We started late morning (as usual) from Ragama to Kalupahana. This trip was originally planned as a 2 day trip. After having lunch we came around 1.00 pm to BHR. Road condition from Kalupahana double bridge (A4) to Bambarakanda Fall was on good shape.

Bambarakanda fall from BHR

Wangedigala from BHR

Gonmollikanda & Balathuduwa from BHR

Bambarakanda fall

At BHR

At BHR

Since we have enough time, we decided to go to Devil’s Staircase around 2.00 pm. Road beyond BHR was very good (Concreted / paved). Even though we expect bad road, less than 2 kms from BHR road condition was horrible. After climbing about ½ km we decided to revise the vehicle for ½ km and came back to BHR.

Mrs. Sera (Owner of BHR) advised us, we have already climbed close to the V-cut which is the worst part up to Udaweriya estate and after V-cut road condition is bad but not worst.

After the disappointment, we went to base of the Bambarakanda fall and had a bath.

Next day we started again towards Devil’s Staircase around 9.00 am. As mention by Mrs. Sera, worst terrain was up to V-cut. There after road condition was bad. We came to Ohiya road around 11.00 am.

Rough concrete road near BHR

Then nice paving towards up hill

Again concrete road and End with nice view

Kuragala Zoomed

Start of the rough terrain

Different terrain

Famous V-cut

Our team @ V-cut

Feeder stream of Bambarakanda fall

Feeder stream of Bambarakanda fall

Towards Devil’s Staircase

U-Turn to Heaven

Devil’s Staircase

Abandoned Udaveriya tea factory

Then we decided to visit Horton plains national park. We visited Baker’s fall and returned via Haputhale road. We stayed additional night at BHR.

Chimney Pool

Leg of Mutton Pool

Baker’s fall

Baker’s fall

Third day the Bonus date, we decided to climb the border of Horton Plaines national park – Nagrak division which lies in the top most part of the Non Pariel estate. Unfortunately estate management not allowed us to drive beyond Tea factory. We got permission to walk to Upper division which is just below the Great world’s End drop.

Road to Non Pareil state

On the way to Tea factory

On the way to Tea factory – View

Jet passes above World’s End

I managed to see visitors at Great World’s End drop!

Small World’s End from Upper division

Great World’s End from Upper division

Great World’s End – 10x Zoom

See the visitors

Gonmollikanda & Balathuduwa from upper division

View from upper division

Life at upper division

Life at upper division

We hired estate 3 wheel during the walk. Three wheel drivers used to climb down in Neutral gear even ignition off in deadly dangerous horrible bends.

Balaiya, the man helped to find over 25 dead bodies those have jumped from World’s End over the last 50 years.

High risk

After the exiting journey, we came home around 4.00 pm.

After going through the maps we realized that we have loitered around the merging area of Sabaragamuwa, Uva and Central provinces.

With most parts of the country experiencing rain continuously for 4 months, an amount of rain that has never been experienced for the past 40 years or so started to ease by end of July, the moment I’ve been waiting for. After experiencing 3 days of sunshine without rain I thought the moment has arrived for me to go on another waterfall hunt and decided to do it the very next day making use of the week-end.
Having called my usual companions who has been part of my previous escapades, two cousins joined me on the hunt.

Day 1
We left Delgoda at around 11am with the intention of visiting 3 waterfalls around kuruwita and if possible to cover a couple more at palabaddala.

Arambe Ella
After about 1 ½ hours of driving we turned towards erathna from kuruwita and after about 3km we turned right and took the batadombalena road for about 5km more where we saw the first waterfall which I presumed it to be “Arambe Falls” according to the information I had.

panoramic view towards kuruwita from Batadombalena road

Arambe ella

Arambe ella

upper part

Pannama Ella

Next on our list was “soodagala ella” but when we inquired from locals they didn’t know a waterfall by that name but directed us to what the locals call “pannama ella”.
To get to this waterfall one should travel about 7-10km along the erathna road and take a left downward sloping road just after a bus halt.
Pannama ella reminded me of “katugas ella” as these two waterfalls looked alike in appearance with plenty of lower cascades and finally the main waterfall plunging into a deep gorge in two parts. (P.S: read tips, notes & special remarks)

lower cascade of pannama ella

Pannama ella

Pannama ella

After spending some time admiring the beauty of pannama ella we turned back towards kuruwita looking for the 3rd waterfall being ‘gerandi ella’ that was supposed to be in the same area. We couldn’t find any credible information with regard to this waterfall and after about 1 ½ hours of trying, finally aborted our attempt of looking for it. We had our lunch from kuruwita and headed along the palabaddala road hoping to cover at least a couple more before we called it a day.

Dumpus Ella

The first waterfall along this road was “dumpus ella”. We travelled past gilimale and up to the induruwa bridge. The footpath to the waterfall is located to the left side right after the bridge. First we came across a lower cascade which can be seen from the bridge as well. To get to dumpus ella we proceeded upstream along the right side of the river and crossed to the left side from the top of the lower cascade. By this time the weather changed and started to drizzle. After travelling for about 500m further upstream we came across the main waterfall. By the time we arrived at dumpus ella the rain started to get heavy.

lower cascade of dumpus ella

Dumpus ella

Side view of dumpus ella

chasers @ induruwa bridge, gilimale

After dumpus ella we headed back to ratnapura intending to find a place for us to spend the night.

Day 2

Kalu ganga as seen from the room @ Elnara

not so gentle flow of kalu ganga

We left ratnapura for palabaddala at around 7.45am. Within another 30 minutes or so it started to rain again and it continued for the rest of our journey.

misty road towards palabaddala

here comes the rain again

top part of Mapalana ella seen through the mist from the road

Mapalana Ella
Situated amongst medicinal herbs, the 114m fall consists of three sections and is served by the Ella Oya (river). During the rainy season the simultaneous flows can be heard from up to 6km away. According to legend, the fall is named after a local noble man who used to bathe here. When drought sets in, local villages hold ceremonies in the middle of the dry fall and hang lighted lanterns and palm leaves from its upper reaches, asking the Saman god to provide rain.

The Mapanana Falls is located in the Siripadda Mountain (1868m), 22km from Ratnapura, at a point known as Kondagala. Take the road from Ratnapura via Gillmale for 8km to Asoka Karniya. It is another 20km along the bank of the Kaluganga River to a road that leads up to the colonies, where the fall can be found. (srilankanwaterfalls.net)

Mapalana ella

upper part of mapalana ella

base of mapalana ella

mapalana ella

Halmehi Ella
This 9m-high fall originates from a stream in Lihinigala, which is joined by another small brook. As with Hal Falls, local villagers claim to hear the sound of clothes being washed coming from the water. (lankawaterfalls.net)

The path to halmehi ella is located to the left a small distance before mapalana ella.

Halmehi ella

base of halmehi ella

top part of halmehi ella

.

Minee/Pankandura/Galpoththawa Ella

Next on our list was pankandura and galpoththawa ella. So we headed towards palabaddala and travelled about 6km towards udapawanella. At udapawanella we got to know that both pankandura and galpoththawa are actually cascades created by the same river which the locals call “minee ella”. Also we met a guide who agreed to take us to the falls warning beforehand that it’s going to be a dangerous one. After coming so close we weren’t in the mood to give up. The final 1 1/2km trek to “minee ella” is on foot where one has to climb up the footpath through a tea estate until you come across some line homes.

Keep to the right side of the line homes and walk further along until you descend to a stream. Galpoththawa ella will be visible upstream to the left when you come across the river. To get to minee/ pankandura ella we had to cross the stream to the other side and get down along the stream further down for 4 levels. Now this was the scary part. It has been raining since morning so the threat of flash floods was looming. Also one misstep and you’ll be in the water swept away giving you hardly any chance of surviving. At the second level one stayed back while two of us along with our guide proceeded further down to the 3rd level. From the 3rd level we couldn’t find a way to get down to the 4th as the risk was too high. To simply put, we didn’t want to add up to the countless number of “minee” that have flown down the river as the locals say.

The description of lankawaterfalls.net for minee/pankandura falls

The fall is created by the Galpothawa River and is divided into three main segments. The lowest is 9m in height and cascades downwards over a series of steps in a spiral motion. It is also known as the ‘Mini Falls’ (Corpses Falls) owing to the fact that the bodies of people who drown in the river above are swept down by the torrent of water.In the surrounding woodland, kaduru (Strychnos nux-vomica), palu (Manilkara hexandra), breadfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus), liyan, badulla (Semicarpus obscura), milla (Viterx altissima) and goraka are present.

For galpoththawa falls :
Galpottawa Falls is 06m high and in rainy season the entire rock ledge is shrouded in mist from the spray. During Sri Pada pilgrimage season, devotees come to bathe in the shallow pool at its base. The water eventually flows into the Kaluganga River.

