It has been a few months since we did something adventurous and we were itching for some action. We were clear from the beginning on what we wanted to do; it had to be at least a 3day hike, away from civilization and most importantly we didn’t want a guide or a clear trail. Although we knew what we wanted finding a hiking trail that we like proved to be much more difficult than we initially imagined.

After looking at all the possibilities we finally agreed on the Bridle Trail in Horton Plains. The only problem with this trail was that it was only a 2day hike whereas we wanted the hike to be at least 3days. One possible way would be is to find a path from the Diayagama trail to the base of Agra Bopath Mountain and form there find our way to the start of the Bridle trail this would add around 10km to the Bridle Trail making it a 3day hike.

They say that rivers/streams are the highways in the jungle and I fully agree with this. In my opinion the easiest way (perhaps not the safest) to travel in a jungle is to follow a stream. I have done this quite a few times and it has paid off. To find a path form the Diayagama trail to the base of Agra Bopath I first needed to find a stream and to find a stream I needed to find a valley. Thanks to Google earth and Garmin BaseCamp finding the valley was easy and by analyzing it further we realized that there was a high probability that a small steam was there.

Once the trail was decided it was time to fix the dates, Kasun was upgrading some of his gear and so was I and since we both thought that this hike would be a good chance to try our new gear the trip was postponed till the new gear arrived. This delay was also a blessing in disguise as it gave us plenty of time to study the terrain and plan the trip in great detail.

Day 1 Marked in Blue, Day 2 Marked in Yellow & Day 3 Marked in Red – Click Map To Enlarge

Please note that all photographs published in this report were taken by Kasun and full credit should go to him for photo documenting this trip.

Day 1: Diayagama Trail (2.5Km) > Followed a stream up to the base of Agra Bopath Mountain (5Km)

The night mail from Colombo arrived in Ohiya around 4.30am and after disembarking, myself and Kasun went across the street from the station and went in to Mr. Gamini’s shop to have breakfast he served us hot roti and sambal. To be honest we thought that the roti was a bit stale and he had just warmed up some old roti and served us. Anyway after managing to eat one roti each we asked him about transport to Horton plains. Mr. Gamini offered to drop us at the Diayagama trail head for Rs.1000/= we took him up on his offer and went to up to the Diayagama trail head passing the Visitor centre in one of his three-wheelers.

The walk down the Diayagama trail was easy and according to my calculations we should find a stream coming from Agra Bopath around 2.5Km for the trail head. Weeks of analyzing Google earth and maps paid off as the stream was there on the exact spot we predicted.

In the beginning Kasun didn’t want to get in to the stream, he wanted to travel parallel to the stream without getting his shoes wet!! But after traveling this way for some distance (250M) it was becoming very clear that we had no option but to get in to the stream as the vegetation was getting denser.

Day 1 : Marked in Blue – Click Map to Enlarge

The Road from Ohiya

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Diayagama Trail Head

Agra Bopath in a Distance (our Target for the Day)

According to My Calculations the Stream Should be Here

And Here it is !!

Me with The North Face Conness 52

Kasun with his Deuter ACT Lite 40+10

Dense Vegetation

It’s time to Get Wet

The water initially felt a bit cold but as our feet grew accustomed it didn’t feel that bad. We didn’t encounter too many obstacles just a few cascades and one waterfall (marked as WF546 on the Google image). JUST A WORD OF CAUTION: TRAVELING UP/DOWN STREAMS CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS; YOU ONLY NEED TO MAKE ONE WRONG FOOTING TO SUSTAIN SERIOUS INJURY.

Leftovers

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Peaceful at Times

A Little bit Challenging at Times

Within “Acceptable Level of Risk”

WF546 (Level 1)

WF546 (Level 2)

Avoiding a Waterfall

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.	The Road to Heaven

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2Km up the stream we saw a rather large savanna patch and at the end of it was another waterfall (marked as WF625 on the Google image) in haste I immediately came to the conclusion that this is part of the Great savanna that we were looking for and without climbing the waterfall we could go left and find the Great savanna. Kasun had his doubts form the beginning but I insisted that we go up the savanna and see. So we climbed out of the valley and almost went up to the edge of the savanna just to find out that it was a dead end !!

After nearly wasting 1hour we came back to the Waterfall (WF625) and had to find a way to climb around it. After overcoming this hurdle we were back following the stream a few more cascades later we came upon another waterfall (marked as WF660 on the Google image) after passing this it was becoming difficult to follow the stream as it grew narrower and narrower so we were traveling parallel to the stream

Time was ticking by and yet we haven’t found the Great savanna patch that we were looking for (we were planning to camp at the base of it). It was almost 4.45pm when we decided that we have to give up finding this savanna and we needed to make camp before it got dark. It was a hard decision to make but it was the correct thing to do.

The tent was setup and we put an additional fly sheet just in case it rained. While setting up the tent we did not clear the ground of the weeds that were there as they would act as a buffer between the tent and the cold earth making it a little bit warmer inside the tent.

Once all this was done, supper was prepared on our little stove. By 6pm we had had our supper and the campsite was prepared for the night. But, there was one problem. I did not bring my sleeping bag because I wanted to save space inside the pack and also to reduce weight instead I brought a sleeping bag under layer to keep me warm and to stop stones from pricking. This mat was strapped to the back of the pack and when we stopped for the day we realized that it has fallen some ware along the trail. Kasun came up with a simple plan, we had some extra large heavy duty garbage bags and we also found large heaps of dried grass close to our campsite so we filed out a garbage bag and made a large mat to sleep on.

Mistaken Identity

Heading the Wrong Way

WF625 in a Distance

WF625

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.	At the Top of the Waterfall (WF625)

Cascades

More Cascades

Some More Cascades

Many More Cascades

Still a Long Way to Go

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No Option but to Set up Camp

Day 2 : From Agra Bopath Base to Kirigalpotha Trail (1.1Km)> On Kirigalpotha Trail (900M) > Bridle Trail (4Km)

Day 2 : Marked in Yellow – Click Map to Enlarge

After a peaceful night’s sleep we got up at 5.30am and started to pack. By 7am we were packed and ready to start our 2nd day of hiking. Our plan was to travel up to a small savanna patch marked as Waypoint 15 of the Trail Guide. According to my calculations this should be a good place to camp and there should also be a water source.

But before any of those we needed to find the Grate Savanna patch and then find the Kirigalpotha trail !! I and Kasun were divided on this, he thought that we need to travel further down the valley to find the Grate Savanna patch and I was insisting that we only had climb out of the valley and we will find it. So we finally agreed and climbed out of the valley as I suggested and to our relief we did find the Grate Savanna patch !!

We knew that the Kirigalpotha trail was at the other end of this Savanna patch so we continued crossing it and ultimately found the Kirigalpotha trail. Once on this trail we continued towards the Visitor Center after continuing for 900M we came to the Belihuloya crossing, there we had our breakfast and headed back in to the jungle towards the Bridle trail.

Good Morning !!

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Start of Another Day

Climbing Out of the Valley

Yes We Found It !!!

Kirigalpotha Trail Should at the End of the Savanna Patch

Beauty of the Savanna

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Finding the Kirigalpotha Trail

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.	Belihuloya Crossing on the Kirigalpotha Trail

We continued towards Slab Rock Falls (Marked as “WF739” on the Google image) and after having a quick look at it we continued on our quest to find the Jeep track (Bridle trail) this section of the trail was densely over grown. We had a nightmare of a time trying to find the Jeep track.

After a bit of a struggle we did come across a very broad trail which clearly looked like a Jeep track!!

If the path was this clear this is going to be “a walk in the park” or at least that is what we thought!! After traveling less than 100M on this clear trail the trail suddenly became overgrown and full of thorns cutting a path through the thorns became a very painful challenge. Since we had no other option we continued to follow this trail and cut a path just enough for us to squeeze through

Found the Old Jeep Track (Bridle Trail)!!

A Walk in the Park or so we Thought

The Nightmare Begins

Never Ending Nightmare

Finally an Open Area

The Concrete Bridge in the Middle of the Jungle

After battling with thorns for a considerable distance we suddenly came out to a clearing and found a Concrete bridge in the middle of no ware!! Then it was back it to the thick jungle till we came to a savanna patch. From the planning stage our plan was to camp here unlike the previous day we came to our destination with plenty of daylight left (around 2.20pm) and we found a stream at one end of the savanna along with a small waterfall (around 15ft high)

Our camp was setup close to the stream in a place which was well protected from the wind. Since we didn’t have much to do we explored the area a bit and started to prepare our supper around 4.30pm and had an early meal and went to bed around 6pm

Emerging from the Thick Jungle on to the Savanna Patch

The Savanna Patch (Waypoint 15 of the Trail Guide)

Clear Skies a Grate Blessing

The Waterfall Near Our Camp Site

Haven

Cooking

Nothing like Corn Beef & Magi for Supper

View from the top of the Waterfall

On Top of the Waterfall

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Day 3 : Bridle Trail (8Km) > North Cove Division (1.3Km)

Day 3 : Marked in Red – Click Map to Enlarge

By 6am we were up and after munching on a few bars of Mars and packing our gear we were ready to leave by 7.30am. Kasun was insisting that we abandon the Bridle trail and find our own way by following a stream. I was reluctant at first because the thought of getting in to a cold stream early in the morning with shoes didn’t make much sense. But his point was that following the Bridle trail was boring and I had to agree with him on that it was becoming a bit boring. So after looking at maps and studying the contour lines we figured out that the stream that we were camping next to could lead us out of the forest or we could join the Bridle trail further down.

Traveling down this stream didn’t pose too many complications the water was flowing lazily and it only had a few small cascades that we had to tackle. Around 1.5Km from camp we climbed on to a vantage point to get a better look at our surroundings and to our surprise saw a mining site not far from where we were. The site looked like a working mine but when we got there we did not find any miners. Form the mine there was a small but clear footpath heading in the direction of North Cove So we changed our plans and decided to follow this mining trail.

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Mining Trails

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After coming across several abandoned mining sites the trail eventually led us to Mahadeniya and to our surprise the mines at Mahadeniya were also abandoned!! We were interested in talking to some of the miners and at the same time were glad that nobody was there as we were not sure if the miners would consider us as hostile. From there we followed the trail up to Mahaeliya and found that this large mining site was also abandoned!! (Later we learned that the STF was carrying out a raid on the mines on that day and word has been sent to the miners form the estate workers)

Continuing along these trails we finally came out of the forest around 2pm and found ourselves in the North Cove Division of the Loinorn Estate about 1.5Km away from the North Cove Cabanas. From there we continued along estate roads and after walking for around 1.3Km we found a van which travels from the Estate to Bogawantalawa town as soon as we reached Bogawantalawa town there was a bus that was preparing to leave to Hatton. Once we reached Hatton bus stand we immediately found another bus that was going to Colombo and we boarded it and reached Colombo around 9pm.

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Mahadeniya in a Distance

On the Way to Mahadeniya

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He’s Got His Lunch

Towards Mahaeliya

A Frog in a Gem Pit

Surely We Must be Close Now

Entering North Cove Division

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The End

Thanks for reading.

