and there was a delay. We washed and had the delicious lunch brought to the station by Morgan’s wife. There was a dog (now you gonna wonder what’s so special about a dog, right?) and surprisingly his name was “Kema” (food). We gave him some of our lunch and when called “Kema” he responded. Funny things do happen.

Apparently, the delay got worse coz the M6 engine had failed at Nanuoya and they were waiting for a replacement from Nawalapitiya which was good 2hrs away. We didn’t wanna push our luck anymore instead took the Badulla train to Nanuoya around 4.00pm and then proceeded to N’Eliya. Fortunately there was an AC bus leaving for Colombo at 5.15pm and took it and reached Colombo around 10.00pm.

Well, that’s the story of the Mysterious girl of GW. She is so proud and wouldn’t let many people get close to her. She keeps her beauty hidden most of the time with mist. So should you ever to attempt her, don’t do anything to harm her beauty. She’s such a gorgeous mountain.

It was my first trip with Harinda (a Lakdasun member) and there’ll be plenty more coming in the future.

Sri & Hari de Great Western fairy tale ends here and do enjoy the pics…. Ask any questions…

Radella broadcasting tower

Abandoned Tea factory, they had tried to convert into a garment factory but not worked out

Wild boars are responsible for these…

Making new paths

Bidding us farewell

Don’t wanna leave her

The other peak…

There goes Podi Menike towards Nanuoya

Up close, I guess the guard is looking at us

10 carriages in all

Morgan leading the way…

The path you have to take across the mountain to the summit… easier shown than done

She just said Hi…

Told me just returned from Sri Pada

Happily agreed to pose for a pic for me

Side view, see the Butterfly Walk

Signals not ready yet

Walking the final bit…. legs screaming at me

Changing the old sleepers

Hard work

Ready to weigh?

Tiny tiny birds eveywhere…

The first ever pic of a Maina, had to go all the way to GW to take it

Here’s the fellow with the funny name “Kema”

“Darling, don’t look, they are taking our pics”

08.30am Badulla train coming in to GW

This is the only old engine at work now due to the introduction of Chinese S12

See ya later guys…

Lady… see you later….

Green = ambalangala, Red = maligatenna, Blue = ponds, Purple = weheragala, Black = cave, Orange = rassa muhuna – Click Map to Enlarge

Download Google Earth Trail Map

According to Folklore During the war between Ravana and Rama, both Rama and Lakshman were hit by powerful arrows to fall unconscious and to bring them back to life Hanuman was instructed to fetch lifesaving herbs from Himalayas. Hanuman went to the Himalayas, rooted part of the hill and brought it as he was not able to identify the lifesaving herbs. Parts from the hill fell on five places in Sri Lanka, Rumasala, Dolukanda in Hiripitiya, Ritigala, Thalladi in Mannar and Kachchativu in the north. Archeologically the mountain range has received some importance because of the well-known Arankele monastery been located at the base of it. Regarding the geometry it’s about 2km in length and 0.5km in width with a vast intermediate zone forest reserve on top of it. First time I came across this mountain range was when I visited Wellagala at Wariyapola and few months back while we were on top of Yakdessagala I noted this range for the second time. And the temptation was exclaiming to uncontrollable levels since then. Conquering unique mountain peaks has been my passion and day by day my list has been growing and growing with occasional tick offs. This time Anupama was the man who bought me the solution; he had already climbed up 3 times but was generous enough to join me this time too. Other than Anupama and his friend Dinusha my friend Harinda also joined me in this adventure. Harinda and my self-arrived at Kurunegala at around 7am by bike and bought some bread and dhal for lunch and together with Anupama we went towards Hunupola on Hiripitiya road where we met Dinusha and our guide Kumarasekara.

We started climbing from an abandoned rock quarry where huge square rocks cut by machines could be found. According to locals some Indian guys have done treasure hunting in large scale with heavy machinery. Next we came across few abandoned “kuti” which were built few years back when Dolukanda was a very famous place of worship for Sri Lankans. The initial stretch was through a relatively flat area but within no time we were starting to ascend uphill. The undergrowth was not much but since the area had received some showers on the previous few days it was enough to make things bit slippery. Suddenly the climb got steeper and more pit stops were a must and our guide Mr Kumarasekara was staring at us because we were crawling at a snail pace compared to him! On the way we came across few medicinal plants which is the most unique feature of this forestry and Harinda managed to root off few accidentally . After about 1hour and 45 minutes of climbing we came to the base of Ambalan gala and after tackling the last rock we were on top of it with a smile on our tired faces

gloomy morning at dolukanda

treasure hunting done by indians in large scale(according to locals)

entering the forest

abandoned sakman maluwa

off we go

may kollo nam ada ena patak naha

try and un tie it

harinda plucking huge trees

coconut!

then it got steeper

leading the way

finally on top of ambalam gala

Ambalan gala is a bare rock located on the edge of the mountain and at a center location. There was a Buddhist flag post on top of it waving in proudly signifying the importance of this place. At this location one can enjoy a 180 degree view towards Wariyapola and Kurunegala but since the cloudy and misty nature on that morning we couldn’t appreciate much of the landmarks. Some landmarks we noted were Alagalla, Athgala, Mawathagama peak, Anda gala, Kuruminiyagala, Yakdessagala range, plenty of paddy fields, Dolukanda temple at the base, Wariyapola, Hiripitiya side, new Deduru oya reservoir and few lakes. We spent about 30 minutes on top of the rock enjoying the stunning scenery before we decided to enter the huge forest patch to explore around.

it was gloomy towards kurunegala

dolukanda temple and its pond at the base

raising the fallen flag

kurunegala region

paddy and coconut together

Yakdessagala range

wow	towards wariyapola

expecting rain

started clearing off a bit

time for a panorama

wonder what is this

ambalan gala

ideal place for a team pic

Though we thought it was already done and we could return early Kumarasekara mama and Anupama listed out some interesting areas worth visiting and from here on it was a never ending walking session on the top of the 2km long mountain range. We got in to the forest which was very shady and cool and within no time reached Maligathenna which might have been an ancient castle according to the locals. There were plenty of fallen pillars covered with moss and been Camouflaged with the greenery while few pillars were still standing tall like tree barks. Also there were rock walls here and there creating platforms and borders indicating that this was once a prosperous kingdom of a king. We also came across a huge “katarama” on a rock used to divert water from one place to another. This archaeological site had gone through the devastating illegal excavation process just like other locations in the island.