Galpoththawa ella

Galpoththawa ella close-up

getting down to the 2nd level

cascade of minee ella

Lihinihela ella to the right

Lihinihela ella

Having covered all the waterfalls at palabaddala we headed towards wewelwatta to start the final leg of our journey.

Aanda ella

The fall is 15m high and only exists during the rainy season. There are two theories as to how it got its name. Some say it is so named after an eel was purportedly sighted slithering down the fall. The alternative explanation is the corksrew flow of the fall as it tumbles down over rocks and weeds.Anda Falls is situated in Galaboda village, in the Ratnapura District. (lankawaterfalls.net)

Aanda ella

Aanda ella

roadside cascade

roadside cascade

Hal ella
This twin-streamed fall flows over a protruding rock face and resembles an upturned receptacle used for carrying water. It is 7m high and 12m wide. Upstream, the woodland contains several hal (Vateria copellifera) trees, the fruits of which fall into the stream and drift over the fall, hence its name. Superstitious villagers claim they hear the sound of clothes being washed in the water.

Hal ella

Hal ella

Dehena ella
Dehena Falls is an impressive 74m in height and its source is a small spring called Gaslabu Falls. The stream, known as Dehena Dola, flows from Perya Udagama on Dehena Mountain and cascades in twin chutes from the plain of Udaamunatenna. Afterwards the water flows via Pandola to the Bambarakotuwa River.
A small opening in the stone at the base of the pool near the fall is called ‘Gathula’, meaning ‘inside of the stone’. It is said that during heavy rain, the caves surrounding the fall are totally submerged and the road becomes obscured by mist. However, during dry spells the flow is languid. The land towards the top of the fall has been denuded for timber and tea plantations, which has caused the depletion of aquifers.

Dehena ella

Dehena ella

Wewel ella
Wewel ella is situated at diyabibila along the wewelwatta road. From the diyabibila junction take road that branches to the right.

wewel ella

waterfall along alupola road

waterfall along alupola road

Beruwatta ella

Can be seen from the alupola road itself.

Beruwatta ella

Beruwatta ella

Alupola Ella

Alupola ella

Alupola ella

unknown waterfall along balagoda road

.

roadside cascade

Dodamgallena Ella
This waterfall is situated close to balangoda at medakanda village

dodamgallena Ella

Mandanagiri ella, Pandioya ella , Katukithul ella and Goksin ella are also along the wewelwatta road which I missed this time. We were back home by 10pm after an unforgettable journey vowing to come back to catch up on the missed beauties.

Thanks for reading.

It was late July when my gang started moaning about our monthly trip and we came up with 04 Aug Wewelwatte Journey which turned out to be wet, cold and chilling.

However, there was a side story to that journey. The monsoon rains had come in full force and the waterfalls all around the country were smiling down on us revealing their hidden beauty.It was as if the Waterfall Festival had come to Sri Lanka.

Being frantic waterfall lovers we all decided to see as many waterfalls on Wewelwatte as possible but Athula had something else up his sleeve. He quietly mentioned about the water levels of Lakshapana and Aberdeen being at an all-time high and wondering if we could go there.I wasn’t to be hesitated at any rate and suggested we take a day off and do it after the Wewelwatte.

I managed to take a leave on Tue 06 Aug and Atha readily agreed to do it on the same day. When I put it forward during our Wewelwatte journey on 04 Aug, everybody looked aghast as if we had decided to throw the government.

“You guys are going on another journey day after tomorrow? What do you guys think you are doing? We’re gonna miss that. You know we can’t go on like that.” Was all that managed to mumble amid my suggestion. What to do? We couldn’t wait any longer as the water levels won’t wait for us. So Athula and I decided to get on no matter what happened. On the 04th night, Tony called and said he’d love to join but needed permission from the higher authority (you know who by now). On the following morning he realized that he needed to take his daughter for ALs and that put a stop to his whining I suppose. Fortunately, our new employee, Harinda, wanted to join as he’d been missing all the fun. Prasanna too was coming and Athula said he might be able to fix us a vehicle and we were all hoping for that coz the rains had got on our nerves during Wewelwatte journey.

We all waited anxiously and finally he came through with a van (just the front and one back seat for max 5 passengers) and it lifted our morals a helluva lot. I tried luring Danushka into joining us as he missed our trip but couldn’t get leave. It was a blessing coz the two Sumo Players (Hari and Prasanna) took up the whole of the back seat leaving no space anyone else, which meant Atha and I had to squeeze tightly into the front with the driver.

We left Colombo around 6.00am and picked Prasanna from Kaluaggala, having had to wait a long time as usual. Along the Hatton road we went and suddenly around Karawanella, Atha stopped at a place for breakfast. Hot, hot egg hoppers came and evaporated while string hoppers and bread were vanished at a ferocious rate mixed with a delicious sprats curry. All in all, it was a grand breakfast and we enjoyed it so much and got back on the road.

 Tour Highlights:

1.  Lakshapana Falls – 129m
2. Dutch Memorial
3. Aberdeen Falls – 98m
4. Gerandi Ella at Morahenagama

We reached Kithulgala and passing Beli Lena (we initially planned to visit this as well but simply ran out of time) we came to the Kalugala Junction where there was a board saying “Lakshapana 12km” and we took the road onto our right. This is also another road that leads to Adam’s Peak but not in good condition.

Lakshapana Falls & Dutch Memorial

The road took us passing the Kehelgamu Oya which was in over flowing condition forming creamy white foams and running mischievously passing rocks. We had to stop for a pic. The sky looked gloomy and threatened to rain at any moment but we were not swayed by that. Another 1km or so we reached the Bodhigira Junction where the road folk into two. The left hand side one goes directly to Norton Bridge (in between there’s the road to Adam’s Peak) which is in a slightly better condition. The one on the right or rather straight goes passing Polpitiya and Hangarapitya to Maskeliya.

When inquired with the villagers, they advised us to take the upper road saying it was in good condition but longer than the below one. However, Athula wanted to tackle the right hand path which goes to Maskeliya via Hangarapitiya. The road is not in very good condition but we didn’t come across any major obstacles. We soon saw the Polpitiya power house and the Kehelgamu Oya was on her way as if there was no tomorrow. The river under the bridge was flowing on a rocky bed which had dug a clean canal and the water was gushing down making a huge roar.

From then onwards we went further and reached Hangarapitiya. Athula suddenly asked me to listen to the villager he was talking to as he was explaining how the name “Hangarapitiya” came by. This road used to be the one the old-time kings use to visit Adam’s Peak and this particular village had been where the Kings and their entourage were treated with food and accommodation. In Sinhala we say “Sangraha Karanawa” which means treat and the village had got the name as a result “Sangrahapitiya” and later had become “Hangarapitiya”. What a fabulous folklore to come across. We saw a waterfall on the other side of the mountains (the upper road) but I couldn’t find her name but Atha later confirmed her to be Gerandi Ella. She may well be a seasonal falls for all I know.

Then following the road and avoiding pot holes full of muddy water we went further up. On our left was the world famous “Seven Virgins Mountain” which was the cause for “Martin Air Flight 138” tragedy. I’ve given the story in brief below but I’m sure many of you know this as it remains the worst in Sri Lankan Aviation history and 3rd deadliest involving a McDonnell Douglas DC-8 aircraft in the whole world after Arrow Air Flight 1285 and Nigeria Airways Flight 2120.

 — Martinair Flight 138 was a chartered flight from Surabaya, Indonesia to Colombo, Sri Lanka. The aircraft was operated on behalf of Garuda Indonesia. On December 4, 1974, the aircraft, a McDonnell Douglas DC-8-55F, crashed into Seven Virgins Mountain shortly before landing, killing all 191 people aboard – 182 Indonesian hajj pilgrims bound for Mecca, and 9 crew members.

The flight is said to have departed Surabaya, Indonesia at approximately 12.03 UTC heading to Jeddah planning a stop at Bandaranayake airport, Colombo, Sri Lanka. At around 16.30 UTC Colombo control cleared the flight. At 16.38 UTC another air traffic controller is said to have intervened and cleared the flight down to 5000 feet and reported clearing to 8000 feet. Colombo approach then cleared the flight down to 2000 feet at 16.44 and told the flight to expect a runway 04 approach.

The crew aboard the flight was then asked to report when the airfield was in sight. The crew then continued their descent until the aircraft crashed into “Saptha Kanya Mountain” at an altitude of approximately 4,355 feet and at around 40 nm east of Colombo. All 191 passengers and crew were killed. The aircraft crashed on the fifth mountain of a range of hills known as “Saptha Kanya” at Therberton estate, Maskeliya. —

Passing this we all of a sudden saw a notice on our right hand side saying “Aulanda Sohona – Dutch Memorial” and I wanted to have a look. They had built a memorial about 200m away from the road in the tea estate and several diplomats from Indonesia and Maldives had unveiled it on 22 July 1979. We were lucky to have come across this coz I hadn’t seen any evidence of a memorial anywhere before.

