We got off the train from Badulla in the morning after a long 12 hour journey. The list of “must do” in Uva province was getting longer ever since Ashan started roaming in Uva and his reports started flooding into the Lakdasun forum. We were hoping to cover a few of those places and 5 of us were on a hiking trip, hoping to do 3 trails in 3 days. Our accommodation was close to Passara so we quickly did shopping and got into a Passara bus.

The dawn

Namunukula seen under the dawn from close to Idalgashinna

View from Idalgashinna

Bandarawela

Day 1

After dropping our baggages and stuff, we were off for our 1st mission, to climb the Lunugala peak. We went to Passara town and tried to find a bus going in that direction. Since it was Saturday afternoon we could not find a bus going in that direction from Passara, so had to hire a 3 wheeler to reach to the place where the trail started. It was past noon when we started the lunugala hike. It was not a difficult hike. There’s no path but neither a chance of getting lost. It is an isolated hill with no tree cover, so we could see where we were going.

Lunugala peak seen from 9th mile post

Towards Monaragala

Landmark of the trail head

Medawelagama junction where the trail head is

The trail

here we go

But the lack of tree canopy meant we had to walk directly under the sun. Humidity was also high as some dark clouds were gathering. So we were sweating a lot. But a staggering view was unveiling in front of us making us to forget all the tiredness. From one side we could see the endless view towards Monaragala and from another side the beautiful Loggal Oya valley was seen.

Pinkc quartz

no tree cover at all

Loggal oya valley

Loggal oya reservoir and Randenigala range

.	Massive plains towards Wellawaya

.	What a view

Towards Monaragala

Gal Oya Reservoir

Gal Oya range and Wadinagala peak

When we got to the top we were simple stunned by the view. It was full 360 degree view from there. One side was towards Buttala, Monaragala and beyond all the way up to the coastline over the south eastern plains. Majestic Namunukula range was seen from another side. The never tiring lovely valley of Loggal Oya and the Knuckles range in the far corner were straight ahead. Madulsima range was standing like a huge wall from the other side.

The summit

There was this large whole at teh summit. wonder what was teh purpose

Maragala kanda peak – what a place it was…!

Senanayake Samudraya

Passara town

Wow

Towards Buttala

Beautiful Loggal Oya valley

Namunukual gets the blessings from the gods

After some time we started descending and came to the road. As it turned out there were no buses, so we decided to walk until we met a bus or a 3 wheeler. But unfortunately there were no buses and all the 3 wheelers we met had people onboard. So we kept walking along the beautiful road stretch and after some distance we met an old person and we inquired how far it was to the Aradunu falls from there and got the answer “not more than 1km”. We were energized by the answer and did not even bother to get into the bus we eventually met. It was too late when we realizes that we were misguided and were very tired, had no water left in our bottles.

We had walked more than 4km when we reached the turn off to the falls and found we had to go another 2km along a tea estate. None of the 3 wheeler guys agreed to go saying the road is too bad, but luckily one guy who felt sorry for us agreed to go as far as he could. That guy was so genuine; he went all the way down and gave us directions to the top of the fall and down, as well as a route to return to Passara. He even waited to make sure we got onto the correct path.

Aradunu falls was an absolute beauty formed from the Loggal Oya. There is a water diversion to a mini hydro project, so the fall should be not so great to see when the water level is low. But fortunately it had enough water to make us happy. We had little dip to wash away our tiredness

Top of Aradunu falls

top view

WOW	Water level is low but My God it’s a beauty..!

Aradunu Falls

WOW

Day 2

We had reserved the whole day 2 for visiting the World’s End in Pitamaruwa. The one and only bus is scheduled to reach Passara at 9.00 am so we did not have to be in a rush. But what we hear on the previous day regarding the availability of bus created a doubt in our minds, so we left early to Passara.

Namunukula

WOW

Like a painitng

The Pitamaruwa bus – a rusty, little, had battered CTB bus – reached Passara on time and started the journey at around 9.30. It was pretty crowded and the journey was slow and long along the spectacular road with a magnificent view. The view kept getting better and better as we closed in to Madulsima. The mighty Piduruthalagala range was standing like a huge wall across the hill country. We were enjoying the endless view of the summit of Sri Lanka, Thotupola Kanda, and the Haggala peak. The Namunukula range was in between standing alone majestically.

On the way to Madulsima – Piduruthalagala covered

Hakgala peak

It was a spectacular view

The scenic road to Madulsima

The one and only bus

After a 2 hours journey, 1st part along a good tarmac and then on a stretch which hardly can be described as a road, we got off at the turn off to the world’s end. Prior to getting down we inquired about the return of the bus and the driver and the conductor said we have about 2 hour until they return and promised not to leave us.

The turnoff

Directions

It was about 1 km more on the washed away estate roads to reach the abyss. The Elamanne World’s end drop is situated at a very unique place. It is one boundary of the central hill of Sri Lanka and the highlands ends suddenly creating a huge wall like slope. The abyss is somewhere in the middle of that, a dead drop of more than 1200 feet. It is a very scary looking drop but staggeringly beautiful and unique.

WOW	Hardly a road

Warning

The drop

Oh My God..!

The view

Bibile town

That is scary

Almost all of the eastern Sri Lanka can be seen from there. It is said during clear mornings it can be seen all the way up to the eastern coast. But we were there around the noon and there was a bit of haziness in the air. But still we could see from one side up to Ulhitiya reservoir over Mahiyanganaya, directly upto Senanayake reservoir and mount Inginiyagala over Gal Oya range, from another side upto Siyambalanduwa and from behind up to the Mount PIduruthalagala. The knuckle range also was seen faintly in the far corner.

Though it is called the “Mini World’s End” and little known, for me, the very famous World’s end in Horton plains is nothing compared to this. It was such a mesmerizing place.

Ulgala, Berawahela and Senanayake Samudraya

What a view

South Eastern plains

WOW

At the view point

The drop

.

Kokagala of Padiyathalawa

Govinda Hela of Siyambalanduwa

Narangala

After enjoying the view there we walked towards the mini abyss close by. That was not deep as the greater one, but still was as beautiful as its big brother.

The mini abyss

the drop

.	Paddy fields

Below the drop

The bus returned 1.45 pm and we sadly had to say good bye to the endless view of eastern plains and return.

DS Rock

Madulsima range seen from the 9th mile post. Note Elamanna peak with telecom towers

Day 3

It was the last day of our trip and the most anticipated climb, the Namunukula hike was planned for that day. While others were preparing our breakfast and getting ready to leave, I grabbed the camera and went down a bit to vitness a spectacular sun rise over the Lunugala peak.

The dawn

Vibrant sky

Namunukula under the first rays of teh day

Wow. the first rays hits Passara

The light and the shadow

Sun is rising over the Lunugala peak

Here it comes

WOW

After the breakfast we packed our bags and left towards 3rd mile post. Priyanjan gave a contact of 3 wheel driver who agreed to take us to the trail head. After getting off the bus at the 3rd mile post we kept our bags in a nearby shop and started our 12 km long torturous, bone scattering but scenic journey towards the trail head. The first half of the journey was not bad but the second part was a nightmare because the road hasn’t been repaired for ages.

On our way to Deyanagal division

Hakgala

Piduruthalagala

WOW

The 3 wheeler went up all the way it could go and dropped us. From there to the trails head was about another 1km or so, which we had to go along the foot paths through the tea bushes. With the help of a local we reached the trail head.

our target

Uva basin and Piduruthalagala range

mist is gathering

From there to the top of Namunukula has a clear path which runs along the neck of the mountain. After about 1 hour we reached the summit which was a heavenly place. The view point towards Passara was covered by a thick mist, the view towards Wellawaya also partly covered and the view towards Nuwara Eliya was clear. Once again we were quite ecstatic by the beautiful views. The whole Uva basin was seen beautifully from there.

the path

the path

.

.

camp site 1

The summit

the view

.

Colors of the jungle

Camp site 2. what a place….

After spending some time there we began to descend and called the 3 wheeler guy to come and pick us up. We reached the 3rd mile post and took a bus to Badulla where we paid a short visit to the Muthiyanganaya RMV and headed Colombo.

.	Tea pluckers

.	Nalini falls

Muthiyanganaya

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.

.

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The name Kehelpothdoruwegala (Rock shaped like a plantain sheath gutter) came to my knowledge in 2012 February in our Yahangala climbing. We have noticed a giant standing in front of Yahangala (1220m) and got to know it as Kehelpothdoruwegala.

But the day of conquering came after one and half years of Yahangala climbing.

Peaks of Knuckles range. Taken from http://www.knucklesrange.org/sef.html.