Tour Highlights:

1. Kirigalpoththa Trail
2. Thotupola Trail

I woke up and lowered the blanket covering me and a rain of needles hit my exposed skin. Oh dear, I’m in HP, it suddenly dawned on me. There was a light moving out of the room and it made me feel jittery. Getting out of the bed and landing my feet on the ground sent another dose of needles up my body. It was so cold (probably around 10-degrees) and I followed the light out of the room to find Ana already up and getting ready to make some coffee. The time had just gone 4.30am and I was shivering when I entered the kitchen. There wasn’t any sign of the bungalow keepers (they can’t have ever had their guests waking up at 4.30am) and I waited with my feet up for a steaming cup of coffee.

Atha and Prasa were still sound asleep and I went back to wake them up. It was very cold and we sipped at our scalding coffee hugging ourselves so tight. The caretakers got a shock when they appeared around 5.30am to see us up and about. I guess this was a great shock for them and they got very busy making our breakfast while we washed in the freezing water and got ready to leave while the sun was beginning his painting class towards the east.

After a hot hot Roti and many curries breakfast, we set off towards the Farr Inn with some more packed boiled eggs and sandwiches. About 2km into the drive, we saw a herd of Sambar Deer to our left and stopped to take their pics. The tip of KGP could be seen in the distance while mysterious Agra Bopath kept herself covered with mist. Thotupola was showing her twin peaks to our right with a bright sun glowing the grass towards her.

We reached the Farr Inn and saw the first wave of vehicles coming from Pattipola Entrance and all the tourists were heading towards Gonagala Falls and World’s End. We showed our permit and was given the green light to carry on our trail. Thankfully, there was no one else to do the KGP trail and we started our journey merrily.

Good morning!

We’re ready to go

Hern the Hunter?

Not really

Whole family of them

Ok, no more pics after this…

Gorgeous colors

Agra-Bopath

Comms tower at Farr Inn

The Farr Inn covered by trees

Took forever to take this as there were people milling about all the time

Gigantic Ferns

KGP Trail – Uphill

We started the isolated trail while the sky was royal blue and had patterns of pristine white clouds like cotton wool on a painted canvas. There was a herd of Sambar to our right but ran away at the first sight of us. They were not so forward like the begging few in and around the Farr Inn and Bungalows. The invading Ulex plants were scattered about just like the last time we visited which was a very sad thing to see. There are a lot of dangers to the HP such as Polythene, Invasive Plants and fish species such as Rainbow Trout. To our surprise, we saw quite a number of crows (2 were permanently stationed at Ginihiriya Bungalow) and according to the officials, they are a huge threat to endemic reptiles, such as Rhino Horn Lizard (An Katussa), Smooth Lanka Skink, Common Rough-Sided Snake (Le/Dalawa Madilla), etc. as they feed on them and their eggs. We were told the number of Rhino Horn Lizards is decreasing every day due to the existence of the crows.

We urgently have to do something to eliminate these crows before they completely wipe out these endemic species from HP. Ana kept going at a steady pace and I was suddenly scared he’d outrun us to the summit. We reached the stream that crosses the path and spent a few minutes resting. It was a very welcome break and if you take the left path parallel to the water stream, it should lead you to the Slab Rock Falls but we didn’t attempt it as our priority was KGP. We decided to give it a go supposing we had some time to kill on our return journey and always the weather permitting.

The path there after was in and out of forest patches and bordering the Bamboo plants. We came across gorgeous looking Binara Flowers (We came across them on top of Lakegala too) and stopped at every opportunity to take snaps and breaks. This is when while I was following the rest of the group Atha suddenly stopped me and pointed at the grass to the side of our path. I saw nothing at first but he slowly pointed at it and whispered in my ear “An Katussek”. Despite my numerous visits to the HP, I’d only once seen a Rhino Horn Lizard before but well before I knew about things called cameras. This was a great opportunity as the fella was among the grass blades. The camera had a tough time focusing through the grass blades (wish our point-n-shoots had manual focusing) and after it felt like ages, managed to take a few decent shots.

We left the fella and continued our journey before entering the muddy patches. We saw the paw-prints of the leopard at many places along the path and were hopeful to get a peek at the fellow. Even though Tony was so lucky to get a look at one of them at our last journey, he was way too scared to stop and take a picture. He nearly ran all the way to the summit and fell over the edge. The muddy areas were not so difficult to cross and we entered the forest. The path that was full of Nelu Flowers last time was devoid of any flowers and most of the Nelu Trees were at their last stages. We heard after the flowery season, the trees wither and die.

There were a few still with purple and light green flowers but not a lot. However, we came across some beautiful orchids and white and blue flower that grows on the roots almost along the ground. It was a very beautiful one and bloomed in clusters. We then saw some bones of a Sambar that had probably been hunted by the leopard but couldn’t have been recently. The climb in the middle was a bit challenging and we had to stop frequently to take our breaths. The depleting oxygen levels made the work laborious.

We reached the base of the KGP having crossed the last stream. This is where you have to replenish your water canteens as there’s no stream to have water. We had our brunch too, the half boiled eggs had broken and been oozing the yellow out. We managed to dig in our sandwiches in the yellow gravy and have it. The Jeewani kept us going all the time and we made some more for the final assault. After a long and tedious hike, we arrived at the observation point, short distance below the summit panting like a pack of hunting wolves. As usual the view was unobstructed and panoramic. The tinge of purple was missing from the trees below due to the end of Nelu Season. The slope reminded me of Lakegala but she was far steeper than this.

Arriving at this point was a major milestone and we savoured the moment to the fullest. We then took the path through the trees towards the summit. There’s a very dangerous path along the rock near the edge. Please don’t take this as it can lead to disasters should you lose the footing. Further, there’s a short stretch that you need to climb up along a rocky surface. Be very careful there too and try to avoid windy periods. It took us close to 5 hours marking it probably the slowest of all and Ana may have set another record being the oldest to reach the KGP summit.

We celebrated with stream water and Jeewani with what’s left of our sandwiches. We had the whole KGP for ourselves and felt like we were lost in a world devoid of any humans. The view was great and we could see the Ambewela Windmills, Dayagama Tea Factory and many more. However there were some thick clouds coming towards us and we decided to start the downhill journey as we didn’t want to get wet and be on that rocky slope when the rain came with winds. You can watch the video of us just off the summit and Ana hilariously saying that we’d reached the Kirigalpolla. This was what Tony used when we first reached and did a short video, he was dead scared and forgot the word Kirigalpoththa and instead said Kirigalpolla.

Video of KGP

Ready to go… that 7km is not correct. It’s about 5.5km to the summit… (7km could’ve been using the old path)

We had the path to ourselves while World’s End path was busier than Pettah

Here comes the heavy guns

KGP and Agra Bopath closer to each other

Cotton wool sprinkled royal blue canvas

Ana among the thorny Ulex Plants… (note the GoPro Camera he’s wearing)

Agra Bopath – The unsolved mystery

The dead and the alive together

Endless plain

Not sure if it’s edible

The stream that we had to cross

Despite the rains, there was very little water

Through the bamboo

Kirigotte Balal Adi? – Nope, it’s Kalu Paswala Divi Adi

Two sexy girls

That color is simply uncopiable

Can you see the fella?

Here a close up. Can see the Horn clearly

One with no grass blocking the view

The path through the bamboo

Close up of the paw mark

Taking the paw mark on his lenses

Sitha Pera

To our right was this open terrain and beyond that is Agra Bopath

Few Nelu flowers remaining

Orchid

Close up

The sky through the tree cover

Not Bandura, but something similar

Very beautiful but no idea what they are

Hope you can remember this from my previous trip report. It was very fresh then but now it’s like limestone

The bones I told you about

Some more

Life on the dead

Dead Nelu trees making an arch for us

Beautiful sky all the way

Close up of the bunch of flowers

The summit of KGP is over there

A dead bird?

Just before the final assault

The view on the way up

Commonly seen orchid type

Very common

Finally at the viewing point

The expressions say it all

Clear view

Steep slope

The tricky bit I told you about

He was merrily shooting away

The rocky bit that might be slippery and can be challenging to cross in heavy winds

The trees closer to the summit

Typical summit point

Yeah, we did it finally… with two records probably

KGP Trail – Downhill

The downhill journey was more or less uneventful save for the threat of looming clouds. Fortunately, it didn’t rain until we were back inside the vehicle heading towards the bungalow. Mother Nature had been keeping an eye out for the happy wonderers. However, we were let into a secret by Ana (don’t tell anyone what I’m gonna tell you). He’s planning on competing for the triple jump in Rio in 2016 and was training for it. We noticed he kept jumping over obstacles every now and then and then realized his ulterior motive.

I’ll let the pictures tell the story from here onwards. We came across a snake (my first at HP) called Le Madilla, I guess the same one called Dalawa Madilla as well. I might be wrong but looks like both are the same. The downhill journey took only half the uphill time and we beat the rain and got into our vehicles heading off to the Bungalow for some well-deserved rest. On our way, we met another begging Sambar who was very desperate for something to eat but we flatly refused any. He then asked for at least some money so that he could go grab something such as those jaw breaking Roti from the canteen. We refused that too fearing the bugger might wolf down the note without going to the canteen.

We skipped lunch altogether and waited till evening for a hearty dinner and as usual went to bed just before 8pm coz this was our second but sadly the last night at Ginihiriya. We had Thotupola Trail planned up for the morning.

The steep slope

One of the fellows in disguise

Mind your head

Le Madilla, not poisonous at all – Not Sure? Touch it and see

The triple jump champion ready to cross

Simply beautiful

The muddy path

Prasa explaining the size of a leopard to Ana

Wading through the muddy path

Another orchid?

Wild berries

The SL team leader for Rio 2016

Entering back into the open

Furry

Crossing the stream back

Plenty of them

Very old Leopard Poo

Nearly finished our journey

Prasa complaining about the distance

Good bye Agra Bopath

Reminds me of the first journey too

Farr Inn in full

The modern Thomas Farr…

Click image to enlarge

Sri Lankan White-Eye

Another

Upside down

He was constantly coming out of the hiding to feed on the garbage left by the tourists

Prowling along the drains

The one on our way, coming towards us looking for something to eat

“Anything to eat?” – asked he

Begging look

Backing out knowing we wouldn’t give anything. “At least give me 50 bucks, I’ll go get a roti from the canteen”

View through the windscreen

Maha Bovitiya

Up close

Closer to our bungalow, the darkness made the pic not so good

Another one looking at us

Trying to get up the tree

Whole lot of them

Thotupola Trail

I got up after a deep sleep to find Ana had as usual beaten me to it. He was up and about when I got up and walked into the kitchen. The water was already boiling and he was ready to serve coffee for which I was very grateful. The scalding liquid warmed my body and bungalow keepers were not yet accustomed to our early routine. Prasa, who’s a very late riser, managed to stir up slowly and opened his eyes bit by bit as if they were glued shut. We had to get ready real fast as the time was running out.

Finally Prasa managed to defeat the overwhelming force of sleep and get up. The breakfast was in full swing as Abeysinghe brought a wave after wave of fried eggs to go with coconut sambol and sliced bread. We kept eating and Abeysinghe kept running back and forth with fully laden trays. After our bellies reached their bursting point, we decided to pack the things and be ready to leave. The sun was still fighting the clouds and the mist kept coming in covering the whole surrounding with her thick veil and I was worried if we would get a good view from Thotupola.

