Rural Kohonawala where the sun rises at 9am and vanishes at 3pm

The map – Click to enlarge

Have you guys heard about a village located in the valley of Loggal oya where they do not have a road even and they have to climb an abyss to get to the nearest city (Madulsima) for 3 hours. Yes still our fellow citizens do live in the dark where even some of the basic facilities are not available. The sun is seen only at 9am and it vanishes in few hours at around 3pm, even when the sun could be seen the thick layer of mist covers it off and deprive them with their right to enjoy the sunlight. And yet these 200 odd people have managed to survive happily despite all of their troubles. After some recent media programs these people have got some hope and they are looking forward for a brighter future.

Last time when I visited Madulsima my friend OIC Jayathilake said that “next time when you come here don’t forget to visit this rural village” which he has been to on many occasions more than any other citizens of Madulsima. So after many months, that wonderful day arrived and I was all ready to go in and experience a true rural village life style. At around 8.30am I hired a trishaw from Madulsima and asked him to drop me off at the starting point of the trail where a board saying Kohonawala Vidyalaya 9.6Km. From this point one needs to walk through a tea patch and cross a bridge and continue along the foot path which will lead towards Kohonawala.

Once you begin walking along the path through the tea estate you will enjoy the endless view towards the valley of Loggal oya and the paddy fields in it which are done by Kohonawala villagers. After about 200m’s there is a 3 way junction and if one takes an acute turn to the left it will lead you towards Madulsima Dunhida falls which I didn’t attempt at this instance because I have been to it during my last visit. Almost at the edge of the tea patch I came across an old Archchi who was 93 years old and I decided to have a small chat. When I met her it was 8.45am and she had started climbing at around 5.30am in an attempt to collect her “Pin Padi” from Madulsima and just hearing that made me feel sorry about this poor lady. Just imagine the hard life these people go through while other elderly population in the country benefits a restful life. I stayed few minutes watching how this elderly lady with a bent back passed me and proceeded towards Madulsima. From here I took a short cut called “padi desiya” and reached the foot path at a lower level. The path now was through an endless mana patch with a splendid 180 degree view and at some places I had to tackle slippery rocks which were placed as a stair way on the slope of the mountain. One needs to be careful not to step on a slippery rock which will take you down towards an abyss.

a view of Namunukula is always a blessing to start off

starting point of a long trail (according to my readings it was close to 5Km)

entering the tea patch

had to cross the bridge and continue along the foot path

paddy fields seen in the valley

i need to get down there

the opposite mountain range as seen while descending

the foot path which branches down will take one towards madolsima dunhida ella

she was 93 years old and started climbing up from 5.30am to reach madolsima to get pin padi

the path

padi 200

some shelter

had to get to that turpentine patch

Within no time I came across few locals carrying their goods who didn’t notice me until few feet away. I did talk with each and every one I met. They were carrying all type of grains and fruits towards Madulsima where they could sell these crops with not much of a difficulty. The tiredness in their faces simply disappeared while talking and converted in to an ever so lovely smile which I will never forget. Climbing up to Madulsima to sell their crop, buy stuff or for other institutional services has been their routine since birth and one will only understand their hardship if they climb up and down this abyss once. Even though they go to Madulsima they had to take a bus to Passara to fulfill their requirements most of the time. These people were mostly over forty and some were 70 plus. Next I had to descend to another mini peak with a turpentine section and once this section was tackled I reached the resting place of this trail called the Ambalama. Now this is a heavenly Ambalama built on the top of the mountain near a mango tree and one will automatically stop at this place to enjoy a well-earned brake. This was recently built by villages and there was a statement written on a roof pole saying “wagakiwa yuththange as arewa” . From here onwards the path is disastrous because of its steepness. I almost loss control of my speed and ran short stretches downhill to tackle this steepness.

