“Sampath, Sampath; get up, get up. You’re talking in your dream.” – My mother shakes me. I try to open my eyes and they are glued to the eye sockets.
“Who’s Lakegala?” – She keeps at it.
“What?” – I can’t make head nor tail of this.
“You were talking in your dream calling Lakegala. Who’s that?” – She is not about to give up on my dream talking.
I start giggling like a kid who got caught with Candy in his pajamas.
“What are you giggling at? Who’s Lakegala?” – She’s now highly suspicious.
“What’s going on” – My brother and grandma join the fun.
“Amma, Lakegala is not someone. It’s a rocky mountain in Meemure” – I can hardly get the words out.
“He’s crazy. Going around the country and now talking to them in his dreams not letting us get a decent night’s sleep.” – Typical grandma too wants big chunk of this pie.
“Amma, how can a girl be called Lakegala” – My brother wants to make a mockery out of this now. However little does he know that I always refer to Lakegala as her.
“Get back to sleep. Make sure you say Ithipiso Gatha before you do” – Mum warns and I duly oblige amid my hysterical laughs.

“Bambu Sema Thena Thena Gal Kanu Seduna
Sembu Sema E Matha Olugedi Thenuna
Thembu Diya Sema Anga Dahadiya Galana
Bambu Gala Medin Api Meemure Yanna”

“Epita Konata Kandupana Keleya
Mepita Konata Lakgala Meemureya
Desiya Dekak Usa Ethi Gomareya
Hondai Parakas Laka Meemureya”

Belu Belu Sathara Wata Us Kandu Getaya
Kandukara Idamwala Enasal Pala Baraya
Pasekin Yodayeku Men Ethi Lak Galaya
Me Hema Medin Aththe Meemuraya”

Nava mama’s voice was still echoing in my ear when I went back to my dream world. Gosh I miss Lakegala that much.

—I just typed up a recent conversation in my house late in the night with my family. Sampath is what my family and neighbors call me at home if you wonder who Sampath was.—

I left you in Kandy with my last report and hopefully you’ve read it by the time this comes online. I was furious with my friend Dimuthu when he got late to arrive in Fort and Tony and I had to leave him to find his own way to Kandy. Fortunately we managed to have a fruitful time in Kandy visiting Garrison Cemetery and National Museum, Kandy.

So Dimuthu came to Kandy around 10.30am and Tony and I joined him at the station. I’ve my bunnies (not mine actually) at the front garden of the station and I always make it a point to go see them possibly with some carrots too. Unfortunately this time I didn’t come across any vegetable vendors so had to visit them empty handed.

To my both disappointment and amazement, there were new bunnies. I was frantically searching for my old fellows without success. What happened to them? I had no idea and didn’t wanna check with those rude tickets issuing people at the station. Hope nothing bad had befallen on them. There were a bunch of new fellows very cute and I felt like cuddling them to me. Tony practically had to drag me out and we came to the bus stand looking for a Mahiyangana-bound bus. There was one filled to the brim and almost bursting at seams but we had no choice but to hop in squeezing in between sweating passengers.

I was still having that darn fever in me and found it very difficult to stand but there were no seats reserved for sick people no matter how much I tried to find one. The bus getting cramped like a lorry full of sand and conductor kept pushing and shouting to go back and forth. The fact that we’d not had any decent breakfast let alone lunch didn’t improve things. After a lot of huffing puffing we reached Hunnasgiriya as tired as racing horses panting nineteen to the dozen.

I called Nava mama but he was at the power plant overseeing the restored hydro power project with the help of Ana and Wije and his wife said Upali (one of their cousin son) is there waiting for us. So we went to Disage Kade (Disa’s Shop – this is where Meemure and Kaikawala vans stop) to have some lunch and met Upali too.

We ordered lunch and gobbled it down hungrily and I had a handful of tablets to go with it. Yuck yuck yucky… All of a sudden my phone started singing just before I put it flight mode. Dana was calling and I was wondering what it could be.

“Hey Dana, what’s up?” – That’s me.
“How are you feeling? Heard you suffering from fever” – Gosh how on earth he knows.
“I’m ok buddy, now in Hunnasgiriya getting ready to go to Meemure” – I couldn’t hide my surprise.
“Are you serious? Going to Meemure when you are down with fever? You’re nuts man” – Couldn’t agree with him more.
“I had to Dana, coz I can’t miss out on Meemure” – A darn fever wasn’t going to hold be back from visiting my beloved Meemure.
“Gosh, good luck then” – I knew I was gonna need so much of that.

Afterwards we bought some provisions for the journey (I was kicking later myself for not buying some biscuits) and got into the tuk-tuk with Upali putting my phone on Flight mode for the next 80 hours (you gotta believe me)

I had everything planned and our first stop was Knuckles Conservation Center (KCC) at Deanston for the Dothalugala trail. I had done Mini World’s End trail before and had no intention of doing that again. Tony kept saying that he’s going back to Meemure after more than two and a half decade (now you can guess his age coz it’s classified info) and was mesmerized by the roads.

Tour Highlights:

1. Dothalugala Nature Trail
2. Toddy Tapping
3. Nitro Caves Trail
4. Trekking along the Na Ela from Nitro Cave
5. Re-awakening Meemure – Re-stored Hydro Power Project
6. Meemure – Reassa Trail
7. Reassa – Narangamuwa Trail
8. Narangamuwa – Meemure Circular Trail
9. Alternative Energy – Dendro Power Plant

Day 01

Listening to Tony’s old stories we were soon at the KCC and got down to buy the tickets and leave our baggage coz we couldn’t risk leaving our bags inside the tuk-tuk. We bought tickets from the friendly officer there and left our baggage inside his office. Fortunately there were only a couple of hikers already on the Dothalugala trail so we were pretty much alone.

Dothalugala Trail

The trail head is about 500m away from the KCC towards Meemure and we decided to take the tuk-tuk and arrived at the gate. (Be warned: if the gate is locked just don’t panic or run back to the office. Just pull it hard and it’s bound to unlock itself. On our way back we had a funny experience with the gate).

There was the sign giving the distance to the camp site and cabin (2km and 1.8km respectively) and we managed to get the tuk-tuk onto this track as well. We found that he path right up to the Dothalugala cabin (1.8km) is easily accessible by a tuk-tuk and no problem with a Jeep or double cab. I really can’t tell you if it’s possible to do it with a van but I see why not.

The winds were coming from all the directions trying to push us away and we instantly felt so chilly as if we were in N’Eliya. Just remember when you were in World’s End amid strong winds and the experience is very similar there. We were hugging ourselves trying to retain what’s left of our body warmth. The scenery around, let me tell you, is absolutely a treat to the eyes. It will soothe your mind and body as if you were meditating or doing Yoga.

The mist was coming down from the top of Dothalugala Mountain enveloping us and then flying away towards the mountains afar. The sky was in two colors, slate grey towards the Dothalugala and bright blue away from it, what a contrast. We kept snapping away while Upali followed us in the tuk-tuk ever so slowly. Around halfway through, we decided to leave it behind as we wanted to feel the surrounding and take hundreds of pics not bothering with the vehicle.

To my surprise we found that our driver Upali, being a Meemure fellow, had never been to Dothalugala. Last time, Chanaka our then tuk-tuk driver said he did the Mini World’s End trail for the first time with us. It was so strange and maybe they don’t value things like that as much as we do since they are living in those areas.

The path was grass covered and a leech or two kept disturbing us (we didn’t know the reception party was waiting patiently at Dothalugala upper trail). Tony kept talking about Prince a.k.a. Kumaraya (by now you know him who’s suffering from leech phobia) and he’d have run all the way to Meemure had he come across a leech or two.

As given correctly on the sign board at the entrance, we were soon at a small stream which ran across the path and just beyond that we saw the camouflage structure painted in dark green which was the cabin. Fortunately nobody had booked it so it was all alone. We decided to have some water and fill our containers at the waterline there. The board giving GPS coordinates said the altitude is 1177m.

Cabin consists of two parts; the kitchen is separate from the sleeping areas where 12 people can stay. It was amid a tiny patch of forest so pretty much hidden inside. About another 50m away, you come to an opening where the trail is divided into three just like a “Thrishul”. The left and middle tracks join one another making a circular trail just like Mini World’s End. The left one is 2.3km in length up to the top and the middle one is 2.2km (making the total length 4.5km) to the top.

The right path takes you to the camp beds about 100m away and around midway folks into two making the left one taking you to the camp beds while the right one takes you to Bird Watching deck. This bird watching deck ends up at a waterfall (which I duly named Dothalugala Ella) with a natural pool for a cool dip.

We chose the middle path and went up through the forest patches and bushes on and off. The path was infested with leeches and Tony was initially protected by the denim jeans but later he found a few leeches underneath that. Somehow or the other, he had gotten the ability to separate leeches gender wise at the end of the journey. According to his findings, he was mostly bitten by female leeches for some reason or the other. Dimuthu was the most affected by leech attacks making his shoes a pool of blood but for some strange reason I was spared maybe I was leading the track all along.

We kept going higher and higher passing breath taking views of the mountains afar and tiny cascades flowing across the path. The path was marked every 100m making it easy to know how far you’ve come and how much more to go. After about an hour, we reached the top. It was nothing much but a small clearing covering all around with thick forest. They had put up GPS coordinates there. The altitude said 1407m. So it was a climb of 230m over 2.2km. Pretty steady one might think.

Then it was time to come down along the other path as there was nothing much we could do amid the forest and thickening mist. We were practically chilled to the marrow and didn’t wanna hang around anymore. When we were coming down, we passed heavy landslides which had taken huge rocks, trees and chunks of earth downhill.

Tony was pretty scared and wanted to cross that bit fairly quickly. We took about another 45mins to get back to the “Thrishul” junction and I was frantically searching for the waterfall. While Tony, Dimuthu and Upali were buys plucking leeches, I took the right path towards camping beds and it forked into two about 50m away and the right hand side said bird watching deck. Further along, there was a sign saying Natural Pool 500m and I could faintly hear the water hitting the rocks. My heart leaped and I rushed through to find this beautiful waterfall coming down creating a grand base pool ideal to have a cool dip on a hot summer day.

All the others missed this thanks to leeches. I was very happy to see this beauty and duly named her Dothalugala Falls. Then it was about another 1km to the tuk-tuk where we had left it. I wish we had taken it further up making the downhill journey easy. We noticed that the tuk-tuk had moved about 20ft and was wondering what had come over it. By the time we reached the gate, it was closed with a padlock.

I was beginning to worry coz it was starting to get dark and we were long overdue to arrive in Meemure as Nava mama was waiting for us. I ran to the KCC about 500m away to find the office is closed. Oh my gosh, how on earth we were gonna get the gate open and take the tuk-tuk out, what happened to our bags, I was near fainting. There were officers’ quarters across the road and they were empty. I ran here and there knocking on doors and windows but no one was there. I felt as if I’m acting in a ghost movie. I ran again to the back of the main building and there was a shower stall and to my amazement and annoyance, the fella who issued us tickets was brushing his teeth. He’d been in the toilet all that time and told me he had brought the bags to the bungalow and all we had to do was pull hard on the padlock and it would come off.

Feeling sheer frustrated, I ran back to the gate pulled hard on the padlock and away it came like a hot knife through butter. We came back to the KCC, collected our baggage and hit the road towards Meemure. It was going past 5.30pm we had to hurry coz we still had more than 25km to get there and the darkness can be pretty hazardous on that road.

Having travelled about 5km, Upali stopped the tuk-tuk all of a sudden to find that the left back tire had got a puncture. Fortunately, the spare wheel was there and another 15 mins time we were away finally leaving all the bad luck behind us.

At the KCC

What a wonderful song; never heard it though

The entrance…

Just getting started

Top of Dothalugala was covered with mist right throughout

Towards Loolwatte, beyond these mountains are the Kaikawala and Meemure villages

Little did we know that this was gonna be the hikes of our lives totaling 100+km in four days…

Unbelievable scenery all along

The sky towards the valley was very blue with artistic clouds

Tony shooting his next movie. (Flying wihtout Wings)

Unfortunately, the wood getting rotten

Through the dense forest

Please adhere to this wherever you go

Getting closer to the Cabin premises

The waterway just before the cabin

There it is… slightly above is the kitchen

Peeping through the window into the cabin

GPS at the cabin

This has some valuable info – Click Image to Enlarge

The kitchen door wide open so I decided to have a peek in search of something hot

Unique experience

The Opening after the cabin. See the “Thrishul” shaped tracks. The left and middle connect to create the circular trail and the right trail with stones takes you to camp beds and the Dothalugala falls

We chose the middle path; according to this the right one

Beginning of a 4.5km leech-infested trek

The forest welcome us with both hands

Tony, Dimuthu and Upali bringing the rear. This was his first-ever Dothalugala trek

There hadn’t been many visitors lately

The kingdom of mountains

Anyone there in the burrow?

