Sandatenna the worlds end of Seetha eliya and conquering Piduruthalagala!

It all started after seen an article on Lakdasun shared by Sheham about a worlds end in Seetha eliya. On that article it seemed like the mayor wanted to give the place bit of publicity and attract many visitors too. I wanted to visit it as soon as possible before the place lost its natural beauty thanks to our irresponsible public. Lahiru gave his confirmation few days prior and Amila was on the pending side until the very last moment. On a clear Saturday we got together at Colombo at around 10am(which was a very unusual time for us) and took a bus towards Nuwara eliya. At around 3.30pm we reached our destination where we immediately had lunch and packed some for dinner too. After collecting some more resources we took a bus towards Magasthota and got off at the end of Gregory lake from there we hired a trishaw which took us towards the potato farm where there was a locked gate.

The map of sandatenna – click to enlarge

Google earth view – click to enlarge

Seen the locked gate really disappointed us and after talking to one of those watchmen he got down the manager and with the help of one of Amilas contacts in Nuwara eliya we were granted permission which we strived for! The walk through the Potato farm was almost a 2Km one and at the end of it a small summit could be seen. The mist had already started to obscure the view and on top of that we had to face a major challenge, that was a heard of wild buffaloes. The gate keeper had already warned us that the alpha bull was a notorious creature and to justify his statement we were chased by him on three occasions. Somehow we survived that episode to reach the summit point where we intended to camp.

through the potato farms

it was misty

the landscape

towards the city

they finally left us alone

capturing the sunset

setting sun

the fire ball

It didn’t take much time to set up Lahiru’s spacious tent and we didn’t feel the low temperature much because we were so excited. When the moon appeared the fun begun. The cameras were put in to action by snapping slow shutter images, ghost shots and light paintings etc. all 3 of us really enjoyed the moon light before getting in to the tent to have our rice packs as dinner. At around 2am the breeze began to get worse and on few occasions our fly sheet got loose and went off forcing us to get out in that freezing climate to fix the damaged fly sheet. The breeze settled at around 4am and we felt a sleep to be waken by a shout from Lahiru who alarmed us about the spectacular sun rise.

moon was our light source

slow shutter

moon walkers

a ghost

the ghost that ran away

It was freezing but we were even more determined to capture a miraculous sun rise at the backdrop of namunukula. The scenery was mind blowing. I would be sharing some pics for you guys to feel what it was like. When the sky got clear we noted many landmarks including most of the peaks of central highlands and also an endless view towards Uva province (especially Welimada side). At around 8am we decided to pack and take off towards the gate with some stunning captures. On the way we had few halts just to snap a heard of Samber who were grazing in considerable numbers.

dawn over uva

nayabedda range

Namunukula the giant of uva

nayabedda close up

welimada plains

wow wow wow

the colours of a rainbow

lightning up gradually

pano no 1

pano no 2

welimada plateau just like a painting

hakgala and totupola partly covered to it

the drop

here she comes

beauty

picture post card for me

rise up quickly

amost 100 percent

on fire

our camp site

capturing the moment from the platform

what a view

best place to camp

the drop towards bombura ella

perawella paddy fields

angled

summit of SL

we are going there……….

breathtaking

beauty at its best

kandapola reserve

morning rays creating wonders

blessed to see these type of scenery

the drop towards welimada is now clear

meepilimana range including conical hill, waterfall point etc

Kikiliyamana

joy	saying good bye

last little peep

the platform which was coming up

plenty of samber

through the potato plantations

landscape

hakgala range

lonely tree

alarmed of Amila’s presence

where they were plenty of samber

grazing

more to walk

finally stable signal reception

the empty 5L bottle

leopards foot print

kirigalpotta on the far right

potato

Actually we didn’t have a plan for the second day but after Lahiru suggesting that a visit to Piduruthalagala would be nice, Amila volunteered and arranged everything with few calls. After getting to nuwara eliya we hired a van towards the summit and on reaching the summit we received VIP treatment from the air force as well as army base camps. We were also granted the opportunity to wonder around and also visit the summit point. The weather was perfect and we had a superb view towards infinity on all sides and we didn’t forget to capture some of those landmarks from the summit of Sri Lanka. The road to Piduruthalagala looked like the high-level road. It was so jammed pack thanks to the long weekend, it seems like Piduruthalagala has become one of those places everyone visits during their Nuwara eliya visit (at least up to the car park). We got back to the town and had a brunch before we set foot towards our destinations. This was one of those superb relaxing journeys which will be in our memories for a while.

towards Piduruthalagala

on the way scenery to piduruthalagala

few friends on top of piduruthalagala

kabaragala as seen from the summit

horton plains as seen from piduruthalagala

adams peak as seen from piduruthalagala

summit of SL

Rupavahini towers

ugly nuwara eliya

towards mandaram nuwara

wow	gampola ambuluwawa

summit pano

ragala side

Shanthipura the highest villege in SL

towards uva

Sandatenna where we camped

Gregory lake

Nuwara eliya as seen from the summit

Thanks for reading!