in search of maligatenna

Dummala

fallen pillars of maligatenna

treasure hunters have done their part

no this is not a well

more pillars

drainage system

a rock wall

remains from a different era

After exploring the ruins we set foot towards the other end of the range an on the way we came across a very rare “Wanaraja”plant which has a medicinal importance. There were other plants with medicinal value showed by Kumarasekara but I’m unable to recall any. Been so rich with medicinal plants Dolukanda might have some connection with Hanuma’s story just like Ritigala and Hakgala. Next we reached the famous rock ponds called Kalu diya pokuna, Dunukei pokuna and etc these are said to be found full even during droughts. This was an ideal place for us to have a rest under the shade and have a sip of jeevani to replace the lost minerals. Next we came across Watekei pokuna which was covered with plenty of Wetakei bushes hence the name.

life on life

barks were decorated

more mushrooms

Wanaraja

my favourite

Kalu diya pokuna

reflection

Kasi pethi (Panam pethi)

wetakei pokuna

On the way to Weheragala and not so far away from it we came across the trail used by villagers of Doluwa linking up with the main trail. By the way Wheragala got its name because of the huge ancient sthupa located on it and was vandalized by treasure hunters as expected. Weheragala been on the opposite side of the rock produces a different view compared to Ambalan gala and there is a very nice view point close to it where one can enjoy again a 180 degree panoramic outlook towards Ritigala, Arankele, Kibulwana reservoir, Dolukanda lake Ambokka and Mathale areas. This point seems to be the highest place and the drop towards the base of the rock was too scary to have a look even.

demarcated path

ancient pagoda at weheragala

gloomy scenery from weheragala

kibulwana reservoir

Hiripitiya town

doluwa side

Pano towards arankele

next observation point

dolukanda reservoir

wow	mondanocks of wayamba

phew the drop (this is the highest point)

Ritigala and Galgiriya can be seen

towards Rassa muhuna

We continued along the edge of the mountain through the forest cover and came to our next pit stop which is the Hulang Kapolla and its beautiful cave. This is a very dangerous but yet fascinating place and at some months a monk resides in this “kutiya”. There was a bed used by the monk and few saucepans used by visitors who spent the night in this non drip ledged cave. We decided to have our afternoon meal which was Bread and dhal while enjoying the scenery towards Arankele from the cave. This cave also was not spared by visitors who were muttish enough to scribble their names on the rock.

hulang kapolla

the cave which a monk used

view from the cave

vandalized

the view from our lunch table

the rock looks like pasted

ambokka got cleared off a bit

Rassa muhuna

ambokka peaks through the gap

Next we wanted to get to the last view point which is called “Rassa muhuna” because of its appearance like a devils face. It could be appreciated properly from Hiripitiya area according to the locals but we had to satisfy our selves with a different view. En route we came across another cave where a monk once meditated keeping dead human corpuses. To get on top of the Rassa muhuna we had to crawl along a bark of a tree and it was totally worth it because we enjoyed a good 270 degree view and at that moment the sky also had decided to clear of a bit to produce some stunning scenery towards Kala oya side. Galgiriya kanda and Ritigala were seen far away while Arankele was at the base of the rock. After enjoying some breathtaking scenery we decided to return back and for that we used a different route.

seems like some one has roasted some meat here

climbing along a fallen tree

on top of rassa muhuna

gala pita gala

the sky cleared off

arankele

Yakdessagala again appeared to our visual fields

towards kala wewa side

ambokka

very tempting

Ritigala side

i was on top of that peak few months ago

wow again

pano towards wariyapola

pano towards arankele

After getting to the opposite side of the rock we continued along the rocky area known as Kalu gala and came across an area covered with Bowitiya bushes and it was like Horton plains on top of Dolukanda for us. Finally we reached Ambalan gala where we rested a bit before starting to descend.

tackling kalugala

dolukanda bowitiya plains

on the way scenery

treasure hunting continues

the dry forest in the center of the mountain

alagalla and mawathagama peaks

last pano for the day

now it seems cleared off

pride

While descending I sprained my knee joint which was a nightmare for me and from there onwards I had to crawl down slowly without bending my left knee as possible. While I was tackling with a sprained knee Harinda was rooting up few huge trees and producing some chuckles in our minds ha ha ha… If Hanuman was a live he would have come in search of Harinda and asked him to pay for the damage:-D. Anyway it was unintentional and descending is always a problematic when it’s too steep. We ended up finally at Kandagoda RMV which is located at the base of the mountain. It seemed to be an ancient temple with a huge caved image house with a drip ledged inscription. After getting back to the village house where we halted our bikes, we were served with a glass of sweet orange juice by the owner which was like “Amurthaya” for us and not so far away we got a hot Belli mal drink and a piece of papaw from another villager which was like medicine for our tired souls. After thanking Kumarasekara mama we went to Dinushas place and had a wash before we departed, to experience a continuous shower until we reached Hettipola. Harinda was kind enough to drop me off at Chilaw and return back towards Colombo to end our one day adventure at historical Dolukanda. Thanks for reading!

getting down

last moment captures

kandegoda RMV

the inscription

good bye dolukanda

I suggested that we go to Thangamale and he said ok. My uncle also agreed to join us.

On a Saturday morning we went to Kinigama Railway Station to catch the train. Although we wanted to buy 2nd class tickets the person at the counter didn’t know the price of a ticket and as he did not have time to check we had to buy 3rd class tickets. When the train reached Bandarawela Railway Station we once again bought 2nd class tickets so that we could get seats. When we got in there were only few people.