Having thanked our caretakers we left for Thotupola in the thick mist. The path was fully covered in mist but Ohiya Road being less crowded compared to Pattipola didn’t make it that hard on driving along. Passing the Farr Inn we saw to our right a herd of Sambar out for a morning stroll. The mist was too thick for our cameras to make out them clearly (I keep saying those cameras are not as even half as good as our eyes). All of a sudden, two males started fighting with each other with their horns and I managed to do a small video.

Video of Sambar Fighting

Passing them around the head of Dayagama Trail, we met a jungle fowl who was on the hunt looking for some breakfast despite the mist. The cold was that much we could feel it going right across the bones to the core. Having reached the trail head in the end, we stopped to get ready for the chilly hike. The mist was still so thick and we saw the dying Nelu Trees after the blooming season. The legend goes on as follows:

“Long ago in India, Prince Rama lived in exile in the jungle with his beautiful wife, Sitha. When the sister of the powerful king of Sri Lanka, Ravana, once visited the jungle of Rama, she was mistreated. Returning home, she complained to her brother, Ravana who swore revenge. Taking his mythical plane, he flew to India and kidnapped Sitha and came to Sri Lanka. The aircraft first landed on the peaks of Thotupola Kanda, meaning the “Landing Site” in Sinhala.”

Well, I’ll let the pictures do the talking from now on. However, Ana was in top gear and we had to restrain him from running to the top. It took us very little time compared to the long and arduous journey of KGP. The mist kept clearing from time to time giving us that panoramic view of the surrounding mountains. However, Sri Pada decided not to show herself for some unknown reason. We were treated for a super-duper view when we visited Thotupola Kanda last time to see the Nelus in full bloom.

The team and Abeysinghe at the left

Here they are

Watching the others getting ready to fight

Here they go

In the open

Closer look but not in good quality

On the prowl

The legend (Click image to enlarge)

The path in the morning

Some clearing

Plenty of flowers

Macro

Some more

With the dew collected off mist

The Dhal Tree

Closer to the summit

Here’s the team

Ravana Rawul

The view was not so great due to the mist

Maha Rathmal in the distance

Zoomed in

With my shadow

Ana kept going ahead of everyone

Some of the remaining Nelu

Some bones off the path

The mist had enough of us

Life on the dead

Will have to do something about these, they were along the Thotupola trail too

Towards Ambewela

The cluster of windmills

Giant Ferns

Beautiful center

We left HP, rather sadly, and got on the way back towards Nanu Oya. We met a large group of Black Monkeys closer to Pattipola that gave a good opportunity to Ana and Atha to capture them. Closer to Ambewela Farm, we stopped for some fresh milk where two doggies were waiting hungrily. They too received a full cup of fresh milk for their good behavior. We made good time but the stretch between Nanu Oya and Radella Short Cut was not yet completed as I mentioned in the last report.

I was eagerly waiting for another encounter with St. Claire hoping against the hope she’d have a full quota of water but I was disappointed for the umpteenth time. She was falling in her sorrow state and we didn’t stop by. Nevertheless, we stopped at Devon Viewing Platform for a cuppa tea. Unlike our going on the 04 Oct morning, when Devon was fully obscured by the mist, she was in full view and we once again enjoyed this falling beauty. The artist at the platform kept working away at his canvas with different strokes.

After a freshly fried potato patties and tea from the tea center, we left for Colombo. I kept wishing there was more time to spend at HP but every good thing has to come to an end sometime. This really was a dream come true as I finally managed to spend a night at HP after so many visits over last 15 years. It was great having Ana, Atha and Prasa, we really had a ball.

Hopefully, there’ll be more journeys like this in future. Until such time, this is Sri signing off for the time being.

Take care and keep travelling!

Sayonara…

Sri.

Look at the beard

Another

Colombo-bound train at Pattipola

And then at Ambewela too

Where we stopped for a cup of milk

Lusty greenery and blue

Waiting patiently for some milk

They were working

No matter how many times you see her, you’d always see her in a different perspective

Full flow

The artistic point

Busy at work

Towards Watagoda

Colors

Bidding farewell

A rough map

map around Kapurella – click to enlarge

Hot water springs are a fascinating creation of Mother Nature. There are few theories how these form and they are

• Radiation from radioactive substances like Uranium, Thorium etc may heat up the surrounding rocks which in turn heats up the deep seated water sources.
• Warmed up minerals and rocks in the earth emits heat and this can heat up water springs (most likely)
• Heat from cooling magma could be the cause of heating deep seated water sources which spurs out of earths cracked points

This is a special report on hot water springs of Sri lanka. This was a very tempting topic which made it so irresistible that I ended up visiting almost all of these remarkable sites in a short period. The hot lakdasun forum post was indeed my greatest guide on this venture. I would be adding few details on some hot water springs I visited during the past few years for the sake of completeness. Here are the documented hot water springs in Sri lanka.

Rankihiriya – Gomarankadawala

Kanniya – Trincomalee

Nelumwewa / Gal wewa – Welikanda

Muthugalwela – Gurukumbura / Maduru oya

Kapurella – Tempitiya / Maha oya

Mahaoya (Maha siyambala gas kandiya) – Maha oya

Marangala / Wahawa – Padiyathalawa

Embilinna – Inginiyagala reservoir

Kivulegama – Jayanthi Wewa / Wadinagala

Mahapelessa – Sooriyawewa

Gal wewa / Nelum wewa hot water springs – Welikanda (63⁰c)

We were off to Passikudah for a relaxing weekend and on the way we suddenly decided to visit Nelum wewa hot water springs. One will find the turn off close to Welikanda (after Manampitiya) towards Nelum wewa. After traveling 9km’s we reached the lake which was dried out. If it was full we would have had to hire a boat but since the lake was dried out we did walk towards the springs which were at an elevated island in the center of the lake. This was known as the warmest spring (63⁰c) in Sri Lanka but was pushed back to second place recently by Kapurella. After visiting Nelum wewa we went towards Passikudah and rested the whole day as it was our main purpose of this visit.

Dimbulagala

dried out Nelum wewa

nelum wewa / gal wewa

the drought

hot water wells in the center of the lake

bubbling

Gal wewa / Nelum wewa

what lovely beach at Passikuda

shells

slow shutter at its best

dusk at Passikuda

Next day we departed towards Monaragala along the coast line and on the way we visited the Batticaloa Portuguese (later Dutch & English) fort which was built in 1628 which is now the district secretariat office. They do allow visitors to walk around the fort but it’s limited for obvious reasons. On two sides it’s surrounded by the lagoon and the other two by a canal. The view from this fabulous location is unforgettable. After hanging around we decided to get back to Monaragala via Pottuvil to end that day.

good morning

eastern sun

Eravur lagoon

Batticaloa fort

towards the lagoon

VOC

guard post

bell tower

Kallady bridge as seen from the fort

still in place

makers name

a jelly fish in the lagoon

Golden fields of Akkareipattu

Kapurella hot water springs – Tempitiya (64.5⁰c)

Next was the big one and most anticipated Kapurella hot spring sparsely known and located within the jungle close to Omanugala forest reserve. This was a must visit place in my long list so I decided to give it a go. I had been to Tempitiya temple once and the chief monk was kind enough to introduce me to a guide also I had to get permission from the Maha oya police post to make this expedition a reality. So on a Saturday we gathered at Tempitiya temple where two police officers and our guide Bandu joined us. The distance to the hot springs was around 3Km’s from the village. First 1.5km was through the chena land until Mundeni aru (Maha oya). Crossing Mundeni aru we were in to elephant country. Plenty of elephants roam around this land and there were hundreds of foot paths to justify it. We initially went through a dry zone forest patch and then entered a shrub forest which led us towards Nilgala type forest patch. At last we arrived at a vast open area where a wetland with mangroves could be seen in the center of it. This Thermal wetland is the only one remaining and the Conservationist are trying their best to name this area as a protected site. Walking around this wet land is like walking on sponge and the floor tends to swing with every step we take. The roots go horizontally creating a maze which we could walk on over the mud but one should be careful because if you step on a wrong place you would be stuck in mud. We were told that every year during the drought one or two elephants and few other animals die by drowning in this muddy warm wetland. After tackling the mangrove we reached a pond like area where we could note bubbling and steaming. The heat in the air around this lake was unbearable and we started to sweat in seconds. One foot away from the edge (the roots we were standing on) the water was extremely hot and it was not like any other hot water spring I have ever been to. Definitely this should be hotter than what they have documented (64.5⁰c) unfortunately we didn’t have a thermometer to measure it. Look at the satellite image to get a good idea about this location. The water which springs out forms a stream which leaves this mini lake and ends in a nearby major stream which in turn ends at Mundeni aru. After hanging around we came back along the same route and we did spot few elephants on the way too. There was an archeology site close to the springs where a seven hooded cobra carving could be found but we opted not to visit because of the time factor. After returning to the temple we did note that there was a seven headed cobra carving there too which was found in the nearby Tempitiya lake. After thanking each and every one we took off towards Karadiyanaru and took a detour towards beautiful Unnichchai lake and the detour was worth the effort. We then headed towards Trincomalee after a satisfied morning session.

Google map image – click to enlarge

Tempitiya lake

omanugala seen to tempitiya lake

Kohila ela / ravana ela at tempitiya

a “kon” tree

Neelimalai

maha oya / Mundeni aru

dried out

through the forest patch

pus wel

elephant foot marks

open land

easy to navigate around

it ran away

note the marshy land where the hot water springs could be found

entering the marshy land

more to go

two dogs also followed us

pleasing colours

Kaprulla hotest hot water spring in sri lanka 64.5 c

bubbling and steaming

Kapurella hot water spring

bubbling

extending further

note the mangroves

elephants do die here when they get stuck in muddy hot water

note the marshy land

the water from the spring meeting a main stream

fresh stuff

edible

plenty of foot marks

tempitiya getting ready for the “Katina poojawa”

korawak gal

note the 7 headed cobra

more ruins

half a statue

thoppigala seen over rugam lake

Rukam / Rugam lake

remnants of war

mountains of narakamulla

at Unichchai

Unnichchai tank

the spill

halted

nuwaragala seen to Unnichchai

friars hood

life	pumping drinking water

Like a painting

Kanniya hot water spring – Trincomalee (42⁰c)

After passing Trincomalee we took the Anuradhapura road and reached Kanniya hot water springs (42⁰c) and archaeology site where there were plenty of visitors hampering my attempts to get a clear shot of the site. We obviously didn’t hang around much and decided to leave the place.

Kanniya archaeology site

runis at kanniya

42 c Kanniya hot water wells

one of those wells

Rankihiriya hot water spring – Gomarankadawala (38⁰c)

From here we took off towards Anuradhapura and after passing Mora wewa we took the Gomarankadawala road. Just before reaching Gomarankadawala(4km’s from main road) there was a name board directing towards Rngiri ulpotha temple(4Km’s). This road ran through elephant country and finally ended at a temple. The temple was in good condition and we were amazed to see such a beautiful temple in the middle of the forest. There is well with walls been used by temple residents for bathing purposes and this was the hot water spring(38⁰c) we were searching for. For me this is the best well to have a peaceful hot water bath out of all others. There is an archeology site close to the well where a beautiful pagoda could be found. It’s fascinating to find ancient temples close to many of these hot water springs. This nature of the water is known to cure some skin diseases & etc according to ancient literature and that might be the reason why archeology sites could be found around these springs. From here we took off towards Anuradhapura along the new tar mac which has been completed and which was a pleasure to ride on. On our way we did have few pit stops and one was to enjoy few elephants at Maha divul wewa. We reached Chilaw at around 8pm to end a long and satisfying day.