We spent the night at Mahiyangana and reached Ududumbara around 5.30am. Following our short breakfast at a small hotel at Ududumbara we met a three wheel driver to reach Uda iluka.

I have discussed with Heen Banda mama (A villager lives in Kalugala who met during our Yahangala hiking) in previous day of our arrival to get to know the road towards Kehelpothdoruwegala. But he was out of home when we reached there. Then we decided to climb it alone after getting the directions from villagers.

Our plan was to first get on to Velangolla Pathana (Where we camped on Yahangala climbing) and then reach Kehelpothdoruwegala along it’s edge. We started the climbing around 7.30am.

There is a nice foot pathway from Uda iluka to Velangolla Pathana with scenic background. It starts just after the bridge of Uda iluka and first ascends through the village. Then it enters the thick forest and background scenery was so beautiful. Finally it connected with the foot pathway from Udagaldebokka at Dewalaya of Gale Bandara Dewiyo. (ගලේ බණ්ඩාර දෙවියෝ)

Black arrow till green star shows the pathway towards Velangolla Pathana from Kalugala. Then black arrow shows our hiking towards the peak of Kehelpothdoruwegala peak (in red star). Green arrow shows our pathway to Udagaldebokka village.

The foot pathway on right hand side of this three way junction was the way to Yahangala and we had to go to left hand side to reach Kehelpothdoruwegala.

The road in Uda Iluka.

Foot pathway within the village.

Climbing.

Scenic view in the back.

Central Hills.

Southern part of the Knuckles range and the valley where Hasalaka Oya runs.

Toddy man. We were able to taste “Mee Ra” (මී රා).

Drop

Our bags made climbing difficult.

The foot pathway towards Velangolla pathana.

Gale Bandara Dewalaya. White arrow shows the direction towards Udagaldebokka. Red one shows the way to Yahangala. Black one is the direction to Kehelpothdoruwegala.

Beliefs

Mighty Yahangala.

Yahangala and Velangolla Pathana.

Kehelpothdoruwegala. Star shows the peak and line shows our plan to reach there.

Time was around 10am. We started the climbing. Climbing along the edge of the mountain to the peak was not easy at all. There was an unclear foot pathway in some area may be due to cattle. It has no forest cover but Mana bushes and thorny bushes were there. Although it was seemed as considerably less distance final one was about 3-4km with ascends and descends. Finally we reached the Kehelpothdoruwegala Mountain around 3pm and climbed it to some extent. According to previous experience of this area we knew mist will come down in another 1-2hours. Therefore we decided to camp there without reaching the peak.
It was difficult to find a flat area to place our tent.

Starting of the journey. Note Mana bushes

Kehelpothdoruwegala and Watabandigala (වැටබැදිගල). Watabandigala looks a small version of Yahangala.

New appearance of bed rock. (Yahangala)

Surrounding mountains of Knuckles range.

Creeping…..

Getting on to a peak of the edge…But some more to go.

Now Kehelpothdoruwegala is bit closer. Note it has a different greenish colour than others.

Black arrow shows the peak of Kehelpothdoruwegala and red arrows show peaks of Lakegala/Galtuna (ලකේගල /ගල්තුන)

Longest river of Sri Lanka.

Mahiyangana town zoomed.

Nice place to sleep.

Suddenly met a wide gap

Only way to getting down and then climbing up.

Peaks we have crossed.

Final cut down. Now we are about to climb Kehelpothdoruwegala

Going through bushes.

Rocky part of Kehelpothdoruwegala

Our cooking

It was difficult to find a place for tenting

Painting on the sky

Our fire

Tomorrow target. Peak of Kehelpothdoruwegala

Night was so long as usual in other camping experience. We had to battle with cold and wind. We came out of the tent around 5am to set our fire again and had a cup of tea. We were able to reach the peak of the mountain around 7.30am. Surrounding view from top of the mountain was superb. Rest of Knuckles range could be seen here including Lakegala/Galtuna, Thelambugala (තෙලබුගල) and some other peaks much higher than Kehelpothdoruwa.

Early morning sky

Sun rise

Colorful

Good morning Yahangala

Lakegala/Galtuna

Thelambugala (1331m) in black star. Ununugala/Kuwenigala (උනුනුගල/කුවේණි ගල) in black arrow. It has a unique shape similar to Uthuwankanda. Lakegala/Galtuna in red arrow.

A peak higher than Kehelpothdoruwegala, covering with mist.

Yahangala is bathing with sunrays. Note the peaks we crossed to reach here.

Another prominent peak

Another prominent peak of knuckles. ? Garandigala (ගැරඩි ගල) according to inch map

This one is also higher than Kehelpothdoruwegala Mountain

Meemure area zoomed

The team…on the peak

We have planned to get down to Udagaldebokka village in our return journey. Then we searched to get down directly from Kehelpothdoruwa peak to Udagaldebokka village but attempt was unsuccessful due to acute angle of the mountain after one level. Only option was to follow our pathway to Velangolla pathana and then go through routine pathway.

Getting down directly to Udagaldebokka village was not easy. Then we gave up it.

Good bye Kehelpothdoruwegala

.	Getting down to Udagaldebokka by routine pathway

Foot pathway was scenic through the forest

No tired at all.

Notice at Yahangala estate

One and half years ago this foot pathway was not that much clear. Now it is clear.

First house we met at Udagaldebokka. Last year in our journey we had a warm welcome here by Bandara Mama and his wife. But now this house is abounded and they are living at faraway.

Unique appearance of Udagaldebokka village

Once we reached at Udagaldebokka we had a bath from a “Peella” (පීල්ල). Then we walked another 5-6km from this isolated village to reach Udaththawa to have a bus.

View from Udagaldebokka village. Note the appearance of Kehelpothdoruwegala is different now. A-Yahangala B- Kehelpothdoruwegala. C-Thelambugala.

Thanks for reading.

The map – Click to enlarge

Neelagiri hela been the only prominent rocky mountain around Lahugala was on my list for many months not because of it been a mountain but the archeological value it had. Last year when I visited Neelagiri Sthupa I was told that there’s plenty to see around Neelagiriya in addition to the huge extensive complex of Neelagiri seya. The forest which engulfs this area extends for miles with ancient buildings belonging to Neelagiri monastery. I got the opportunity to re visit the gigantic sthupa with few of my colleagues few days back and when we reached the sthupa I met Amila who was on duty. My first question was “do you know how to get to the ruins at Neelagiri hela?” and he promptly replied by saying If I wanted he could show me the way.

It only took me 4 days and I was all ready to explore Neelagiriya. With a short notice Amila and Priyanjan was prepared to join me on this venture. My self and Amila proceeded to Arugam bay because we had some spare time until Priyanjan arrived and we spent it by visiting Muhudu maha viharaya, Thune kanuwe ruins and Lahugala Kotawehera. I would only mention few words about 3ne Kanuwa ruins here because I had already written about the other two places previously in an old report. 3^rd mile post ruins could be seen beside Potuvil – Siyambalanduwa road and only few pillars and a Pagoda was found at the site. From here we proceeded towards Kotawehera where we enjoyed some panoramic scenery and headed towards Lahugala. After meeting up with Priyanjan we took a tuk tuk and arrived at the Neelagiri Sthupa. Other than Amila(guide) , Danushka and Krishantha also joined us. We were followed and routinely disturbed by two dogs and out of them the black one almost gave us death scares by running towards us like a bear.

dawn at arugam bay

fishing at arugam bay

the only RDA board sponsered by department of archaeology

old pagoda

lonely pillar at 3ne kanuwa

kota wehera

forgotten era

kitulana tank

Komari

Neelagiri hela as seen from kota wehera

100% natural

restoration begun

We were now walking along animal foot paths with ears and eyes wide open since this is elephant country and closing on to the rock the chances of meeting sloth bears also increased. After about a 2Km hike we reached the opposite side of the mountain where the ancient steps towards the cave complex could be found. The steps were done craft-fully and guard stones were placed after every five steps or so. The steps ended at a cave with a brick wall and in it we saw frescoes on a plaster. Only few parts were spared by time and local visitors who have scribbled on it. The colours were green, red and orange mainly and it seemed there was a painting behind the Buddha statue which once stood in this image house. Close to this image house there were few more caves connected to each other and some were filled with fallen pillars and rock plates. Some even did have inscriptions and well carved drip ledges signifying the importance of this place.