Just passing Bandarawela (everyone seated)

Just passing Diyathalawa (jam-packed)

At Haputale our train had to wait for awhile until the ‘Night Mail Train’ from Colombo which was late reached Haputale. I heard someone saying that there had been an earth slip between NanuOya & Ohiya.

We got off at Idalgashinna……..

………… and started walking towards Thangamale when the train left

Talking about trains

After awhile we left the railway track and got on to the path that runs through Thangamale.

As it was after the rainy season the forest looked green and beautiful.

Maha Ratmal

Hana

Green…….

Green, Green……..

Water………….

Water, Water………

We saw many different kinds of moss plants

Moss………

Moss, Moss………….

We also saw many different kinds of mushrooms.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Wild flowers were every where

I think this is a tree fern

The only butterfly I photographed

Although my ‘Boss’ tried to photograph this tiny ‘Gemba’ he could not do it properly

I heard a train coming from Haputale Railway Station. As I wanted to see it we stopped at a place from where we could see the railway track.

MY TRAIN !!!!!

When we came to the end of the path the mist settled down

Once we finished the walk through the forest we called my other uncle to pick us up and to take us back home.

Year and Month	May, 2013 (24th)
Number of Days	One Day Trip
Crew	8 (between 28-45 years of age; I’m of course not sure 100% about this ) – Sri and the Clan – Danushka and his wife (Thilini) and his friend (Harsha), Tony, Harinda and his two friends (Wuminda and Prince) and our driver Indika.
Accommodation	N/A
Transport	Hired Van (Mazda Bongo)
Activities	Hiking / Photography / Getting to know others
Weather	Excellent for hiking – (It was dark and gloomy and even drizzling at times but didn’t disturb our journey one bit)
Route	Kottawa -> Maharagama -> Pelawatte -> Peliyagoda -> Mawanella -> Gevilipitiya -> Bathalegala -> Dippitiya -> Aranayake -> Horawela Junction -> Arama -> Arama Raja Maha Vihara Mw -> Asupini Ella And return on Aranayake->Mawanella->Colombo Danushka managed to get the trail maps for both Bathalegala and Asupini Ella and they both are attached.
Tips, Notes and Special remark	Avoid rainy season for Bathalegala hike. It can be difficult and slippery at places. It can be really dangerous to be on top if it’s thundering as the whole area is open. So avoid staying up during thundering and lightning. Turn onto Aranayake from Mawanella town and keep an eye out for Gevilipitiya, turn to your right for Bathalegala. Keep checking with the locals and it’s not so difficult to find the road. You can go most of the way in a vehicle as the road is now paved with concrete. You will have to stop about 500m before the trail head as the road is not in great shape. Probably a vehicle with a bit more ground clearance can tackle this bit. However, it would be nice if you walk as much as you can, taking in the surrounding. The total length of the trail is about 1.5-2km. Surprisingly short but not so easy as you need to keep climbing from the very beginning. There is no flat terrain till the summit. There are no water sources on the top, so you’d best take your own. However, there’s a temple built on the summit with water and electricity in 1997 and still being used even though there was no monk when we visited and didn’t seem to be in frequent use. So not very sure about getting any from the temple. Camping is possible but the winds are very strong so you gonna need a lot of ropes to keep them on the ground. Anyway, we saw a hut (about 10X10) built just above the temple. So you can even stay there. You’ll have to clean it a bit though. To reach Asupini Ella, you have to get back onto Aranayake road and go past Dippitiya, Aranayake towards Horawela Junction. From Horawela, you road splits into two. One going straight and the other turns to the left towards Hemmathagama passing a bridge. People say you can use both roads to reach the falls. We took the left and went passing the bridge and reach Arama Raja Maha Vihara road about 1km away from the junction. Take this road (not in a good state but still can tackle if you drive carefully) and you will reach the Asupini Ella power plant (This is a private hydro power project). Adjoining is a footpath passing a house along the main pipe line that brings water to the power plant from the waterfall. According to the people at the house, you have to follow this all the way till you meet a dam (about 1-2km) and from there you can reach the fall from there. Unfortunately we made a cardinal sin by not asking them before we started. To our disappointment, we took the wrong path which branched off about 100m from the power plant to the right and got hopelessly lost. So keep checking with locals so you won’t have the same problem. Leeches [Leeches – Preventive Socks, Repellents and Treatments] may trouble you at the Asupini Ella trail, but we didn’t see any at Bathalegala. Bring back only the memories and loads of pics; nothing else.
Author	SriAbey
Comments	Discuss this trip report, provide feedback or make suggestions at Lakdasun Forum on the thread Lakdasun Rangers on a Joint Venture – Bathalegala

There can’t be many people who haven’t been to Kandy along A1 or by Train, can they?
If there is, well I suggest you do it some time

The people who’ve been on either along the road or by train must have seen a gorgeous girlie from Kadugannawa towards Aranayake. She’s so unique and iconic; you simply can’t have missed seeing her. I’ve seen many people including myself, craning their necks out of the windows to get a better look at her.

She simply is irresistible. From far away, you see the similarity between her and Sigiriya. That’s why many call her “Little Sigiriya”. It’s been etched in my memory from the very first day that a closer look would be grand. So joining Lakdasun speeded things up for me. So much better, instead of a closer look, I wanted to climb her.

Note: Harinda was not happy about me calling all these mountains She/Her. What can I do? I always feel that way towards them. Fortunately Tony managed to convince him that was the best thing to do

So after the strenuous hike of Great Western (got a call yesterday that she misses me big time ), out of nowhere, Harinda suddenly suggested we take Tony with us on a hike. He’s someone who always comments on a trip report, encouraging us and we wanted to take him with us on a mild hike (according to Harinda) first. Not that he can’t do a strenuous one; we just wanted to get to know other members better, you know

When asked Tony, he very willingly agreed to and making things more interesting, Danushka too wanted to get on board with his wife. Sheham agreed as well as he hadn’t done Bathalegala before. Harinda got a couple of friends and we were ready to rock and roll. Danushka, Sheham and Tony messaged that they would be free on Vesak Poya day and Harinda and I too decided to give it a go as well.