Athula then went onto say one of the tires of the aircraft is at display at Norton Bridge Police Station. Apparently the original memorial is located at the Police Station along with the tire. We had seen the second one built very close to the crash site by those family members of the passengers and crew. Anyhow, we couldn’t forget the local singer Anton Jones who sang this very famous song as a tribute to this crash “Kande Hapuna Waha Wananthare – DC8 Guwan Yanthare”.

Just passing that I decided to walk a bit as the path was really scenic and for some reason rain had decided to leave us alone. Further up, I came across this grand looking bungalow on my right hand side and over it the Seven Virgins Mountain full of mist. It looked like a palace in heaven. How lucky those people who live there. I was feeling very jealous then and still do.

We reached Kiriwan Eliya where they have a few shops and a small restaurant-cum-guest house. We asked the road from two boys and they asked us to go further up. Apparently they had given us the path to the top of Lakshapana Falls. We had to turn back after about 1km and came back to the shops to find a board saying it’s only 300m to the falls downhill. Yucky yuck those boys. We got off and walked downhill and they’ve done a nice path with steps right down to the waterfall which made going very easy and hardly any attack from those horrible leeches.

There were houses along this path and it could be one other reason why the path is so well maintained. In fact those villagers were repairing a part of the track when we went. About 200m down, we could here this huge roar as if a 100-carriage train coming down Kadugannawa slope without breaks and it really was very frightening. It even reminded me of Tsunami.

The whole area was so noisy to see it’s the Lakshapana falls that was making all that uproar. She was celebrating something which we couldn’t put our fingers on. It was deafening and soon we got glimpses of this milky water falling through trees. Then came the moment, Eureka…. There she was falling down full length without stopping for a breather like twin towers of New York.

It was a sight that I’ll treasure forever. One villager who was repairing the road told Athula that they witnessed the most of in 2 decades on 04 Aug. (In vain we were getting soaked in Wewelwatte, I felt for a moment but soon perished the thought). It was a sight to marvel at and we took plenty of pics and got down to the base of the falls. It was as if raining at the bottom due to vapor coming from the water hitting the rocks. We thankfully had taken two umbrellas with us (learnt our lesson at Wewelwatte) and had to unfold them in order to shield from the water droplets. Taking pics was Mission Impossible-3 coz our lenses kept getting hit by those tiny water droplets. It was the same method as two days ago. Shoot and wipe and shoot again which was a pain in the neck.

I was savoring this unprecedented beauty (maybe once in a lifetime chance) and felt like hugging her. There was so much water and all around the vapor was dancing. You had to see it to believe. We waited as long as we could and having perilously exposed our cameras for the second time in 3 days, decided to head back. I simply couldn’t make up my mind to leave this gorgeous princess. It was as if she was so alive and trying to talk to us.

We came back to the shop and had some plain tea which reinvigorated our bodies and minds. Then it was time to go looking for the other beauty – Aberdeen Falls.

Two videos of Lakshapana Falls is here:

Video 01

Video 02

The Kehelgamu Oya full of water

White water rafting, anyone?

Flowing somewhat calmly under the bridge

The Team: Hari / Prasanna / Atha / Me and our Driver

This is the junction where the road splits into two. We took the right hand one which was scenic but not in good condition. If you take this, you can come around the upper road from Norton Bridge making it a circular path

The sign at the Bodhigira Junction

Polpitiya Power Staion

The bridge at Polpitiya

Two snake-like pipes carrying water to the power plant

The network

Water gushing down the narrow rocky canal

And comes out the other side ferociously

Possibly put it up during the terror attacks

Morahenagama… Gerandi Ella seen from Hangarapitiya

Up close

It was at this place we heard how the name “Hangarapitiya” was originated

She was constantly looking for something to eat.

Defa… If it’s not us, then who will?

Scenic views were endless

The Dutch Cemetery

Atha, Prasanna getting up to the cemetery while Hari bringing the rear

Those trees are only at this place so easy to find the place

Just entering in

The plaque placed on the outer wall – Click Image to Enlarge

The memorial but not visited or cared for recently

Up close

This is not English but I could figure out something about Indonesia – Click Image to Enlarge

The trio next to the memorial

Hari had to drag me into the vehicle coz I kept getting out due to these pics

Water was everywhere creating beautiful cascades in all sizes

The Palace in Heaven

This is the place where the entrance to the falls is

Oh yeah, maybe a bit more than 300m

They are showing the path. Be warned not up the stairs though. That’s the rest house

Camera and the tripod carrying, Athula was getting down

Houses were bordered along the path…

Thankfully it was a relief to have these steps

Edible? Not sure and the house owners were not nearby to check

The path being repaired

What a structure… They must’ve had a lot of work building this in the first place

Pooooh… first glimpse

Oh my goodness… such beauty is unheard of

Close

Closer

Seen in a different angle… See the color on the rock wall

That’s the last house at the bottom but more to go to the base of the falls

Trees obscuring our view on the way to the bottom

Glamorous, isn’t she?

I don’t know what to compare

It was like a dream and the vapor was enveloping the surrounding

Finally at the bottom

Water going down and can see a dam like structure

Protein buster

Cool

Aberdeen Falls & Morahenagama Falls

We went further up the road towards Maskeliya and soon came across the path to the top of Lakshapana but decided not to venture into that. The river looked ferocious and we wanted to save as much time as possible for the afternoon coz we still had in our minds to visit Beli Lena.

Soon we entered a massive bridge and the water was flowing like the Niagara Falls underneath it. We even saw someone trying to catch fish. I was surprised to see the bridge was still standing tall coz that water had the power to take it clean off its base in seconds. We saw the remains of the old suspension bridge now only the supporting pillars on either side of the river.

We stopped for quick snaps which turned out to be long ones for Harinda’s dismay coz he kept saying that he needed to get home soon. We soon came to a junction where the road on the right went towards Maskeliya and the left one took us back towards Lakshapana which we took. It again forked into two after a few kilometers; the left one taking us to back Lakshapana village and to the Bodhigira Junction (making it a more like a circular road) while the right one taking us towards Norton Bridge 2km away and further away Ginigathhena.

We turned right and less than 1km into the road came to a by road on the left but went passing and Harinda however wanted to check where it went. He proved right coz it was the one that leads to Aberdeen falls. Took a U-turn and came back and it’s the road to Kalaweldeniya Village about 6-8km away. There even was a hotel about 1.2km away according to the sign board.

Taking the path which was in dire need of repairing wasn’t an easy task. There’s also a bus service from Norton Bridge to Kalaweldeniya and the road is barely enough in width to pass two tuk-tuks let alone other vehicles. We asked for the directions about 4km away and a person said it’s only about 1km away. We went more than 2km before Harinda got his sixth sense and said we must have passed it. We had reached the Kalaweldeniya School by that time. There was this grandma who said that we had come it passing (Hariya should’ve been at the wheel) and there’s board pointing the direction.

“A board?” We were shocked to have missed it and there was no way a board was erected on that road. But we turned around and after sometime reached a place with a few houses and the path was just there. Unfortunately the big sign board had fallen face down and nobody had apparently bothered to put it up again. To make matters more humorous, there was this tiny notice stuck on a jack tree saying “Aberdeen Ella” both in Sinhala and English.

So much for directions and we got down along the nicely built steps. Again, we felt very grateful for whoever built this path and it’s longer than the Lakshapana and there was no village or house along it. So the path was meant for the waterfall only. There were a few leeches that bothered us then and there and two dogs were on our tail sensing some food is sure to be given. The last bit of the path had been built on 1 Dec 2012. There were tiny waterways going down along with the steps and at certain places there were rocks popping up and the builders had very wisely built the steps on either side.

We suddenly reached a barrier where a tree had fallen right across the path but tackling it was no problem. All of a sudden, we saw the whole area below is covered in white mist which turned out to be the water vapor just like at Lakshapana.

We reached the bottom and there she was.

All I managed to say was “Holy, Moly, and Guacamole…” What a magnificent girl she was dancing like a ballerina showing off her beauty without hiding it at all.

This giant waterfall was in full flow (couldn’t have been any bigger) and she looked as if she alone could feed the whole country with that amount of water. We couldn’t see any rock but water completely covered the whole surface and the vapor was travelling in all directions obscuring our view. There was this viewing platform they had built but we had to stay right at the edge coz we could’ve got wet so much. It was frightening to get any closer but Harinda wanted to get closer and take pic with his signature pose getting drenched in the process.