Different shapes; different sizes

Just like a perimeter wall protecting the whole area

My favourite places to picture…. young paddy fields captured from almost top of Dothalugala

Tiring journey but Mist and fresh air kept us revived

Tony trying to squeeze the dust out of “Dum Gedi”

Tiny cascades were coming down all around

The Dothalugala sloping towards KCC

Trying to hide from us

The Dothalugala sloping towards KCC

Rising majestically and uncontested

The color contrast

It must be close now coz fever is getting at me big time

Grapes??? Not a chance but like that green

They’re panting

The last bit before the top

45 Finally at the top but all around is covered by the trees and hardly any gap

We reached slightly behind our schedule

Getting down in a hurry fighting leeches all the way

Land slides in side the forest

See the damage?

Our path was washed away and Tony trying his gymnastic skills to cross over

Climbing down were easier

Wow…

Mountains on the way down

Couldn’t get enough of this blue sky

Hi beauty

Leech attacks while Tony was deducing the gender balance among leeches

The right trail at the beginning

It forked into two and the right one leading pass bird watching deck to the waterfall

Good advice

Eurekaaaaa!!!!

Inviting pool

She’s a biggie

Not much water but enough to keep me interested

Pretty cold

Flowing downhill

Enough to have three tents

Bidding farewell

Icing on Dothalugala

Getting towards the locked gate and all the chaos

At the KCC, while searching for somebody frantically, I couldn’t help taking these

At the KCC

Ticket office

Golf balls on trees???

Time to go, getting dark by the second

We reached Meemure around 7.30pm and to my happiness Nava Mama’s house were illuminating with Electricity. Not Solar powered but by the re-stored hydro power plant. What can more I could’ve wished than lighting those people’s lives? I felt like jumping in the air and shouting from the top of Lakegala and say that we did it. Lakdasun forum helped bring this issue to Ana and Wije and as a result those innocent people got benefited. What a feat?

Nava mama telling his signature stories in the light now…. No more candles or dim-looking solar powered lights

Nava mama came and gave us a warm welcome and his wife had prepared our meals and got worried us being late. After a quick wash we started chatting with Nava mama and he was very grateful for Ana and Wije for helping them out at that crucial time. Tony got very well along with Nava mama and they started talking about good old times about three decades before how the village was and all.

The time flew listening to their stories coz they were so interesting and I was practically hooked. It was during this conversation Tony asked if I knew how the drummers at Perahera got their beats or rhythms for which I had no idea. Then he described in the past those drummers had no particular rhythm to play their instruments and went on to reveal how the Thammatam players and later drummers (the chubby one, probably Yak Beraya) and later Horane players learned their beats. If you meet Tony, don’t forget to ask about this and the story related to this. Hopefully he’ll feel obliged to confide in you.

I then called Lasantha, my friend who was due to arrive on the following day, giving him directions and Upali’s contact number. I asked Nava mama to send Upali around 11am to Hunnasgiriya to pick him.

Finally around 11.30pm, we decided to call it a day and hit the bed. We had planned a long day for the following day and wanted to get our heads down as soon as we can for as long as possible. I was so happy that we could use real electricity coz I can remember last time we had to use the washroom in the candle light. We had to sit in the dark in his Verandah listening to his grand stories but those were things in the past. I hope before sleeping that those things will remain in the past and not bother them ever.

Day 02

Toddy Tapping

Tony usually gets up very early and I too joined him and the morning sun was up and fresh air mixed with bright sunlight was leaking through the window and the door hinges. We could hear birds chirping and leaves rustling in the morning wind. Such a relief to be among the nature away from the concrete jungle. The mobile that usually keeps ringing was at peace finally sleeping next to me on flight mode. I’m sure he too would’ve enjoyed this quietness away from yelling via him all the time.

I got up and came out to see Nava mama busy at work. He’d found a pot and was busily tying a wire around it making sure to hold it in place. When I asked what it was for, he surprised me by saying that he’s gonna do some toddy tapping and I can take pics. I asked during my last visit if it was possible to see one of them and he’d remembered. How nice and I just go my camera and started snapping away. He got the razor sharp knife in a handmade sheath and put it on the small of the back tucking it firmly into his sarong.

The tree was just behind the house and Tony joined me in seeing this miracle. He went to the base of the tree and did the typical rituals and started climbing up along the pole (most of these are bamboos) tied to the trunk of the tree with creepers (not strings or ropes) and the toddy pot hanging in one arm. It was so scary and fascinating sight too and I couldn’t take my eyes off. For a second I forgot that I was supposed to take pics.

When he reached the top, he started clearing about chopping away the dead leaves and settled nicely on a branch of a tree. Then removed the previous morning bucket and started cutting away at the flower. It was like a half-cut cauliflower and looked very brown and polished due to continuous cutting. Then when he was satisfied with the work he’d performed on the flower, replaced the bucket under the flower which was there with the new one and covered it with a polythene sheet in order to stop flies getting into the pot and came down. Throughout the day the freshly cut flower will pour juice into the pot.

Meanwhile Tony was playing Miss Meemure with a long Kithula Mala placing it on his head like long haired African beauty. Then it was time for us to go and have our breakfast coz we had a long day ahead of us doing one of the very difficult hikes around Meemure.

Major incomes are generated by these

Garden fresh and we frequently had these…. Daiiiiiyaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Horn of a Wild Boar, very strong

Mouth watering

Early morning, busy at work

Getting ready

Way to go

Finally on top, had to run here and there to get a good clear shot

Clearing around

Cutting away at the flower

Bunch of ropes or a cauliflower cut in half???

Tying polythene cover around to protect from flies and bees

Everything ready

Everything done and dusted

The African beauty with her wavy hair…

Nitro Cave Trail

Having witnessed firsthand how to tap toddy trees, we started on our breakfast while Nava mama’s wife was busy getting something ready for our lunch. However, Nava mama protested saying it won’t be hot and fresh by the time we have it midday and instead asked for some flour dough to make Roti at the cave. This immediately appealed to all of us and Tony was a strong supporter of this and with all our votes, his wife had to give in but warned us not catching a stomachache by eating raw flour.

Nava mama wrapped it in a plastic sheet and plucked some fresh chilies you saw above along with tomatoes and onions to go with roti. A flat iron plate was also packed to cook roti and we were ready to go. We could’ve taken the tuk-tuk about a halfway through but decided walk instead along the road passing Kaikawala too.

Morning walk was so refreshing and we enjoyed every bit of it. Tony was getting friendly with all the dogs along the road and they chose to follow him at a safe distance with contempt. The concrete paved road right up to our breaking point passing Kaikawala (Barber shop) helped us immensely coz the strenuous bit was yet to come. Nava mama showed us the canal made by villagers that take water through the village to the hydro power plant. The side walls are fractured in places and need to be renovated sooner rather than later as precious water is leaking through the gaps.

We stopped by the sign saying the Meemure sub post office is nearby. Then walked passing Kaikawala School where they have till GCE OL. At the huge bridge of Kaikawala, we stopped by the “Kaikawala Falls” (named by us and many more waterfalls had to be named on our trek downhill along Heen Ganga) and Nava mama wanted to show off his rock sliding skills. To my horror, Tony’s camera fell on the rock and my heart skipped a beat. However, Dimuthu managed to fix the issue and got it back working to my relief. What’s point going there without a camera? Then Nava mama came down the rock surface of Kaikawala falls (about 20+ft) and swam away in the base pool.

This time I duly recorded the action and posted it on YouTube. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeLtBscfCbE&feature=em-upload_owner)

Afterwards, we stepped up our gear and walked and entered a cross road at the Kaikawala barber shop and went through the village passing paddy fields and people working in the scorching hot sun. Lakegala was watching us from afar and she looked happy to see me again. There were so many other mountains surrounding us and it all looked like protecting Meemure and Kaikawala from the wicked world outside.

The highest mountain in the Knuckles region Gombani could also be seen and just below her was the Belum Gala which Nava mama said that we could climb and now it’s in my never ending to-do-list. Either side of Gombani were Andirigala (at the bottom is Nava mama’s house), Kalawel Bokka, Appala Pathana, Hellena Gala (like a parrot head) and Lakegala standing tall like bodyguards of the Great King, Ravana. We reached Ma Oya and crossed over on to the other side which is Hunuketadegalaha Village (don’t twist your tongue trying to pronounce that) and found yet another waterfall about 100m upstream.

Such a great beauty flowing down and in the middle as if jumping up before falling down again. We couldn’t think of a better name than Hunuketadegalaha Falls… Sorry folks if it’s difficult to say. The terrain got so difficult afterwards and we kept pushing to the limits, especially the youngest fellow in our team didn’t show a bit tired. We then came to the Na Ela Junction where there four tracks meet. (Kalugala, Karambaketiya, Na Ela and Kaikawala via Hunuketadegalaha)

We took the left leading to Na Ela and soon as we turned there was this small house and a girl was making Jaggery out of toddy on the specially designed stove. Having refilled our water bottle and getting a much needed break we decided to take the track towards Nitro Cave. Passing a bunt we came to the Na Ela which goes downhill till she merges with Heen Ganga between Kaikawala and Meemure. This is where I felt like kicking myself for not taking anything, even some biscuits coz we were ravenous after a tiring walk but only the refreshing water of Na Ela was there.

Tony and I gave a water therapy for our battered legs while Dimuthu went in search of fish and prawns in the waterway without success. The wind was so comforting and there was this tiny waterfall about 15ft and you know the drill by now. She is now “Nitro Falls”, named by us. I felt like sleeping on the rock surface but we had a deadline to meet and we couldn’t waste anytime cooking our Roti here. So motivated by ever-growing hunger, we hit the last bit of our journey climbing up though the dense forest about 2-3km to the destination, Nitro Cave. The path hadn’t been used lately but still visible and Nava mama had more senses we could imagine so there was no fear of getting lost.

Finally, Eureka, the Cave was visible and we stepped on the gas. It was a huge cave jutting out of a rocky mountain and now occupied by many thousands of bats who got very angry by our intrusion. You can climb up and see the inside of the cave even though there’s nothing much other than hundreds of tons of bat excrement but the place looked lived on. There were a couple of sticks to help you get on to the rock slab from where you can see the mountains far away, especially my beloved Lakegala showing herself beautifully.

We came down and along the rocky path went a bit up and came across a huge wasp nest full of wasps and had to be careful not to arouse them. Finally we settled about 100m away where there was this tiny stream of water and got busy with our Roti making. Dimuthu and Nava mama got busy making a hearth with rocks while Tony got all the stuff out and started washing onions, tomatoes and chilies. If you wonder then what I was doing, just picturing all this was my duty and they were better at what they did and didn’t wanna be a nuisance.

We found some dry twigs and got the fire going and on top went the flat iron roti maker and Nava mama was busy breaking small balls out of the dough and spreading it evenly on the surface and putting it this side and the other nicely burning both sides and I was getting mighty hungry. Tony and Dimuthu started making our Salad with freshly cut onions, chilies and tomatoes and Nava mama had brought an orange to supplement lime and we were good to go. The lunch was superb and we tucked in like a pack of wolves and what a feast it turned out to be.

I managed to record a short video and uploaded it to YouTube and it’s here for you to check.

The tasty water made our thirst and tiredness vanish into thin air and we were ready to get back after about 10min break. It was one helluva hike and we were looking forward to the return journey when Nava mama surprised us by asking if we wanna take a different route to the village. I’d never dream of saying no, so was Tony and Dimuthu and we were soon on our way towards Na Ela where we were supposed to get along the Na Ela till we came up to Heen Ganga about 8km downhill.

You know who these are. In the middle is not a cowboy but our Nava mama

An aggressive water buffalo won’t let us pass. See the pinkish ears, but don’t think you can see the steam rising through the nostrils

Right across the road…

Katuwel Batu Hanging beauty

About 100m away… now lightened free of charge by Meemure Society

Nava mama showing us the man-made canal that takes water to the Hydro power plant… it needs restoration too as the bunt is fractured in many places leaking precious water

Mountains beyond Kaikawala

Gorgeous view

Kaikawala Falls

Base pool

Ma Oya going down…

The stuntman is back

Sliding down captured simultaneously recording

“How was it?”