Danushka arranged the vehicle (very reasonable rates, contact Danushka should you require the contact details) and everything was on course until 23rd evening when Sheham unfortunately got injured with his arm and had to pull out. Danushka filled in the vacant space with his friend Harsha, another Danushka-esque grand hiker and photographer.

.

.

.

Trip Highlights:

1.  Bathalegala Hike
2. Asupini Ella – Unfortunately we took the wrong path and couldn’t get close to her.

Danushka picked me around 5.00am on 24th and we then proceeded to Pelawatte to pick Harinda and his two friends (seasoned hikers, Wuminda and Prince). We headed towards Peliyagoda to pick the man of the moment, Tony and he was all dressed up for the fancy-dress-parade and waiting impatiently for our arrival. So all 8 of us with our reliable driver Indika finally started hitting the accelerator along A1.

Tony insisted that he’s gonna do the trip report but I wouldn’t hear any of it. Under so much pressure, he had to give in. Harinda then chipped in and promised to give him a chance probably next time. You should’ve seen his sorry face and I almost felt like giving up writing.

One more important thing. If it was us travelling with own friends or maybe even relatives, we would’ve been chatting about some gossip or some other thing which is useless. But when we all got together, it was all like an encyclopedia had opened up on 4 wheels. We talked about Ravana and many legends related to him, nature trails, Knuckles, environmental issues, etc. and it was so interesting and we didn’t even know that we had reached Warakapola where we planned to have breakfast at Waahalkada. That’s what happens when like-minded people get together working towards a common worthy cause. Wuminda’s sharpness helped us slow down just in time.

It was busy inside but we managed to grab ourselves seats overlooking the adjoining river and the food was delicious but a bit expensive for our like. After about half hour, we set off again, the sky was dark and gloomy, however I was hopeful for good weather. Again, tummy full and armed to the teeth, we were back on road and started discussing what we are good at talking about: Nature. It was a privilege to have experience guys like Tony and Danushka whose input was invaluable.

Tony had brought us a map and he knew the roads really well and Harinda kept joking Tony’s second name was Road. We reached Givilipitiya and stopped at a shop to buy some more rations. Then Tony showed us how nicely we can see the rock from the road. I hurried out of the van and followed by Wuminda to get a better pic from far. There was a co-operative shop closed due to Poya and we took some great shots from there.

Then the help of locals we reached the Bathlegala turning and followed the concrete-paved road towards the trail head. About 500-600m before, the road was impassable in our van and we decided to walk up. Anyway it’s good if you do that coz you can see the surrounding and get a sense of the lives of those people.

As it was Vesak Poya day, all the entrances to the houses were decorated with coconut leaves (Gok Kola). We were surprised at first and someone even said it must be a funeral but when Tony asked a village person, we got to know the real reason. An interesting thing and to our joy, we saw a Dansala serving soft drinks with pieces of apple sprinkled on top along with good old Marie biscuits.

It was good timing as were already starting to get exhausted and we had our fair share and Harinda and Wuminda (It rhymes nicely) almost emptied the whole Dansala. Then it was time to do the trail and we kept going till we came to a rubber plantation where the track leads you to further up. There’s a notice put up on a rubber tree showing you the path.

Danushka won’t simply leave any stone, plant, insect, butterfly, etc. waiting patiently for a perfect opportunity. We went up led by Tony and soon entered a forest patch. It was thick overhead cover from various trees about 500m till we reach the steps built along the rock upwards. They even have put up a cable and it’s really helpful when climbing down.

Surprise, whenever I said “Boys, let’s make a move”, Tony was the first to react, raising his arm as if to show his presence. He even claims that he’s the youngest-looking father among his children’s parents (This couldn’t be independently verified due to immense pressure from the father himself).

Prince kept us going with his never-ending stories of various kinds from politics to nature. It was hilarious to hear that Prince been telling a mixture of few stories together and Tony had trouble making head or tail of them.

Another thing was Tony’s strong protest against colonialism and the names we inherited from them for which I fully agreed. We keep calling Torrington square for our Independence square and many other places we use those brutal and barbaric governors names. Thanks to Danushka, we learnt that Baker’s falls has a Sinhala name which is Gonagala falls. It’s a pity we still call that beautiful fall after the Elephant killer.

As a result Tony kept calling Prince, Kumara (translated version) and it was a hit and everybody started calling him by that name. Eventually he stopped responding if we call Prince. However, Kumara got shortened as the day went on and finally it was just “Mara” without Ku. It was all smiles and laughs all the way and we reached the summit before midday. By the way Tony hit it off with Prince and kept say that he’s a “Jolly Baduwak”.

The moment we hit the top, everyone turned themselves into Photographers, Models, Actors and various Hollywood characters as if in a trance. You can get a clear 360-degree-view from the top and I heard clicking noises nonstop. Believe me; you can’t be satisfied even if you take million pics. You wanna take more and more and some more.

The summit has a lone tree and you can reach either end by turning to your right and left about 100-200m to either end. After quick Biccie and water break, we chose the right path and followed it. We saw some remains of firewood, clear sign that some people had either cooked or camped there. It would be very difficult to fix a tent up there as the winds are extremely strong, but not impossible.

To my surprise, I saw a hut like brick and sheet structure and would’ve built as a shelter for the masons who were building the temple. It has about 20 feet hall with an open kitchen, toilets, stupa, bell and a Bo tree. There was also another path towards the bottom and apparently it leads to the other side of the village and must be the one the Monks use when they stay at the temple. I wanted to ring the bell but most said it would bring the people running but I couldn’t resist so decided to ring it quietly. After all it was Vesak Poya, most sacred of all for us.

Through the Stupa, we reached the edge of the rock and the view is Fascinating, Breath-taking, Mesmerizing, Awe-inspiring, Exhilarating, Stimulating, Tantalizing, Exciting, Elating, Pampering, Spirit-raising, Soul-lifting, Inspiring, Touching, Evoking, etc. etc. etc.