the hut where the arche boys spend the night

off we go

deiyanta bara wenawa

elephants have rubbed the back

bin kohomba

A.R=Archaeology reserve

steps to heaven

more to climb

a cave with a drip ledge

guard stones

moon stone

still in good shape

entrance to the cave

Budda statue vandalized

what remains

more

culprits

patterns

another cave

note the inscription

more remains

cobra hood

outlet

remaining wall

note the plaster

our friend

We decided to get to the top of the mountain so we proceeded uphill from the caves. The dried out fallen leaves were ever so challenging but somehow we managed to get to the top. The mountain has two parts and we climbed up the western peak which had a huge rocky plateau. The endless view towards many wildlife parks and forest reservations was simply a bonus. The cleared off Neelagiri sthupa was noted as a mini mountain in the greenly dry zone forest. One could enjoy a panoramic view of Lahugala national park, Lahugala and Kitulana tanks, Komari forest, Yala, Kumana and Kudumbigala areas, Arugam bay lagoon, Komari lagoon, Magul maha viharaya, Kota wehera and mountains of Gal oya which includes Wadinagala, Govinda hela and etc. All over the summit pieces of pots could be found and also we came across two Pagodas. The lower one had a circular drainage cut which protected it once from dripping water along the rock and the main sthupa which once stood tall all mighty on the summit was said to be the glorious “Akasha chaitya” of Magama kingdom (according to El. Medhananda thero). Now only few bricks could be found at this historically important sthupa. There is also a 6’ tall stone wall bordering a Bo maluwa at the edge of the mountain which still stands tall. After raising the fallen flag we decided to begin our downhill journey which was done cautiously.

almost at the top

rest after a tough climb

stay away

the blue sky

towards wadinagala

degal hela

Pano of lahugala

Neelagiri seya

more to walk on

the old rock wall on the rock

maragalakanda

pottery pieces

the twin summit

potuvil…komari

Lahugala

not edible

protection to the pagoda from water

beauty…so close to the ocean

wow

colours

Akasha chaitya of magama

a rock pond

shadow of the cloud

kudumbigala

kotiyagala, yala

our flag

our second trouble

After getting to the base we decided to visit some ruins said to be remains of a palace. There were a row of pillars placed as a wall enclosing a ruin site and from there we climbed up few steps which were carved on a rock to get to and interesting cave where plenty of Vedda paintings were found. As always seen Vedda paintings brings me extreme ecstasy. We saw paintings of few veddas, a flower and few four legged creatures. The vedda paintings part was excluded from the cave at a later stage when it was redone and offered to the monks, the wall which separates the paintings justifies our observation too. The drip ledge inscription of this cave was so unique in the sense it was so small and hardly noticeable. We returned back to the ruin site and had our afternoon lunch before we started our return journey towards Neelagiri sthupa.

After a highly satisfactory adventure we reached the mighty Neelagiri sthupa and lied down for half an hour before saying good bye to our newly met friends and headed back towards our destinations.

giant foot print

a boundary

remains of the maligawa

an altar

steps

Vedda drawings

samber painting

a flower

more drawings

miniature inscription

the wall seperating the drawings

the cave

getting back

open area

team minus Priyanjan and the two doggies

elephants at lahugala

Thanks for reading!

After Using Lakdasun Forum I used to follow (Imitate) the journeys of some senior members. Ashan’s off season Sri Pada Via Palabaddala( 2nd trip report in the forum) is the one which brought me to this forum. When I read Mithila’s Series of Trip reports “ Huffing Puffing “ I rushed to Borella and purchased a new bicycle ( But yet to do a hike).And last few months one thing was itching in my mind .That was about the hikes of our Hi King ( Ashan). I just thought why he does most of the trips alone. What are the benefits of traveling like that? Is it relaxing? There must be something although one can argue as it’s rather boring. But I just wanted to experience what he experienced in those journeys. So I decided to go on a LONLEY TRIP. Same time my lakdasun friends invited me on several trips but I kindly refused them as I had other intentions. From nowhere, Bambarakanda came to my mind and I quickly went through the above resource articles. This time I just thought of doing these trials alone even without a guide.

So without even informing Mrs.Mayakaduwa I started my journey towards Bambarakanda. I left home around 4.30 and came to Kaduwela by a Three-wheeler and got in to a Badulla CTB Bus. Neither bus nor me in a hurry so we slowly reached Kalupahana(just before the 172nd Mile post) around 10.30am(It stopped for breakfast at Pelmadulla).Then I took a TukTuk and reached the Bambarakanda rest around 11.00 am.

View of the fall and the mountains from the BAMBARAKANDA REST

First cottage where I stayed. Basic facilities but clean .

Interesting

Three Sisters ( Wangedi gala,Balathuduwa, Gon Molliya )

To my delight there were no any visitors. Mr. Lanka (Mrs Mayakaduwa’s Son in Law) welcomed me and showed me the cottage. I told him that I want to do Lanka Ella & Top of Bambarakanda trails and come for lunch. So I had a change and packed a bottle of water and some biscuits then left the rest around 11.30 a.m. I had the trail Lakdasun trail guides in my phone and adding to that Lanka gave me a sketch drawn by him. Those were my guides

I suggest (If you are a new one this forum) to download the trail guide (Lanka Ella ) while reading my report.

Waypoint: BL04 (Observation point)

Waypoint: BL05 ( Cement steps)

Waypoint: BL09 ( Concrete bridge )

After 100m I turned right and reached the base of the Bambarakanda falls

Waypoint: BL11 – Highest waterfall of Sri Lanka from its base

Then I returned to the track and proceeded

Trail Trough the Pines plot ( Be careful it’s slippery)

Waypoint: BL16/BL17 ( Left will take you to Lanka Ella Right will take you to Top of Bambaraknda falls) Here I picked the left trail

View from Waypoint: BL16

On the way ( After passing BL 21)

BL 22 ( Split of the trail ) left will take you to the base of Lanka Falls

Glimpse of Lanka Ella

Another waterfall(zoomed) seen in distance( approaching is little difficult )

LANKA ELLA

Base pool resembles the Sri lanka

Another view

Base pools seemed not deep. As Mrs. Mayakaduwa explained later Due to heavy rain/flood happened recent past structure of the base pool was changed.

I remembered the trip reports of Sri and Dhanushka mentioning that there was another fall upstream called Yalathenna. Also Sri has told me there are seven more falls up stream. But I didn’t attempt it as I was alone. Instead of that I tried some other waterfalls which were downstream from Lanka Ella.

After returning from Lanka ella I saw two other falls down the valley. But there was no path to reach them and going down was little dangerous as it was slippery and nothing there to get hold of. But one of them was really beautiful so I couldn’t stop achieving that beauty. So with extreme care I went to the base of the falls. Interestingly I observed that steam creates few more mini waterfalls downstream. I kept exploring them in future and returned back to the path. When climbing I had to use four wheels sometimes my stomach as the spare wheel

Tiny Cascade

This is the beauty who invited me. Yet to put a name for her

See the marked point .It seemed Steam creating few more cascades. but didn’t have much time to explore

Path I came. It is rather difficult than it seems

Then I came to the Way point 16/17 and picked the upward path to reach the top of Bambarakanda falls. One thing I have to tell you that. Although the elevation is not a big issue for a experienced hiker, the slippery pine needles made it really difficult to walk .And the pine trees had considerable amount of space between them. So if you slip and unable to catch a pine tree you’ll be in a really dangerous situation as there is a huge drop at the right hand side of the path. So I never suggest this path to be done at night, in rainy days and by drunken people.

But scenery of the valley was splendid.

On the way

Tricky part

Valley and surrounding mountains

.

Interesting place where you find huge drops in both sides

The side view of the fall

Somehow rather I kept a considerable distance from the drop and therefore I missed the path to top of Bambarakanda which was right hand side .I traveled further upwards and reached a road. What to do …in Sinhala there is a saying “ Peralunu Pita Hondai “ so I just loiter around and find the First part (Top most ) of the falls. According to Mrs. Mayakaduwa Bambarakanda has three pats but the lowest part is documented as 750 ft. If all the parts are combined together the Height should be 885+ Ft.

Road I reached ( Bambarakanda –Horton’s planes road)

Top of the top part (un documented ) of the falls

Then I returned back. I could easily find the path to the Top of bambarakanda falls and its upper Fall ( 2nd fall)
I enjoyed the view and came back to the Rest around 3.30 p.m. Climbing down was much risky.

First and second falls seen from a distance

Middle fall which was on top of Bambaraknda falls

Base pool at top of Bambarakanda falls

Hey I’m at the top at highest waterfall in Sri lanka

Getting down was much risky.