The mountains in the horizon

Side view glance at Kaikawala Falls

Endless mountains with lush greenery

Heading towards Ma Oya crossing point

Here we are, water levels were low so crossing was no prob…. You can see pillars down which are the remains of a bridge yet to be built

Hunuketadegalaha Falls

Cool water helped us replenish our stocks

There she’s jumping in the middle

She’s small but gorgeous

A friendly person we met on the river bank

Endless mountains

What a contrast in colors

Pano with the mountain range. (From left: Hellena Gala, Kalawal Bokka, Gombaniya, Belum Gala, Andirigala, Appala Pathana)… Hope I got them all correct

Gombani in the middle and towards her right slope is the Belum Gala

More majestic views

Na Ela Junction (Tony-Kalugala footpath through the forest// Nava Mama-Karambaketiya//Dimuthu-Na Ela//Me-Kaikawala)

Single-horned beast found at Na Ela

What a simple house; This is where we met that girl making Jaggery

I’m sure you recognize this…. the fella wearing this decided to abandon it

Jaggery stove made out of a barrel

Jaggery getting thicken ever so slowly

I suppose you can’t call this a Skeleton of a Butterfly

The bunt doesn’t have enough water to retain

There can’t be a beautiful mountain than her

Committing suicide… I removed the fella but he went back to the water… must’ve been let down by his wife…. (Tony, the animal specialist, confirmed this)

Na Ela crossing point

There’s the Nitro Ella, about 15ft

Not much water but enough to look nice

4-man reconnaissance team

Commander is checking the path ahead

Birdie nest

Hard climbing

A much relieved Tony looking flabbergasted at the cave

Nava mama, not a bit tired, carrying onto the cave

We made a Toy Red Indian with a feather and a mushroomy stick

The cave is jutting out of the rock

Wasps busy at work….

Climbed up Nava mama and Tony in the background busily picturing

Nava Mama’s skills helping to explore the unreachable

The ground is covered with sand mixed bat excrement with worms

Looking out of the gloom

The walls are all rocks

Getting down was yet another fiasco

Finally some breathing space

The rock carves in further

Met a similar fella at Morning Side too

Going further up looking for a place to make lunch

Finally all set up

The tiny water stream where we collected ours….

The fire is on fire and our dough is resting and onions and other stuff ready for chopping

Tony playing the chef….

Busy at work…. Nava mama very good at it

Can’t wait anymore….

All three busily doing the final touches….

Eat…..

United black ants carrying their share

Good bye…. got a long way back

Trekking along the Na Ela from Nitro Cave

I practically ran climbed hill and was back at Na Ela crossing point (near Nitro Falls) in record breaking time and gave my feet another cold water therapy. Couldn’t feel like taking them out, just wanted to lie down on the rock and let the nature envelope me with her arms. The rest of the crew came about 20mins later very sluggishly coz the tiredness has by now set in big time.

They too wanted a piece of that calmness and lied down heavily sighing deeply. We had by then done nearly 20km or more most of it hiking and felt dog tired. Nava mama said that we now have to walk downwards along the Na Ela and I felt happy but it was one of the hardest things to do as we had to keep on constant alert jumping from rock to rock and avoid boulders and obstacles and getting back in thorny jungle.

The walk reminded me of Grand Canyons in the US as the either side of the river rose huge rock boulders in various shades of brown. The water levels were pretty low but it was so hard to walk, we had to jump and we soon arrived at a massive earth slip along the Nitro Cave mountain right down to the river itself. It had carried a huge tree all the way and dumped on the river bed. All these had been due to the heavy rains in last January which moved the massive concrete bridge at Kaikawala by 6 inches.

Suddenly Nava mama spotted something in a shallow rock pool and was trying to take it out of the water when we saw what it was. That horrible looking white skin covered bag like thing had belonged to a wild boar mother. We then saw blood had trickled down a flat rock where apparently she was butchered by the poachers or hunters. They had erected a cross bar where they had made a fire supposedly roasting the fellow. They had removed those fetuses (we counted 6 in all sticking out like balloons out of it) and dumped in the water.

Nava mama and Tony with the help of Dimuthu took it out of the water using a stick and left it on the cross bar as it would’ve spoiled the water. That was such a horrible thing to look at but I took some pics and was pondering whether to put it on the report or not. I decided to put it anyway and hopefully admin will decide if it should be censored or not. Just after that was the Sri Lankan Grand Canyons as we called it and was a magnificent thing to look. It made it all the more difficult for us to move to the other side but we managed it with a great difficulty.

Passing that we came to a somewhat larger waterfall and the name given to her was “Na Ella”, even though Tony suggested “Samanala Ella” coz there were plenty of them but I wouldn’t have any of it. She was about 50ft in height and unreachable via a path. Only option is to walk up or climb down along the Na Ela. There were flocks of butterflies on the ground and was wondering if they were feeding something from the earth.

We then had to abandon the river as the going was very hard and Nava mama led us through the forest full of thorny plants. We had to be very careful so as not to slip into the river about 100ft below. It was pretty dark inside the forest as sun had no way of penetrating that tree cover. We then saw another waterfall about 20ft but couldn’t get up close. The name came effortlessly (now I’m very good at it) as “Katu Ella”. If you wonder why Katu Ella, we usually say “Maara Kattak” for something very difficult. It was something similar getting to her so the name stuck really well.

Another waterfall was round the corner, would you believe it? I was fast running out of names and had to come up with something fast. It was in two parts totaling about 8ft in height and “Galpoththa Ella” seemed a better name. Tony said if we continue for some more, we’re bound to run out of names pretty soon. Afterwards, to our relief, we got onto a nearby paddy field running parallel to the river and the going got easier. However when we entered the abandoned paddy field, we barely saw another huge falls, around 40ft around the river bend but couldn’t see her properly and no name was required.

We joined the Heen Ganga crossed over to the next side where people of Kaikawala busily working on their lush paddy fields. I noticed that the greenery of these fields is not so lush as much as Meemure. I can’t think of why but it was very noticeable.

The earth slip from Nitro Cave mountain

Massive tree taken for a ride

Strenuous hike downhill

Rocks in various sizes

There’s the ugly one we got out of water. Dried blood marks are still visible

We just left it there. This is where they had apparently roasted the fellow

SL Grand Canyon

These rocks might have come crawling with the flood waters in Jan

Top of Na Ella….

Here she is…. not full flow

The reason why we thought of calling her Samanala Ella

Pretty high even without high heels

Inviting base pool

The Trio

Leaving her behind

Nava mama looking for something

Plenty of tiny cascades

Katu Ella

Up close barred by those branches

Top part zoomed in from far away

Time to move on

Galpoththa Ella

Both parts in view…. tiny one

This had once been an Anicut

Below the Anicut, we took to the paddy fields from the corner left

Snake’s

We missed that big waterfall just

Ready to cross over Heen Ganga

Lush green

Overhead view of far fields

Simply awesome

Found it a bit less grandeur than Meemure

Re-awakening Meemure – Re-stored Hydro Power Project

Walking along the lush paddy fields revived our sapped energy. The sun was going down below Andirigala and Appala Pathana mountains and I wanted to hurry and go see the power plant as I had strict instructions to take pics of the renovation work and do a short video from Ana. I didn’t wanna disappoint them at any rate.

We reached the point where the used water coming out of the power house via a tunnel and there was plenty of water gushing out in a mad rush. I was very happy to see the state of the power house and Nava mana in a humorous gesture switched off the main switch joking now they don’t have power and switched on again saying now they do.

It showed how relieved that person was. It was running smoothly and we didn’t feel any vibration in the plant and they had used more screws and bolts to strengthen the whole machine. Meemure society has got hold of a boy (Jayasinghe Banda) who’s willing to do the night shift at the power house for Rs. 4000/-. It’s surprising how small that amount is but that boy had volunteered saying he doesn’t need much as it’s something he’s doing for the village. He lives about 1km uphill where the path to the power plant starts.

I took pics of the plant and did the short video too which you can see here:

Afterwards, it was time to go back to Nava mama’s place for the night. We still had to climb the hill to get to the foot path where the main tank of the power house is built. It’s about 50ft in length and over 10ft in width and a height of another 10+ft. It retains the water and sends to the power house via a pipeline about 28cm in diameter. Unlike in all the other plants I’ve seen, this is a half inch PVC pipeline whereas most of the power houses use iron pipelines. The path the pipeline is laid is supported by concrete pillars but we saw at certain places there a lose points which might endanger the pipeline.

We then walked up the path towards the main road and met the boy, Jayasinghe Banda and the person who stays for that night, Ukkubanda mama. Nava mana and the society have done a roster so that every night along with Jayasinghe Banda, someone from Meemure who’s using electricity must come and stay at the plant. If they can’t come, they have to pay Rs. 500/- to the society. I found this to be a very good option given the fact that they need to protect this very badly.

Along with them I met Mr. W. G. Samarakoon who’s the postman. I’m sure he has to walk many a miles every day delivering letters to the remote parts of those villages.

From the Meemure society, they give free electricity to the following places:

1. Post Office
2. Dispensary
3. Kaikawala and Meemure Schools
4. Samurdhi Bank and the Office
5. Grama Niladhari Office
6. Meemure Temple
7. Agricultural Office

There’s been lot of charity work going on as well and it was so nice to see these people enjoy their lives. The Dendro plant is about 50m towards the village but I decided to take some pics on our way back to Hunnasgiriya as it was very dark. We got into the main road passing the post office and walked the last few kilometers thanks to my torch.

We found Lasantha (my other friend who missed out two days of fun) was waiting all fresh and ready to hit the road but we were exhausted. I remembered sending replacement soldiers to replace the battered ones in the battlefields. The legs needed so much rest and after a quick wash and dinner it was time to hit the pillow hard. We had a very long day the following day with a night in Narangamuwa. We had walked more than 35km throughout the day.

The water gushing out the power plant

Part of the plant

Newly installed part with more screws

So much to capture

Trying to get as much as possible in one go

No vibration detected

Any idea what these say?

The meter board but I couldn’t make head nor tail of this

Power house

The PVC pipeline laid amid the forest supported by concrete pillars at intervals

This hike was more challenging

The tank that holds water

From left: Nava Mama, Jayasinghe Banda, Ukkubanda and Samarakoon the postman

Free electricity at work

Closed for the day…

Day 03

Meemure – Reassa Trail

Morning arrived and brought with it authentic fragrances of the trees, earth and the wind. I jumped out of the mattress and went in search of Nava mama who’d done the ritual with toddy tapping. Got washed and packed our bags as we had to stay overnight at Narangamuwa. We tried to take as few items as possible since climbing with a huge backpack gonna test your spine and knees.

After a breakfast of tasty rice and curry we were good to go. Nenda gave us our own packs of lunch to have on the way but Nava mama packed some onions, tomatoes and chilies as usual. We were not hoping to cook a meal but I knew he was up to something.

We walked towards the famous Mee Tree in the center of Meemure village near the primary school. We met Athula (hope you can remember him, he was the one who took us in our previous visit to Meemure) helping do a stone wall around a neighbor’s land. They don’t use cement; just keep one rock on top the other balancing it nicely. This reminded me of Delft Island where they’d done the same with corals. Nava mama had got a call the previous night confirming the arrival of some French tourists but he couldn’t go meet them as we had fully booked him.

Instead, he asked Athula to go to Narangamuwa and pick them and bring via the circular trail to Meemure the following day and the same thing we were gonna do. Lady Lakegala was waiting for us patiently having cleared all the clouds around her so that she looks very appealing. I couldn’t keep my eyes off her no matter how much I look at her. Nobody was gonna take me away anytime soon coz I was busy with my camera picturing her in every angle possible.

After sometime, we crossed the bridge and started our journey towards Reassa which is a part of Lakegala but can’t be seen from Meemure. That’s where Ravana’s palace was built and below his tank. Apparently Rama had attacked it with a special weapon (Possibly a nuclear attack in modern day descriptions. Otherwise there could’ve been no way a conventional weapon done so much damage to that gigantic rock. Even a 2000lb Joint Direct Attack Munition wouldn’t have inflicted so much damage) and that arrow had gone clean through that part of Lakegala like a knife through butter completely demolishing it sending tons of rocks to the tank and the nearby Narangamuwa.

— Reassa means maze in English which is a place full of obstacles and difficult to find your path and can easily get lost. As many believe Reassa is not what you call the broken side of the Lakegala, but the area where those chunks of rocks fell covering the Tank and the nearby lands of Narangamuwa. If you ever venture into the path towards Narangamuwa from the broken part of Lakegala, you’ll know what it really means as it’s very difficult to find your way to the village through the forest and endless rock boulders. —

We bypassed the “Akula Ella” which you came across in my previous report and the name was suggested by Nava mama. She was just a trickle going down the rock surface now. Then it was familiar territory right up to the Lakegala base. We did it last time with Athula and had a nice cool dip in the artistic rock pool at the base and was hoping to do the same this time around too.