Rangiri ulpotha arche site gomarankadawala

ruins

38c Rangiri ulpotha hot water spring at gomarankadawala

the perfect place for a hot water bath

steps to the new sthupa

new sthupa

the view

Maha divul wewa

tusker at maha divul wewa

Here are the other hot water springs I managed to visit.

Maha oya / Siyambala gas kandiya hot water springs – Maha oya (54⁰c)

It is located 2Km’s away from Maha oya town along Aralaganvila road. There are 7 wells here.

Please refer the link to see more.

Maha oya hot water wells

bubbling

Wahawa / Marangala hot water springs – Padiyathalawa (48⁰c)

To reach this one should take the road from Padiyathalawa to Uraula and take a turn to the left from Dorakumbura junction and travel 2km’s. One could also reach this site from Ekiriyankumbura. There are about 17 springs but only half of those have been tanked and used for cultivation. The main attraction is the tall pipe well. Please see this link for further information.

the high pressure hot water geyser of wahawa

continous supply

a hot water well

bubbling

Muthugalwela / Gurukumbura – Maduru oya

Absolutely nothing is known about this place and it’s located in the Maduru oya forest reserve. One Maha oya resident said once he came across an army troop who came across this place. This seems a mystery that needs to be resolved.

Kivulegama / Jayanthi wewa hot spring – Wadinagala (34⁰c)

This spring was shifted from the original locations by pipe line because Jayanthi lake was build where it was located 40 years ago. Now it’s in a privately owned land. To reach it one needs to travel along Wadinagala – Iginiyagala and reach Kivulegama where you would come across an old iron bridge. From there take the left side road towards the bund. Please refer the link for further information

Hot water spring of Kivulegama

warm luke water

Embilinna hot water spring – Inginiyagala reservoir

Currently hidden in the largest reservoir of sri lanka. Must try visiting this site during extreme droughts (if I’m lucky enough)

Mahapelessa / Madunagala hot water springs – Sooriyawewa (44⁰c)

The Famous one out of all and more towards down south not like its other cousins who are restricted to eastern province. Take the road towards Sooriya wewa from Nonagama – Embilipitiya road and take another right turn towards Mahapelessa to reach this famous place. Please refer the link for further information.

modified madunagala springs

same as others bubbling

Temperature order: - Kapurella > Nelum wewa > Maha oya > Wahawa > Mahapelessa > Kanniya > Gomarankadawala > Kivulegama

Chemical composition: - Kapurella > Kivulegama > Wahawa > Mahapelessa > Maha oya > Kanniya

Now you see how fascinating this subject is, it just deviated me away from all mountain climbing, waterfall hunting and etc. Something I found common was the nearby villages named because of the springs itself for example: – Ulpotha at Gomarankadawala, Unuwatura bubula at Maha oya & Kivulegama at Wadinagala. Also there were archaeology sites at most of these places for example: – Gomarankadawala, Kanniya, Nelum wewa, Tempitiya, Maha oya, Wahawa & Mahapelessa. Hope you enjoyed this report, So until I find something new it’s time to say adios.

Hiya folks and as promised here I am with the 10th episode of my waterfall tour. I hope you enjoyed the Tour 9 and this will complement the growing collection nicely. With this the total number of tours will hit the double digit mark. Well, let’s get down to business right away.

Having come across one of Niroshana’s report, I wanted to go see the waterfalls in Matara district.  What better person to keep company than Hasi, who was born and bred in Matara and knows the place like the back of his hand. When I put my suggestion to him, he readily agreed and we set off in the dawn of 28th Sep.

Tour Highlights:

1. Hakgedi Ella, Kananke.
2. Kandedola Ella, Pitabeddara.
3. Kannadimulla Ella, Kannadimulla.
4. Ethamala Ella, Kosnilgoda.
5. Hathmale Ella, Pallegama.
6. Kotapola aka Thiruwana Ella, Kosmodara.
7. Ketawala Ella, Ketawala.

Hakgedi Ella

We took the E01 from Kottawa and were doing 100kmph while the sun as usual started his morning painting rituals. Just like waterfalls, sunrise and sunset are two other things that I never seem to get tired of, no matter how many times I witness it. It’s a whole lot different each and every time, trust me on that. The white cotton wool like clouds reflected the morning rays while sun appeared over rubber plantations and tiny hills to our left. Hasi had been busy in the weekend watching waterfalls as he’d been to 11 of them in and around Bulathkohupitiya, the day before. I wish I could have joined him for that too even though I have been to them before.

We took the Imaduwa entrance and planned our journey. The waterfalls were located so far apart, unlike many other places e.g. Bulathkohupitiya, and it took us a long time to visit them. Passing Polwatta River and entering Kananke, you should be able to go see the first of the attractions of the day, Hakgedi Ella. Hasi had his tab with him and it helped us throughout the day finding the locations.

We decided to go to the top of Matara district along Imaduwa-Akuressa-Pitabeddara-Deniyaya road and then come down the Deniyaya-Urubokka-Pasgoda-Mulatiyana-Kamburupitiya almost making a full circle around Matara district. To reach the Hakgedi Ella, go along Imaduwa-Akuressa road and just passing the Kudake bus stop turn left to Polhena-Gallala road. There had been a signpost but been removed during the road construction and nobody had thought it’s important to put it back.

Travel along this road and from the first Y junction take the right that runs through a paddy field. The road is in excellent condition. Along this road you’ll come to a by road to your right that is concrete and goes uphill called Polhena-Idurupathwala road. There is a signage put up by typical politicians’ way. Stop right there coz you have to turn back. You might be cursing me now for taking you passing the falls, right? Unfortunately this is the best landmark I could find and don’t worry you haven’t gone a long way passing the falls. Turn around and walk back about 50m (not much, huh?) keeping your eyes open. There is a tiny footpath to your left goes across the marshland but not too long. Take this and it will run straight to Hakgedi Ella.

This is said to have a treasure hidden, a similar story like Abarana Ella in Ambalantota-Nonagama road. Again she is about 3-4ft in height but the water level was rich due to the rains. We spent about 15 mins with her while the bleary-eyed villagers came awake to find strangers have invaded their lands. We then turned around and headed up the road towards Akuressa and then Pitabeddara in search of Kandedola Ella.

The bridge across Polwatta River at Kananke

Very old one

Morning rays on Polwatta River

Hasi playing the traffic police, here’s where you have to turn

Got the Sudu Pulli disease

Water flow of Hakgedi Ella

There she is, nothing much you might feel

Closer with sunlight

Closest we could get

Trying every setting

Kandedola Ella

We were very hungry but couldn’t find any shop to eat anything till Pitabeddara town. There was a nice shop and was had a hearty meal of rice and curry. Then we took the Deniyaya road till we reached Athu Ela Bridge. Apparently we had gone past Kandedola Bridge and had to turn around close to Kosnilgoda where the turn off to Ethamala Ella is. Unfortunately, like the Hakgedi Ella, the signpost had been removed in the road construction and forgotten ever since. I’m gonna tell you an alternative route to Ethamala Ella now. Passing Athu Ela Bridge, there is a downhill path to your right with a sign saying “Nil-Wella Estate”. Take this and you will have to travel probably 2-3km but the road is in terrible condition as per what we heard. I’ll tell you what we did later.

We turned around to first see the Kandedola Ella and reached a newly built bridge passing Athu Ela Bridge which is long and huge. If you are coming from Pitabeddara, Kandedola Bridge is located before the Athu Ela Bridge. There’s the Kandedola tea factory to your right as soon as you go past the bridge. Stop here and there’s a footpath leading to the stream to the left of the bridge at the beginning of the bridge (when you’re coming from Pitabeddara). Take this and carefully climb up the stream about 100m. It’ll be so tough when the water levels are high and raining but we had none of them.

Still, it was very tough to go up but after what felt like an eternity we reached the base of Kandedola Ella. She had very little water despite the rains recently; remember what I told you about diminishing water retention capabilities. It has affected this too. She is around 20ft in height and has two parts with a twist in the middle reminding me of Meddakanda aka Dodam Gallena Ella. After 10-15 mins we made the return journey through those huge rock boulders and got back on the road.

Hiding beauty

Kandedola Bridge

Took to the stream to go uphill

Not so easy, especially if the rains are there

Finally reached the base pool

Not much water but she looks super

Sliding along the rocky wall

The sun appeared out of nowhere

The top

Getting down was even trickier

Kannadimulla Ella

While we went towards Pitabeddara passing the Kandedola Bridge to turn the vehicle and ask the directions for Kandedola Ella, we were told that there is another falls borne in the Nilwala river below. She was falling to our right when going towards Deniyaya in parallel way but way below the road level, around 150-200ft below. We went back to the shop we got directions about 100m towards Pitabeddara from the Kandedola Bridge. We could barely see her in the distance and had plenty of water so decided it’d be worth taking a look.

According to the shop owner, one can get down to the river through the Kandedola tea factory (always supposing they’ll let you) and cross the river to the other end and walk up to get a better view. However risen water levels prevented us from doing that (we didn’t wanna take an undue risk) and chose the alternative. We drove back to Pitabeddara town and turned to the left which is the Pitabeddara-Pasgoda main road. After about 1km you will reach a Y junction with a school in front and turn to the left once again. You will reach Dankoluwa about another 1-2km and at the junction with a temple to your right the main Pasgoda road will take a sharp right hand turn.

You have to travel straight along Siyambalagoda road till you reach the Kannadimulla School. It’s about 2km from the Dankoluwa junction. You will see the school to your left with a right hand bend of the road at the end of the school premises. Stop here and there’s a gravel path to your left bordering the school and that’s what you gotta take. We checked the directions from the house near here and the uncle and aunty who were working in the tea patch were very polite and talked to us in a very friendly manner. They offered to look after the car while we’re gone and said that we could go see Ethamala Ella from here instead from Kosnilgoda along Deniyaya road. He said the road is not so good for a car and offered to find a tuk-tuk for us as well. Unbelievable hospitality, this is the typical Sri Lankan way which the foreigners find so unique. They go out of their way to help others, especially outsiders but most of the outsiders take them for granted and do so much damage to their villages making all the travelers being looked down by the village folks. So please seek their support whenever you can but we have to be very polite and respect them.

We went down the gravel road till it ended at a house but there was a path just before the last house to our right through a tea patch bordered by coconut trees. Take this and it will take you right down to the Nilwala river and about another 50-60m is the falls. She had no name so upon Hasi’s suggestion we named her after the village as we always do “Kannadimulla Ella”. She was wide but not so high and had two short parts totaling about 10-12ft in height. We spent some time with her and got back to where we left the car. As soon as we got back, that uncle offered to cut some king coconuts for us and our tongues were practically hanging out by then and gladly accepted it. It was like a magic drink (Remember the Magic Arishta in Asterisks?) and we drank it in one long pull.