Taking pics was crazy and it took about 5mins to take one then hide it under the umbrella or keep our driver or Prasanna as a shield then wipe it completely before taking the next one. I managed to shoot a short video and you’ll be able to see the level of water clearly.

I’d never seen a waterfall carrying so much water in real life and what a treat this was. I was mesmerized and lost in a different world. She was simply spectacular and breath-taking and I’m speechless and can’t find any words to describe her any better. If I thought I’d seen water, I felt ashamed of myself when I saw this one.

However, I suddenly felt this heartache coz there are plans to build a hydro power plant near her probably killing her altogether. I’m sure you know what happened to St. Claire and many other waterfalls and it seems the same fate is gonna come upon her. What a tragedy? These darn hydro power plants are spreading like a cancer and soon we gonna have nothing but a dead body. My country will be devoid of any eco-friendly things like this in the near future at this rate.

Having seen her, we came back to Lakshapana Village using the upper road and suddenly Athula asked the driver to stop the van got down. We too came down to see the waterfall we could see from Hangarapitiya is here and the village is Morahenagama. I couldn’t find a name at the time but Atha confirmed it’s also called Gerandi Ella.

After that we went further and followed the road to the Kalugala Junction all the time listening to Harinda’s whining about being hungry. We reached Kithulagala and had rice and curry and during the meal Athula was screaming holding his chest and I thought he was having a heart attack. He put his hand through the shirt buttons and took out a big leech having fed on his blood all the time probably from Aberdeen. If it was Prince, we’d had to take him to the hospital.

Video of Aberdeen is here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLDogxsm9c0

We however had gone passed the Beli Lena turning point and decided to skip it as Hariya was wanting to get home soon.

It was a memorable day coz we saw two beautiful waterfalls in full flow and worth every bit. I do hope there’ll be a stop to these stupid ways of building hydro power plant here and there killing our country and her nature.

Here my fairy tale comes to an end and actually I wasn’t meaning to write this but Hariya was very busy and Atha wouldn’t hear of doing it for me.

Hope you like it. Take care…

The Kelani Valley

Couldn’t blow them away due to dew

Seven Virgins Mountain, somewhere up is where the Martin Air Flight 138 crashed into

Harinda wanted to elope and live in a place like this

Up close…

Dancing water

Endless cascades kept me walking along the road

Getting down the steps

Posing for the pic

Mother and son was busily collecting firewood

Camera was roughly treated putting it down on hard surfaces and exposing it to water

White Water rafting would’ve been interesting in this

Hand like rock

Remains of the suspension bridge

The replacement bridge for the suspension one

Icing on the cake

St. Claire?

What a marvelous place

Out of a dream

Making numerous shapes

Tea flower

Scenic views everywhere

The road towards Maskeliya

A huge layer of mist covering the Seven Virgins

Upstream and there’s tiny fall right at the top

This is the one

Our faithful vehicle

It’s not a giant cake

Here’s the junction I mentioned. The road to right goes to Maskeliya and we took the left… The waterfall is the Lakshapana where we came from

Umbrella like flower

Another hidden cascade

The bottom part of it

Plenty of wood was piled along the road

The Lakshapana falls – Darn those cables

Gorgeous one, isn’t she?

Ok, here’s the other junction where the road goes along the upper road towards Lakshapana

We took the right hand side towards Norton Bridge

A tiny cascade where we turned around as we had passed the turning point

Here’s the Kalaweldeniya road on the right hand side

The house where the path to the falls is close by

I don’t miss any of these

Here we are… they’re showing the path entrance

The board but the big one had fallen off

Many of those were everywhere

They are coming down… Hariya trying to get into a decent pose

It’s built through this forest patch

The two companions

Even hand railings were built

One would feel like taking these and planting at their houses but please don’t

Kind of a snail I guess

The supporting wood plank had been a home for these mushrooms

Water was following us

Missing all the obstacles

The last bit built date. Thank you folks….

Artistic fern

Atha trying to negotiate the fallen tree

Oh ho….

Fiercely getting down

It’s not the rain but the water vapor

Not a leaf on it but an artistic touch

Just getting the first glance… yahooooooooooo

The platform is drenched in water and slippery while the vapor is spreading like a smoked bomb

It was crazy trying to point your camera at

Holy Moly Guacamole…

You can see the water on the lens

She alone could’ve watered the whole country

Finally some sunlight getting through the cloud cover

She even made us a rainbow to welcome us

Time to go girlie

Tend to fall down any minute

Those two couldn’t leave Harinda… but were rewarded with plenty of biccies by him

Prasanna…. Exhausted beyond words

Along the upper road towards Lakshapana Village, we saw her smiling from afar

Oh ho, it’s Lakshapana falls…

Closer… time to go

The one we saw from Hangarapitiya – Gerandi Ella

The path lies to the left

The lower part

Compare the shapes of both of them… What a coincidence… Either Banana imitated her or she imitated the Banana

Clear view… not much water so probably a season fall. Pretty high though.

Upper bit

Fed by Atha… This one was nestling on his ribs when he found

The map – Click to enlarge

Endagala is a unique place which I came across for the first time while going through a book called “Stone in Eloquence” and since then it was roaming around my dreams. One day while traveling to Padiyathalawa I noted a board saying Endagala put up by Uva tourist board and that was enough to stimulate me to go in search of it. I have only seen few pictures of a pond but I was sure that there were much more to expect.

Sanjaya and I decided to give it a try on a holiday and we took off towards Ekiriyankumbura junction where the board could be seen. From here we hired a nice trishaw chap who volunteered to show us the way too. The road was in bad condition from the beginning and after about 2Km’s we reached a house where we halted the trishaw and set foot through the forest. Next we came across a chena where we took another thorny foot path towards the forest. Afterwards we met a wide road which had been abandoned and according to our guide people came in vans to see this place until recently while the road was in good condition. The foot path bought us towards an archaeology board put up in middle of a jungle. From here onwards it was a small uphill climb to the desired site. First thing that we came across was a huge rock bed. It was the largest I have ever seen, roughly the length was 10’, width was 4’ and height was around 1’. There was a step to get on to it and its rock pillow was shattered in to pieces by treasure hunters. This bed was well protected by a hooded cave and this might have been one of those royal Beds. It is said that this is part of queen Sugala’s kingdom but there is no solid evidence to prove the fact. The rock adjoining the Bed was what we were going to explore next.

was waiting for many months to visit this place

the road leading towards endagala

the rusted board

the pillow was vandalized by greedy thieves

can accommodate a giant even

the biggest royal bed in sri lanka according to my knowledge

Sometimes we see things we can’t believe and that’s what we saw, a rock pond on top of a globular rock. Let me try and explain you what I saw. It was a globular shaped rock and a slice was cut off perfectly as a potato had been sliced on its top so the surface would be a flat one. They have carved a 3’ deep pond which was square in shape and about three steps were there so one could get in to the perfectly carved pond. From outside to reach the pond rock steps were carved and at the beginning a moonstone also could be seen. The boarder of the pond had a 6” roughed area so no moss could form and seemed to give additional protection to the royal members from slipping and falling. The other unique finding was the water out let which they have drilled through the rock so the whole pool could be emptied when needed. This was simply a magnificent creation and we spent good 30 minutes talking about it before leaving the place.

Next we reached the second pond which was built on the floor and it had been vandalized by treasure hunters over the years. The pond which I saw on that book and what I saw on that day was completely different thanks to the idiots who destroyed it for some cheap bucks. We also came across a stool like sculpture which we couldn’t figure out properly. By now we were certain that this place was once occupied by a royal family.

wow steps leading to a heavenly pond

what creation, this is surely a royal creation

3 steps to enter the pond

the outlet canal

it even had a outlet for cleaning purposes

rough ridge to prevent slipping and falling

truly royal

the rock pond

a seat

quarry

beauty who didnt spread its wings

the beautiful 2nd pond

it was not spared

this is how it looked a decade ago

and now

the peella which helped us wash off

Next we returned back to the village and washed ourselves and decided to visit Dankumbura temple which was said to be the temple related to this mysterious kingdom. One could reach the temple from Ekiriyankumbura via a 4Wd road or by a short cut from Endagala. This temple was a peaceful place where one would feel like spending the day around there. In the temple premises few monoliths, scattered Korawak stones and guard stone could be seen but the main attraction is the caved image house which had been attacked frequently by treasure hunters. Inside the cave few ancient drawings could be identified and also a huge “paththaraya” could be seen. After thanking the priest we reached back towards Ekiriyankumbura and proceeded to Kanavagalla.