However, when finally arrived at the place, I was so disappointed to see the rock pool has turned into a junkyard full of leaves as the water levels were too low to send them away. We rested our feet and munched on rice crackers. I couldn’t afford to take the risk of not taking any snacks to munch throughout the journey so stocked as much as we could carry. Meanwhile Nava mama was busy around a rock plucking some plants to find they are Gotukola.

This is the reason he packed all those orange, tomatoes, onions and chilies in the first place. Now we were gonna make some delicious Gotukola salad. However, we had no container to make it but I just left it at that. Then we were onto new territory taking the left turn around Lakegala and soon stopped at the tiny waterway to fill our waterbottles.

Suddenly, Nava mama warned us of a tree called “Maassa” which makes your skin itch and swell if you come into contact with it. Should you wash the area with water, you’re bound to get high fever according to folklore. We had to stay alert for about 1km until the danger had passed.

The treatment for this is to apply Kurahan flour mixed with coconut milk having scraped the infected area with a knife. (I hope you remember applying coconut oil when touched by a caterpillar after scraping with a knife. Kahambiliya tree is a similar one that we very well know of). There was this funny treatment of applying just coconut milk on the infected area and let a cat lick the area with its rough tongue.

Nava mama then showed us Meadiya Creepers which they used to tie the poles and sticks when building mud huts as real ropes are hard to come by. If you saw Toddy tapping pics, those poles were also tied to the tree with these creepers.

We then reached the Komala Pathana and started having our lunch when Nava mama brought a flat rock about 2 square feet. He then washed all the Gotukola and cut them with his knife and put them on the washed out rock surface and mixed it with chopped onions, chilies and tomatoes. Squeezed out orange added that wonderful flavor and we tucked in hungrily. The flavors started exploding in our mouths with those crunchy onions and fresh Gotukola.

We suddenly started a steep climb and Nava mama kept looking for any danger such as Wild animals, wasps or any traps in the jungle. Attempting these trails without a guide will put you in endless troubles and dangers. Nava mama showed us Black Monkey about a km away and I tried to see the fellow with my own eyes with a great difficulty. Then I used my tiny point and shoot and got a decent enough pic which made Nava mama very keen on it.

He was asking all about cameras and said that he’s gonna get one soon as he comes across many interesting things that go without a record since he hasn’t got a camera. “I’ll get one when the peppers are sold” he kept telling me. Imagine the things he gets to see in those un-ventured areas. We haven’t seen even one hundredth of what he’s seen. Soon the forest disappeared paving the way to small plants then and there. We were nearing the top and the surrounding looked fabulous even though the scorching sun kept pounding on us.

Suddenly it was right in front of us and I felt mesmerized of what we saw. The Narangamuwa side of Lakegala has been cleanly cut away as if a slice of a loaf of bread and the height is so much we couldn’t gauge it. However, Nava mama threw a stone to the bottom and it took 11 seconds for us to hear the boom. Must be a long way down and I suspect it to be around 600-800ft.

We were very little below the top of Lakegala but couldn’t climb up from that side as the mountain is divided in the middle. Only way up is to take the right trail up at the base of Lakegala where we rested. We took many pics and could see Narangamuwa faraway specially the Temple and Stupa along with those beautiful paddy fields. There was a huge rocky mountain towards left of Narangamuwa and on it two openings showing that they were caves dug into the rock.

Nava mama explained that those were said to be the storage of King Ravana for grains, especially paddy. He’d been inside of them and said the length is about 70ft and height and width around 20ft each. The shape is like a cone overall. Apparently there are remains of those grains still in those caves. They are called “Kapuwatugala Caves”.

We stayed there about 40mins and decided to head towards Narangamuwa as it was another long hike through the maze (Reassa). On the way we were to pass the foot of that rock where the caves are dug in.

Lasantha fresh looking but we are no worse

Doing the wall with just putting rocks on top of each other

Rice mill

My Love…

Going towards the bridge through sawed paddy fields

Crossing the bridge the crew in single file

No matter whether you’re young or old, you have to work as much as others

Gigantic

The scenery along is worth the whole journey

Getting a rest and Lasantha kept looking for signal

Collecting firewood…

You could see the Maediya Creepers. Just below is the Akula Falls

Differently shaped Lakegala when you go around her

Familiar Territory. Tony’s with his two sticks that helped him right throughout

Hurrahhh… finally the base of Lakegala

Nava mama washing the freshly plucked Gotukola to be kept for later

Can you see the dark base pool? This was the artistic pool where we had a cool dip. But not this time

Mountians far away. If you wanna climb the Lakegala, the trail is slightly to the left of the pic

Maaussa – The poisonous tree…

Nice doorway created by those smashed rocks from Lakegala

Nice Pus Wela

Another skull of a buffalo

This is another piece of bone but looked like a head of its own with eyes and the mouth

The faraway black monkey which made Nava mama wanna get a camera ASAP

This is not wasps, but ants

Another massive landslide

Funny shaped in the middle

This is good to have as a plant in your garden. Name is “Baludan”

Komala Pathana…. ready to lunch

The water was getting very scarce to find

Nava mama the explorer

The all-rounder: Guide, Host, Cook and so much more

I know this makes your mouth water….

They can’t wait anymore

Tony on crutches?

Destination is close by…. we finally arrived in this open area along the climb

So much to cover….

This is called “Kahata” and they cook a nice curry with those fruits

The top of Lakegala and we were heading to the left. It’s separate in the middle as a result you can’t cross from this side to the top

Tired but happy bunch

Here it is. The straight line on the left is where the rock is cleanly shaved by that arrow

I’ll let you get the pic

Imagine the height

This place used to have Ravana’s tank but got all covered up with those chunks of rocks… Narangamuwa is far away

Can see a glimpse of Narangamuwa from here

This is not the summit, it’s on the other side

The models were back

I’m like the Atlas who carries the world

We had no idea the following day we’d walk along these paddy fields

Tried my best to get this

My fav pano

From Narangamuwa to Meemure, the path is beyond those rocks

See the Stupa at Narangamuwa Temple

Nava mama throwing a stone and Tony measuring the time

Such depth

Time to head back as we had a long walk to Narangamuwa

Reassa – Narangamuwa Trail

On our way to Narangamuwa, Tony’s shoe broke and fortunately he’d bought a pair of rubber slippers. It was climbing down time and we soon entered into a nearly dried up river on a rocky bed. There was still a bit of water stubbornly flowing in the middle but we had no such difficulty in tackling the path. On and off Tony had to resort to foul wheel bringing back his childhood abilities.

Afterwards we were soon enveloped by the jungle and it was pretty dark but Nava mama wasn’t gonna miss the trail. He did it after a very long time still managed to guide us through the correct path using his own abilities and some land marks such as trees and rocks.

We came across a funny shaped tree which had a kind of archway that we could walk through. Soon Nava mama identified the Jack tree where we can go to the Kapuwatugala Cave. It was getting close to 6pm and Nava mama still wanted to climb up about 60ft and get us some pics. I knew it wasn’t a good idea even for an experience person like him so asked not to do it. I said we could always come back later and explore it and he very reluctantly gave in.

There was another cave at the bottom about 30ft long and 6-10ft in depth. There were trees grown at the mouth of the caves covering it from prying eyes. Looking back we saw a differently shaped Lakegala mainly due to the broken piece of her. Lakegala is the separating point of Meemure and Narangamuwa.

Then we entered the village and walked passing paddy fields till we reached the Narangamuwa town Centre. It’s powered by the main line and had no problem with electricity like Meemure. Nava mama’s relative (one of his nephews) was there waiting for us. We were to stay at his place more to the irritation of Nava mama’s younger brother. He said that Nava mama came to Narangamuwa after a long time and wanted him to stay at his place.

We had cream soda to pamper our parched mouths and it felt like the best in the world. Nava mama in the meantime bought the rations for our dinner and breakfast. It was very dark and we had our torches thankfully along with theirs. Another 2km walk brought us to one edge of the village and beyond that was the Knuckles protected area. They said to our horror that the Elephants come to the village and even to the garden but no damage so far being done. I guess either the villagers and elephants live in harmony or the worst is yet to happen.

We were so tired but were warmly welcomed by them. Immediately the house became like a bees’ nest everyone trying to see to our needs and Nava mama kept boasting that we were the ones who initiated the restoration work of the power plant so VIP treatment was around the corner. After a very cold bath, we had a delicious dinner and juicy home grown papaya. What more could a man ask for other than a cozy bed which was exactly what we got in the end.

However, Nava mama’s brother kept telling us some of the folklore and it was very interesting to hear they talk about all these things. It was time to grab the pillow and dream about my Lakegala so we turned in for the night.

The Baby Tony learning to walk

The dried up river on the rocky bed

Looks like a Wadi

Odd rock pool or the other

Another pic of the team….

This is a river nearly dried up

The tree archway

It really was a Maze

The cave at the base

Another one just above

With the flash on…. not so big

The trees are masking the entrance of Kapuwatugala Cave

Differently shaped Lakegala

Up close

This is where they keep the calves…

Getting to the town was very tiring

Day 04

Narangamuwa – Meemure Circular Trail

We slept without a hitch and no fear whatsoever for elephants trampling on us. We got up to another fantastic day and the sky was crystal clear and everything was looking as best as anything can look. We saw Kumara’s (our host) son was already dressed up and remember it’s Mon and the schools are still functioning. Very good to see him in pristine white shirt and royal blue shorts which came sweet memories flooding back to me.

The kitchen was very busy and Kumara’s wife was multitasking while preparing our breakfast and getting her son and daughter ready for school and Montessori. We had wash and came to a sumptuous breakfast and wolfed it down like no tomorrow. We were planning on coming back to Colombo the same day and had to hurry and get back to Meemure. Still a journey of 16+km. I was already tired and wished we could stay that day as well but my office was not forgiving any more.

We had breakfast and managed to get a pic of Kumara’s little girl who looked like an angel with her uniform up. She shyly posed for a pic and I got the whole family to pose too even though Kumara’s wife was very reluctant. We bid our thanks and farewell to those wonderful people and got back on the road. On the way we stopped by at Nava Mama’s brother’s place for a glass of water.

We walked through the paddy field which we saw from the top of the broken bit and it was simply amazing. We saw an old lady working on a grain field (Mun Eta) and the lush greenery of the plants were very adorable. We came across and got into the road to find Athula coming to Narangamuwa to collect those French foreigners.

Everybody seems to know everybody else as both the villagers are relatives in one way or the other due to marriages between them. We met a person who had collected his daily ration of Toddy and Nava mama and Tony who were creeping behind us had managed to help themselves to a cup or two. We soon entered the jungle and saw a some holy tree with tree branches hanging. Nava mama did the rituals asking for protection along the journey by hanging a branch of our own.

The god they worshipped was called Wanniya Bandara. He has many other names such as “Kele Bandara, Aluth Bandara, Biso Bandara, Gale Bandara, Devatha Bandara and Dedimunda Bandara”. Different areas used different names, according to Nava mama but the same god.

—It was a walk through the “Donduru Weddha Mala Thenna” (Where the Donduru Weddha was killed). Nava mama said the story. There had been a Weddha called Donduru who lived there and no villages nearby not even Meemure or Narangamuwa. One day he met this hunter and they got very friendly. The hunter went and told his brother about the Weddha and the area where he roamed and suggested it was ideal to start a new village. However, Weddha wouldn’t hear of it and one day they took him hunting and killed the fellow. Afterwards they started the villages Meemure and Narangamuwa. —

This is just one of many stories how the Meemure and Narangamuwa were found. Then he told us another story how the Meemure and Lakegala were named.

—The great rock called “Maha Pabbatha” became Lakegala and many other names had been used where it ended up Lakegala.

1. Lankagala
2. Ilakkagala – Where the rock was targeted.
3.  Lanka Pabbatha
4. Yakgala – Where the devils (Yakun) stayed

—Meemure was initially called “Maha Pabbatha Gramaya” and descended from “Maha Mure” and became “Meemure”. —

We soon came to a flat rock where we stopped for a quick biscuit and some water. To our amazement, we saw Athula and the gang of French girls coming round the corner. It had been pretty fast. However while I was taking some pics we heard a big thud to find one of the girls were on her all four having tripped over a rock.