I had my lunch then had a little nap. In the evening I had a chat with Mrs.Mayakaduwa and Lanka. My plan was to visit Uduwara & Nagaduwa falls next day. Mrs Mayakaduwa mentioned that better to take a guide as the path goes through line houses and tea estates so just to make sure not to create any problem with locals. I agreed and had dinner and went to sleep

I Woke up early in the morning and able to catch up some beautiful sceneries around the rest and

View from the garden

Yellow is my favourite colour

Another cottage

Mrs.Mayakaduwa’s Doggies . Front one is Changumi (Pomeranian ) Behind old fellow is Alsatian. According to Mrs Mayakaduwa Changumi was captured by a leopard who came to the garden and the one behind and another doggie chased the big cat ( GEMA ILLIEMA) with the help of people and rescued changumi from a certain death

I had breakfast and started the journey around 8.30 a.m with the guide Susantha who is a small chap. Mrs Mayakaduwa told me the view of the surroundings is much better than the beauty of the falls . Anyway I downloaded the trail guide of UDUWARA AND NAGADUWA falls to assist my guide if needed as he was not familiar with the names of the falls although he had visited them.

Please Follow the trail guide of Uduwara and Nagaduwafalls

Went through the short cut

Another view

Coming back to the Road

Bambarakanda seen from distance

.	Landmark Getting back to the forest patch

Hard climb

.

.	Udaveriya factory

Line houses

Misty

.	Pictures won’t express the real buety

Wow	Like an icing cake

Difficult part through Mana patch

.

Destination

Uduwara

Nagaduwa

Both

One and only photo of me

We spend some time there and had some biscuits enjoying the surrounding.

Misty

Nearby mountain which villagers used to go and do rituals

We came back to the rest around 10.30 a.m. and had a small rest and prepared for the return. After saying good bye to Mrs. Mayakasuwa and others I left the rest at 12.00 noon. Mrs. Mayakaduwa arranged me a three-wheeler. I used it to pay a visit Surathali ella Which is close by (around 168km Post /near the bridge )

Name board is visible to the raod

Land Mark

Nearly 100m trek to the fall

Surathali

(Not Much of water)

View of the top part Surathali from the main road

I took a bus to Haputhale with an eye to give a try to visit Adisham Bungalow and Lipton seat .But the overcast conditions and lack of time did not allow me to proceed further. So keeping those targets in another trip I took a bus to Colombo and came home having beautiful memories of my lonely journey.

Thanks for reading

The long awaited long weekend came after 3 months, so did the rain. All our plans to go camping in Kumana went wrong as heavy showers hit the area and had to make our minds to abandon the trip at the last moment. It wasn’t easy for missing the weekend and we wanted to go somewhere so badly but the weather forecast wasn’t good anywhere we checked for. At the last moment we decided to do something that can be done in the rain, let it be a waterfall hunt. Within one and half days everything was ready. Sri and Harinda who also had lost after their initial plans were affected by the rain joined in and Ashan returned from his marathon rail hike to join us.

We continued passing Hanguranketha in our quest to visit some little known waterfalls we got to know thanks to Niroshan. But our journey was badly affected first by our delayed start and then by the terrible road condition past Hanguranketha. The road is under construction and is in a terrible state.

We stopped at the first waterfall we were hoping to see, Katugashinna Falls with a glimmer hope as Niroshan said the fall is switched on during the rain only. But sadly the waterfall was switched off even though it had rained for some days. Let me explain the operating procedure of this waterfall: the stream is dammed on top of the waterfall for a mini hydro project or something and they release water to the fall only when it overflows. So our first visit was unsuccessful and continued the journey.

Heeran Ella

Heeran ella falls have two parts as upper heeran ella and lower heeran ella. These waterfalls are formed of the Mul Oya which later flows into the Mahaweli river.

Proceed along Hewaheta road from Rikillagaskada town towards Wegama temple. Take a right turn near the name board of Poramadalawa MMV and continue, get direction from the locals to the Wegama temple. The last bit towards the temple can only be done by a 4×4 vehicle. So we stopped our van and walked about 500m towards the temple.

The path to the waterfall can be seen after the temple. There is an irrigation canal and a footpath along it. This footpath goes straight to lower heeran ella which is commonly called as Heeran ella. There is another footpath to upper fall along the huge waterline built for a mini hydro project which eventually will kill these two waterfalls in near future.

Beautiful Ekiriya villa

Heeran Ella seen from the footpath

Cascades of Mul Oya

Heeran Ella

.	Lower cascades of heeran ella

Village scenery

.

Penapus Ella/Beeri Ella
We returned to the junction where we turned off to the temple and went further from Rikillagaskada till we reached the Kithulpe bridge. There is a footpath right before the bridge which also goes along a water diversion. After walking along for about 500m we went down a little forest patch to reach the waterfall.

Trying to hide

Path to Penapus Ella

Penapus Ella which is also known as Beeri ella and Dunhida Ella among the locals is a very beautiful and little known waterfall. However there is a mini hydro project undergoing and it could be the end of this beauty as well.

Penapus Ella also called Berri ella

.

.	Beautiful penapus fall

Upper cascades of Penapus falls

Near Kithulpe bridge

Kabaragala Falls

Next on our list was Kabaragala falls in Elamulla area. To reach this waterfall take Mandaram Nuwara road just before the bridge near Padiyapelella town and take a right turn toward the Elamulla power plant passing Elamulla town.

Mandaram Nuwara road is a very scenic one. It had rained for about an hour just before we went and there were a plenty of cascades along the road making it even more scenic. Mandaram Nuwara area under the mist covered Piduruthalagala could be seen far away through a gap. It was a great view.

A roadside beauty on the mandaramnuwara road

Misty mandaram nuwara

another seasonal fall

Towards Piduruthalagala

Mandaram Nuwara road

Peela

This was seen far away on a mountain slope. not sure if it is seasonal, but it should be very tall

The last bit of the road to Elamulla power plant in hard to be done in an ordinary vehicle, so we decided to walk. It was a pleasant walk through cultivated lands enjoying the seasonal waterfalls flowing down each and every hill and the mighty Piduruthalagala range.

Piduruthalagala range

shades of green

Mountainous forest

one of the many kabaragala cascades

on the way to power plant

another seasonal beauty

.	they were everywhere

However as we reached the power plant our hopes started to get thin once again. The stream was flowing furiously and we could see a large cloud of mist in the place where the waterfall is situated. People at the power plant did not recommend going near the waterfall and we neither wanted to take a risk after seeing the rapids of the stream. So instead, we had a little tour inside the power plant and returned.

Furiously flowing stream

Mist created by the Kabaragal fall

Another roadside beauty

It was around 4pm when we hit the road again. It started raining and the mist came down so the dark fell early. We had to continue slowly along the muddy broken road and had no time for visiting the most anticipated Kurundu Oya Falls. Our slow and blind journey continued towards Nuwara Eliya.

Nuwara Eliya lit up

The Grand Hotel and the dhost we captured

Grand Hotel

Magasthota

Gregory Lake

The next day was also overcast. Our plan was to see the waterfalls along the A5 and to visit Dunsinan-Sheen falls if possible which we had to omit immediately thanks to as usual delayed start.

Gregory lake and Magasthota covered by mist

Gregory Lake

Peach flowers

Peaches

The team

All the waterfalls along the A5 were on the full flow and there many seasonal waterfalls and countless cascades also. We returned to Colombo enjoying these full flowing beauties.

we named it as strawberry falls

Devathura upper cascades

Peacock hill

Palagolla kandura

.	Palagolla Kandura fall

A beautiful roadside seasonal fall

.

.

.

Devathura Oya

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A roadside cascade in full flow

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Poona Oya fall

.

Towards Kothlame

A glimpse of upper ramboda fall

Middle ramboda

Cascading point of lower ramboda

Kothmaley Valley

Inside ramboda tunnel. didn’t come out what I was looking for but else came something better

Devathura fall

Devathura fall

.	Middle cascade of devathura fall

Gerandi ella

Kothmale

helboda fall

Helboda falls

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Delta Falls

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.	Crested Hawk Eagle captured at Mawanella

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Thank you for reading.

Map 1 – Click to enlarge

Map 2 – Click to enlarge

Kingdom of Magama which is also guarded by lord Katharagama is one of the most visited areas by Sri Lankans and most of the time they only manage to visit few places which are commonly known. First of all Hasitha’s report was the guide I used to plan my journey and succeeded with what I attempted in! Im not going to mention anything related to the history of Magama kingdom in detail since Hasitha has done a good job in his report! As the title says this is a summery on Kataragama, please do enjoy the images!