Dankumbura temple

modified

ruins at dankumbura

scattered

pillars

image house at dankumbura

moonstone

painted recently

the huge paththaraya

roof paintings

more paintings

ancient steps

There is a frame of an archaeology board on the side of the road directing towards the mountain range where Endagala ruins were found. Previously when I came to find about Kanavagalla maligathenna inscription a local guy said it is found on a rock bordering the lake on the mountain slope and it was submerged at that time. He also said there were plenty of ruins all over the mountain that one could explore for many hours. So we decided to give it a try this time around since we had time on our hands and also because we thought that it would have been linked to Endagala too. So after getting to the village we found the house of the person who I spoke to on the previous occasion and he was kind enough to offer some tea to us before deciding to venture on. We reached the school and halted the trishaw and started moving towards the mountain and within no time we reached the isolated lake on the slope of the mountain. This was a refurbished tank which was first built many centuries ago and the scattered rocks at the boarder of the tank verified it. This tank gets it water directly from the mountain and it had many trees in it giving it a magical look. Our guide was searching for the inscription for about 15 minutes but he couldn’t locate it, probably it might have been covered by thorny creepers or still submerged. We were very disappointed and I asked him if he could at least show us few monoliths so we could satisfy our selves and go back. He suggested that we needed to go uphill and we agreed with him on that. First we reached the ancient pond which had been reconstructed by locals who supplied there drinking water from it. And from here we climbed further up until and reached a place where steps could be seen directing upwards. On top of a mini cliff in the center of the jungle we found a huge rock slab a dug up hole and at the footsteps of the mini hill there was a part of a foot which might have been at the beginning of the stair way. Around this site we found many remains of buildings. And the significance of these was the size of the Rock slabs. Some were 3’ thick. We also came across unearthed buildings, fallen huge pillars and even moonstones. The size of these suggested that Kanavagalla Malighatenna could be an extended part of Endagala and might have been the royal complex while Endagala been the leisure activity center. According to the guide there were no pagodas around and that also tallied with our assumptions. Though there were many ruins to be explored we decided to get back to the village to end our quest. It seems this was a royal complex belonging to one of those southern rulers established on the slopes of mountain range and out of sight of northern rulers who were searching for them. The area needs to be explored and studied well to understand the significance of this forgotten kingdom around Ekiriyankumbura to fill up the gaps in our history. The best thing is after returning back to Monaragala our trishaw guy called and said that the whole of Ekiriyankumbura was searching for us thinking we were treasure hunters and the head priest of the temple even called me to inquire about our interest and I did explain our intentions and assured them that we were just explorers and at last everything settled well except the unsolved puzzle of Endagala.

going towards the lake at the base of the mountain

lake placid

perfect reflection

Kanavegalla lake

the ancient pond at Kanevagalla

ruins of the palace at maligatenna kanavegalla

ruins of buildings

ruins of the palace can be seen everywhere

huge flat rocks used as roofs

another roof part

moon stone

a long pillar

steps towards the palace

blent with nature

steps and steps

ruins on top of the mini hill

did they find anything…naaah

more to explore

monolith standing tall

a giant foot

joints

leave me alone

Thanks for reading

!

This is the second highest water fall of Sri Lanka. It is situated in Nuwareliya district closer to Walapane town. Actually it is a cascade with two parts. (May be three parts). It’s origin is Kurundu Oya. Kurundu Oya fall is the tallest waterfall of Nuwaraeliya district and tallest waterfall related to Mahawali River. As it is situated in a remote area it has lesser tourist attraction. Reaching to bases of Kurundu Oya cascades is somewhat difficult.

We spent previous day night at Ragala as there are no guests at Walapane. We needed to start the journey as early as possible of the day. Because rain starts in the afternoon of these days and we wanted to go back Colombo early.

After having our breakfast from Walapane, we walked back along the Ragala road till we meet the stairs of Japanese peace pagoda. (About 500m)

Then we climbed stairs to reach the peace pagoda of Walapane. It was around 7.30am. The scenery back of us was fantastic.

Starting point

Randenigala reservoir and surrounding peaks

Entrance to peace pagoda

Sun rise over peaks

Japanese peace pagoda of Walapane

Japanese Buddhist monument.

Japanese peace pagodas

Peace pagodas were built as a symbol of peace in Japanese cities including Hiroshima and Nagasaki where the atomic bombs took the lives over 150,000 people. Most of peace pagodas of the world were built under the guidance of Nichidatsu Fuji (1885-1985), a Buddhist monk from Japan and founder of the Nipponzan-Myohoji Buddhist order. Fuji was greatly inspired by his meeting with Mahatma Gandhi in 1931 and decided to devote his life to promote non violence. In 1947, he began constructing Peace Pagodas as shrines to world peace. (From Wikipedia)

Peace pagodas are situated in Walapane, Ampara, Bandarawela, Galle and Sri Pada of Sri Lanka.

Ampara peace pagoda

Then we followed the road behind the temple. It was a climb but we didn’t feel tired as it was early morning.

Starting of the road was good

Gradually it became bad…

With continuous ascend we came above the Peace pagoda

Bend of the road

A small Kovil we met on our way

Landscapes in front of me was breathtaking

What a road……

Please bear the color effect

Remaining of mist

.

Surrounding mountains

Another small Kovil and abounded house we met. Take the road upwards

Randenigala back

Man made landscapes

Another stunting view

.

After passing two sets of lime houses (About 3km) we got the first glimpse of Kurundu Oya fall. We could see the Kurundu Oya fall from here without her lowest part.

First view of Kurundu Oya fall. We proceeded further along the road

First view of Kurundu Oya fall. Upper circle shows the upper part and lower circle shows the lower part. Note upper part also consists of two parts. White arrow shows the base of upper part we reached. Base of the lower cascade can’t be seen here. Red arrow shows where we reached

Then we walked further and found to have the road is closed by a fence. There were some people beyond the fence and showed us the directions we have to go to reach bases of the cascade. When we proceeded further we met another fence and then small foot pathway started and entered to the forest patch.

Real challenge started then

Road is closed

Upper cascade

Most upper part

The road ends and entering to the forest patch

Through Mana bushes

Once you go along the foot pathway about 200-300m you will come across another small foot pathway going down. (First one). It will bring you towards the base of lower cascade.

Initial part of this foot pathway may be clear but later you have to find your way towards the base.

After getting down about ¾-1 kilometer we reached the base of lower cascade. But we didn’t try to get into the water and go closer as it was so slippery.

Black arrow shows the way towards the lower cascade. Whit arrow shows the rest of main foot pathway

Lower part of Kurundu Oya cascade.

It is the most beautiful part

Extremely difficult to reach there. Don’t try to get down to the water

Another view

Flow

Then we came back to the junction where foot pathway branches. We proceeded further and found another branching point. We followed the foot pathway down to reach the base of upper part of the cascade. Here directions were shown from arrows and cut marks done by recent visitors.

Foot pathway was slippery due to rain

Wuminda is heading

Please note directions

At the end you have to climb up. Wuminda shows the correct direction. Going further down will end in the middle part of the lower cascade

Upper part of the Kurundu Oya cascade

It is fast and furious

Where flow begins

Getting down to the water of this part also bit dangerous and we avoided it

We came out of the forest patch around 12.30pm and reached Walapane town around 2pm. On our way back we had a wash at Peace pagoda temple.

Thank you for reading

Hello friends,

It was an unplanned trip this time around with my parents. Was there in wilpattu 2 weeks back and wanted to go for a trip before my sister’s wedding. So I decided wilpattu since my sis n parents haven’t been to a jungle for a long time + this is a good opportunity to try out my newly brought 500mm lens

Started early in the morning on 4th Sept. visited St. Anne’s church Thalawila in the morning. It was raining all the way down… I was so worried. Reached the usual rest inn, L.L.T safari hotel by 11am. Raining stopped by 1.30pm. We had lunch and went for an afternoon safari…

Will let the pics to talk from now on…

.	Was near the rest inn.

.

.

.

Waiting…

.

.

.

.

Filming crew of “Wild Sri Lanka”.

.

Famous “washing elephant” the only elephant running the Wilpattu show these days

.

Was lucky again.. @ Borupana vila.

.

Some bugs were bugging…

Was getting dark and we started to move out. Met two Sambar deers on the way.

.

On 5th early morning woke up and started to move from the accommodation. Hoping that we will be lucky to see a sloth bear.

Had a small diesel leak early in the morning. Was able to tight a nut and fix it…

And guess what..?? A bear just crossed in front of us in flash and ran to the deep jungle. Was soo quick and could manage to take 1 proper pic only.

Running inside…

There were so many birds this time around. Specially different type of eagles … and sorry, I still can’t remember the names of most of the birds.. Should study hard!!!

Breakfast….

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Dead , untouched wild boar..