He then told us that we could from this side get very close to the falls and didn’t need a tuk-tuk. He had one and could easily have made some easy money off us but he wasn’t ready to fall into such a lower level. I was worried if they would ask the same question that lady asked Hariya (read Tour 9 for details) but they didn’t. However the sad news is the same people who were trying to build a mini hydro power plant at Ethamala Ella is going to build one here blocking the river above Kannadimulla Ella. Those buggers are facing a court case for the Ethamala Ella project and I hope the court won’t let them destroy that gorgeous falls. Having thanked them profusely, we got underway to go see Ethamala Ella.

Here’s the turn off, take the right hand side road

The path is shaded and full of grass

Here we are

Borne out of Nilwala River

Close up

Looks good

Don’t know what he was trying to take

The downhill journey of Nilwala

Parting shot

The tea patch

Not ripe yet

Gorgeous colors

Ethamala Ella

We continued along the road further up from Kannadimulla. About 1-2km from here there’s a turn off to the left with a bridge across Nilwala river. Turn to this; you will really have to keep your eyes open to find this as it’s easy to miss. As soon as you cross the bridge the road will fork into two. The left hand side road is the one that would lead to Deniyaya road close to Kosnilgoda. You have to turn right and go along this for about 1-2km more. The river will be to your right but this road is not in good condition, especially for a car. We saw the huge steel pipes that had brought to divert the water to the power plant, the diameter was about 4ft and if used, they will kill the falls. Later in the day we saw the fate of Kotapola Ella due to the use of these huge pipes. Towards the end of the road while the river takes a sharp bend to the left you will come to a concrete paved part of the road with a sharp bend to the left that goes uphill.

You gotta leave the road and go straight along the footpath parallel to the river. In about 100m, you will be able to see the mighty Ethamala Ella. She was in full flow and looked simply amazing. It was a real pity those heartless buggers trying to kill such a beauty. We took our sweet little time with her and then very reluctantly left her hoping she won’t face a tragic end.

The killing machines of the waterfalls

On the way, took a peep at the river

Tiny falls

Plenty of water here

Here we are

And there she is

Up close

The top of her

The base pool looks dangerous

Downstream

The full package

Cheerio…

Hathmale Ella

Leaving Atha Mala Ella behind we reached the Pitabeddara and passing Kandedola, Athu Ela, Kosnilgoda, Morawaka and Kotapola arrived at Deniyaya and turned left in front of the police station towards Pallegama. At Pallegama, if you have time, you could turn right onto Mederipitiya and go on to Pitadeniya but I’ve been there and time was soon running out. We went straight along Beliaththakumbura road till we reached the Hathmale Ella turn off to our right. The road is also called Hathmale Ella road and there is a small signage there. It’s about 2-2.5km drive on this road to the Hathmale Ella. You can check my previous report on Pitadeniya & Hathmale Ella here.

The road is done with those bricks that used to do the pavements in Colombo but not all the way. We reached the falls after struggling along the uneven road and decided to walk the last 500m or so. Gin Ganga was rising steadily and we reached the entrance to the falls that is done with steps. Hearing the familiar M6 noise, we practically ran down the steps and whoa, she was majestic and I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Already there was a group of people having a bath in the lower pool but it was no problem for us.

She had more water than the last time but not much. The whole of Gin Ganga falls making this gorgeous girlie with 7 parts thus the name Sathmale aka Hathmale Ella. We spent a long time, especially as this was Hasi’s first time to this grand place and after a while started climbing up. At the top, I saw a path that runs through to the top of her and decided to go for a quick look. It was really mesmerizing to see how the water makes never ending tiny cascades and whirlpools before falling down. After a few snaps, I got back up and followed Hasi to the car.

The road towards Hathmale parallel to Gin Ganga

Muddy due to rains

Here’s the star

The top of her

And one of the 7 parts

One of the base pools

Absolutely lost for words

One long lower part

Going back but wanna see her from the top

Just got down to the top

Here’s the path that make the waterfall

The top is like a cascading pool

Just before creating one of the most beautiful falls in SL

Finally making the big one at the end

Going back

Kotapola aka Thiruwana Ella

We got back to Hathmale Ella turn off and stopped for a snack. Hasi hadn’t forgotten his gastric pill which is a must for journeys with me. We reached Kotapola and in front of the school turn left onto the Urubokka road. About 3km from here you will reach the newly built Kosmodara Bridge. About 100-200m before it to your left is a carpeted but narrow road that goes uphill. Take this and like many by roads you will notice the carpet layer was only for the show and only goes for a short distance.

You will reach a Y junction with a concrete paved road to the right goes downhill. Take that but be warned as the concrete will disappear after 100m and the road will be terrible. When we asked the road from a house here, one boy volunteered to show us the path. We left the car and took to the road and another boy had joined the group. We walked down and reached an abandoned community hall to our left. We walked past it and the road suddenly took a sharp right bend and it was the end. There was the hydro power plant here which I felt like bombing.

Walk straight and after the road ends take a sharp right that goes through tea bushes. It’s more like a drain than a path but can easily walk one at a time. A short walk will take you to the pipeline that runs to the power plant from the top of the falls, the same 4ft-diameter one. From here we could see the nearly dried out Kotapola Ella, not because lack of water but due to this stupid power plant. This is a huge waterfall, with a height over 100ft and nearly 40-50ft in with. She was more like a little sister of Rathna Ella. But there was nothing to see save for a tiny streaks of water along the rocky surface. Another sad ending to what once had been a grand lady.

I was sad and fuming with anger but what to do. We left and reached the car. Giving those two boys some money we headed towards Urubokka searching for Ketawala, Watawala Namal Ella and the time had just gone 4.30pm.

The turn off, take the downhill

At the end of the road, fallow the concrete path and then turn right at the tree

The killing machine of the Kotapola Falls

The gigantic water tunnel

Doesn’t look good

Oh dear!

Just look at the destruction

She would’ve been one of the best had the water wasn’t diverted

Abysmal looking base

Nearly 4ft diameter

Abandoned

Ketawala Ella

Passing Kirilapana and Beralapanathara we arrived at Kekundeniya just before Urubokka. Take the left road at Kekundeniya towards Ketawala. It’s carpeted up to 1-1.5km but beyond that is in terrible condition. We stopped there and inquired about the Namal Ella from the shop but they simply shook their heads. There was a tuk-tuk and some people in it but they didn’t know about her either.

The Watawala Namal Ella is near the Ketawala School which was another good 1-2km from there. We had no time to go explore and the light began fading away pretty fast and heavy clouds brought a drizzle making matters worse. Then someone claimed there is a fall close by and we decided to go see her in the tuk-tuk. This is the left gravel road just before the shop and it was so terrible we kept going up and down inside the tuk-tuk.

After a rollercoaster ride we reached a house belonging to Siripala mama and our tuk-tuk driver Gunasena mama went to ask him where this fall was located. It was raining and thankfully we had our umbrella. Siripala mama came and one look at us should have been enough to realize that we were crazy in our head but he led the way without beating about the bush.

The path was so wet and slippery, the leeches were in numbers and rain was falling heavily but all those were the least of our problems. We were on a mission. Finally we reached a point where we got a view of the top of this fall. She wasn’t huge, about 15ft in height but surprisingly water levels were fairly low. However we had to get down to the stream and climb a little up to get a clear view but getting down was tricky, especially for Hasi.

Siripala mama followed by Gunasena mama got to the stream slipping down the slope. Asking Hasi to wait on top, I followed them and managed to get to the water without trouble. Then literally crawled along the rocks to the base of the falls and took some pictures while Gunasena mama provided cover for the camera with his sarong. After that we returned to Siripala mama’s house. While we were removing dozens of leeches off our legs Siripala mama apologized for not offering any tea. I was moved by their genuine hospitality and having thanked profusely left for the car.

But not before he told us about the Namal Ella and another falls in Pattigala passing Kekundeniya along Boraluketihena road. However it was close to 6pm and we said we’d be back again to see them and others we missed. We reached the car and bid farewell to Gunasena mama.

Not much water despite rains

Falls with a twist in the middle

The top

And the bottom

Side view

All in all it was a great day but we had to spend quite a long time trying to find some of the falls which was very unfortunate. There are about 5-6 more waterfalls in Matara & Hambanthota districts that we’ll have to visit.

This is the 10th of my unique Tour de Waterfalls and hopefully will be able to do a few more in the foreseeable future.

Well, thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed this episode like the rest of them. Keep exploring and help protect the environment.

Take care!

Ciao,

Sri…

I got to know that there was a waterfall in Dumbara area of Kiriella, Ratnapura. But could not find anyone with proper directions. Than an old trip report in Nadegura gave me the directions to explore this beauty.

It is situated just 3kms off Ratnapura-Panadura road though one has to walk upstream for last 500ms which would really test one depending on weather.

We turned left from the junction just before Paththini Devalaya and Bo tree on Panadura road coming from Ratnapura close to 38km post. We then crossed the wooden bridge over the Kalu River leading to Dumbara estate. Dumbara estate lies along the border between Ratnapura and Kalutara.

The wooden bridge over the Kalu River…..

View from the wooden bridge over the Kalu River…..probably the narrowest point of Kalu River….

After crossing the Kalu River road devides to two. We took the road on the right hand side leading to Dumbara estate office and rural hospital of Dumbara.

Take the road to the right……

Then after travelling 1 km the road divided to two. We took the road to left going uphill. After travelling another 1-2km we met the “Palam deke Bokkuwa”.

We parked the car and started to walk uphill along the stream. If travelling by car one has to be careful as there are one or two tricky places to cross. Van, no problem at all.

“Palam deke Bokkuwa” and my parked car on left corner…..

Going uphill bit tricky on two points… this is one of them…..

Going uphill not straight forward…..

After half an hour challenging climb uphill we reached the base of the beautiful Dumbara Falls….

More than 20 meters in height…. Falls in 3 sections…..

Upper and middle sections……

Full view of the fall sparing the left lower section…..

Left lower section….. it has less water than main fall….

Thanks for reading.

As part of my work as Medical officer of health of Nivithigala I am bound to conduct medical inspection in every school in my area. Most intriguing out schools is Panahatagala primary school in Panahatagala area & Liyanekakanda School in Liyanekakanda.

Unfortunately Liyanekakanda School was shut down due to lack of students. Though Panahatagala area belongs to Nivithigala DS division it is not connect by any means of transport to Nivithigala. To get there we have to travel to Kalawana and from there to Wathurawa and rest by foot. There was a bridge connected to Wathurawa which was destroyed by floods 3 years beck. Since then politicians failed to build the bridge due to the debate for whether it belongs to Kalawana or Nivithigala. Furthermore it has voting population of only 300 to make matters worse for this poor villagers. There is a separate road connected from Kalawana town to Panahatagala but it can be done by only a very very experienced driver with 4wd vehicle with good ground clearance. At present only very few 4wd Lorries with extra ground clearance comes on that way to collect tea leaves.

Otherwise one have to walk 3 kms to reach the main area of the village. Recently villages have constructed a road leading to Panahatagala from Wathurawa but without the bridge only motorbikes can cross the river.