Tony rushed to help talking in rapid English with an Arctic accent but those French understood very little of it. Tony was wishing he could speak French and we had to pacify him all the way. We left them to have their own picnic and hurried on. Nava mama showed us a place where a massive tree had fallen and claimed three lives long time ago. Apparently one villager had grown sweet potatoes nearby and burnt the base of the tree to remove it. But that tree hadn’t gone without taking his revenge.

Yet another place, like a quarry some villages about 50 years ago had seen a Female Devil (Yakinna) while trying to dig a treasure. They had run all the way to the Meemure. One of them is still alive and he had confided in Nava mama the incident. Most terrifying moment came when we had to pass a wasp nest about 5ft away from it. We crept like a bunch of thieves after some treasure when the household is asleep. Fortunately they were busy at work and not bothered with us.

Finally we reached the outskirts of the Meemure and felt very glad coz of never ending exhaustion. Panic was setting in too as we were running out of time. Nava mama once joked that Sri is going around Lakegala in an effort to protect her. Tony too had his piece of news up his sleeve. He kept pestering Nava mama to find me a girl from Meemure. He willingly agreed to come speak to the girl’s family (if there’s such a girl) on my behalf and get the things settled. Not a bad idea, what do you guys think?

I got a close look at a Madu Tree and it’s seeds still not ready to harvest. Those people make a delicious curry using Madu leaves (Dalu) and Pittu using those seeds. Finally we crossed the bridge and sat beside a rock offering our remaining biscuits to the farmers. We could waste no time and started walking between the paddy fields when two water buffalos started to chase each other. At first, I thought it was a wonderful opportunity to record the event when one turned towards us. Horror-stricken, we ran like headless chickens forgetting all the tiredness and I still wonder how our legs managed that much strength.

Nava mama and the farmers were laughing their heads off at the incident and we hurried onto the house.

The garden looked fabulous

Duck shaped flower

Here’s the little angel

Kumara and his wife…. great hosts

Saying good-bye

Lakegala and the surrounding mountains

Early morning, she’s already busy

Mun Eta

Getting richer

Lakegala up close

What a wonderful experience to walk in a paddy field early morning

Nothing can replicate what you actually see

They couldn’t keep their eyes off Lakegala

Just a funny capture

Nava mama and Tony having had some Toddy coming like crabs

Deep into the jungle

Doing the rituals in their own way

Those are rock hard

I have no idea who this is

unny to have come across something like this, could be one of the toddy tapper’s

Tony was pretty excited to see the lady bird

Tony’s scared that the elephants will come

I have no idea where this leads to

Artistic but blocking the path

Do you see what I see? It’s almost like an Elephant

Where we stopped for a biccie break

Having regained some energy thanks to biscuits

The third girl in a white top is the one who fell. I missed the action by seconds. Seeing her trying to balance didn’t surprise me that she fell

Not edible

Can you see the art carved on this? I suspect this could be one of the pieces from the Palace on top of Lakegala

Had to wait a long time to take this

Like a beard

The scary bit

Busy at work to care about us

Dunno who this fella is

The stuntman is back

The batman was there too

Outskirts of the village. Do you see the cables? They’ve laid them from a long distance away so that these people at the edge can enjoy a bit of luxury too

This is the hay house and under that the bull or cow is tied. This will allow it to eat whenever hungry and the roof above gives him shade and cover from rain.

Kept turning back to see her

This is not a vase

Madu seeds

Madu flower

Mission accomplished and they are dragging themselves back to base

Mountains looming at large

The farmer taking a much needed break. The dog followed us from the edge of the village…

After the Buffolo attck. The one on the left was the aggressive one.

Final glance at Lakegala… time to leave lady

A very rare pic and I simply can’t guess how old she is

Two brothers

Alternative Energy – Dendro Power Plant

We arrived at the house like old CTB buses belching smoke and thundering under their own weights. Nava mama’s wife had prepared the lunch. We quickly had a wash and eat hungrily. While Nava mama was telling more stories we tried to relax.

Upali came around 3.00pm to pick us and along with Nava mama’s tuk-tuk we left for Kaikawala Dendro Power Plant. This has been started as a compliment of the hydro plant generating electricity when the water levels are not enough.

I wanted to take a pic of Nava mama and his wife together but she was very shy. In the end, after all our pestering she agreed to pose very reluctantly. Nava mama even dragged a wooden seat for but in the end he had to sit on it.

We reached the dendro plant which is passing the Meemure post office. The place looked used before but not in the recent past. They use firewood such as Giniseeriya (Albeesiya in other words – Gliricidia Sepium scientifically) for burning to generate power. It’s a fast growing plant and the environmental impact is minimal. It’s said if we grow 400,000 hectares of these, we can generate 1000 megawatts of electricity.

I’m sure Ana and Wije have their eyes on this as well and they are planning to visit Meemure very soon to check on the hydro plant. It was time for us to go and Nava mama was very sad too. It was all dry and plenty of sunshine right throughout but all of a sudden out of nowhere black clouds formed threatening to rain. We could feel the droplets of water in the air and I felt it’s Lakegala crying over our departure. She must be very sad like me but what to do we had to say good-bye.

It was a marathon journey right along and I do hope I’ve not made you tired having to read and go through hundreds of pages of my fairy tale. It took me ages to compile all these and I’m sure it must’ve taken up a huge chunk of your precious time. All I can hope is the time you spent on this is worth your while.

Please read my previous report “Jaunting off the Most Beautiful Village on Earth – Meemure”for a different viewpoint. That was when I got fascinated with Meemure and fell in love with Lakegala. This time it turned out to be a more strenuous but a stretched stay. I’ve already planned what I’m gonna do next time. Hopefully will have something similar in a few months’ times, rather few weeks’ even.

Again, big thank-you should go to Ana, Wije and everybody else who showed their interested and offered to help these people.

Here ends my fairy tale and hope you enjoyed it as much as me.

Take care…

Here’s the couple… Like on their wedding photo

Dendro plant

Getting inside

Very complicated for my understanding

UNIDO had their hands on this as well

These meters don’t mean a thing to me. A joint venture by Austria, India, GoSL and UNIDO

Hopper is where you put the wood for burning

I’m getting up for a closer look

Inside the HOPPER

The rest of the room with machinery

They need to get this going again

Good bye Meemure and my Lakegala…. Coming to see you soon

map 1 – Click to enlarge

map 2 – Click to enlarge

I had to go to Matara to meet some of my foreign friends and next day I was supposed to return back to Monaragala. I didn’t want to waste my visit by not visiting few places so I picked up few random locations which I could drop in without much of a difficulty while getting back.

First I went to Mulatiyana and headed towards Mawarala and few Kilometers away from Mulatiyana Kos gaha dola falls could be found on the right hand side of the road. It does originate from a natural spring and later flows to the river in Mulatiyana reserve. There is a nice observation platform for viewing purpose and almost all villagers know about this. From Mulatiyana I headed towards Kirama and from Kirama hired a trishaw which took me towards Warapitiya Lake and on the way we came across a junction where there was a black board which stimulated me. We took the left road from that junction (as I remember this was Warapitiya) and reached Siththam gal lena RMV.

through Mulatiyana reserve

Kosgaha dola falls

On that particular day there was a Sunday school prize giving ceremony going on and I couldn’t meet the head priest to get proper permission. Anyway I started climbing uphill and reached the main rock cave where some beautiful paintings could be found but only to enjoy them through a meshed window because the entrance door was locked. From this cave I further climbed up and came towards the restored Pagoda where one can enjoy a fantastic view towards Kirama. After climbing few more steps I reached the last maluwa where the devalaya’s could be found. I strongly recommend visiting this scenic ancient temple to other visitors also and I myself might go there again someday too. After getting down I headed back towards the junction where we deviated and took the right turn to reach Rammale Kadura/ Sapugahadora Biso falls. This waterfall been the highest of Hambanthota district is a beautiful cascade and it’s very easy to reach too. They were building a bridge across the stream where one could enjoy the beauty of it easily.

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Sapugahadora Biso ella/Rammale kadura

The sources of this 12m-high fall are the brooks flowing down the Rammale mountain range. It flows on to the Warapitiya Reservoir and then the Kirma River. During the dry season the flow is languid but when the rains come, it cascades magnificently. Tea plantations and other crops in Rammale and Wadula have taken a heavy toll on the environment, putting the fall’s existence in jeopardy.

The fall is situated near the Sitamgalla Temple, Hambantota District. From Katuwanna PC, near the Warapitiya Tank, take the Warapitiya – Uruboka road for 3km. It is 20m from the first culvert to the fall. Alternatively, take the road from ktuwana town via Rukmalpitiya Dangalkande towards Hulankande. The fall can be found between Hulankande and Kirama. 

Warapitiya tank

at Siththam gal lena RMV

another cave

note the ancient paintings

Siththam gal lena

steps carved in

restored sthupa

view towards kirama

warapitiya tank as seen from the pagoda

the devalayas

sculptures

the concrete leading towards Rammale falls

side view of the Biso ella

like a shower

close up

Rammale biso falls(Sapugahadora falls)

the top

the base pool

From Warapitiya I got back to Kirama and headed towards Ambalantota. After getting to Ambalatota I wanted to go in search of a waterfall called Abarana falls which is the 2^nd documented waterfall of the district. Fortunately one trishaw guy knew about this and he took me towards Ridiyagama. At Ridiyagama there is a road called Abarana ella and if one follows it the cascade could be reached. This miniature waterfall is formed by Walawe River and when I visited it the waterfall was covered 50% because of the high water levels. The importance of this miniature falls is because of its history rather than been a waterfall.

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Abarana falls

According to folklore, the 2m fall derives its name from the fascinating but sad story of King Wijebahu. The king was married to beautiful twin sisters, both seven months’ pregnant. Before leaving for a sea battle, he announced to his queens that should he be successful, white flags would be hoisted from his ship’s mast upon his return, but should he be defeated, black flags would be flown instead. He also warned them that he would not live to see defeat.

After many days keeping vigil from the nearby Usangoda Mountain (800ft), the queens spied the king’s ship on the horizon. Although the king was victorious, he took up his general’s suggestion to fly the black flags as a practical joke, curious to see the reactions of his wives. The queens saw the black flags and assumed the worst. Overwhelmed by grief and sorrow, they committed suicide by throwing themselves into the river, after first gathering all their jewellery and laying it on the bank. Upon realising the fate of his queens and unborn children, the king was overcome by grief and plunged after them into the water. The fall is now said to be haunted by the Dark Prince – the king’s reincarnation – and it was the jewellery left on the riverbank by the distraught queens (apparitions of which have been reported) that gave the fall its name.

Also found growing near the fall is the plant locally known as dalumura, used by local villagers in devil exorcism rituals. Beware! Crocodiles (Crocodylus palustris) are often seen basking in the sun, half submerged by the pool formed by the fall. The fall’s source is the lower tributary of the Walawe River. It is situated near the town of Ambalantota and the village of Pallerota (in the Ambalantota Ridiyagama area), and the last 2km of the journey must be made on foot. To reach the bullock cart track that serves as the footpath, from the Ambalantota Nonagama junction head to the 77th mile post and cross an irrigation canal, passing a bathing spot/boat yard and a tobacco plantation. A convenient place to stay is the Hambantota rest-house, 26km away.

Since it was getting late I rushed back to Ambalantota to catch a Monaragala bus to end a tiring day where most of the time was spent on dusty roads.

turbulant walawe

Abarana falls(its 2m in height but due to the increased water level it is not clearly visible)

Day two was another random day which I decided to visit few more places which I couldn’t complete on day 1. So as usual early morning I headed towards Embilipitya where I got a bus via Padalangala towards Suriyawewa. I got off at Unuwatura lin junction and hired a trishaw for the 3Km stretch towards the famous Mahapelessa hot springs. As I remember travelers who previously visited this place many years ago had mentioned that this was a jungle but now the surrounding area is just like a botanical garden. They even have caged rabbits and ducks etc.. I even noted an aquarium under construction. This is now a place of income rather than an attraction to the provincial government.

entering the hot springs

well maintained

the wells

bubbling

plenty of caged ones

cute bunny’s

After playing around with hot water, I decide to visit two more hermitages which were located in the Madunagala sanctuary. Just passing the hot springs we took a right turn and proceeded about 6Km’s to reach the rock hermitage of Karabulena/Karadu lena within the sanctuary and a car with careful driving could be used to access this place during the dry months. The hermitage is a huge and functional one with plenty of drip ledged caves. It is said that “rahathan theros” once meditated at this hermitage. There were two interesting caves one been the “cool cave” and the other an “umbrella cave”, on top of the rock there is a beautiful Buddha statue and a renovated pagoda. One could enjoy an endless view towards Hambanthota region including the harbor. I also noted the nearby huge Ridiyagama tank.