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

We were lucky again in the evening to see a leopard just few feet’s away from us @ mahapathassa. It was inside the bush… Was not easy to take clear proper pics.. Wish it was outside… The things it did while sleeping was amazing… Acting like a little baby… was lucky to witness it by eyes at least… 

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

We were there next to the big cat for more than one hour. Then the jeeps started to come one by one… so we started to move… met the last evening leopard once again at Borupana vila.

.

We went out of the park around 6p.m. I was soo happy coz of seeing a sloth bear at last… it was a great day!!!
Next day was a very bad day.. Started to rain like hell. It was pointless staying inside and decided to come out from the park around 10am and head back home.

.	Gotch ya!!!!

Thanks for reading the report. Will write soon about the Kumana camping which we are planning to go on 19th!!!!

We started from Colombo around 5.30Am on 31st August. And there were 11 persons with our team. We reach Kadugannawa around 8.45 and had breakfast.

On our first day our plan was to visit Bambara kiri ella, Riverston peak , Pitawala pathana, Thelagamu oya and Sera ella. We met with heavy rain on the way of Riverston peak and we all got wet. We couldn’t reach Riverston summit because of it was not safe to visit summit while thundering. We couldn’t visit Sera ella and Thelagamu oya because we haven’t enough time.

We have enough space to have our lunch in Pitawala pathana ticketing center and it was around 3.00 pm.
It was around 7.30 pm to reach ‘Ashane holiday bungalow’ in Dunuwila wasgamuwa. It was very nice place to stay and reasonable prices. Bungalow can be booked by contacting with its owner (0714725593).

Our second day plan was Wasgamuwa safari and safari jeep has been already arranged before trip started. We took jeep from Aberathna (0724084546) and jeep was in good condition

We started safari around 11.30 in next day and Aberathna came to the bungalow to pick us with his jeep.

Kadugannawa road. Nice morning.

On the way of Riverston

On the way of riverston

On the way of riverston

On the way of riverston

Bambatakiri ella

On the way of Bambarakiri ella. Green whip snake

On the way of Riverson peak

Having deep breath on the way of Riverston peak.

Having deep breath on the way of Riverston peak.

Mini worlds end pitawala pathana.

Mini worlds end pitawala pathana.

Mini worlds end pitawala pathana.

Pitawala pathana road.

Pitawala pathana.

Riverston peak transmission tower seen from pitawala pathana.

Pitawala lpathana

Pitawala lpathana

Rural Hena/Pala seen from mini worlds end pitawala pathana.

Pitawala pathana

Traditional wee-bissa in Dunuwila village wasgamuwa.

Bird nest near Dunuwila lake wasgamuwa

Safari jeep (Aberathna – 072-4084546)

Near dunuwila lake wasgamuwa

The place we stay.(Ashane holiday bangalow).Very nice place and reasonable price. It was 10000 for 13-14 peoples per night

Eagle Ready for breakfast

Wild Elephants in wasgamuwa.

Sri lankan jungle-fowl in wasgamuwa

Having a bath in mahawali river wasgamuwa

Wild crocodile inside wasgamuwa park

Whole team together

The map – Click to enlarge

After the preceding days failed attempt in reaching Mill oya falls I decided to give it another try on the very next day. I never wanted to give up knowing that this hidden beauty will not flow as she had been doing all these years in few more months after the newly built mini hydro project starts functioning. So I reached Millebedda early as I could to try and reach the waterfall from the top because visiting it from Walas ella side was a failure.

Delan was a trishaw guy who I met at Millebedda temple and even he had not visited this waterfall but yet he was keen enough to join me on this venture. So we took the road named Kanchana which was about 1.5Km towards Lunugala(from millebedda). After traveling about 5Km’s we reached a house where we halted the trishaw and walked towards the Power hydro project work site located on top of the waterfall. Few guys who recognized me asked “ah mahattaya adath awada?” and I did give them a smile and said “ada nam meka balalamai yanne”. I was so determined that no one could stop me in doing so, we did walk along the Mill oya stream and reached the location where water was diverted and followed the concrete canal under construction for some distance. We stepped in to the jungle at a point where we thought it would be an easy approach to the base. It was a steep downhill descend and we had to crawl holding on to creepers at many instances too. Finally we reached the base of a stream but yet the waterfall couldn’t be seen. After climbing few huge boulders with uttermost difficulty we reached the base of Mill oya falls which was also known as Gona wetuna ella. This beauty has two parts and the top part could only be seen partly. The cascade is completely hidden and one needs to get to its base to have a proper view of it. Though we wanted to get to the upper part it was not possible at all. Next we started climbing from the opposite side and we were greeted by leeches and thorny wewal. After a good mud bath we reached a mini canal which diverted water from the waterfall to feed the nearby paddy fields. We did follow it all the way until the top of the fall was reached where a clear view towards Monaragala could be appreciated. Since we had done the whole circular trail we did understand that getting down from the left side of the cascade was the best option so my advice for someone would be is “get to the top and go along the canal on the left and reach the bottom”. There is nice bathing place on top of the fall if one wants to have a dip. After getting back to the wadiya we were offered pol sambol + dhal + pork with rice as lunch which we couldn’t resist! That miraculous lunch was the best medicine we had after a tiring hike.

the only glimpse of Mill oya ella, i did attempt on the very next day

shaped for milk

devastation, see what they have done to the forest

dawn on the next day

Suddas remnants

Buttala as seen from A5

rahathankanda and budugallena

foot path to the top of mill ella

the end of the waterfall is few months away

a mini cascade, good for a shower

a cave close to the fall

Mill oya falls (Gona wetuna falls )

lower part

the top part of mill oya falls

hard task

canal we followed

top of gona wetuna falls

scenery towards monaragala

uppermost cascade

plunges down

beauty

upper part

stunning view

getting down

Next place of interest was Adi hate wala which is supposed to have a waterfall too. Many locals suggested me to go and see this beauty rather than Milla oya cascade. To get to this waterfall one needs to go uphill via few line houses. I actually can’t remember the exact turn off point but better to inquire from the locals because they are aware of its where-bouts. There is a 1.5Km foot path which will lead to this beauty and it’s also a cascade of Milla oya. The base pool is said to be 60’ deep hence the name Adi hate wala was given. Downstream there is another beautiful cascade but does not have a clear path to reach it.

grey hornbill

play time

lower part

shining upper part

60 feet in depth

beauty

upper part

drops plunging down

Adi Hate wala falls

Adi Hate wala lower cascade

the path

From Hopton I went towards Yapamma and got off at a bo tree with a yellow coloured Buddha shrine. The concrete road uphill leads towards the famous “Besam wala” of Lunugala. The 2Km walk along this paved road was well worth it. After a while I reached a bridge and 50 meters upstream from it the famous Besam wala could be found. This is one of those wonderful creations of Mother Nature. The stream which is flowing downhill collects in to a rock pond and then overflows resembling a rocky basin. The depth was about 4’. I couldn’t resist not getting in to it and having a dip. Later on I ventured upstream to explore few cascades and similar bathing places but I was tormented by resident leeches . Since it was drizzling I returned back to the main road and headed towards Passara to catch a bus to Monaragala and end my day.

name board

රන් නලල් කොට්ටෝරැවා

feeling the cold

not ambewela but lunugala

Solitary

police has put up some notices on rocks close to besama

slow shutter besama lower fall

besam wala

upstream similar location

Besama upper fall

top of besama

good bye besama, I will be back

castle of electricity

Day two even before the sun decided to rise I got a bus towards Badalkumbura and reached the town where I hired a trishaw to visit a famous historical temple called Dummaletenna which was 10 Km’s away from Badalkumbura town. The road was almost washed away at some places close to the temple but we did manage it with are trishaw. This ancient temple is said to be one of those places where great king Dutugemunu rested while marching towards Anuradhapura. Also this is surrounded by Kubukkan river on three sides and the other side been occupied by a paddy field which produces some stunning landscapes. This temple has a restored pagoda where only the outer protective wall remains from the past. The image house which is under construction has some vandalized statues and it seems like the remaining bit also would be lost in time when the new one gets completed. After having a chat with the monk I took off towards Badalkumbura to have some breakfast and join my friend and his wife who was searching for a wonderful location to go on their anniversary.