Sithulpawwa rock temple (6°23’15.20″N, 81°27’1.84″E)

An ancient Buddhist monastery, believed to have been occupied by 12,000 Arahant monks at one time. Thought to have been built in the 2nd Century BC by King Kawantissa, who ruled the area then, Sithulpawwa derives its name from Chiththalapabbatha, which meant, the hill of the quiet mind.

friends i met at katagamuwa

old bodhiya at sithulpawwa

a cave kutiya at sithulpawwa

kuda sithulpawuwa

maha sithulpawuwa

towards yala

a lake at sithupawwa entrance

ancient pagodas ‘s

the main inscription

the caved image house

prathimagaraya

kings of magama?

highly dangerous

more ruins

another kutiya

how maha situlpawwa is seen from the lake

to be excavated

ancient path

on the way to the summit

kuda situlpawwa

temple premises

buttala

gal kudaya

kataragama and thissa

more drip ledge caves

the lake with crocs

lake side inscription

ruins

Arjuna been fed by visitors

wild samber

Sella Kataragama (6°26’10.19″N,  81°18’11.44″E)

Sella Kataragama is the place where god Kataragama first met his first consort Valli Amma. And the ancient mahasen viharaya also is in close proximity. There is another devalaya called Lakshmi devalaya which seems to be only a money oriented place and I would not recommend the place to any traveler.

a dip in menik ganga

Sella kataragama

not devatha eli

the bo tree at sella

Ancient Ruhunu Kataragama festival

Kataragama festival this year was held during August month; though the crowds were reduced a bit the festival didn’t lack anything! For the second consecutive year I was lucky enough to witness the Perahera too.

Day two was all about visiting Kiri vehera and Wedihitikanda.

awaiting

simply awesome

the bands

lighting up using traditional lamps

gini paganno

smoked

wewal dance

kohomba kale

fine movements

kawadi too

යක් නැටුම්

a peacock dancer

the karaduwa been caried

worshiping

Kiri vehera (6°25’26.43″N, 81°19’56.38″E) and the kataragama museum (6°25’4.74″N, 81°20’4.95″E)

Kiri Vehera is an ancient stupa built by King Mahasena. It is 95 ft. in height with a circumference of 280 ft. This structure probably dates back to the 3rd century BC. There are some ruins, inscriptions that the general public doesn’t even notice and I was focused mainly on those. Also the museum is a must visit place they even show a mini film regarding Kataragama. Few ruin sites found at Veheragala have been transferred to the museum premises.

dawn at kataragama

kataragama devalaya

the dances

rituals

Kiri vehera

the චුදා මානික්‍ය

an inscription at kiri vehera

honeymoon couple

variation

Kataragama museum

bodhigaraya found at weheragala

inscription pillars

another pillar

Detagamuwa lake

striving

on the hunt

caught you

lovely landscape

kataragama season

Wedihiti kanda/Kataragama peak (6°23’12.39″N, 81°20’9.11″E)

400m tall mighty wedihiti kanda was a dream that came true for me and climbing it at 12pm was ever so challenging but the stunning scenery and the climb resembling adams peak was worth the trouble. There is an access route for vehicles too or you could hire a vehicle to the summit from the base. One could enjoy a panoramic view of Kataragama, Kirinda, Thissamaharama and Yala without any difficulty at Wedihitikanda.

Day 2 ended with a bath in Thissa wewa and I went back to Monaragala planning to return back on the next day.

Wedihitikanda pano

endless steps

a family we came across

wow we are almost there

thissa wewa

note yatala and thiss sthupas

yodha wewa

detagamuwa lake and kataragama

yala

pano towards kataragama

endless view

kiri wehera

few more lakes

kirinda side

gods high up in the sky

the southern ocean

wedihitikanda sthupa

bo tree

wow	getting down

Day three my focus was on Thissamaharama and Kirinda areas so I got down at weerawila lake to do some bird watching before reaching Debarawewa to start my archaeology hunt.

Weerawila lake (6°17’33.90″N, 81°14’7.31″E)

Since it was the season of drought there were plenty of birds to see also the landscape was stunning.

Weerawila tank

Black winged Stilt

fishing at weerawila tank

peaks of Katharagama

halted

plenty of these guys too

the picturesque road

grey heron

open bill

ibis, herons and spoon bills together

all together

dried out tank

painted gang

art of mother nature

Debarawewa Pashchimarama Raja maha viharaya (6°16’51.37″N, 81°15’55.69″E)

It is located few hundred meters from Debarawewa junction on Hambanthota road. There are few scattered ruins and a wonderful ancient statue of Buddha!

Debarawewa Pashchimarama RMV pagoda

ancient statue at Debarawewa Pashchimarama RMV

Menik vehera (6°17’6.88″N, 81°16’15.58″E)

Menik vehera is the first place one would come across while traveling to thissa wewa from Debarawewa. This is believed to be a creation of king Maha naga the brother of king Devanampiyatissa

Menik vehera

menik vehera sthupa

pillars at Menik vehera

guard stone at Menik vehera

Etha Bendi gala (6°17’8.97″N, 81°16’19.80″E) & Remains of a four storied building (6°17’8.43″N, 81°16’21.31″E)

Etha bendi gala is believed to be where Kadol etha (King dutugemunu’s) was tied on to. The four storied building is said to be a palace. Both these places are found next to Menik vehera.

Etha bendi gala

where it was tied

pillars which once held a four storied palace

plenty of pillars

Yatala sthupa and the museum (6°17’8.34″N, 81°16’33.25″E)

This was built 2200 years ago by king Maha naga where his son Yatalathissa was born. Since then this had been restored many times and now the original shape of it had been completely lost. The museum was closed for renovations so I had to be satisfied with the artifacts seen in the garden. Yatala temple which is on the opposite side of the road has one of the largest Asanagaraya’s in SL.

Yatala sthupa

Yatala museum

ruins

inscription at yatala

wow	another interesting carving

muthra gala

the stone used to wash away

prathimagaraya

an image house

a statue

king maha naga

wow	i love this pink

submerged pa dowanaya

a huge asanagaraya at yatala temple

Tissa lake (6°17’5.95″N,  81°17’20.11″E) and Akurugoda pillar (6°17’8.91″N, 81°17’34.22″E)

Tissa lake is a picturesque lake built by king Mana naga. Akurugoda is believed to be the main city of Ruhuna but unfortunately many ruins are covered with reestablished civilization. The Akurugoda pillar could be reached by taking the road to the right from the makara thorana on Kataragama rd. the pillar is the largest inscription pillar I have seen in Sri Lanka.

dried out thissa lake

scavenging

life line

wow

gulping

a jacana

beautiful thissa lake

Akurugoda inscription pillar

pieces of history

Tissamaharama vehera (6°16’47.30″N, 81°17’29.17″E)

This gigantic masterpiece was done by king Kavanthissa and this is one of the solosmasthana in the country. Lord Buddha’s remains are said to be placed in this pagoda.

before repairing process started (2010)

under renovation

chatra stone of thissa sthupa

old + new

Sandagiri Seya and ruins (6°16’50.80″N, 81°17’42.36″E)

Sandagiriya is just behind Tissa dhageba and there is an actual model of the sthupa in its athulu maluwa too. To get to the image house one should take the road near the archeology office for few hundred meters.

Sandagiri seya

proper replica of sandagiriya

yupagala

chatra gala

inscription at sandagiriya

beautiful guard stone

prathimagaraya

Yoda wewa (6°15’40.03″N, 81°18’30.81″E) and Kirinda (6°12’47.60″N, 81°20’7.14″E)

Yoda wewa is believed to be done by king Maha naga and its one of those giant lakes in the area. Next I took a bus to Kirinda. It started to rain but I just loved the drizzle. Kirinda was the place where princess Viharamahadevi drifted ashore after being sacrificed to the sea by her farther.

yoda wewa

beautiful giant

Kirinda

the statue at kirinda

a devalaya

the rock with inscriptions

sri pathula carved on the rock

vihara maha devi

pagoda at kirinda

maha devalaya

rough sea at kirinda

another inscription

Telulla archaeology site (6°11’46.54″N, 81°17’30.08″E) & Kirindi oya estuary

Telulla was not in my plans but after giving some calls to Priyanjan and NG it was included as my final destination. From Kirinda I got to Yala junction and hired a trishaw guy who had no idea about this place near the moya kata of Kirindi oya. So google maps aided us all the way until we reached the site. This is a must visit place but be careful of wild elephants especially in evenings since this belongs to Bundala park. We also managed to visit Kirindi oya fall out to the great oceans and that sight was enough to satisfy my tired sole and end up my expedition around ancient Magama.

ran goyama

thelulla beach

sand dunes

Kirindi oya moya kata

colour of the sand was red

wow

Thelulla ruined pagoda

Telulla ruined pagoda (another one)

pillars at telulla

history hidden in bundala reserve

Thanks for reading!