Gosh, I simply can’t describe it folks, really sorry about it. You gotta see it for yourself and you will know what I’m talking about. You can see hundreds of mountains in a range surrounding and you feel as if you are right in the middle of Heaven…

My (our) country is heavenly beautiful and incomparable. To make things more exciting, we could see the Asupini Ella far away towards Aranayake. I couldn’t wait anymore to go see her. Then after taking a little over a million pics (figuratively speaking), we decided to go to the other edge. All of a sudden out of nowhere there was black cloud and we could see it was raining in the mountains faraway, probably towards Dolosbage. We hurried into the shelter of the makeshift hut and while we waited, the wind kindly took the rain away and brought some gorgeous and teasing mist. We were enveloped in the mist and all of a sudden, it was as if staying at Horton Plains.

We soon started talking about World’s End and all and then and there decided to make another gathering there. The mist simply hung over a hilltop as if Icing on a Cake. Harsha simply won’t leave anywhere, but we were soon running outta time and pushed on to the other side. You can see more mountains and we even saw (If we’re not mistaken) Knuckles mountain range, Dolukanda, Alagalla, etc.

After a Cream Crackers and Cheese feast, and many more pics (almost a billion this time ) and we decided to big our farewell to one of the most Single Beauties in Sri Lanka.

After Breakfast at Wahalkada… (From Left – Sri, Hari, Tony, Harsha, Prince and Dana)

Every sight is a picture taking opportunity

There she is…

Just got off the van and ready to do the hike. Photo courtesy: Harsha De Silva

Tony showing us “Wal Veralu” – not edible though

She’s wondering who all these folks are…

Dana, name please…

Emerald Dove… (Thanks Dana)

Tony declaring open the Bathalegala Maha Dansala…

She was a member of the Dansal party…

Couldn’t help taking this…

Wuminda giving a hand to Prince aka Kumara – Photo courtesy: Harsha De Silva

Please adhere to this

Tony had to keep those plants aside so that I could take the pic… Trail head

Climbing from the beginning

Not used recently

Just got the first glimpse from up

2-minute break

Like a young girl’s hair…

Just a curious investigator

Inside the forest patch

Reached the base of the rock… steps are built

Very steep climb, thanks for those who built the steps

Simple wow

Stupa seen from the base of the rock…

More to come

The youngest member waiting impatiently for other members to appear

Thankfully we didn’t have to go from here… there’s a path onto the right… you could still do this. Haridna did it as a case study for Lakegala

Kept asking if we could do this one as well

You can view 360 degrees

Panorama 1

Panorama 2

Panorama 3

Just helping

No rains bothered us at all

Experimental shot

Just reached the top and this is the middle and you can go to either side for better views

We turned to the right

Can you see the remains of a woodfire

Heading towards the temple

The hut I. was referring to..

The hall of the temple

The Bo tree… I was glad that We could go to the temple on Vesak Poya day…

It says it all… – Click Image to Enlarge

Such a beautiful sight

The Buddha statue is in the below of the stupa

.

He was just off the Stupa…

Vivid colours

As far as my zoom can go… Asupini Ella seen from Bathalegala top

Wide angle of Rassagala

Panorama 4

Panorama 5

Panorama 6

Panorama 7, getting dark coz of the rain

Rain went towards Mawanellla

Pop colours

The mountain range linking with Dolosbage

Sri and the Clan – Photo courtesy: Danushka Senadheera

Yeah, we did it – Photo courtesy: Danushka Senadheera

Time to go see the other side

Icing on the cake?

Never ending mountains

Panorama 8

Panorama 9

Panorama 10

Reaching the other end… can see as far as you want

Harsha simply loved this

Sharp edge

Mawanella is somewhere there

Is that the Knuckles?

Bidding our farewll to Bathalegala Girlie…

We climbed down amid Prince and Tony’s funny stories and surprisingly Dansala was still going strong. They had apparently not gone bankrupt in the morning attack by us and we hit them again this time, real hard. 2 glasses of drinks turned into 3 and four and soon our tiredness vanished into thin air. Having said our thanks to those people, we came to the van to find out our driver is starving and quickly offered what’s left of biscuits and cheese.

Then it was time to go see Asupini Ella and along the way down we checked with village people and they said it’s possible to go closer to her. However, Harinda checked with a friend of his and got the news that the path is very difficult and not easy to tackle but village people said it was later built nicely.

Having regained our lost spirits, we reached Dippitiya town, passing onto Aranayake and reached Horawela Junction where the road is split into two. One goes straight while the other is taking a left turn via a bridge towards Hemmathagama. People said we could take either road and we chose the Hemmathagama road and followed it up about 1km till we reached Arama Raja Maha Vihara road and took it.

After another 500m-1km, we reached the Asupini Ella hydro power plant and had to walk from there. We were all very excited and went hurriedly. Dark clouds were hovering about threating to break loose at any minute, forcing Harinda to take his beloved umbrella.

We went past a house and for our sins, didn’t bother checking with any of them coz we had been checking all along the road and took our chances. There was a huge pipeline (about 3-3.5 feet in diameter) and we followed it about 150m till we reached a place where the path forked into two. One steadily going uphill along the pipeline with steps built and the other just a footpath heavily overgrown. We took the footpath and it was crazy going coz leeches started troubling us and Prince simply can’t bear them, neither could Wuminda.

We just kept going, repeatedly saying “Boys, let’s not give up now” which motivated Tony immensely. It was extremely tiring and we then reached a kind of dead end and realized that we are hopelessly lost. Yet Danushka got down towards the waterway and tried to make his way while Tony and the gang bringing up the rear along with Harinda too tried to pierce the thick bushes and find a way into the waterway without success.

Mercifully, mobile reception was good and we kept in touch with each other all the time. Then Danushka, Wuminda, Prince and I (the 4-man reconnaissance team) tried to go further uphill and link with the steps and the pipeline. It was impassable and we returned where Danushka tried to get down and the rest of the 8-man commando team was waiting for us.

Harsha said as a last resort, to get back down and search for a way up coz we were desperate to get glimpse of her up close. Harsha and I then got back down while the others waited for us but we couldn’t find a way up. However, Harsha noticed a house on the other side of the river bank and figured the other road which ran straight from Horawela junction must also lead to the falls. It was starting to get dark and the whole area was twilit and Harinda suggested we give it a go some other time.