Now villagers have built a small wooden bridge to across main river from Waturawa..

This was the status one month back…….

There are few streams to cross on the way….

Crossing another stream…

Crossing another stream…

Following pics show the beautiful surrounding and an unnamed waterfall (3-4 meters of height)

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Thanks for reading…..

The map – click to enlarge

It is November the month before the official Sri pada season and I just couldn’t resist not visiting Adams peak before the crowds took over. I and Thinu were wondering whether to go to Sinharaja or Adams peak and suddenly the weather seem to be settling off so we decided to do an off season hike. Early morning we arrived at Kuruwita where we had breakfast and took the first bus (6.10am) to Erathna and from there took a trishaw to Adawi kanda (there is a bus to Adavi kanda at 7.45am). Sharp at 7 we started the hike and off we went through the overgrown mana section. The humid environment started to cause few problems within no time but we proceeded continuously. For detailed information on the trail please refer the trail guide. All the streams were in full flow and really didn’t have to carry lot of water. We came across three ambalamas close to each other and those were Jambola gaha yata ambalama, Daimangala ambalama & Warnagala ambalama. Out of these Daimangala was in good condition. After reaching Warnagala ambalama we took the foot path near the toilet which goes through the forest and ends at Kuru ganaga. The 150m path took us close to the beautiful Waranagala water fall and we did manage to explore another waterfall close by too.

adawikanda trail head of erathna trail

morning rays

welcoming

drops of dew on petals

first resting place

Heen piduruthalawa

over grown path

another beauty

one of those streams

a slimy snail

an orchid?

binara

Daimangala ambalama

crazy inscriptions

Bandura

Arundina

a common colour

Waranagala power house

in bad condition :-(

kuru ganga

close up

a cascade close to warnagala fall

Waranagala fall

After Warnagala it was an uphill hike and after a while we reached a flat area which ended at Seetha gangula ambalama. At Seetha gangula we refreshed ourselves and finished off our pol roti. We didn’t want to hang around because the risk of showers could make the crossing difficult. After passing Seetha gangula it was again an uphill climb towards Medahinna. Suddenly Thinuwan remembered that he forgot his specs at Seetha gangula and decided not to go back for it. So if you guys are doing this trail please look for it and check this forum post of his for more information. There were many steep ascends close to Medahinna and for the first time in my life I started getting cramps. Immediately we prepared a Jeevani and took some frequent breaks. From here onwards a walking stick came to the rescue. With difficulty we reached Medahinna where we enjoyed a well-deserved long break. In between Medahinna and Geththampana we found an area devastated by elephants few months back. After reaching Geththampana we did manage to view Kunu diya kanda for the first time but because of the thick mist couldn’t see Adams peak.

covered path

misty

crystal clear water

plenty of these

on top of trees

had a rest here

thunmodara

thinuwan crossing seetha gangula

large mushrooms

relatively flat areas

Medahinna temple

obstacle course

Elephant country

lovely and lonely

Geththampana roofless

kunu diya pawuwa as seen from geththampana

rituals

they were here

what view

lovely

Our next stop was Heramitipana where we were treated with a tea cup by two friendly ECB guys. Next stop was Adiyamalathenna and on the way to Adiyamalathenna we came across few chaps carrying bamboo from Palabaddala to bring up their stall for the season. For a very small amount they carry a lot of weight all the way to the top and they walked faster than us. At Adiyamalathenna we had some bread with soya and waited for an hour or so until the rain subsided. In the drizzling rain we climbed up to find out that the watcher and his friends who were enjoying some “bee dee” wouldn’t let us spend the night on top. I have never come across such a problem during my previous visit but it seems things have changed since then. With uttermost difficulty we decided to descend back to Adiyamalathenna. Fortunately the lights were up on Rathnapura trail though it was off season and it was an ease for us. On our way down we met Kena who were hiking alone along Kuruwita trail and we happily welcomed our new company. Our new companion Kenaman was a mobile canteen, he had brought food stuff to survive one week and we started trying out many combinations thanks to him. Though we slept early it was cut short at around 1 a.m. by the windy and cold weather. We were freezing so we put up a fire and started cooking, some “Kola keda”, Maggie and hot coffee which were able to make up our dropped mood.

makara thorana

getting ready for the season

peak wilderness

life on life

Nelu	another beauty

Adiyamalathenna

finally the mist cleared

misty view from maha giri dambe

cooking at 2am

At 4.30am we started ascending up for the second time within few hours and we reached the summit to find out close to 50 foreigners. Within few minutes the sun started to make patterns and give us a spectacular sun rise.

first shot ( note the lights)

three peaks of HP

Gawarawila side

awaiting

a pano

Maoussakele reservoir

Piduruthalagala

Hanthana range

sky on fire

first sight

here she is

in center ambuluwawa and the two mountains behind it are wiltshire and etipola of matale

kabaragala range and algalla seen behind it

wow

lovely

first rays

Dell range

Hakgala

Pettigala of balangoda

what a place!

the shadow between kunudiya pawuwa and heen piduruthalawa

rathnapura covered in mist

wow

twin peaks of bena samanala and kunudiya pawuwa

sapthakanya and kabaragala at its backdrop

ambuluwawa

peacock hills and its towers

uda maluwa

the sacred foot is behind this

the new bell

wow again

now its clear

Gawarawila plains

Kiribathgala

the extended team

We did start descending at 7.15am and on the way took a stop at a small boutique which was already in business. Had some tea and “Roti” from it before we started descending slowly. Two doggies did accompany us all the way to the Makara thorana. Just before the Makara thorana we came across the red bridge; passing it we came across the tea patch where we descended down to enjoy a beautiful waterfall. We named it red bridge falls J . Next stop was the waterfall close to Makara thorana which was bit low in water (Adams peak falls). We were greeted and welcomed by Mr. Anil who is a ranger at Nallathanni DWC office. We did have a bath and some lunch and said good bye to Mr. Anil and headed towards Nallatrhanni where we met Ganga another Lakdasun member and took off towards Hatton. As usual Hatton – Colombo buses were limited so we had to go all the way to Avissawella standing for 3 hours. That bus ride was like desert for our tired souls somehow at around 8pm we reached our destinations to end another successful hike to Adams peak.

getting down

a fern

grand fathers beard

lovely

drops of life

best friends

lovely petals

shops during off season!!

clear sky

the peak

Seetha gangula

yaka andu ella

sama chaitya

plenty of cascades

what a beauty

upper part

Red bridge falls

Adams peak falls

makara thorana

trail end at nallathanni

I was planning to hike Great western. But it was raining few days. As a result on the day of the hike we changed our target. We decided to hike Elgin falls. As I was travelling to Thalawakele from Awissawella I took the opportunity to drive along beautiful B317 road enjoying the scenery.

Weather forecast on fallingrain site stated that there will be light showers in the morning and rain free lunch and afternoon. But sun was shining on us in the morning and we happily started our hike. To get there first we passed the Lindula town on Nuwara-eliya road and just after passing the town there was the road leading to Dayagama. On Dayagama road we met a three-way junction and took the left hand road leading to Meraya Bazzar and Elgin estate. There was frequent bus service to Elgin during day time.

Last 3kms of the estate road can only be tackled by 4wd vehicle or by a three wheeler. We travelled 2kms by vehicle and last 1km by foot. Please don’t believe the distance that estate people tell you. We found out in hard way. They were mentioning the distance as 1km but my GPS revealed it as more than 5km.

At the start of the hike there were 3 very beautiful waterfalls at the boarder of the Elgin estate. I was surprised that they didn’t have any names.

Kadiyalena Falls on the way-B317……

The 3 arched bridge….

The lower section of Kadiyalena Falls

Middle section of the fall….

Misty…….

Lovely landscape……

Sun is rising……

Sun is rising over Great Western????????

Can someone identify this cascade seen by B317 …

From here onwards…started walking…estate road ends in another 1km…..

Cascade along the road…..

This fall should be more than 20 meters in height…. Seen in distance.. but undocumented…..

Lower section of above undocumented fall…..

Another fall close by above fall…undocumented…..notice the down pouring….

This fall close to 10 meters in height…. Another undocumented……

This fall close to 10 meters in height…. Another undocumented……

It seems no one has tried this path for looooong time…. As there was no clear path until the three way junction where we met the path from Ambewela and downward path towards the Fall….there was 4 &1/2km to this point. Path from Ambewela was clearer and seems everybody was using that way to hike the fall…..Danger of the overgrown path was that we were walking on the edge with more than 1oo feet of sharp drop, so if we missed a step……It nearly happened to one of my friend who was not careful enough…
We saw the first fall of the Elgin water fall complex lying opposite to the upper and lower Elgin falls… As we were getting down towards lower Elgin fall bad luck stuck us…. It started to rain cats & dogs… We were slipping on muddy soil hanging dearly to bamboo trees as ropes…and there was no way we could get to the base of the fall due to overflowing river…. Thus we had to satisfy with the side view of Upper & lower Elgin falls and turned back as life was more important….. For 2 hours we were walking back in cold with the heavy rain and some parts of the path had turned to streams with gushing water. We were thankful to be back to estate without major harm except few scratches…..

Overgrown path….no one has used this way for long time……

1st fall of Elgin complex…opposite to Upper and lower Elgin falls…..

Sooory for the quality.. my DIGITAL camera cannot forcus between tree branches… lower Elgin falls…

Sooory for the quality.. my DIGITAL camera cannot forcus between tree branches… lower Elgin falls…

Upper Elgin Falls… Sorry it seems I really need a better camera next time…..

Another cascade along Dayagama road…..

Thank you for reading……

It was one of those weekends when you have nothing to do but out of nowhere you get a chance to visit some place that is out of bounds for many thanks to one of your close friends. That’s exactly what happened when I was without a thing to do on the 18-19 Oct weekend when Ana called out of blue moon asking if I’d like to join him for a relaxing holiday at Rozella. I jumped with both the feet and we left for Rozella on the 18th morning around 4.15am.

Day 01

After about an hour we stopped at Weerasiri Café and bought some Vegetable Rotties and one of their signature food items, Garlic Buns that are very tasty. They kept us going and we reached Rozella after some detour around 9.15am. We went for a walk in and around Carolina Tea Estate and it looked gloomy but the sun was shining down on us.

The hike walk was superb and we got some good pictures on the way. Afterwards, we got back home and had a hearty lunch. The mist appeared out of nowhere and pounced on us mercilessly covering the whole area. Unlike the last two times, we couldn’t even get a glimpse of Sri Pada that can usually be seen rising majestically into the sky. (You can take a look at my Previous Reports Here and Here). You can see the wonderful view point where we saw the Sri Pada, both during day time and at night)

The mist made sure that we wouldn’t have any more exploring and we sat down for an early and a hearty dinner with Ana’s version of Kohonawala Special Lunu Miris. It wasn’t the same but so much closer. It brought back the sweet memories of the isolated Kohonawala. Ana kept referring to the Lunu Miris as Dynamite which was quite fitting considering the taste of it. We went to bed early hoping for something exciting to happen the following day.