Dummalethenna temple

vandalized and repaired

Dummalethenna temple statues

under construction

note the ancient outer wall

beautiful

poya geya

Karavila bubula

pride of uva

bordered by kumbukkan oya

We decided to visit Alupotha fort where and Archaeology board directing towards inland from Badalkumbura Passara road could be seen. Following the board we went towards Alupotha and within no time we were confused by the locals who repeatedly said there is no such thing to see. Somehow after a wild goose chase we came to know that the current Alupotha town was the fort long ago. This is the place where “Weera Keppetipola” joined the rebels according to the history books. My friend and his wife were teasing me all the way because they saw nothing interesting though there was a black archeology board. I felt like removing the board but within no time that feeling vanished away. So now I needed to compensate and satisfy my friends and that is what I did. Bambaragala pathana my favourite view point of Wellassa was where I took them next and they really enjoyed the panoramic view from that point.

is there a purpose of this board anymore

remnants of the fort

old buildings

Bambaragala pathana scenery

wellassa

towards wellawaya

From Namunukula we went towards Ella and on the way at a big elbow bend we were forced to stop and enjoy an awesome view towards Wellawaya town. We also named this as “Balleketuwa gap”. Next stop was Wellawaya Kotaweheragala temple. There is a small pagoda seen on a rocky plateau few Km’s away from Wellawaya. Since it was a scenic place we decided to climb that rock. The access point to this temple is about 2Km’s away from Wellawaya on Monaragala road. the temple is a modified place and if one wants to reach the pagoda you need to start climbing up from the image house. The task was not easy as we thought but the blissful scenery seen from the top made us forget everything. The mountain ranges of Poonagala, Namunukula , Ella rock could be seen clearly from the pagoda. To our surprise the pagoda was an ancient one which was later refurbished and the remains of the old pagoda was evidence for that. After hanging around a bit we set foot towards Badalkumbura.

Balleketuwa gap towards wellawaya

wellawaya town

Kota weheragala at wellawaya

the image house

uphill climb

leafless

note the rocks from the ancient sthupa

the view

wadinahela side

Poonagala range

wellawaya town

Ella gap

on top of kota weheragala

serene

paddyfields of wellawaya

Just before Badalkumbura we reached Punsisigama and took a right turn towards Walagamba hermitage. After tackling a 2Km road we reached the isolated cave temple on the base of a mountain range. We met the head priest and obtained permission to wonder around. There were about 4 or 5 drip ledge caves where some were modified and used. One was the image house where few bats could be found. We also came across an interesting carving of a coconut tree on a rock close to the bo tree too. It was getting all gloomy and we had to get back before dark fall. Exploring further caves was not feasible so we thanked the resident monks and returned back to Monaragala to end another interesting day!

Entering shri Walgamba hermitage punsisigama

අනිත්‍යය!

modified

inside the kutiya

image house made out of a drip ledge cave

inside the image house

kutiya at shri Walgamba hermitage punsisigama

head priest

another kutiya

a coconut tree carving

view towards badalkumbura and passara

Thanks for reading!

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

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

View of the fall and the mountains from the BAMBARAKANDA REST

First cottage where I stayed. Basic facilities but clean .

Interesting

Three Sisters ( Wangedi gala,Balathuduwa, Gon Molliya )

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

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

Waypoint: BL04 (Observation point)

Waypoint: BL05 ( Cement steps)

Waypoint: BL09 ( Concrete bridge )

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

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

Then I returned to the track and proceeded

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

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

View from Waypoint: BL16

On the way ( After passing BL 21)

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

Glimpse of Lanka Ella

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

LANKA ELLA

Base pool resembles the Sri lanka

Another view

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

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

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

Tiny Cascade

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

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

Path I came. It is rather difficult than it seems

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

But scenery of the valley was splendid.

On the way

Tricky part

Valley and surrounding mountains

.

Interesting place where you find huge drops in both sides

The side view of the fall

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

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

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

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

First and second falls seen from a distance

Middle fall which was on top of Bambaraknda falls

Base pool at top of Bambarakanda falls

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

Getting down was much risky.

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

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

View from the garden

Yellow is my favourite colour

Another cottage

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

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

Please Follow the trail guide of Uduwara and Nagaduwafalls

Went through the short cut

Another view

Coming back to the Road

Bambarakanda seen from distance

.	Landmark Getting back to the forest patch

Hard climb

.

.	Udaveriya factory

Line houses

Misty

.	Pictures won’t express the real buety

Wow	Like an icing cake

Difficult part through Mana patch

.

Destination

Uduwara

Nagaduwa

Both

One and only photo of me

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

Misty

Nearby mountain which villagers used to go and do rituals

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

Name board is visible to the raod

Land Mark

Nearly 100m trek to the fall

Surathali

(Not Much of water)

View of the top part Surathali from the main road

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

Thanks for reading

Going Green, Organic Farming, Eco Living, Environmentally Friendly, etc. are few of the major topics in the modern day world. Every man and his dog are concerned about living a healthy life and consuming organic foods. Media along with environmental organizations are out in full force trying to promote these kinds of things whenever possible. Vendors are too busy advertising chemicals-free vegetables, fruits and green leaves and selling them at higher prices (few times the usual price).

The million dollar question is, are they really organic? 100% free of chemicals? Sadly the answer to this question, however, is very gloomy as we have no solid proof to check if they are genuinely 100% organic. The chances are the farmers and vendors taking us innocent consumers for a ride claiming their products are organic very high. How do we check the authenticity of their claims and products? Can those certificates shown by those organizations alone prove their products are 100% organic and natural? If those organizations are genuine, why do they hesitate to show their farms to the public?

Those are questions kept coming to me when I too was looking for organic foods. I got very curious when it comes to things like these and thought of looking for an opportunity to visit one of the organic farms to get a feel of organic farming. I was fortunate enough to read an article on “Mawbima” paper which gave some details about an organic farm in Dunagaha area. Most surprisingly, it had given a contact number and claimed any interested parties are welcome to visit the farm.

What’s more a crazy adventurer like me could ask for? I jumped with both my feet and jotted down the contact number but it took me sometime before I could actually visit the place. I called Mr. Palitha Edirisuriya, who’s the mastermind behind this scheme and the owner of the farm, and he greeted me in a friendly manner and asked to visit the place at any time I wanted to. He even gave me an overview of the project over the phone and his enthusiasm in showing his handy work to outsiders who are curious about organic farming and products made me wanna pay a visit soon.

So I decided to do it on Mon 21st Oct as I was free (actually got back from a waterfall hunt with Lakdasun members on the 19th) and called him in the morning. He said he’d be there and my long lost friend Prince too was free and he gladly joined me with his bike which was a relief in finding the place. We left Nugegoda around 9.30am and reached the place around 11.00am (the bike started giving trouble about half hour into our journey).

Palitha was there and welcomed us warmly. The land is 1.5 acres in size and it used to belong to his father and after him; Palitha inherited the land and the house. The house is now acting like a lab for his research work and storage for his crops. Already we saw a pile of freshly plucked papayas resting on a table and he asked us to take a seat and we started our conversation. He is vastly knowledgeable about the farming and agriculture and told us the history and how he became interested in organic farming.

He’d listened to a lecture in 1993 about organic farming and realized it was the way forward and joined a few projects with many others in different areas all around Sri Lanka, mainly in Nawalapitiya. Then early 2000, he started his farm in Dunagaha and decided to find a fertilizer free of chemicals. He researches were successful when he found a liquid fertilizer around 2009 which was very effective and free of harmful chemicals. He named it “Dharma Jeewa” and now selling it commercially 1 liter for Rs. 350/-.

When asked he said the demand is more that he can hardly keep up with the production but in an attempt to ramp up the production, he’d started making 800 liters at a time which is 4 times more than he used to produce. I managed to record most of the conversation and you can find it along with another short one which I did in the garden here.

After that it was time to venture into the garden itself and every inch of it is planted with something or the other. Mainly grown things are papaya, pineapple, varieties of chilies, beetle leaves, okra, banana, coconut along with many others are also available. He’d introduced new ways of planting such as differently-sized pits and “Salt Lines”.

They have also found a way of curing the plants attacked by “Piti Makuna”. There was a papaya tree which had been attacked by the Piti Makuna but now showing signs of recovering. According to him, there are 5 insects that harm the paddy in 6 different stages. There are also 30+ friendly species that come to the paddy fields for helping remove the harmful ones. When we use chemicals, the friendly insects and animals are killed faster than the harmful ones and at the end, we have to keep using the chemicals coz friendly ones have become extinct.

He also talked about financial gains of the organic farming. It takes a lot of money and effort to set up an organic farm but overtime, the outcome is more profitable than the chemicals-used one in the long run. He boasts many secrets when it comes to farming along with his secret recipe of the fertilizer. He’s ready to share it but the fear of it being misused has held him back.

I asked him the million dollar question:

“Do you at any stage, use any chemical in your farm?” asked me.
“Not even a drop.” He proudly answered in return.

When I asked if he’s obtained any certificates to prove his products are organic, his asked me back “Where do I get one?” It shows that they need help with things like that and some proper guidance to improve their knowledge along with the skills. He said the people at agricultural department have a strong will to develop the organic farming but they’re most of the time underfunded and the money spent is not used properly. Then I asked how he manages to generate revenue. Sadly he doesn’t have a proper method of selling his products and it’d also be grand if someone can help him set up something more efficient.