Yet we didn’t want to leave our mission unaccomplished but had no other way to do it. Sadly we turned around determined to visit her again. We were amazed to see how quiet Prince has become due to his uneasiness (didn’t want to use “fear”) with leeches. He was kinda shell shocked and didn’t even attempt at small talk like he did in the morning. Wuminda too was suffering from the same disease but not so badly hit.

Harinda had taken some Alum with him and I saw both Princes legs like snow dusted with Alum. It was heart breaking and at the same time funny to see him asking Harinda “Harinda, what shall I do now?”. We then turned around and reached where the path split into two and Wuminda asked if we could go and have a peep around but I said no. We would come back for her one day. Prince wanted to come back on coming Sunday but when reminded him of leeches he quickly fell silent again.

We reached the house and got into conversation with an elderly lady and she said we should’ve taken the path with the steps. That will end up at a dam and we can cross it to get a better look of the fall. I got so frustrated, disappointed, angry, sad, etc. not to have followed it in the first place. All the others felt the same. We just washed ourselves quickly at her house and reached the van.

Suddenly, I remembered what Thomas Alva Edison had once said. When someone asked “You have failed so many times before inventing the light bulb”, he promptly replied:

“I didn’t fail so many times. I found so many ways that won’t work”.

Suddenly I felt better. He allegedly tried more than 1000 times without success before inventing the bulb yet didn’t give up till he invented it.

I felt the same way. We didn’t fail to reach the falls; we just found a route that won’t take you to the falls.

Next time, we are not gonna take anything for granted. We gonna check our way all the time and I promised myself that I won’t rest till I see my dear Asupini Ella up close.

We left in the van and suddenly Tony wanted it to stop coz he’d got a better view of the falls from the road. We decided to do our best and take pics of her as best as we could coz we had two of the best DSLR cameras with experienced photographers in Danushka and Harsha. They set up the tripod and we took dozen or so pics of her and they came out grand.

What a consolation for our tired limbs and hurt minds. We then took the Aranayake road to Mawanella and along the way stopped at a Belimal Dansala and the jiggery served was tasty. Prince kept asking for Kadala all the time and little did he know that he wish was about to be granted. As soon as we passed Mawanella, we came across a Kadala Dansala and Tony went and asked for 9 bags of them and we enjoyed it thoroughly coz we hadn’t had a proper lunch.

Then reaching Kegalle, there was a restaurant called “Champa Bakers” and their food was fresh, tasty and very reasonable. So if you wanna have a decent meal around Kegalle, that’s the place. It’s on Kandy main road and you can’t miss it.

After a lot of traffic jams, we finally reached Peliyagoda and dropped off the youngest member of our group. (Your guess is as good as mine ). Then one by one we all got off and reached home.

So that’s it folks. Another of my fairy tale which is woven around a real story. It was great fun with the fellow Lakdasun members and we all got benefitted from each other’s knowledge.

Sri and the Clan de Bathalegala comes to an end… Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it.

Cheers…

P.S. Harinda was actually gonna suggest a new name (“Bathalayage Bathalegala Sancharaya”) but he later changed his mind coz there were many more members and only one Bathalaya.

The notice put of by Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council… but afterwards no clear signs to follow… Photo courtesy: Thilini

This notice is there when you turn left from Horawela Junction passing the bridge then take the right soon as you pass the bridge Photo courtesy: Thilini

Rassagala where Asupini Ella originates

Asupini Ella Hydro Power Plant entrance

Main building

Power House

The footpath along the perimeter of the power plant

We initially tried to follow the river upwards but couldn’t make it

Looks like a nice bathing place

Water way coming from Asupini ella and joins Maa Oya…

Entering the path along the huge pipeline

The pipeline runs all the way to the top where a dam is built to block the water… you gotta follow her

Harsha, Prince and Thilini trying to figure out the path

The track forks into two here. One running with the pipeline and the other a right turn… for our bad luck, we thought of taking the footpath on the right and paid dearly for it

This is where Danushka, Harsha and I got down in a desperate attempt to go uphill and get a close look of her

It has a nice pool but not sure if it’s safe for bathing

I was franctically trying to go up

Could see the falls barely throught those tree tops in the middle

Gotta be content with these

On our way back, Tony spotted this and we decided to stop and take pics… what a consolation

Getting near

My little point and shoot doing a great job

Up close… as best as I could get her

Professinal touch by Danushka

Another good one from Harsha

Horton Plains is one of my favorite places in Srilanka. So I spoke with some of my friends to go on a trip there and Pasindu, who has prior experience in camping, was the first to jump in and suggest the idea of camping at HP. I put in that we walk the whole journey from Pattipola to HP and back. We gathered all information from “Lakdasun” and www.travelogueslanka.com

We booked the Friday Badulla night mail train and reserved Camp Site 1 and did all the other arrangements.
We were on time for the train and had a good time in the train. We were supposed to sleep so that we would be fit enough for the day ahead, but no one could sleep with all the excitement.

From left: Thawoos, Myself and Pasindu.

By the time we passed Nanuoya, it started to rain. We reached Pattipola at around 4.30 am on Saturday. Having all dressed and prepared for the long trek, we took a group picture and started at about 5.40 am.

From left: Pancha, Sukumal, Pasindu, Dimuthu, Thawoos & Myself

It was drizzling when we started. It was so misty we could hardly see the road ahead of us. It is about 5km to the Pattipola gate entrance if I’m not mistaken.

Carrying the two tents was a hassle.

We walked for about an hour and took a small break to have some Cream Cracker biscuits with Glucose. I personally don’t like Creak Cracker biscuits, but it was awesome on that day due to the tiredness

Our first break. Cream Cracker biscuits with Glucose.

We started to walk again up to Pattipola gate entrance and on the way saw a few Jungle Fowls and as it was raining, I hardly managed to get some pics.