The view around Watawala

Closer

Icing on the cake

Plenty of food for the birds and squirrels

Cotton-wool sky

Ana’s Nest

Around the garden

Beans growing high

Busy at work

Plenty of them and I couldn’t eat one hundredth of them

Gorgeous colors

Peeping inside

Plenty more

Mummified Gas Gemba

Nature-made ponds

We took to the path for a hike and there’s our home in the distance

Most of the time it’s gloomy

On another day, Sri Pada would be seen over the tree canopy

Shannon Tea Factory in the far

Not missing these tiny details

Ready to plant

Looks as if done with a foot ruler

The mountains covered in the mist

Tea is the main player

Having a bath

These tanks are used for breeding fish

One of the buses that runs through the estates

Green in different shades against a gloomy background

Very tempting to have a bath

Closer

Not missing anything

Cascades in the middle of the estate

Sumptuous lunch

Here comes the mist

Covered the whole area in no time

One of the houses being built closer

Ideal for relaxing and having a nap

Mulligan Soup, full of all the nutrition

The dinner of Thosai, Ana’s attempt at Kohonawala Special seen too

Day 02

The next day early morning we went for another walk through the dew-covered plantation but still the clouds and the mist kept the Sri Pada hidden from us. However, for a fraction of the time, the holy peak revealed herself yet only partially. The whole surrounding was being bathed in the morning glow and it was like walking through a watercolor painting. Different shades of green mixed with sky blue and pristine white clouds added to the picture. Shadows of the mountains fell on the other mountains that gave a wonderful contrast in the whole picture.

Just walking slowly taking these wonderful sceneries in, breathing fresh mountain air was all a human being needed to unwind and with a hearty meal at the end to make it complete. You can feel the whole body is beginning to relax and all the pressure inside you is being released slowly, your thoughts become clearer, muscles start to loosen, and you feel like floating inside a bubble. After our morning stroll, we had yet another wonderful breakfast as you must when you go for relaxing. The food plays a key role when you want to unwind and enjoy some quiet time.

Here comes the morning

Dew on the leaves

Can see the Sri Pada in the distance, let’s try and get closer

There she is, but only partially visible

Great colors

Like blue berry but not sure if edible

Very tiny ones

Picturesque

Not missing much

Wow

Great scenery

An airliner passed overhead with the typical smoke trail

Unbelievable sights, however, nothing comes closer than seeing it with one’s own eyes

The shadow of the mountain covering the half of the pic

Look at the patterns of the sky

Silhouette

More of the paintings

Some more

Another pond in the marsh

We headed straight ahead

Close up of a very common flower, unfortunately, don’t know the name

Endless view

Here we are back again

Deep red

Breakfast of, Kurakkan mixed Rotti, Ana’s Special, Kollu Curry

Templestowe Estate

This is when, after breakfast, we got the chance to visit one of the most picturesque estate bungalows I’ve ever seen. It’s called Templestowe, rather unusual name but a breathtakingly beautiful place. So Ana I drove to the estate which is located about 4km from the Rozella Station. The drive was so pleasurable as we passed well maintained estate road bordered by plenty of plants and onto our left was a marshland which used to be a lake according to the Managing Director.

We reached the bungalow and while Ana was talking to the MD, I was so busy taking pictures of this wonderful place. As my report name suggests, this really was a little heaven on earth. There was a large lawn cut and maintained beautifully. The whole garden was full of various fruit trees and endless collection of flowers even though most of them were not yet blossomed as it wasn’t the season. I wished it was April coz all the flowers would’ve been in full bloom.

There were dozens of Sitha Pera (one of the guava specie) trees which were full of ripened guavas that tasted both sweet and sour. Dozens of parrots were roaming around taking bites at leisurely and when a dozen or so birds munch on these fruits, it makes a very loud noise and you’d wonder what on earth that is.

You can see the videos I took of those parrots below.

Video 01

Video 02

They were very colorful, bright green with red necklace-type strip around the neck on males and some red feathers on all of them. Well, I’ll let the pictures tell the story here after.

Here we are

The lawn in front

The mighty bungalow with more than half a dozen bedrooms

Towards Watawala

Maha Bovitiya with her lusty purple

One of the rare blooms

Even the thorns are red

Bunch of yellow and whites

Closer look

Amazing colors

Will probably bloom in a day or two

Flower creepers running wild

How about a swing with a steaming cup of coffee

More vivid colors

Bright colors

“Hey dude, what you looking for?”

Some more beautiful but unknown plants

A group of them, the color of flame

Through the portico

A bit of the history, this is a gigantic squatting pan, wonder who used that

Behind the mammoth bungalow

Fully organic

The standard guava

The bungalow beyond the lawn

Guess what? Mushrooms

Purple buds

Huge Sitha Pera, some call it Ambul Pera too

Full of fruits

Some distinctive colors

Before the misty hit

Greenly velvet mountains

Various plants throughout

Some more vivid colors

Ana having a word with the MD

Hadn’t seen this thorny Rambutan like fruits before

The bright orange

One of my best moments

Had always wanted to take a pic like this

The path bordering the garden

Here’s the first of many

Note the red feathers

A pair of them

Hiding away from me

Very cheeky fellows

Just plucking a fresh guava

Using the foot to help eat properly

I nearly twisted my neck imitating the fella

Here comes the mist

Just see the patterns made by bamboo pots

Heap of them

Interior of the bungalow

That fireplace is no longer used, probably due to the increase in the temperature over time

Where we had lunch

Long corridors

Map of the estate

The mist covered the faraway mountains

The color of love

Great medicine

Here are the ripe guavas I told you about

A big one

Bunch of them

Through the man-made arch

Some more parrot show

Just flew off before I took the pic

This was way up on a tree

Look at how the body is twisted to find the best fruit

Here is a clear one

Portrait

Simply loved the way they kept munching at them with those strange actions

Screaming at me

Here Ana with Mahesh

The mist invaded around 12.30pm and stayed there for about an hour playing with me. The plants were soaked in the dew that it brought and it gave a sexy look to them. After yet another hearty meal we decided to call it a day and bid farewell to our host, Mr. Mahesh Katugaha who was great. As always, this was one of those leisure journeys one should do in between those strenuous and arduous hikes. It will simply revive you both physically and mentally.

I was wondering whether I should put all this in a report but decided to share the relaxing experience with you nevertheless. It’s been a great holiday, one I enjoyed thoroughly. We got back home just before the dark, ending the 48-hour calm and quietness and entering back into the hot and humid concrete jungle full of noises that pierce your eardrums.

Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed the soothing report but don’t blame me for not taking you for the actual journey. Hopefully you too will get some cozy journeys like this every now and then.

Take care and enjoy the life while it lasts…

Au Revoir,

Sri.

The map – click to enlarge

Google earth map with the lake – click to enlarge

Perfect weather conditions in hill country means it’s time to do some hikes. I just had to pick up two places in my list and execute. First day it was Hanthana range and few of my lakdasun friends did accompany me on that superb hike. For my next day execution Only Nishan said yes. So next day early morning both of us got in to a Padiyapelella bus and headed towards Rikillagaskada where we had our breakfast. We were going to climb a unique mountain range in the central hills. Kukulagala which overlooks Rikillagaskada town like a lonely giant. Been an isolated mountain from others makes it a perfect outlook point in this region. I knew this mountain was special since the first time I saw it two years back. As usual there were no literature on it but Google earth and some map reading gave me two routes to access this.

From Rikillagaskada we hired a trishaw to get to our destination. The road that we took to reach the lake close to Udawatta which is close to the summit point was miserably terrible. The trishaw driver did some great 4wd stuff to take us there through Wewethenna watta. The ride through the pines plot was simply awesome. We did note the towers close by but since we decided to climb up from the lake we proceeded until we reached it. We halted at the lake and went towards a tea patch where we found some Forest department guys planting trees to help the mountain range gain its past glory. They showed us a foot path which took us to the edge of the pines plot where the rocky part of the mountain could be found. After a short walk through the pines we reached an open area with splendid views there is a clear foot path from the towers side which leads to the summit and we stuck to it. We had to tackle many boulders before reaching the summit point of Diyathalawa which is also known as Kukulagala.

Kukulagala as seen from Loolkandura James Taylor seat

Kukulagala as seen from Chariot path

Kukulagala as seen from piduruthalagala summit

the lake where we started the hike

he insisted on stopping the trishaw so he could slide along the pines :-P

off we go through the tea patch

Entering the pines

bit more to climb

started producing spectacular scenery

Rikillagaskada town

Hanthana range also seen

on top of rocks

nice view points

the lake where we started

The first thing we noted was the engravings of few foreign Surveyors during the early 19 hundreds. It’s fascinating since I have come across C. Erskine’s name previously too when I hiked Kokagala at Padiyathalawa. This guy continues to impress me; he must have had a totally different view those days compared to what I had on that day. As I guessed this mountain is so unique that even surveyors used it as one of their measurement points in the past and even in recent history. This triangulation point was the perfect lookout for us who wanted to enjoy few beautiful reservoirs from bird’s eye perspective. The summit must have had a mountainous forest long ago and some flora found on top of it justifies the theory. Tea and pines had played there role in destruction of its native habitat and formed this totally foreign landscape which we see on this present day.

Let me try and summarize what we saw starting from Kandy side we saw Hanthana, Hunnasgiriya , Gombaniya, Knuckles, Theldeniya, Victoria reservoir, Meda maha nuwara kanda, Nawanagala, Dothalugala, Dumbanagala, Kehelpathdoruwa, Yahangala, Hunnasgiriya, Kokagala of Padiyathalawa, Mahiyangana side, Randenigala reservoir, Loggal oya reservoir, Sora bora wewa, Madulsima range, Namunukula, Narangala, Bandarawela side, Rikillagaskada town, Padiyapelella, Walapane side, Hanguranketha, Maha kuda gala and Ragala range, whole of Piduruthalagala range (different view), the gap where Mandaram nuwara is located, Delthota side and many more landmarks which I cannot recall. We spent some good time on top of it before deciding to call it a day and descend.

looking towards Piduruthalagala from the summit

Piduruthalagala summit

C. Erskine the surveyor has been here in 1910

Ambeek another surveyor has been here in 1924

pano towards uva and randenigala

pano towards rikillagaskada

on right namunukula and on left narangala

mahakudagala peak and ragala range

mighty and lengthy piduruthalagala range seen towards hewaheta

victoria reservoir and hunnasgiri peak

dried out mahaweli ganga

Gombaniya and yakungegala

knuckles mountain

hunnasgiriya peak at Pannila

sloped on left is dumbanagala, flat range is dothalugala, dome shaped and camouflaged is medamaha nuwara peak, pointed and far away kehelpathdoruwa, two peaks together is nawangala, far right yahangala

Rikillagaskada hospital zoomed

mahaweli valley

far away range is madulsima range, close by range is randenigala range, far away loggal oya and kokagala also could be seen faintly

what a view!

isn’t it a beautiful place?