It was such a great experience listening to this wonderful person talking about his experience. If only we can help him in any way we can to promote his farming and use his skills with others, it would definitely pay dividends in the long run for our economy and health.

Well, that’s about it. I didn’t mean to write a report on this but felt obliged to do so coz I too strongly believe in organic products and farming. Hopefully this will open some paths to him spread his work and share it with others. Do visit the place if you can and have a chat with him. That person is like a walking encyclopedia when it comes to farming.

Take care and do help promote genuine organic farmers and their products.

Sri

1 Just arrived

2 At the entrance to the house…

3 Every inch is grown

4 He’s showing us the portfolio done by him

5 “Dharma Jeewa” the liquid fertilizer

6 The leaflet about the fertilizer

7 Feel like having all of them.

8 Copied from his portfolio – Click Image to Enlarge

9 Estimate for the following two years – Click Image to Enlarge

10 Plan of his land – Click Image to Enlarge

11 Again copied from his portfolio – Click Image to Enlarge

12 More effective ways – Click Image to Enlarge

13 Beans are there too

14 More at the base of the bean creeper

15 Very tasty, some call it “Singapore Leaves”, some “Japan Batu Kola”

16 Egg plants

17 Tiny ones

18 The made beds ready for sowing

19 Specially designed pits

20 Papaya, pineapple, and many others live in harmony

21 Foot-long okra

22 Simply gorgeous

23 Looks amazing

24 Plenty of fruits, chemicals-free

25 Growing healthily

26 Piti Makuna attacked papaya but now healing nicely

27 Chillies

28 Nai Miris aka Kochchi

29 Every plant is there

30 Half-foot

31 Beetle leaves and on the ground Gotukola

32 Kotala Himbutu tree

33 These are being exported to Europe and Australia

34 Ready to distribute

35 Palitha and Sumane serving us papaya, you can taste the difference.

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

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

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

Heeran Ella

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

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

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

Beautiful Ekiriya villa

Heeran Ella seen from the footpath

Cascades of Mul Oya

Heeran Ella

.	Lower cascades of heeran ella

Village scenery

.

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

Trying to hide

Path to Penapus Ella

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

Penapus Ella also called Berri ella

.

.	Beautiful penapus fall

Upper cascades of Penapus falls

Near Kithulpe bridge

Kabaragala Falls

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

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

A roadside beauty on the mandaramnuwara road

Misty mandaram nuwara

another seasonal fall

Towards Piduruthalagala

Mandaram Nuwara road

Peela

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

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

Piduruthalagala range

shades of green

Mountainous forest

one of the many kabaragala cascades

on the way to power plant

another seasonal beauty

.	they were everywhere

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

Furiously flowing stream

Mist created by the Kabaragal fall

Another roadside beauty

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

Nuwara Eliya lit up

The Grand Hotel and the dhost we captured

Grand Hotel

Magasthota

Gregory Lake

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

Gregory lake and Magasthota covered by mist

Gregory Lake

Peach flowers

Peaches

The team

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

we named it as strawberry falls

Devathura upper cascades

Peacock hill

Palagolla kandura

.	Palagolla Kandura fall

A beautiful roadside seasonal fall

.

.

.

Devathura Oya

.

A roadside cascade in full flow

.

Poona Oya fall

.

Towards Kothlame

A glimpse of upper ramboda fall

Middle ramboda

Cascading point of lower ramboda

Kothmaley Valley

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

Devathura fall

Devathura fall

.	Middle cascade of devathura fall

Gerandi ella

Kothmale

helboda fall

Helboda falls

.

.

Delta Falls

.

.	Crested Hawk Eagle captured at Mawanella

.

Thank you for reading.

This was kind of an accidental visit to archaeological sites in this area as my objective was to conquer the Waddakanda-an isolated mountain range which is situated in between Medawachchiya and Horowpathana (Refer trip report Weddakanda Climb). As we were unable to find a guide to climb Waddakanda, had to visit at these places. I decided to write down them because a lot of travelers are not aware of them.

Handagalakanda/Handagala cave Temple

Handagalakanda is a rock situated in Rathmalgahawewa. It occupies caves and some other ruins belong to Anuradhapura era. On top of Handagala rock you can have a panoramic surrounding view.

Rathmalgahawewa is situated 21km away from Medawachchiya in Horowpathana road. Handagala is situated in about 5km from Rathmalgahawewa. You have to get a three wheeler from Rathmalgahawewa to Handagala.

The height of Handagalakanda temple is about 300feet from surrounding plain and 648ft above mean sea level. They have excavated about 45 drip ledged caves in this area. The name Handagala (meaning moon-rock) may have been coined because of the prominently located circular boulder on the hill crest that could be seen from a considerable distance over the surrounding forest cover resembling the full-moon. Handagalakanda was one of first excavations done by H C P Bell after establishment of archeology department in Sri Lanka in 1890. Dr Senarath Paranawithana had mentioned in his work “inscriptions of Ceylon” published in 1970 reproduced the 30cave inscriptions that have been identified in Handagala. These inscriptions are belonging to different time periods. The information recorded in them are limited to particulars regarding the donation of caves owned by different persons for the benefit of the priesthood as was generally characteristic of inscriptions of that era. Bell’s report for the year 1892 is accompanied by a photograph of a vihara building and a line drawing done to scale by the Survey Department of what was available of a fresco painting on a cave roof at Handagala. The reproduction of the pieces of the painting shows two figures – a male and female. While the male whose face is missing appears to be sturdily built, the portions of the other human figure show a female face, and a pair of graceful hands. A temple drum is also to be prominently seen. The costumes of the two figures as seen from the fresco fragment indicate them to be a pair of dancers. This fresco which appears belong to a later era, may have been one of several that may have covered much of this particular cave roof which is the largest at Handagala.

Summarized and quoted from- amazinglanka.com/heritage/handagala/handagala.php

Entrance of the temple.

When you climb along stone footsteps, first you will meet an ancient Pohoya House (පොහොය ගෙය) which has been renovated. Behind this building there is a cave which had ancient paintings now we can’t see. Ancient Dewalaya is situated in front of these structures. Close to the Dewalaya a stone inscription can be noticed and it has been documented. Get down by the foot pathway on right hand side of Dewalaya to come across 3-4 drip ledged caves with stone inscriptions.

Ancient Pohoya House with “Seema Malakaya” සීමා මාලකය

The cave which had ancient paintings

Ancient Dewalaya.

Documented stone inscriptions

Above mentioned stone inscription.

The cave with drip ledge.

Stone inscription with Brahami letters

Another stone inscription.

The first stupa you will come across close to Dewalaya is a new construction. Ancient image house is situated few steps above this stupa. It has been renovated recently. A “Hulang Kapolla” (හුලo කපොල්ල) can be viewed on right hand side of the image house. Go upwards by passing the image house to reach the summit of this rock.

Ancient image house.

“Hulang Kapolla”. White arrow shows the hole through which wind passes.

Paintings of the image house.

The ceiling.

Footsteps upwards.

We had a panoramic view on top of the summit. Two stupas can be seen here. Newly made seated Buddha statue adds a beauty to this temple. Waddakanda, Mihinthale and main pagoda’s of Anuradhapura can be viewed from here.

View of Waddakanda from Handagala. Waddakanda is the highest point of this area.

Mihinthale.

Nearby another rock temple called “Kuda Dambulu Wehera”-කුඩා දබුලු වෙහෙර.

Newly built stupa on top of Handagala.

Ancient stupa.

Buddha statue.

There is a small foot pathway in between two rocks in front of Dewalaya. It brings you to some other caves and a stupa. These caves are larger than previous ones and have some evidences of wall paintings. Stone inscriptions can be seen there. This stupa is also fairly large and has been preserved well by the archeology department. At the moment it has three basal rings only.

Narrow foot pathway and direction is shown here.

Drip ledge and stone inscriptions.

Another stone inscription.

Evidences of paintings.

A Buddha statue has been there.

This must be the largest cave.

Ancient stupa.

A part of stone pillar…these ruins can be seen around the stupa.

Another ruin.

ආදා ලකුණ-Evidences of treasurer

Kiralagala/Weherabandigala (කිරලා ගල/වෙහෙරබැදි ගල)

This archaeology site is situated in Medawachchiya-Horowpathana road close to Horowpathana. It’s old name is Weherabandigala and this name is still used in maps as well. But the name used by villagers and archaeology department is Kiralagala.
Kiralagala archaeology site has features of old Buddhist monastery belongs to Anuradhapura era. This site has been well preserved by archaeology department. It occupies ruins of a hospital, an image house, a large pond, a stupa and few residencies of bikku.

Upper part of umbrella stone.

A moon stone without engravings.

The path inside the archeology site.

A basement of a structure.