This was one of the dream hikes we always wanted to try since we first heard about this trail. Main purposes of this trip was to see the beauty of our mother land, see and be amazed about how they built such a marvelous rail road 150 years ago.

Five of us started the journey from Colombo fort and took the night mail (8 pm from Colombo fort) to Pattipola (4.10 am to Pattipola). The train was fully packed as it was a Friday night and we had to take the space near lavatory and footboard as usual.

We called Mr. Karunadasa (owner of Karunadasa rest rooms in Pattipola) as soon as we got down from Pattipola as discussed with him before starting the journey. He was so kind enough to come to the station at 4.10 am in the freezing cold climate and showed us the way to his place.

Day 1

We had about 2 hours of sleep and had breakfast and packed the lunch packets which prepared by Mr.Karunadasa for us and started our rail road walk.

Our initial plan was to walk from Pattipola to Idalgashinna station (6.71 km from Pattipola to Ohiya and then another 8.92 km from

Ohiya to Idalgashinna) and then take a train to Ella and then walk again from Ella to Demodara (6.12 km) to discover arch bridges, the tunnel and Demodara loop. But the train we were planning to take from idalgashinna got late so we had to change our plans and forget Demodara.

Carrot farm

Starting the walk

Summit level – 1898.1 m

18th tunnel

18th tunnel

Why this tunnel is so important?

One side of the tunnel is Nuwaraeliya District and other side is Badulla District,
One side is wet zone and other side is dry zone,
One side is hot and other side is cool,
Both sides are different, (trees, scenery and even the soil is different)
One side is rainy and other side is sunny
You will be able to feel all of these within 10-15 minutes.

Other side of the 18th tunnel

One of the bridges we walked on

Burned but still living

Ohiya station in 1893

Not much change even after 120 years – Ohiya station in 2013

One of the tunnels

Tea state

Exactly 200 km to Colombo – near Bandarawela station

Day 2

We started day 2 early in the morning and rented a van to go to Horton plains. We bought rotti and lunu miris from the shop next to Horton plains main entrance and got ourselves prepared for the journey. We took Mini world’s end trail to save time which we can use during our main hike.

The path from world’s end to non-Perial bungalow was not so hard to find but it is always better to carry a GPS tracker as from non Perial to Belihuloya could be quite challenging special in the Pines forest.

Welcome to Horton plains

Kill only time, please

View from World’s end

Footpath from world’s end to Nonpareil bungalow

Amazing trees

Amazing trees

Amazing trees

Nonpareil bungalow

View from Nonpareil bungalow’s summer hut – The best location I’ve ever seen for a summer hut, can’t expect more.

View from Nonpareil bungalow’s summer hut – The best location I’ve ever seen for a summer hut, can’t expect more

We couldn’t take many photos due to rain but hope you will enjoy two videos.

Intro

Main video

Within one month of my journey to Kehelpothdoruwegala I needed to revisit at Knuckles mountain range from Deanstone (ඩීන්ස්ටන්) area. We gathered at Hunnasgiriya town (Three from Colombo and two from Moneragala) started our journey from there. Loolwaththa (ලූල්වත්ත) CTB bus reached at Deanstone Conservation Center around 9am. After having brief visit at DCC we headed to Dothalugala (දෝතලුගල) trail.

Peaks of Knuckles massif. Taken from http://www.knucklesrange.org/sef.html.

Loolwaththa bus is ready for the journey at Hunnasgiriya.

Medamahanuwara (මැදමහනුවර) rock.

Nawanagala (නෑවෙනගල/ නාවනගල) – 1487m

Heading to Dothalugala trail

Dothalugala-1575m

Our next two days were full of these kinds of views.

Starting of Dothalugala trail.

.	Walking in the heaven.

Peaks of Knuckles missif. Red-Velangolla Pathana. වෙලන්ගොල්ල පතන Black-Yahangala. යහන්ගල Yellow-Kehelpothdoruwegala. කෙහෙල්පොත්දොරුවෙගල Green-Garandigala. ගැරඩිගල Blue-Dumbanagala. දුම්බානාගල

Again same peaks in different position. Red-Dumbanagala. Black-Kehelpothdoruwegala. Green-Koboneelagala (කොබෝනීලගල)

Hotel Dumbanagala Chalet at the base of Dumbanagala.

Entering to a forest patch

Rathkida-Ulhitiya (රත්කිද-උල්හිටිය) reservoir

Getting a bend.

Old tree.

The moon.

Having a rest.

Dothalugala forest dormitory.

.

Dothalugala circular trail starts. Black arrow shows upward journey and red arrow shows return journey.

Wuminda is heading….

? Dark blue tiger

Just clicked up…..

Knuckles forest is full of Bamboo trees. That’s why it is called “Bata Dandu Wanaya” (බටදඩු වනය)

Leaf nose lizard / Horn nosed lizard.

So eager to capture him.

Foot pathway through the forest.

Lakegala (ලකේගල) back.

View of Koboneela (කොබෝනීල)

The path we came.

Landslides.

Filtering of sun rays.

Dumbanagala.

Reached Dothalugala observation point. This is not the summit.

White arrow shows the way we came and red arrow shows the path we followed to go down.

Dothalugala peak.

Dothalugala observation point.

View from the observation point.

The return pathway was more scenic than the previous one. We reached the camp site then and followed the bird watching trek. It goes to the natural pool made by Dothalugala falls. We had a bath at natural pool.

Snapped in return journey.

Small water streams are abundant.

Scenic

Getting down…But steepness is more in this pathway.

Accidentally found.

Towards the camp site.

Dothalugala camp site.

Bird watching track.

A fall of Dothalugala waterfalls flows to make a pool. We had a bath in this freezing cold water.

Flowers on side of the waterfall

Arrows of the junction. Black arrow from camp site. Red arrow towards the pool. Green arrow towards the bird watching desk.

A fall of Dothalugala falls. It came across on our way to bird watching desk. Photo was taken from top of the waterfall.

On our way to bird watching desk.

Bird watching desk. We didn’t try to climb it up as we had an immediate leech attack.

Coming out of bird watching track.

Nice place to have a chat.

Walking back to DCC.

Our next place of visit was Deanstone mini world’s end which is situated about 1.25km away from DCC. It is also a circular trail first goes along the edge of the pond and then through Pines forest. There are two observation points. Ududumbara (උඩුදුම්බර) town, Kandy-Mahiyangana road, Kalugala (කලුගල) area can be viewed from observation point 1.
Observation point two gives a wide angle view of knuckles massif.

Walk to Mini world’s end

Directions to Mini world’s end

The bridge.

Along the edge of the pond.

Circular trail starts.

The way through Pines trees.

Beautiful

Snapped up.

At observation point 1.

Ududumbara town.

Kandy-Mahiyangana road in between Ududumbara and hair pins bend.

The drop

Gedaramada (ගෙදරමඩ ඇල්ල) waterfall

Towards observation point 2.

Mini world’s end-observation point 2.

The drop.

Different peaks.
Black arrow-Kehelpothdoruwegala.
Red arrow-Knuckles.
Yellow arrow-Sphinx rock.
Blue arrow-Koboneelagala

Garandi Ella ගැරඩි ඇල්ල

Paddy fields.

We five.

Evening comes.

Again Pines trees.

Another companion of the tour. We have noticed this monkey travels on the Bus.

This monkey has come from Moneragala area for searching a CTB bus driver who has treated him well. That’s why it travels on CTB buses.

Then we have moved to our place of stay of that night-Corbet’s view at Koboneela. It is situated at Koboneela and surrounding view from Corbet’s view was fantastic. Janaka who is the caretaker of the place is a friendly and knowledgeable person.

View from Corbet’s view

Dumbanagala

Balalgira (බලල්ගිර) is shown by circle. Arrow shows the downward view from Balalgira.

Balalgira is zoomed.

Giant Lizard.

Our cottage.

Team. Most left hand side person in this picture is Janaka-caretaker of Corbet’s view.

Day 2
Day 2 plan was to visit at Corbet’s gap. Ashan has noticed a mountain in left hand side of the Corbet’s view, where we assumed as a good view point. Janaka told it as Balalgira (බලල්ගිර) and he gave directions for us. Then Balalgira was added to our next day schedule.

Sun rise.

Sun rise.

Sun rise.

Colorful

Behind the screen.

Another snap.

Beauty in Dumbanagala side.