A Jungle Fowl

We reached the gate entrance at about 8.00 am and by that time, it was raining cats and dogs. We had a small chat with the officials there and inquired about Leopards etc. They also told that in this weather, we won’t be able pitch our tents. The wind was so strong that we were being lifted while we walked. We didn’t lose hope though we were disappointed about the weather. We proceeded the next 5-6 km trek to Farr Inn. Once in a while the rain would stop for a few minutes and would start again.

Another group picture. Thank God I carried my tripod with me

We took a small break near Maha Eliya Bungalow to admire a Sambar Deer. He came towards us, maybe people have fed him and he is used to it.

The Sambar Deer who came to us in search of food

By the time we reached Farr Inn, it was 10.30 am. We headed straight to the canteen to fill our tummies. A rotti with “Katta Sambol” at the canteen was Rs 50/=. We had that and a tea and rested for a while. It was about 11.30 am when Dimuthu got a call and he had to go back to Colombo, leaving the five of us. It was only about a kilometer from Farr Inn to Camp Site 1 as per the officials. We got to our camp site at about 1.00 pm after spending a lot of time at Farr Inn.

When we arrived, we did some cleaning. There was evidence of camp fires set on the grass. There were bottles and polythene on the ground. We collected all those and put in a separate garbage bag to take with us outside, to Farr Inn and throw it. It was so unpleasant to see people harming the nature.

It was so freezing and raining. We had no idea on how we could start pitching our tents in that rain. Luckily, we had a rain fly which served the purpose. First we set the rain fly, kept all our backpacks beneath it and started to put up both the tents.

We could utilize only a small space for the tents because we had only one rain fly

By the time we were all set, it was around 3.00 pm. I have to say that, the toilet was very well maintained. Maybe because it is not used frequently, or maybe the officials clean it, I am not sure. But it was odorless and very clean. We made ourselves some “Samahan” and had it inside the tent

They were the occupants of one tent. Sukumal, Pancha and Pasindu

We were the occupants of the other tent. Thawoos and Myself

The rain fly was worth a million bucks because the wind was so strong and we had to tie the rain fly very low to the ground to keep the tents from flying away.

Our plan was to do the circular trail on that day, but due to the weather and time constraints, we couldn’t do it. Pasindu and sukumal went off to the Canteen to bring us some food to survive in the night. They came back with the same “Rotti” and “Katta Sambol”. We thought of keeping that for the next day and we made some rice. Our dinner was at about 6.30 pm which was rice with chili paste.

Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures of that. We were so tired and cold and we went to sleep at 7.30 pm itself. But we didn’t fall asleep until about 11 pm. Me and Pancha were the ones who slept the least. It was a sleepless night for me. We still laugh at office reminding ourselves of that night. Pasindu would call me from the other tent purposely to see whether I am awake and they would laugh when I reply knowing that I am not asleep. He used to call my sirname:

Pasindu: Athaaaasssss???

Myself: Kiyapaaaang

I wish someone had invented a machine that could record your feelings so that you could replay it whenever needed. because that night was a lifetime unforgettable experience. I was wearing three thick t-shirts and a sweater and covering myself with a sheet and also a blanket on top of it. But still I was shivering. All of us had the same experience. I could feel something crawling up beneath the tent under my body. Maybe a snake or a huge worm, I don’t know. Again, after a few hours when I repositioned my foot, it stuck something fleshy, the size of a big frog. I couldn’t do anything and I don’t know what all those animals were because it was pitching dark because we could not take a lantern with us. What made it worse was, my tent was leaking. We heard a leopard roar in the opposite mountain at about 4.00 am. However after 5.00 am, I fell asleep. It was about 8.30 am on Sunday when we woke. Our breakfast was Gram with chopped onion & chili paste which we prepared in the morning.

An early morning visitor. I saw some of them in the stream as well.

Me and Pasindu wanted to climb the opposite mountain and take some pictures. We saw a huge rabbit hopping past us in the mountain. There was rabbit poo every inch in that mountain, though we managed to see only one. After some relaxing and photography, we started to pack and move out from the camp site to Farr Inn at about 1.30 pm.

Our camp site from the opposite mountain.

Cleaned everything leaving only footprints

Saying goodbye to the camp site and on the way back to Farr Inn

When we reached Farr Inn, we had a plain tea and gave the canteen person our extra food which we couldn’t consume (green gram and some rice) as a gratitude and in return he didn’t charge us for our beverage.

From Farr Inn, our next destination was Thotupola Kanda. We started at about 2.30 pm and reached the entrance of Thotupola Kanda at about 4.00 pm and had our Rotti and started the hike at 4.30 pm.

The Thotupola Kanda trail

We reached the summit at about 5.30 pm with extreme wind conditions and heavy rain. Nothing was visible from the summit.

At Thotupola Kanda summit

On the way back, we saw a lot of fresh leopard poo which was not there when we climbed. So during that time period, there had been many leopards crossing the trail.

We climed down at about 6.15 pm and was at Pattipola gate entrance at 6.40 pm. The train to Colombo was scheduled to arrive at 9.15 pm at Pattipola station. So we had to hurry.

From Pattipola gate entrance, it was dark and raining, strong wind and falling branches all over the road. We had Pasindu’s head torch and Sukumal’s torch as well. About 1 km before the Pattipola station maybe any of you can remember a small “Ambalama”. Around that area, when Pasindu was directing the torch to the side of the road, me and Pasindu spotted a leopard about 5 meters ahead of us. We could only see his eyes because the torch lit his eyes and we quickly pointed the light away from him. Passing him after about 4-5 meters, we instructed sukumal and Pancha to point the torch backwards and check whether our spotted friend was following us. Luckily he had disappeared. Probably he was hunting rabbits because we saw two rabbits running ahead of us at the same time we saw the cat.

We reached Pattipola station at 7.50 pm. The descend took us only 1 hour because we had to reach Pattipola as fast as we could to make sure that we don’t miss the train.

The train arrived at Pattipola station at 11.00 pm which was about 1 hour and 45 mints late. I fell asleep as soon as I got in and woke up at about 4.30 am on Monday. To my surprise, the train was not moving. When we inquired, the train had derailed at 12.30 am. By the time the officials came to set the train back on track, it was 10.00 am. As you can see in the picture below, it had jumped in from the “check rail” whereas it should be in between the “check rail”.