Randenigala

spectacular scenery

the gap is where mandaram nuwara is located

awaiting the monsoons

Hanguranketha side

another set of visitors

clear shot of randenigala reservoir

rikillagaskada when its dry

paddy

the range of kukulagala

lonely survivor

last breathtaking snap

While descending we came across some locals who were climbing up with two monks to place a flag post. They had taken a difficult route from the forest below the pines and their faces confirmed it. When we got to the bottom we were greeted with a hot tea cup by the Forest department guys and ended up chatting with them for more than half an hour before departing towards Rikillagaskada. We said good bye to the trishaw guy who became good friends with us and he was even reluctant to take the hire fees because he enjoyed this hike more than us. After returning to Kandy both of us departed towards our homes with some wonderful memories of Kukulagala.

getting back down

pines

local hospitality

those old “belek” cups

small ones were in business

they had caught some small and big fish

water snake

the group of villages and the monk with the flag

we had lot of ambul pera

also some nelli

Kukulagala range as seen from Rikillagaskada

we were there

I took the 138 bus from Colombo at 6 a.m & reached homagama at around 7.30 a.m. Lahiru was waiting at Homagama town till I come. After having breakfast we started the journey from homagama station around 8.00 a.m. Though this was the very first rail hike in our life, we determined to do whatever it takes to make it a success.

We were not in a hurry to complete the hike, because it was not the time that mattered for us but, the experience.

34.5 Km from here

Checking for the safety

Just love this pic

The bridge before meegoda

She is coming

An accident

Roadside beauty

Another resting point

We came across “Pusweli oya” after passing Padukka station. There was a nice place to have a bath & that place was used by villagers also. After having a safe bath at Pusweli oya, we again on the track heading towards Avissawella. While proceeding towards Avissawella we had a chance to taste “Belimal with Hakuru” from a “dansela” nearby Watareka station as it was the Esala full moon poya day.

Time for a bath

Greenish

Bridge over “Pusweli oya”

A family on the track

Village temple

Friend on the road

At Gammana station we had our lunch that was prepared by lahiru’s mom. After having a rest for a few minutes, we again headed towards Avissawella. As we did this hike during Rambutan season, we felt that we have entered in to a very fruitful area. We saw rambutan & gaduguda trees bearing fruits on either side of the rail track.

Gaduguda

More to walk

By walking through a rubber plantation & pineapple plantation we did come across “Wak Oya” just before the Waga railway station. We decided to have a cool bath there for the 2nd time for the day. We spent around 30 minutes there & did come back to the track. From there onwards we speeded up our walk as we obviously knew that there is no any place to stay at night up to Kosgama. However, we had to walk for about 30 minutes along the dark rail track, passing Kosgama railway station, until we reach the “Mirage” rest house facing the Colombo – Avissawella road around 7.30 p.m.

Passing rubber estate

Passing pineapple estate

Wak oya

Old is gold

Life on the rail track

“Waga” station

Loitering at “Waga”

Walk along the dark

On the 2nd day we started the hike at 7.00 a.m. As the rail track was behind & 2 meters above the ground level of the rest house, we made a jump to the rail track to start our journey. We had to walk about 9.5 km to reach Avissawella from there. We did have our breakfast from a small boutique nearby Miriswatta station. The rail track from Homagama to Avissawella crosses the Colombo – Avissawella main road at Miriswatta, Puwakpitiya & Penrith. From Kosgama most part of this rail track is heading towards Avissawella in parallel with the main road. About 3km before Avissawella we did walk through a rubber estate, there we were attacked by leaches several times.

Crossing the border

Railway crossing at Miriswatta

Click along the rail track

Puwakpitiya – a place for a break

Temple nearby Puwakpitiya station

Just about to finish

Lahiru – My trip mate

Did it

We could reach Avissawella railway station around 11.00 a.m. However, an employee who had been attached to the station didn’t permit us to stay there even for more than 5 minutes. We therefore, walked to the bus stand & got in to Colombo bus.

Thanks for reading.

The staircase of Yapahuwa is one of the most recognizable and reproduced icons of our cultural heritage. However, the actual ruins themselves are visited by only a small percentage of people visiting the cultural triangle. Sharing many similarities with the more famous Sigiriya, the mystique of Yapahuwa is enhanced by its turbulent past, majestic ruins, impressive fortifications and the vivid descriptions left by the travellers of antiquity who visited its kingdom. Its easy accessibility using public transport should make this an ideal location for a one day excursion for photography enthusiasts like me or those who are planning an educational, enjoyable and affordable day out for the whole family. Perhaps the greatest mystery in Yapahuwa is why so few Sri Lankans have actually been there to experience its splendors first hand…

I had a good night’s rest and left home only at 6.30 am to catch the 7.15 am Jaffna bound express from Fort. I got off from the Maho junction by 10.15 am and got to a three wheeler which took me the last 4km to the temple entrance. The three wheel driver name was Sampath (Mobile: 0723850800) and he knew about many archeologically interesting places in the vicinity of Yapahuwa

Passing a recently built arch I entered the archeology site. Today visitors enter the temple through the eastern gate of the ancient ramparts. Once entering the inner city I was greeted by many crumbling remnants of buildings scattered in the temple premises. The main attraction of Yapahuwa is undeniably in its majestic staircase. This magnificent structure climbs the lower southern slopes of the rock to a natural terrace where the Temple of the Tooth once stood.

Standing at the foot of the staircase and gazing up at the rock rising almost vertically for 90 meters above the ground…. I could not but wonder why an ancient kingdom was located here. The answer to this must be sought, deep within the history of our island.

The chronicle Mahawamsa records that a military leader named “Subha” using the Yapahuwa as his stronghold successfully repulsed Magha’s (1215-1236 AD) forces from marching southwards. This would have been no small feat as Magha of Kalinga is said to have led an invasion force of 24,000 soldiers. What was thereafter called ‘Subha pabbata’, “Subhavala” and “Subhagiripura” in honor of this victory was later known as “yaha pabbatha” and currently as “Yapahuwa”. However the reference to Yapahuwa as “Sundara Giri Pavuvva” in the Bodhivamsa in third century B.C during the reign of King Devanampiyatissa provides clear evidence of the locations ancient Buddhist origins.

Yapahuwa reached prominence as the 4th kingdom of Sri Lanka after the chaotic decline of the Damadeniya kingdom. Vijayabahu IV (1271-1272), the last king in Damabadeniya was assassinated by a general name Mitta who was himself killed by the Rajput soldiers within the palace. Thereafter the late Vijayabahu IV younger brother who had fled to Yapahuwa for hiding was crowned as Buwanaikabahu I (1272-1283 AD) in Dambadeniya with the help of the same Rajput soldiers. The king’s initial years of rule from Dambadeniya was troubled by rebellions and invasions from Vanni and North. After overcoming his opponents Buwanaikabahu I moved the royal seat to Yapahuwa for security reasons, thus heralding its golden age.

Buwanaikabahu I conveyed the tooth relic from Dambadeniya to Yapahuwa and gave his patronage to the Sangha, thus succeeding in making his rule was acceptable to the people. The names of surrounding villages such as Daladagama (the village where the tooth relic was kept for a short while during its journey from Dambadeniya to Yapahuwa), Dunupathagama (the village where the kings archers resided), Ullalapola (originally “Ula lana pola”: the place where the offenders were punished) and Makaduwawa (originally “Malkaduwawa”: the village where flowers were supplied to the shrine) provides further indication that Yapahuwa became a well-established kingdom within a short space of time. It is recorded the king sent an embassy to the Sultan of Cairo in April 1283, showing his keen interest in international trade. The influence of which is still visible in the majestic staircase even today s later discussed.

Unfortunately, Yapahuwa was only a royal capital for a short time as it was abandoned after the invading Pandyans of southern India seized the Sacred Tooth Relic. This happened soon after Bhuvanekabahu’s death in 1284. It is said that Parakramabahu-the third, his successor, in 1288 went to the Pandyan court in India and successfully negotiated the return of the Sacred Tooth Relic. It was brought eventually to Polonnaruwa after a brief stint in Kurunegala. Thus the 12 year span of the Yapahuwa kingdom makes it the shortest surviving seat of rule in our history.

Intriguingly, there is no recorded mention of Yapahuwa beyond the 13th Century in our historical sources. After the Fortress was abandoned monks converted it into a monastery which still continues to this date. The caves still containing “Kataram” or drip ledges found as one climbs closer to the top of the Yapahuwa rock and the Kandy era cave temple at the foot of the rock bears evidence to its close affiliation with the Maha Sangha after the 13th century. The first archaeological excavation at Yapahuwa was done by H. C. P. Bell, Sri Lanka’s first archaeological commissioner who held the post from 1810 to 1811. The excavations still continue today and the local residents believe there are many more ruins to be uncovered in the vicinity.

Some of the defense fortifications which played a pivotal role in Yapahuwa being selected as a kingdom are still visible today. The remains of two wall fortifications and the moat extend from west end of the Southern part of the rock and are connected to the other side of the rock resembling a horse shoe. The inner rampart is built on a higher elevation than its outer counterpart. The homes of the ordinary people are speculated to have been between the outer and inner walls while king’s palace, administrative buildings and of course the Temple of the Tooth were within the inner wall. Though smaller in scale these bear many similarities with the fortifications found in Sigiriya. These remain as stark reminders that many ancient seats of rule like Sigiriya, Dambadenya (Maligagala), Yapahuwa and Kurunegala (Ethugala) were selected primarily as defensive locations. A fascinating find was made just outside the inner moat by the Archeological Department when they excavated a stock of rounded stones. These round stones are believed to have been used as missiles.

In today’s era of “shock and awe” tactics of warfare, one cannot but wonder whether these simple ramparts, ditches and moats could really have kept an invading force at bay. However, it is in no uncertain terms that the Chinese military theorist Sun Tzu cautions against attacking walled fortifications in ancient warfare

Thus the highest form of generalship is to balk the enemy’s plans; the next best is to prevent the junction of the enemy’s forces; the next in order is to attack the enemy’s army in the field; and the worst policy of all is to besiege walled cities. The rule is, not to besiege walled cities if it can possibly be avoided……You can be sure of succeeding in your attacks if you only attack places which are undefended. You can ensure the safety of your defense if you only hold positions that cannot be attacked

Source: www.gutenberg.org

The famous staircase is constructed in three tiers where a flight of steps lead to a broad landing to be followed by another staircase. The first tier is stark in design and provides an easy climb

A tantalizing view of the entrance to the Dalda Maligawa nearing the top of the stairway

The landing at the top of the first flight of stairs provided me a tantalizing glimpse of the entrance to the Dalda Maligawa and the fine examples of sculpture flanking the stairway.

An alternate footpath to climb to the temple by avoiding the steep stairs

After reaching the first landing, I decided to climb using the alternate path seen to the left hand side of the staircase. This provides a relatively easy climb for someone like me carrying a heavy camera backpack and a tripod. The top of this footpath is connected to the terrace where the temple of the tooth was located.

Those who opt to climb the last stage of the staircase will be faced with a difficult climb. Historians say that the steepness of the stairway and the narrowness of the steps were intended to protect the most treasured item in the king’s possession…the sacred tooth relic. Even with the aid of the recently installed steel railing, these steps can neither be ascended nor descended hastily. Those who have climbed the “Maliga-gala” where the royal abode of Dambadeniya was located would also be familiar with parts of a staircase narrowly constructed with similar intentions.  When climbing down these steep stairs one cannot turn ones back to the shrine on top. Hence, the theory that the stairway was designed to avoid the disrespect of turning ones back to the sacred tooth relic. The final part of the stairway leading to the temple of the tooth relic is richly decorated, well befitting a shrine of its importance.

A very coy smile indeed…