A place to enjoy the nature

Corbett’s gap-1127m
We said goodbye to Janaka and travelled towards Corbett’s gap.

Corbett’s gap is a deep valley between Knuckles Mountain range and also a rain shadow area. This area also has a mixture of vegetation types such as wet, dry and montane type. At Corbett’s Gap, there is a high wind blow during some months of the year and the forest trees grown in that area has a special feature, that is stunted and gnarled. Looking towards the Corbet’s gap from Deanstone Mini World’s end will give the visitor the panoramic view of Aliyawatunaela and Kinihirigala mountains to the left and the Dumbanagala Mountain to the right.

Taken from http://www.srilankaview.com/knuckles_range.htm

British surveyor-Corbett who has done the mapping of this area in 19th century has lived here. Therefore this gap is called Corbett’s gap.

Just before Corbett’s gap. Note the road we came.

Directions at Corbett’s gap.

Knuckles range is shown in red arrow and it is covered by mist. The peak shown by black arrow is most probably Aliyawatunaela අලියාවැටුනඇල (1647m).

Knuckles range (1864m) covered with mist

? Aliyawatunaela zoomed.

Sphinx rock, so called because of ridges of the mountain which has characteristic square shape. Height-1559m

View of other part of the mountain range from Corbett’s gap-Koboneelagala and Dothalugala.

The road from Loolwaththa.

Team again.

Dumbanagala-closer and different view.

Balalgira-Our next target.

Our last task of the day was to climb Balalgira. We drove back towards Loolwaththa and came across the road towards Dehigolla (දෙහිගොල්ල). That road is not good and we ended up at Dehigolla lime houses. From there we started to climb up first through Mana bushes and then walked up in Pines patch till we reach the fantastic view point. At this observation point we had a summary of views we watched during this journey.

Balalgira climbing.

Dehigolla lime houses.

Unclear foot pathway.

Searching of a route

Entering to the Pines patch.

Undergrowth of Pines

Reaching the peak.

Koboneelagala and Dothalugala

Dothalugala in black star.
Mini world’s end in red star.

Gedaramada Ella

Corbet’s view hotel. Arrow shows the cottage we stayed. Circle shows the bench comes in my sun rise picture.

Arrow shows Garandi Ella.

Paddy fields.

Bed rock has different view here.

Identification credit goes to Ashan. Black-Sorabora Wewa. (සොරබර වැව) Red-Dumbara Wewa. (දුම්බර වැව) Green-Mapakada Wewa (මාපකඩ වැව)

Giants of Uva province are in the scene. Identification credit goes to Ashan. Black arrow-Namunukula. (නමුනුකුල) Red and green arrows-Narangalala (නාරoගල)

On top of Balalgira.

Getting down.

Garandi Ella framed.

Dumbanagala-different view.

Balalgira is shown by brown star.

I came across a statement done by John Davy in 1821 about Knuckles forest in his “An account of the Interior of Ceylon” when I was searching more about Knuckles massif.

“I never saw before so perfect a specimen of forest scenery. Here lie trees of different kind, sizes and ages: Some saplings, some dead and decaying, and some of very great bulk and height towering above the rest in their prime.”

Thanks for reading.

The map – Click to enlarge

This year the monsoon seems to be getting late letting me venture around more and more taking the upper hand of it. There was an old post on a trail from Udu dumbara to Rathna falls which was hanging around my long list for many years. So I thought of giving it a shot. With few calls Sri, Danushka and Lahiru were in to it. It was supposed to be an easy hike which was 2.5Km’s.

On the previous day I reached Mahiyanganaya and loitered around in the evening enjoying some unseen water bodies called Dambarawa lake and Mapakada lake. Next day I met up with rest of the gang who came from Colombo at 18 bend observation point and enjoyed the sun rise from the east. Next it was time to break the bad news. I had previously measured the length along the river from a bridge which crosses a river at a lower place and the road from Poppitiya would have led us there but all in our group agreed to do the full trail from Udu dumbara, so we marched towards Udu dumbara to have some breakfast before beginning a long journey.  We hired a trishaw and continued along Kalugala road for 7Km’s and was dropped off at a bridge at Hanwella. After washing our faces we were all ready to venture on.

Madulsima range as seen from Dambarawa lake

Dambarawa lake

lake bund

yahangala and kehelpathdoruwa as seen from Dambarawa lake

randenigala range

an open bill

plucking flowers (farther and son)

Mapakada lake

glossy Mapakada lake

colours of randenigala

fishing at Mapakada lake

at newly renovated Mahiyangana lake

Our rough calculations were about 6Km’s along Maha oya (which later changes its name as Hasalaka oya) but numbers did change at the end.  So we began walking along a bliss enjoying seen how the forest was embracing the river plus creepers crossing from one side to the other creating periodically laid curtains. We came across few birds too, the common kingfisher, a fly catcher, Serpent eagle and two huge brown fishing owl’s. Out of the two owls the first one was singled eyed one.  Walking along a river is not an easy task at all. At some places we had to crawl along rocks and some places walk submerged (at least the feet) too. It was a zig zag journey conquering obstacles all the way.  We came across an interesting natural anicut in the river which seemed to be done by our ancestors unfortunately the local who was around knew nothing about it. After traveling for few Km’s we came across a canal which we flowed through the paddy fields and reentered the main stream. Few hundred meters downstream there was a beautiful waterfall which we named Anicut falls. Just before reaching the suspension bridge which crosses the river (this is the location I mentioned previously about) we had to hang on to creepers and etc to tackle the difficult terrain of the river side.

Sun rise as seen from the observation point at 18 wanguwa

kokagala and sora bora wewa

Ulhitiya

Ma oya starting point

bricks…

like walking along paradise

king fisher

kids at the river ran away after seen Sri

hiding from the paparazzi’s

a natural or ancient anicut note the square shape holes along the rock canal

decorated with creepers

unknown

more to go

paradise fly catcher

common king fisher

One eye john

violet

ah found one with both eyes too

shaped

giant creeper

yum yum

cultivation’s

along the canal

friendly guy

landscape

back to the river

kehelpathdoruwa

anicut ella

side view

along another canal

mini cascades

mineral hunting

plenty of adventure

last signs of civilization at the bridge

We did have some rest near the suspension bridge before starting our second session. We had already walked close to 6Km’s and we were worried a bit because it was already 12noon. The river architecture was not helpful to us from here onwards and the terrain becoming more difficult was hindering our speed. We were now almost away from civilization and fresh foot prints of Wild elephants on the river bed gave us few jiggles.  After about 1.5 Km we reached one of those beautiful cascades formed by Hasalaka oya, where one would feel like spending the whole day around. Though we wanted to have a swim at this place time was not in our favour.  50m’s downstream was a huge abyss and we had to de-route along an abandoned paddy field to reenter the river and at that point again we came across a beautiful cascade which seemed to be an ideal camping location during a dry period.

modified 5 start hut

robin hood was with us

crystal blue

some in our group were eyeing on this

efforts taken to save their shoes from getting wet

elephant prints

less water but yet beautiful

wish it had more water

a nice shower i guess

on the hunt

we had to by pass this

another cascade

abandoned

reaching another cascade

a waterfall of ma oya

dried out

The endless walk seemed to be like we were following a mirage and to add on to it we were facing some huge boulders. We decided to cut across the jungle and fortunately we found a foot path which took us to a higher elevation along the left bank of the river. We were exhausted and was wondering where is Rathna ella. The foot path we followed ended back at the river where we could faintly see a considerable drop.  The river was wide at this point and we managed to walk along it with not much of difficulty.  We were top of a waterfall with a stunning view and downstream we could see another drop. “Yes its Rathna ella” I said and danushka opened his eye which was closed with exhaustion.  We descended with caution from the right bank and reached the base of the beautiful upper rathna ella falls. It was already close to 3.30 so we had to find away round the deep pool just before the Rathna ella drop and for that we climbed up few boulders on the left bank. “Wow” at last we are on top of one of the tallest waterfalls in our Island; the stunning scenery from top was worth all the trouble. We were happy yet exhausted. The last challenge was getting down and for that we choose the right side forest patch and within few minutes the foot path was found. We followed it downhill for a considerable distance and lost the foot path. So from there onwards we descended with instincts. We were overjoyed to be at the base where we had a bath and refreshed ourselves before starting the walk towards the village. This last 2Km’s was like desert to us after hiking for good 11Km’s along a river. We managed to get a trishaw from Mahiyangana and reach there by 5pm where I had to depart without even saying a proper good bye to my friends because the last bus was taking off. It was tough and exhausting but worth it. That is how our 2.5Km journey ended up been 11Km’s.

more to go

through the forest

top of another waterfall

what a place to spend a night

drooling

could see the top of rathna ella too

Rathna ella upper falls

need to get around this deep pool

upper falls looks dried out

top of rathna ella

finally some smiles

at the top

the drop

through the forest while descending

finally at the base

Thanks for reading!