Karabu lena (Karadu lena)

main cave at Karadulena hermitage

plaster

lighting

inside the cave

what a shape

another cave

more caves

altar

a moon stone

towards ridiyagama tank

Thissa side

few more tanks

Madunagala hermitage as seen from Karadulena

pano from the so called worlds end

just like athugala

serene

Hambanthota

cattle

umbrella shaped cave

Seetha lena

watch post

Next was Madunagala hermitage which was not so far away from Karadulena. Again we had to go through the forest to reach this place and better not to venture around in evenings because few elephants do roam around. After climbing few steps we reached the main Meda maluwa where few drip ledge caves could be found and there was a paved path through “Araliya trees” to reach the inscription and “palamu lena”. From palamu lena it was a small climb to the top where an unique designed pagoda which one could walk about inside it is found. Karadu lena hermitage was clearly seen from the rock top and also an endless view towards Hambanthota was appreciated. On the way back we did manage to visit few rock ponds which had water.

road through madunagala reserve

steps at madunagala hermitage

chula naga lena

another cave

been used during nights and rested in mornings

beauty on the thorns

contrast

path through the araliya trees

a huge kema at madunagala hermitage

an inscription

palamu lena

read – Click to enlarge

pagoda at madunagala hermitage

Karadu lena as seen from madunagala

life at a hermitage

naga lena

Abaya lena

palace on the tree

From Madunagala we reached Suriyawewa where I got in to a Embilipitiya bus to reach Chandrika lake where I spent some time enjoying the breath taking scenery towards Sooriyakanda. After having lunch from Embilipitiya I proceeded towards Katuwana where a road side Dutch fort could be found. This Dutch fort was reconstructed few years back and is a wonderful place to drop in whenever one could. It is said that the deep wide diameter well like tunnel was used by them to reach the southern shores of Sri Lanka without been noticed. For more information please go through the images. Not even 500m towards Middeniya there was an archeology board directing towards Nakadawela Purana viharaya where one could find an ancient image house which had been restored during different periods. The outer wall paintings are the older ones and the inner wall ones are from Kandyan era. After thanking the head priest I decided to return back to Embilipitiya and then towards Monaragala to end my mini quest around Hambanthota.

at Chandrika lake

sooriyakanda as seen from Chandrika lake

wow	a good place to camp

Katuwana dutch fort pano

Katuwana dutch fort

entrance

the tunnel they used

inside the fort

hal danda

rested

invaded by a giant

read 1 – Click to enlarge

read 2 – Click to enlarge

read 3 – Click to enlarge

read 4- Click to enlarge

read 5- Click to enlarge

read 6 – Click to enlarge

pagoda at image house at Nakadawala PV Katuwana

Nakadawela image house

old is gold

ancient drawings

and more

modified during kandy era

broken

inside the image house

more paintings

the well in a tunnel

The name Hanguranketha was derived from “Sangaruwan Ketha” (සගරුවන් කෙත) due to it’s thriving paddy fields in the ancient time. It was also called “Diyatilaka” (දිය තිලක).

Ancient kings especially during Kandyan period have used this as a second city/camp site when Kandy was attacked.
The king Senarath (සෙනරත් රජතුමා) has built the first palace in the Hanguranketha. According to Robert Knox’s records the city had been surrounded by a white washed protective wall. There was a giant wall encircling the palace. The entrance of the palace was constructed with beautiful carved doors and door panels.

The audience hall of Hanguranketha was built by King Rajasingha 2 (දෙවන රාජසිoහ රජතුමා). This audience hall was structurally similar to Kandy audience hall but functionally different. This hall was used by the king for resting and recreation activities.
This beautiful city was destructed by invaders from time to time. The king Seethawaka Rajasingha (සීතාවක රාජසිoහ) has also destroyed the city in searching of Konnappu Bandara (කොනප්පු බණ්ඩාර).

Today there are two ancient buildings can be seen in Hanguranketha.

1. Ancient Dewalaya
2. Pothgul Maliga Maha Wiharaya-built during British colonial period.

Above mentioned beautiful audience hall was located close to current Hanguranketha rest house. The paddy field known as Wadanapaya (වඩනාපාය) is situated at the site of ancient audience hall.

Pothgul Maliga Maha Wiharaya (පොත්ගුල් මාලිගා මහා විහාරය)

Ancient Hanguranketha palace was destroyed by British people in 1818 rebellion. Remained parts of the palace were used to build this temple. Therefore it is called “Maliga” මාලිගා and because of the presence of a large library called “Pothgul” පොත්ගුල්. The original carved stone door frame, moon stone and stone pillars can be seen here.

Constructions of this temple was started in 1830 and completed in 1880 by Ven. Doramitiyawe Aththadassi thero (දොරමැටියාවේ අත්තදස්සී හිමි)

Entrance of Pothgul Maliga Wiharaya

“Pothgula”/library –We couldn’t enter as chief priest was out of the temple.

Sri Pathul Viharaya , Library and Image house from right to left

Paintings still in original condition without renovation

Inside the image house

Image house

The stupa situated inside the image house is a characteristic of this temple.

Moonstone belongs to previous palace

Brass plates were used for the roof

Ancient stone door frame

Image house and stone pillars

Stone door frame

When you cross the road you may come across ancient Vishnu Dewalaya.

Vishnu Dewalaya විශ්ණු දේවාලය

Historical information

Vishnu Dewalaya-Diggeya දිග්ගෙය

Diggeya and Dewatha Bandara Dewalaya දේවතා බණ්ඩාර දේවාලය

Dolawa දෝලාව

Ancient Jack tree belonged to king. Famous joker called Andare (අන්දරේ) has eaten jack fruit from this tree.

Dadimunda Dewalaya දැඩිමුණ්ඩ දේවාලය is situated behind the Vishnu Dewalaya. Excellent stone carve called “Pancha Nari Gataya” පoචනාරි ගැටය is situated here.

Dadimunda Dewalaya and “Pancha Nari Gataya” පoචනාරි ගැටය

“Pancha Nari Gataya” පoචනාරි ගැටය

Next place of visit was Madanwela මාදoවෙල ancient temple. It is situated in between Hanguranketha and Rikillagaskada.

Madanwela ancient temple මාදoවෙල පැරණි විහාරය

Although it is an ancient temple almost new constructions can be seen. It belonged to Dambadeniya period. According to literature there is a gold plated bronze Buddha statue which was made according to Dambadeni tradition. (As chief priest was busy I couldn’t get any information about this Buddha statue).

What remain as ancient things

Image house-new constructions

Stupa

Then we came to Rikillagaskada and reached Wagama ancient temple (වෑගම පැරණි විහාරය). Wagama can be reached via Hewahata (හේවාහැට). Actually we walked from Ekiriya (ඇකිරිය) to Wagama after visiting limestone cave.

Wegama ancient temple වෑගම පැරණි විහාරය

Historical information – Click Image to Enlarge

Cave temple where the statue of Henakanda Biso Bandara (හෙණ කද බිසෝ බණ්ඩාර) was placed. After destroying that statue only a drawing can be seen. Unfortunately nobody was at this temple when we visited.

Drip ledge

Bell tower

Moonstone

From Wegama we came to Kithulpe (කිතුල්පේ) to visit at Kithulpe Ranpathge temple කිතුල්පේ රන්පත්ගේ විහාරය.

Kithulpe Ranpathge temple කිතුල්පේ රන්පත්ගේ විහාරය

This must be the oldest temple of this area, belonged to Anuradhapura era. The name “Ranpathge” is related to Pandukabhaya (පණ්ඩුකාභය) story. Archeologists have found pieces of clay pots belonged to Anuradhapura era at this place. Currently you can see the image house belonged to Kandyan period and few stone pillars only.

Ancient image house. New image house was built attached to this.

Entrance and ceiling-Paintings of Kandyan era

Wooden carves

Old Buddha statue

Newly constructed Stupa on old stupa

This is not the original place where stone pillars placed.

Then we came back to Rikillagaskada and reached Wilwala ancient temple (විල්වල පුරාණ විහාරය). Wilwala (විල්වල) is situated on your way from Rikillagaskada to Padiyapelalla (පදියපැලැල්ල).
There are two ways to reach Wilwala temple. If you are going by own vehicle it is easy to go to Karandagolla (කරදගොල්ල) and drive up till Wilwala temple along the concrete road. Alternative way is to take Rutland (රට්ලන්ඩ්) bus form Rikillagaskada and get down at Wilwala. Then you can follow the foot pathway closer to the Wilwala School to reach Wilwala temple.

Wilwala ancient temple විල්වල පුරාණ විහාරය

Although it is mention Wilwala belongs to Gampola period true history goes back to Anuradhapura era. This is one of a place where “Dethispalaruha” Boo trees (දෙතිස් පලරුහ බෝ ගස්) were planted during King Dewanmpiyathissa (දෙවනිපෑතිස් රජතුමා) period.

“Makara Thorana” මකර තොරණ -Entrance to the temple

Ancient “Darma Shalawa” ධර්ම ශාලාව -It needs immediate renovation. Unfortunately archeology officers still haven’t started it.

Opposite view under Makara Thorana

“Dethispalaruha” Bo tree දෙතිස් පලරුහ බෝ ගස්

Stone pillars

The cave where Hena Kanda Biso Bandara Dewalaya (හෙණ කද බිසෝ බණ්ඩාර දේවාලය) is situated. She was the queen of King Wikramabahu III (තෙවනි වික්රමබාහු රජතුමා) during Gampola period. People believe this temple was built by Hena Kanda Biso Bandara Dewi (හෙණ කද බිසෝ බණ්ඩාර දේවිය).

Two story image house. This is an extension of old cave image house. Right part of the upper floor was built recently.

Ground floor has the old image house. This is the entrance.

Seated Buddha statue found in the old image house. Note the Makara Thorana over it.

Paintings

Upper floor has two Buddha statues. One is reclined Buddha statue placed recently. This seated one must be old few decades. But it is beautiful.

Moon stone

This stone inscription carries an important message. It mentions the donation of King Wijayabahu V (A.C 1344) for this temple. This is an evidence this temple is older than Gampola era.

Following that we walked towards Karandagolla and got a bus towards Padiyapelalla. Next place was Morapaya RMV (මොරපාය රජමහා විහාරය). Ancient Morapaya temple is situated in Padiyapelalla-Mandaram Nuwara (මන්දාරම් නුවර) road.

Morapaya RMV (මොරපාය රජමහා විහාරය)

The story behind this temple is interesting. A precious golden Buddha statue can be seen at this temple. It was placed by Maliyadewa Arahath Thero මලියදේව රහතන් වහන්සේ. (Last Arahath Thero of Sri Lanka). This temple is situated close to Belihuk Oya (බෙලිහුක් ඔය). In early part of 17th century temple was destructed by a landslides and Buddha statue has been vanished. Later it was found by two merchants.
Current temple was built in early part of 19th century and still golden Buddha statue can be seen. This temple is situated on the right side of Belihuk Oya. (Old temple was at left side)

Two image houses were built in different periods.

This image house was painted at 1957.

Seated Buddha statue seen in new image house.

Two story old image house.

Ground floor has statues of King Dutugamunu (දුටුගැමුණු රජතුමා), King Elara (එළාර රජතුමා) and Ten giants (දසමහා යෝදයෝ) . First time I saw these statues together at a temple.

Moon stone only carries two elephants.

Ceiling of upper floor is decorated with beautiful paintings. Paintings of the outer wall say the story of golden Buddha statue and this temple.

Entrance of upper floor of the image house.

The golden Buddha statue can be seen in upper floor. There are statues of different gods as well. I didn’t include a photo of this precious Buddha statue due to security reasons. Once it was taken by treasure hunters and later found. Paintings belong to early part of 19th century.

Watarakgoda Pussadewa Temple (වටරක්ගොඩ පුස්සදේව විහාරය)

This temple is situated in Walapane (වලපනේ). Take the road closer to Walapane bus depot to reach Watarakgoda.
Pussadewa Thero පුස්සදේව රහතන් වහන්සේ (One of Ten giants of King Dutugamunu later became a priest following the war) has lived here. Therefore it is called Pussadewa temple.
Nowadays only few scattered ruins can be seen.

This temple has both Na tree and Bo tree together.

New stupa was built on ancient stupa. As this temple is not under archeology department, new constructions have been done.