the valley

more villagers who were carrying their goods to madolsima

it was heavy but he seemed so determined

gender doesnt matter

downhill path

he was 79 years old his farther is close to 100 and going strong

view towards Kohonawala

entering the turpentine patch

a rare flat stretch

paused for a smile

the beautiful ambalama

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The village of Kohonawala was now in my visual path and few scattered houses here and there could be clearly seen, the mighty Loggal Oya River was flowing not so far away in the valley towards the beautiful reservoir of Loggal oya. On the opposite side of the hill there was a temple on a rocky ledge with few loud speakers turned on and the “pirith” was oscillating in the valley of loggal oya making my journey so much special. I also did note a newly dozered road on the opposite side of the river which leads to Kahataruppa in a zig zag manner, I wonder if any vehicle can tackle such a road. There was an another zig zag path on the hill close to my foot path which is rarely used by locals to get to Galloolla estate and from there to Metigahatenna hospital. Just before the village I came across and “archchi and her Minipiri” who were climbing uphill with a smile. The little girl was so friendly and she was not aware that they were living a very hard life compared to others. After about 4.5Km I reached the first residence which at that moment had no one around. I did continue further down until I met a villager where I acquired directions towards the temple. The foot path was running through a dense area with lot of Jack trees and pineapple bushes. I did come across few typical rural village houses with villagers and did enjoy their innocent smiles which were a blessing to my tired soul. I had to cross a mini bridge where one can refresh themselves and continue. Within 10 minutes I reached the temple where the head priest was already aware about my arrival..

few houses of kohonawala

archchi and minipiri carrying some goods to Madolsima

more to go

here they come

paddyfields of Kohonawala

bambaragala

the temple they call sripade

descending

the first house i came across

ancient looking kadulla

yummy

had to have a wash from this place

සරල ගැමි දිවිය

Solar power was the way to go

through the village

natural springs providing clean water

Katu mati geya

they produce what they want

village faces

an innocent smile

a gray hornbil

the temple

loved these

the product

flowers blossoming between manyok leaves

the head priest

The temple was built within one year and it’s currently under construction, the image house and another building which was underway had been slowly built by village craftsman. The head priest with two more small monks came here after seen the Rupavahini TV programme last year and has done a lot to establish this temple. These are the details of the monk (name: Rev Olaboduwe Dhammananda, Account num: 116-2-001-4-0063593) if one wants to help them out in fulfilling their dream of a village temple. More than financial support the monk said he would prefer some cement bags and other stuff please contact him on this number (0555653138) for further details.

making some tea

image house under construction

bo tree

the little monk lending a hand

අපූරු දන් ලයිස්තුව.

proud of our health services…they have received triposha

another 80+ seeya

held together

After spending about one hour in the temple I decided to get back and a 9 year old kid was there to show me the way towards his school which was shelter for 17 village kids. There are two teachers for these kids and the ones doing O/L & A/L’s have to climb uphill to Madulsima for schooling. It was a 10 minute hike to the school which was at a corner of the village and though it was a small school it was well maintained. After hanging around the school a bit I decided to take a short cut to the main path and get back towards Madulsima (Please do note that the Google earth trail map has been measured from the temple of Kohonawala via this short cut to Madulsima). After a steep ascent I reached the last village house where I noted a window made out of a bicycle rim and this was the only wheel I saw in this village.

ගැමි දරුවෙකුගේ නිර්මල හසරැල්ල!

Kohonawala school with 17 children and 2 teachers

where they study

words

take home message

beautiful…!

getting back

a dead tree

paddyfields

wow what a window

The path towards the Ambalama was so steep that I had to stop frequently to catch few breaths. Things got bad to worse when a continuous drizzle appeared, been exhausted I finally saw the Ambalama and I just lied down on the side wall and started breathing slowly for few minutes. A passing by villager who saw me started a conversation and he explained how they built this Ambalama step by step. He said they don’t need anything other than a bridge across Loggal oya so they could send their crop in vehicle to Badulla side without much of difficulty. Electricity is also an issue but for now they are managing well with solar panels. They really prefer having a road from Madulsima town because they are linked with Madulsima division but it seems to be yet another dream. After having a rice packet as my lunch I started the second leg of ascend. It was not so steep but yet an uphill one. On the way up I met a teenage girl carrying few books in her arms. When I inquired from her about her whereabouts she said that she had gone for extra classes at Galloolla School and returning back to the village. She finally said “yannan aiya” and disappeared like a rocket on that steep foot path. I did stop by and watched how she went hoping like a rabbit to get to her home before dark falls. After 3 hours of continuous climbing I reached the trail end where I hired a trishaw to Madulsima police quarters where I halted that night. As the previous time OIC Jayathilake did treat me very well and I’m honoured to have such a friend.

So I hope you guys did enjoy this write up on Kohonawala rural village and hope you will get an opportunity to visit it someday. Also I wish the villagers a brighter future and sincerely hope this would not be another Meemure.

back on the main route

note the zig zag path to galloolla

here comes the rain

mahaththayo loggal oya haraha palamak hadunoth apita e athi

the abbys

another beauty

after the rains

good bye

Nyctemera coleta – Erebidae

the ambalama seen on the way

narrow path

Lunugala

Aiya mama gedara yanawa!

life on a rock

namunukula covered in mist

back to the tea patch

end of the trail

these are all my photographs displayed at the madolsima police station.. – Click to enlarge