There were about 3 carriages and one engine in this state

After everything was set, the train started the journey again at about 10.30 am and stopped in Galboda because a rock had fallen on the railroad a few km’s ahead. Somehow, the train which was supposed to be at Fort railway station at 6.00 am on Monday arrived at Fort at 8.00 pm on Monday.

Totally we could cover only around 30 Km of walking in this trip whereas we planned for 44 Km including Kirigalpoththa, which we couldn’t with the weather conditions. So until the next hike, be safe and have a nice day everyone and thank you for reading my trip report.

We got into the ‘Podi Menike’ train at Kinigama Railway Station.

Here comes the Podi Menike

We bought 2nd class tickets. But, there were no 2nd class seats available for us to sit. So we found our own 1st class seats at one of the doors. We passed though Bandarawela, Diyathalawa, Haputale, Idalgashinna and Ohiya to reach Pattipola. As we sat at the door, we could see everything outside. The views were very beautiful.

Far….. Far away

This way……..

…… and that way

Just passing through the Summit Tunnel to the other side it became cold.

We got off the train at Pattipola Railway Station

We checked the timings of the trains towards Bandarawela as we had planned to return back home also by train. As we had some time we decided to walk a bit towards the Hortain Plains.

It was a short walk but, all of us enjoyed it. We had breakfast sitting on a tree trunk near a stream.

Cold!

While walking my ‘Boss’ showed us some kind of yellow coloured wild berries. We ate them but I did not find them tasty. My aunt liked them and had a lot of them.

Yellow and Green……

While walking back towards the Station ‘Boss’ showed us some red coloured berries that grew on a plant at ground level. He was not sure if those fruits could be eaten or the name. He took the fruits to the railway station and asked a person working their whether they could be eaten. We were told that they call it wild strawberries and could be eaten. I had one of them but, it was tasteless.

Blood Red……

A few minutes after reaching the railway station the Goods Train running towards Badulla arrived. This train has only 3rd class compartments. So again we found our own 1st class seats near a door.

788	Through the forest

Tied with a plastic strip!!!!!!!!!!!!

At Ohiya we had to wait for several minutes until the Udarata Menike train from Badulla and heading to Colombo arrived.

S12 Approaching

We had a chat with some children on the other train and shared ‘Milo’ with them

For you….

Just after the Udarata Menike left our train started to move.

Signal down…. Green flag out…. permitted to GO

At Haputale, our train stopped on a track away from the platform and we had to wait for another train running from Badulla to Colombo. We had to wait for a long period of time as the engine and the oil tankers of the Goods Train were detached for stunting. The oil tankers were moved to the fuel shed area.

A load of diesel

“දැන් යමු නේද?” (My mother’s request)

The pilot of the train did exactly as my mother requested and as soon as the engine was reconnected to the rest of the train and we started moving.

Once we got off the train we walked along the rail line and through a tunnel and reached home safely.

The map – Click to Enlarge

Nuwaragala the fortress on top of a rock in the deep forest of elephant country was once a dream, nevertheless just like many other dreams this one also came true. After getting guidance from Priyanjan who had been there last year, I got together with my friend Dumidu and decided to give it a try. Though it was raining elsewhere and drizzling on and off at Maha oya we went ahead with our plans.
So on a hot and humid day early morning we reached Akuloba Lake where we met Wimalasiri who was our guide for the day. He then took us on his bike towards his home where we were greeted with a cup of tea. From Wimalasiris home we had to walk about 2Km’s towards their “Chena Wadiya” where we rested for about half an hour until Wimalasiri came back with a gun and two more Civil defense guys called Sudu banda and Mahinda. They also brought few mouthwatering water melons which we didn’t forget to taste before setting foot towards the jungle. We did call the officer in charge and got all three soldiers released so they could guide us with no obstacles.

Destination as seen from akuloba lake

towards danigala and wahawa

wow	starting the 7Km walk

pesticides used without proper protection

hut view

mode of transport

did you see the foot prints

From Akuloba chena we started creeping towards the forest which was more than a savanna type one than a dense dry zone forest. After about 1Km we reached a road which leads towards the rock which was bulldozed during the war for military purposes (this starts from 32^nd mile post Aranthalawa camp as I can recall) and one could easily get to the base of the rock via this road with a normal bike or a 4WD (not the ornamental ones). We did come across few CT-100 bikes which were using the jungle route to transport the milk from their cattle who feed at the base of the rock at few instances. Next 2.5Km was along this said path and because it was a path through savanna land we felt the heat to the maximum, which forced us to have some breaks and taste few watermelons to satisfy our fluid loss.

entering elephant country

more to go

elephants dung were found all over

reaching the base

treasure hunting continues

entering the path

When we reached the base of the rock it was around 10.30am and the surrounding scenery at this point was something spectacular. We were suddenly surrounded by mountains on all four sides and we felt like been trapped in an isolated grass patch in middle of nowhere. The initial part of the climb was through a typical dry zone forest patch which showed signs of heavy elephant activity. From the beginning onwards we were walking on an ancient chariot path build by King Sadhdhatissa to get to the top of the rock. Rock plates which were placed on the road and the rocky wall does exist all the way though it had been washed away at many places. Not so far away from the beginning we had to climb uphill through a notoriously tall and evil mana patch which drained our fitness mentally and physically. At around 12.30pm we reached the top of the mountain and my friend fell flat on the rock feeling extremely dehydrated. All of our water stock and watermelons couldn’t rehydrate his 100Kg body. So after about 30 minutes he got up determined to walk towards the heavenly pool in search of a miracle.

ancient rock plated road

the major obstacle

drainage system

on the way scenery towards Ulhitiya

out of the mana and time for a rest

evidence from the past

ancient steps

tempitiya lake and barons cap seen far away behind narakamulla range

note the elephant has rubbed its back

my favourite

lakes at akuloba

Rambaken oya reservoir