Scattered ruins

Scattered ruins

Scattered ruins

Stone pillars

Old Bo tree

Randenigala reservoir (රණ්දෙනිගල ජලාශය)

In searching of serpentine rock at Rupaha රූපහ -“Garandugala” ගරඩුගල

This is the largest (may be the only) serpentine rock found in Sri Lanka. First we went to Ragala town from Walapane and then reached Manthreethanna (මන්ත්‍රීතැන්න). Manthreethanna is a beautiful village comes in Rawana legend. King Rawana’s poultry was at Manthreethanna. From Manthreethanna we came to Rupaha to reach serpentine rock called “Garandugala” (ගරඩුගල).

This serpentine rock covers few acres of the land.

On our way back we walked to Kotambe and then came to Walapane via Neeldandahinna (නීල්ද්ණ්ඩාහින්න). You can approach Garandugala by this way as well.

Ragala -> Manthreethanna -> Garandugala -> Kotambe -> Neeldandahinna -> Walapane

Serpentine is a rock composed of one or more serpentine group minerals. Minerals in this group are formed serpentinization, a hydration and metamorphic transformation of ultramafic rock from the earth.-from Wikipedia

Surrounding view on my way to serpentine rock

Serpentine rock

It is greenish in colour. True colour exposed out.

Some villagers get pieces of serpentine rock to make some ornaments

Pieces in greenish colour

It spreads over few acres and a water stream flows over it.

Landscaping

Randenigala reservoir back.

Thank you for reading.

Map 1 – Click to enlarge

Map 2 – Click to enlarge

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

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

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

friends i met at katagamuwa

old bodhiya at sithulpawwa

a cave kutiya at sithulpawwa

kuda sithulpawuwa

maha sithulpawuwa

towards yala

a lake at sithupawwa entrance

ancient pagodas ‘s

the main inscription

the caved image house

prathimagaraya

kings of magama?

highly dangerous

more ruins

another kutiya

how maha situlpawwa is seen from the lake

to be excavated

ancient path

on the way to the summit

kuda situlpawwa

temple premises

buttala

gal kudaya

kataragama and thissa

more drip ledge caves

the lake with crocs

lake side inscription

ruins

Arjuna been fed by visitors

wild samber

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

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

a dip in menik ganga

Sella kataragama

not devatha eli

the bo tree at sella

Ancient Ruhunu Kataragama festival

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

Day two was all about visiting Kiri vehera and Wedihitikanda.

awaiting

simply awesome

the bands

lighting up using traditional lamps

gini paganno

smoked

wewal dance

kohomba kale

fine movements

kawadi too

යක් නැටුම්

a peacock dancer

the karaduwa been caried

worshiping

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

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

dawn at kataragama

kataragama devalaya

the dances

rituals

Kiri vehera

the චුදා මානික්‍ය

an inscription at kiri vehera

honeymoon couple

variation

Kataragama museum

bodhigaraya found at weheragala

inscription pillars

another pillar

Detagamuwa lake

striving

on the hunt

caught you

lovely landscape

kataragama season

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

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

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

Wedihitikanda pano

endless steps

a family we came across

wow we are almost there

thissa wewa

note yatala and thiss sthupas

yodha wewa

detagamuwa lake and kataragama

yala

pano towards kataragama

endless view

kiri wehera

few more lakes

kirinda side

gods high up in the sky

the southern ocean

wedihitikanda sthupa

bo tree

wow	getting down

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

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

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

Weerawila tank

Black winged Stilt

fishing at weerawila tank

peaks of Katharagama

halted

plenty of these guys too

the picturesque road

grey heron

open bill

ibis, herons and spoon bills together

all together

dried out tank

painted gang

art of mother nature

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

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

Debarawewa Pashchimarama RMV pagoda

ancient statue at Debarawewa Pashchimarama RMV

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

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

Menik vehera

menik vehera sthupa

pillars at Menik vehera

guard stone at Menik vehera

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

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

Etha bendi gala

where it was tied

pillars which once held a four storied palace

plenty of pillars

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

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

Yatala sthupa

Yatala museum

ruins

inscription at yatala

wow	another interesting carving

muthra gala

the stone used to wash away

prathimagaraya

an image house

a statue

king maha naga

wow	i love this pink

submerged pa dowanaya

a huge asanagaraya at yatala temple

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

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

dried out thissa lake

scavenging

life line

wow

gulping

a jacana

beautiful thissa lake

Akurugoda inscription pillar

pieces of history

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

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

before repairing process started (2010)

under renovation

chatra stone of thissa sthupa

old + new

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

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

Sandagiri seya

proper replica of sandagiriya

yupagala

chatra gala

inscription at sandagiriya

beautiful guard stone

prathimagaraya

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

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

yoda wewa

beautiful giant

Kirinda

the statue at kirinda

a devalaya

the rock with inscriptions

sri pathula carved on the rock

vihara maha devi

pagoda at kirinda

maha devalaya

rough sea at kirinda

another inscription

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

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

ran goyama

thelulla beach

sand dunes

Kirindi oya moya kata

colour of the sand was red

wow

Thelulla ruined pagoda

Telulla ruined pagoda (another one)

pillars at telulla

history hidden in bundala reserve

Thanks for reading!

The long weekend in October was eagerly awaited as a trip to Mannar was planned with family friends. Unfortunately, at the last moment they couldn’t make it, but we decided to keep to our plans though the kids were a little disheartened.

We left home (Nawala) at 5 in the morning and took our first break at the dried out Thabbowa Tank around 8am. We expected some bird activity but guess we were too late for that.

Dried out Thabbowa Tank

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We proceeded to Nochchiyagama and refilled our tank. The IOC shed there is the last one with “extra premium” and “extra mile” brands of petrol/diesel. Though there is an IOC shed in Mannar it does not have these.

We drove through the Deyata Kirula Road to Oyamaduwa, which is a treat to drive. But we could not enjoy our drive as there were many katussas and thalagoyas killed on the road. Many were majestically sunbathing on the tarmac without knowing their fate. We had to drive very slow, with extra care avoiding the lizards on the road. We passed that stretch around 9 am and may be they come out for sun bathing. We saw a cobra and had to stop to assist a tortoise to cross the road. There were some crushed tortoises too. This is what happens when we encroach their territory.

“Deyata Kirula Road” through the greenery

Inmates of Oyamaduwa Farm coming out

It is 50kms from Nochchiyagama to Thanthirimale and we reached there by 10 a.m. The road from Oyamaduwa to Thanthirimale is not carpeted but is in good shape Though it was a Poya Day it was not crowed as we expected. We were blessed with a gloomy sky, if not it would have been a nightmare to walk on the rock in the hot sun.

Thanthirimale Rock Temple

Surrounding ponds

Buddha Statue Carved into the rock

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We entered A14 at Gajasinhapura, only about 8kms from Thanthirimale, and from there onwards the road was a dream.

We took a detour to see “Periyamurippu Irrigation Project” just 1km away from A14. You have to turn inland near Madu Police Road (long before Madu). The water level has reduced to a minimum and the old bridge will be replaced by a new bridge very soon.

Periyamurippu Irrigation Project (Two years ago)

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Water level reduced to a minimum now

Upcoming new bridge

Suspension Bridge

We did not forget to enjoy ourselves on the suspension bridge built nearby. The drastic change we noticed in the environment, apart from the water level, was that normalcy had returned to this area. There was a small kovil built near the bridge and villagers were performing a pooja with a priest. They offered us hot hot “muruthan bath” which we enjoyed welcoming the friendly gesture.

We proceeded towards Madu and the road was in great shape all the way up to Madu. By 11.00 we were in Madu and it was crowded with devotees. The new Madu Railway Station must be bringing these large crowds. Madu too had undergone development during the past two years and one addition was the new cafeteria that has come up near the entrance offering a variety of food including lunch packets. Madu received showers after a long lapse of ten months while we were there. That was the first sign of the onset of the rainy season there.

Madu Shrine at a distance

Inside the Shrine

We left Madu around 12.30 and stooped at the Giant Tank, which was also dried out, for lunch. It was welcoming the see the “Jana Awanhala” operated by the Army has been converted into the “Rice Bowl Restaurant”. They have used natural material from roof to floor including benches, chairs etc. They were very helpful and allowed us to use to place to have our home brought lunch.

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Dried out Giant Tank in the background of the gloomy sky

Rice Bowl Restaurant

After a hearty lunch we proceeded towards Mannar. As the sky was getting cloudy, we briefly stopped at the causeway and did not wait long. We witnessed some bird activity, but the migrants are yet to come as the ponds are still dried out.

Causeway framed by clowdy sky

Mannar landscape has changed over the past two years, especially with the addition of the new railway line running across. The work is in rapid progress and hopefully will be completed by December. The old Thoddaweli Railway station right in front of 4Ts is no more, but is being replaced with a new one. (Which will soon bring loads of bird watches to Mr.Lawrance! )

Remnants of Thodaweli Railway Station – two years ago

The upcoming station in front of 4Ts

We were warmly welcomed by ever-friendly Mr.Lawrance and 4Ts hasn’t changed much. The new wing has just begun when we visited in 2011. We had booked the large family room with one double and two single beds– the only room with A/C. We relaxed in our room until the harsh Mannar sun go down and left 4Ts around 3.30 to explore the town.

We first visited Thirukketiswaram Kovil, a famous Hindu Kovil, which is just a few kilometers away from A 14 – on the new Poonaryn Road. The lake in front of the Kovil was full of birds and we spent some time enjoying the scene.

The turn off from A14 towards Kovil

Thirukketiswaram Kovil

Lake full of birds in front of the Kovil

We came back to town via new Mannar-Poonaryn Road, but heard that road work has been stopped just a few kms away from the Kovil. We stopped on the way to watch some local boys collecting their daily catch in the shallow lagoon.

Fishing in the lagoon by Mannar-Poonaryn Road

The trio

We visited the famous Biobab tree close to the town. The place was crowded with two large bus loads of people. That is one change we witnessed in Mannar after two years. Today there are many local tourists visiting Mannar. May be people have had enough of Jaffna and Mannar must be the next attraction!

Gigantic Biobab Tree and my three dwarfs

The last stop for the day was the old Duch Fort in the heart of the twon. We walked along the thich walls right round the Fort. There were many local tourists roaming around enjoying the scenay from the elevated walls of the Fort. From there we watched the sun go down the causeway painting a myriad of colours in the horizon.

Old Dutch Fort

A bell tower??

Note the thick walls

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Causeway at a distance

The sun going down

After witnessing the sun going down we had a refresing cup of tea with delicious pol rotti from the Army kade near the Fort. (even the next evening kids insisted going their for the tasty pol rotti.)

We headed back to 4Ts enjoying the twilight scenery.

At 4Ts the power supply was disturbed on and off. Mr. Lawrance said its now a common occurrence in Mannar. May be Mannar was over-crowded with tourists for the long weekend and the power grid was unable to serve the demand. But 4Ts had their generator running providing an uninterrupted service. We had their special string hoppers with cuttle fish curry, paripu and sambol for dinner and settled for an early night.

DAY 2

Our priority No. 01 was a boat trip to Adam’s Bridge. S0, we left for Thalaimannar with the first rays of the sun as we wanted to catch the first boats. But it was one of those overcast mornings after overngith rains and we all douted our luck. We were by the pier by 7.30 and were the first to arrive. The Navy has moved their boat service colse to the light house/pier as the sea is rough around where they operated two years ago.

The boats waiting in the backdrop of a gloomy sky

The Pier

The lighthouse

View from the pier

We got the opportunity to walk along the pier and saw the decaying railway line of yesteryears, while hopefully waiting for the boat service to start.

A page from history

The decaying pier

Decaying….

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The service did not start as scheduled at 7.30 due to overcast skies and the officers were waiting for a green light, communicating with their counterparts on the “sands”. The place was getting crowded with loads of tourist but the gloomy weather cast doubts on everyone’s minds.

Finally our prayers were answered and around 9.30 we were given life jackets and were loaded into a small boat. But the boatmen found it difficult to start the engine in the shallow waters filled with sand and they had to drag it far into the sea to get the boat started. Finally we set off to Adam’s bridge despite the gloomy sky.

Started off against the overcast

Fading landscape

Approaching the “Sands”

The isle is ours

Patterns of nature

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No boundaries…..its all ours

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Colours of “Sands”

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Fertile ground – a myriad of colours….

Good bye sands…..

Enjoying the ride back to shore

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We were back at the pier by 11 and by then there was a large crowd waiting for the boats. We thanked the Navy personnel for bringing us safely back and left for Urumalae.

To get to Urumalee you have to come back to the main road and turn right (towards sea) between the Thalaimannar Police Station and the school. That road takes you to Urumalae.