“Weather is changing. Seems like it’s gonna rain on Saturday heavily.” – Kasun had texted me.
“What to do buddy, we’ll take our chances.” – Replied me with a heavy heart.
“Yeah, still Friday is good. Think of any alternatives for Sat.” – He was really worried.

That’s the conversation Kasun and I had after planning our Nelu Flower hunting trip on 06 Nov. Typically it rains heavily to the upcountry along with Uva and Eastern Provinces but it didn’t scare me enough to postpone or change our plans for the weekend. It was all gang-ho as a result of Nelu Flowers blooming after so many years and everyone was yearning to go see them and we were no different.

So I sat down heavily on my chair and started to write a letter:

At Office
06 Nov 2013

My Dear Nuwara Eliya,

How are you doing? I’m doing great and can’t wait to see you again. I’m sorry it was a very brief visit last month and I couldn’t be with you long enough and hope you weren’t upset that I left very abruptly even without a proper goodbye.

Apparently, you’d been busy since then coz everyone’s talking about your newest creation, the Nelu Flowers. I too want to come and see them and be with you a bit longer too. I’ve been visiting you each year for the last 14 years and it’s gonna be two times in this year then. You know that you’re my favorite no matter what happens, don’t you?

The weather seems to keep us apart with her dark clouds and unending rains threatening to unleash her wrath. My friends are very hesitant to come as a result. Would you be able to chase her away on 08 and 09 Nov, please? You’ve always kept her at bay when I come to you and ask her to stay away from us this time too. Tell her that I promise not to hang around long and she can come back on the 9th afternoon.

I’ll be seeing you on the wee hours of 08th and till then take care.
Yours

It’s not a good idea for you to read my personal letters is it? But now you’ve read it, it doesn’t matter. I had to send this letter coz the rain kept threating to ruin our reunion and I was pretty sure she’d keep those dark clouds away. (Eventually that’s exactly what happened)

Sheham suggested we do the Nelu Flower hunt and I voted with both my feet and Kasun too, amid a very heavy workload, wanted to tag along. Athula, the ever-promising hiker, too joined willingly with Prasanna along with him. We were set for another majestic journey and decided to leave in the night to save us some time. My plan was to visit Horton Plains on 07 and do something else in the evening coz the whole day Saturday was reserved for the 3rd stage of my rail hikes.

Sheham too said that he was long overdue for a rail hike and gladly approved of the plan. However, the ever-changing weather patterns kept us on our toes right along during the planning stage. I wanted to do this no matter the weather and everybody else jumped in willingly coz they all are very seasoned hardcore hikers.

I happened to come by the Supipi Rest on Lakdasun Forums and they gave us a very reasonable rate and made the booking without second thought. On impulse, I suggested Kasun that we go see Kurundu Oya Falls as we failed to see her in the last month’s journey and we had the whole evening for us on the 8th Nov.

Day 01

Having planned everything to the last possible letter, Sheham left Dehiwala around 12.30am and picked Kasun, me, Athula and Prasa on the way and we were soon driving towards Peradeniya. We didn’t wanna take our chances on the Hatton-N’Eliya road due to its bad condition and stuck with the good old Peradeniya-N’Eliya road.

Tour Highlights:

1. Thotupola Hike
2. Nelu Flowers
3. Kande Ela
4. N’Eliya
5. Piduruthalagala Peak
6. Summary of Panos

The moment we passed Gampola, the road got winding like a giant snake and I felt giddy coz I’d had no sleep and neither had Kasun. We stopped around Pussellawa for some fresh air and the sky was cluttered with millions of different-size stars. It was as if a net attached with hundreds of glittering diamonds was draped right across the sky and we were simply fascinated. However the break wouldn’t work and I wanted to throw up very badly and soon it was a contest between me and Kasun.

Finally after all the hustle-bustle we reached N’Eliya around 5.30am and topped up our fuel reserves. Sheham had brought us all breakfast so we didn’t have to stop anywhere else and headed straight towards Horton Plains. We stopped at Pattipola for some coffee and the surrounding was as usual eye-catching. On the way from Pattipola the view kept making us want to stop at every now and then for picture taking and Sheham had a hard time containing us.

Finally we reached the ticket counter around 7.00am and bought our tickets. Passing the gate we reached Thotupola Trail in no time and the whole area was covered in Pink, Purple and White due to various colors of Nelu. We were simply amazed by the number of flowers, must have been about millions of them covering the whole area like a silk cloth draped over the trees. The morning dew added to the beauty of the flowers and they kept making artistic lines along the petals and leaves. What a sight for our strained eyes.

“Apparently there are 30 different kinds of Nelu and 24 of which are endemic to Sri Lanka”

We jumped out and headed towards the summit of Thotupola with an elevation about 200ft over 2km stretch. It was a sight to treasure for the rest of our lives. We were simply speechless and kept walking through dense forest patches till we reached a bit open area and the sight was simply outstanding. So many mountains were visible and Adam’s Peak was standing tall and majestic in the horizon with her distinct shape. Kirigalpoththa and the undocumented Agra-Bopath were standing next to each other.

We could see the Ambewela farm and its windmills almost 20km away. Along the path it was all about Nelu in vivid colors. All of a sudden Sheham and Atha were bending down very inquisitively and to our surprise it turned out to be a heap of freshly unloaded leopard scat. It had so many firs that the Sambar Deers have. Further along we saw hoof marks of Sambar Deers and possibly the Leopard’s too. It looked as if the leopard had been chasing the fellow from the top of the mountain and we saw a few marks where apparently the deer had skidded.

All of a sudden, Prasa was pretty scared. He kept looking back and forth and wondering when the leopard would pounce on him. We reached the first summit of the Thotupola and headed further uphill to the grand summit. There were many flowers waiting to welcome us to this wonderful creation of the Mother Nature. We reached the summit and it had that signature pit with rocks bordering and we could see they had even put up some solar panels for the telecommunication tower at the top.

It was a 360 degree panoramic view and rising sun kept us looking towards the eastern with her fierce rays. We saw the Ohiya temple and the Kovil where they had built when the 18th tunnel had collapsed and couldn’t be repaired. You can read more about it here. We spent about half hour savoring the freshness of the mountain air and gorgeous view and felt very hungry. The food was still in the car waiting for us and we hurried down and reached the road in no time.

Then we took the road further towards the Farr Inn where Thomas Farr had built it in 1900 and the entrances to the Kirigalpoththa and World’s End are located. Along the way just passing Maha Eliya bungalow we came across a Sambar Deer nibbling at the grass. We jumped out and started snapping away. We reached the Farr Inn around 10.00am and laid the mat Sheham had brought with him and spread out our breakfast which is long overdue.

Sliced bread with tempered onions and boiled eggs washed down with fruit juice was just what the doctor ordered. We rested a bit and saw the visitor center too giving out information and have replicas of animals such as leopard, snakes and owl. It was so horrendous to see a bunch of people playing cards inside a van coz there was so much beautiful sceneries to keep you occupied but those guys chose to ignore it. What a pity and a waste of a journey.

Around 10.30am we were back on our way and just passing the Farr Inn, Sheham noticed a Deer far away and wanted to take a pic and see what it really is. To see, it was not just one, but a whole gang of them sitting sunbathing about a km away. We managed to get a decent size pic with our long zoom and left them for it.

Passing Kande Ela, I wanted to get down and take a few pics. The boat service has resumed at Kande Ela and I was horror stricken to see the damage is done by the people around the area. The mountain is being invaded at a rapid rate, clearing and building apparently hotels. The way it goes, they’ll soon put up a hotel at the top of Kande Ela hill. Feeling down we reached the town and went to the hotel.

Towards Haggala in the wee hours

Windmills at Ambewela dancing in the morning

Getting ready

“Anything to eat?”

“Please driver uncle, give me a bun”

Towards Ambewela on the way to Horton Plains

They are mesmerized

One of many wows

Maha Rathmala

Couldn’t take our eyes away

Near the ticket counter

Well done

The isolated road

Here we are

One of a million

“Hi there!”

Ready to get going

Making patterns

Blooming like there’s no tomorrow

Different varieties of plants

Many different colors too

Morning dew making it sexy

Ravana Ravul collecting and preserving water

Shady bit

What color is this?

Gorgeous

More flowers bordering the path

Too high

Bunch of them

Through the trees