Towards Urumaalae

Old lighthouse at Urumalae

Closer view of the iron giant

From Urumallee you can see a tower in Rameshwaran far far away in the horizon, with your naked eye. We initially planned to have a sea bath at Urumalea but since there were no sea bathers we gave up.

From there we proceeded to see “Adam’s Mausoleum”. To reach the 20 ft long two graves one has to turn left from the Uramalae Road (the turn off is just as you pass the statue shown below). You have to proceed nearly 1km until you come to the small green building behind a clearing where the two graves are housed. We could not gather any information regarding the history or the significance of “Adam’s Mausoleum” as the caretaker was not there nor was there a signboard giving details. But, it seemed that the placed has been turned into a religious site by Muslim devotees. I was later told that there are a few more places in Mannar where you get 20ft long tombs like this.

Statue at the turnoff

Entrance to the compound

Entrance to the building ….the door is just 4.5ft in height

The two 20ft long graves

As there was nothing much to see we were soon on our way and passed Thalimannar Chruch.

Church at Thlaimannar

After exploring Thalaimannar, we were back on the tarmac towards Thoddaweli in the hot sun. Somewhere around Pesalai we met this bridal procession crossing the road, may be after the ceremony in the Kovil.

Bridal party crossing the road

We walked into the Pesali Fisheries Center just out of curiosity and they had loads of giant crabs and prawns at unbelievable prices. Crabs were just Rs.80 a kilo! Hope the upcoming railway line will help them market their catch.

We had a grand lunch at 4Ts and spent the warm afternoon in the comfort of our room. The evening had us exploring Mannar further, this time along the coastal road. The road in front of 4Ts is in great shape now and it leads you to the coastal road running towards Mannar. The coastal road is gravel but is easily manageable. We saw many bird activities and passed a number of fishing villages on our way to Mannar.

The coastal road

“Manthai Salterns”’ at a distance

Majestic Mannar Church

An “Education Centre” – a tuition class – along the coastal road

It was drizzling throughout and we abandoned the idea of going towards Thalladi Railway bridge. We bought Mannar special dried fish and a variety of mangoes from the market and headed towards 4Ts after a cup of tea with pol rotti from the army kiosk near the Fort.

Without turning to 4Ts at Thoddaveli we took the right turn that took us to Erukkalampiddi – a fishing village on a tiny strip of land. It is like an arm stretched out to the sea. When you drive towards the end you can see Mannar causeway at a distance. It was a delightful sight with the sun going down.

Erukkalampiddi at a distance

We had rice and curry with crabs for our dinner and there were no power interruptions that night.

DAY 3

After a filling b’fast of dossai and vadai we bid good bye to Mr.Lawrance promising another visit probably by the train. We had earlier planned to use Old Mannar Road via Vilpattu for our return journey but as we experienced rain in Mannar we thought of avoiding it as it would be an unnecessary risk in rainy weather. So to make up for the lost excitement we took the coastal road via Vankalai to Arrippu and joined A14 at Murunkan.

The turn off at Thalladi was closed due to construction work and we proceeded further and took the next turn off to the right. The road was excellent for a few kms and then there were stretches of construction going on giving us a taste of the “Old Mannar Road.”

We reached Arippu after struggling along the road for nearly an hour. “Arippu Fort” though it’s called a “fort” is a single storied building in ruins found within the boundaries of a village. It is supposed to be where Robert Knox was kept in captivity for some time.

We visited Doric House known as “Ali Rani” by the locals next. I felt The Doric has crumbed more to the sea and if restoration work of some kind is not under way it will soon be washed away.

Doric House at Arippu

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The Doric Tower

We spent some time enjoying the view from Doric and proceeded to Mrunkan by turning inland at Silavathura. The road was in great shape and we joined A14 at about 11.30.

Soon we heard over “breaking news” that the Kala Oya Causeway was flooded over three feet and Puttalam – Mannar Road was closed for traffic. We were more than glad that we did not take the risk of proceeding along that road.

We passed Madu and noticed large crowds at the station waiting for a train. We bought lunch packets from a nearby kiosk – again run by the army and had it in a shady place near a dried out lake on the Oyamaduwa Road.

The return journey was uneventful as we did not do any detours. We wanted to get back early as the kids had to have a good rest to be back at school the next day. We reached home by 6 with our hearts filled with lovely memories of Mannar.

Thanks for reading!

We started form Galle at about 10.00 in the morning. It was just about a 50 km drive and we arrived there before noon. The main things to notice are the large Buddha statue and the old tunnel system in the temple.

a

This is how the Buddha statue will be seen from the parking place, before entering to the temple.

Once you enter the temple you can see the glasses which allow the sun rays inside the tunnel temple.

Underneath, it’s the tunnel temple. These glasses pour light inside.

The Buddha statue captured from the bottom.

In front of the Buddha statue there are several ponds.

In front of the statue

In front of the statue

At the end of the long pond is the entrance to the tunnel temple.

Entrance of the tunnel temple

View of the Buddha statue at the entrance of the tunnel temple

Inside the tunnel temple are the pictures and carvings done by cement. This was a little long going tunnel and there is a Buddhist thero to show you several “nidan wasthu” through a little window inside the tunnel.

Carvings and pictures inside tunnel temple

Carvings and pictures inside tunnel temple

Carvings and pictures inside tunnel temple

Sri Pada(ශ්රීd පාද) /Adam’s peak one of my favorites places in Sri Lanka. After having seven visits to Sri Pada I wanted to do it in a combination of trails during off season. I selected Kuruwita-Erathna trail for climbing up and Rajamale-Sandagalathanna (සදගල තැන්න) route for getting down.

Thilanka and I reached Kuruwita around 12pm and got a three wheeler to Adawikanda trail head.

Rain started once we reached to Adawikanda but it couldn’t delay us as we had rain coats. We two started the hiking about 1.45pm amidst rain.

Kuruwita trail. It is shown in red arrow, goes parallel to the Kuru River. Black star shows the starting point of trail head. Red star shows the trail end at Adam’s peak.

Trail head.

Starting from Adawikanda.

First bridge we crossed.

Heavy rain brought water streams over the foot pathway.

.	A tree has fallen on the pathway

Foot pathway is covering with bushes.

Crossing of this water stream was a real challenge for us. Arrow shows the way we have to go.

After checking the depth my friend carefully got into the water stream.

First resting place of the trail-“Jambolagahayata Ambalama” (ජම්බෝලගහයට අම්බලම) -1.6km from trail head.

The list shows the donations to build this place.

Details.

Heenpiduruthalawa (හීන් පිදුරුතලාව කන්ද) Mountain is pouring with waterfalls following rain.

Less clear foot pathway.

When we reach Jambolagahayata Ambalama rain was not there but mist was on its way.

Seasonal waterfalls are everywhere.

“Danger zone”-Advices not to go out of the pathway.

Iron bars were helpful as pathway was slippery following rain.

First set of cement footsteps.

Reaching the second resting place-“Dayimangala Ambalama” (ඩයිමන්ගල අම්බලම)-2.6km

“Dayimangala Ambalama”

Heenpiduruthalawa is covering with mist.

Our next resting place was Warnagala-colorful rock. Warnagala waterfall can be approached by two ways: One is following the foot pathway near to Warnagala Ambalama (වර්ණගල අම්බලම). You can observe a gate opposite to quarters of Warnagala power plant. That road also directs to Warnagala waterfall. This road goes over the large pipes carrying water to the turbines.

Quarters of Warnagala Hydro Power plantation.

Warnagala waterfall. It was quite difficult to reach. Origin is Kuru river (කුරු ගග).

Another waterfall is situated closer to Warnagala waterfall.

Due to diversion of water for Hydropower, no water down to the water falls.

Unusual rock formation.

Warnagala Ambalama and temple-2.8km

Warnagala Ambalama. One of important resting place as it is spacious.

Reaching Warnagala temple.

Buddha statue of Warnagala.

God Sumana Saman ( සුමන සමන් දෙවියෝ).

When we left from Warnagala mist was all around us and it was around 7pm when we reach our next stop-Seethagangula (සීත ගගුල). There were two resting places before and after Seethagangula. Surprisingly it was not difficult to cross Seethagangula even after heavy rain.

Another slot of cement footsteps after Warnagala. This is still bit rare in Kuruwita trail.

Entering to peak wildness sanctuary.

Totally misty.

On top of Warnagala.

“Kunudiya Parwathya” කුණු දිය පර්වතය

Seethagangula-5km from trail head

Reaching Seethagangula Megoda Ambalama (සීත ගගුල මෙගොඩ අම්බලම)

Seethagangula Ambalama and boutique.

Crossing Seethagangula.

Seethagangula area.

Seethagangula Egoda Ambalama (සීත ගගුල එගොඩ අම්බලම).

Next milestone of the journey was Madahinna temple (මැද හින්න) and Ambalama. I was checking the place where foot pathway from Maliboda (මාලිබොඩ) joining the Kuruwita trail and found it about 100m away from Medahinna.

Madahinna Ambalama (මැදහින්න අම්බලම) and Temple-1275m height-7.7km

This came across just before Madahinna Ambalama. We stayed there for a while.

Madahinna temple.

Maliboda trail joining with Kuruwita pathway.

Then we were expecting Indikatupana (ඉදිකටුපාණ) and resting place.

Few benches were found before Indikatupana.

Mist was captured like this.

Indikatupana/Geththampana (ගෙත්තම්පාන) -1500m height-9km

At Indikatupana. Note the collapsed building in front of Ambalama.

Remaining from season.

Passing Indikatupana.

Now rain clouds have gone away and moon was shining. It was so beautiful to see surrounding environment is bathing in moon light. We reached Galwangediya around 12pm and had our dinner.

Half moon.

View under moon light.

Galwangediya (ගල්වoගෙඩිය) -10km from trail head.

Why it is called Galwangediya.

Galwangediya boutique was in good condition.

Black arrow shows the Rathanapura-Palabathgala road. Red arrow shows the Kuruwita-Erathna road. They meet at Galwangediya junction.

At junction.

After passing Galwangediya we reached Haramitipana (හැරමිටිපාන) temple. Now the foot pathway was luxurious with cement footsteps.

Haramitipana-1700m elevation-10.1km

Entering to Haramitipana temple.

Haramitipana Saman Dewalaya.

Standing Buddha statue at Haramitipana.

Passing Haramitipana.

Meelamalakandura (මෑල්ලමලකදුර )-Don’t know the reason for the name.

Adiyamalathenna (ආඩියාමල තැන්න) -11.3km
We met first human existence of this trail at Adiyamalathenna where two army soldiers talked with us. Now the light of Sri Pada peak was seen and we climbed towards Ehela Kanuwa (ඇහැල කණුව).

Adiyamalathenna Ambalama.

Connecting to Hatton road.

Two lines for devotees.

“Ehela Kanuwa”
The rock pillar on which devotees apply lime. It is believed sin of “Kodu” people (People who worship Sri Pada in first time) would go away by this activity. This is a rock pillar in Rathanapura road and wooden pillar in Hatton road.

“Ehela Kanuwa.”

“Dolosmahe Pahana” (දොලොස්මහේ පහන) at Ehela Kanuwa.

“Mahagiridamba” (මහගිරිදඹ) -The Great Rock climb.

Starting “Mahagiridamba” climbing.

Climbing “Mahagiridamba”.

Reaching the destination.

We reached the peak of Sri Pada around 2am and spent our night at resting place. Early morning about 50 foreigners came from Hatton road and gathered for sun rise. We were the only Sri Lankans were there except guides of tourists.

Sun rise-ඉර සේවය

Waiting for sun rise.

Just before sun rise.

It is started.

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Now it is completely out.

Surrounding beauty

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Bells.

Hatton rail and Peace pagoda.

Painted on sky.

“Kunudiya Parwathaya”. Height-1580m.

From left to right-Thotupola mountain (තොටුපොල කන්ද), Agrabopath (අග්රා බෝපත්) and Kirigalpoththa (කිරිගල්පොත්ත). Giants of Hortain plains.

Sri Pada Maluwa.

Seethagagula waterfall- (සීත ගගුල ඇල්ල)

“Bana Samonala” (බෑණ සමොනල) / false peak. It is called false peak due to similarity to Adam’s peak. Height is 2010m. It has two peaks.

Bunch of flowers

Mausakelle reservoir (මාඋස්සාකැලේ ජලාශය).

After enjoying the sun rise and surrounding view we started to get down along Hatton road and then entered Rajamale-Sandagalathanna trail.

Getting down

This plate you will come across on the first step of Mahagiridamba of Hatton road. In 1960-1970 Walker and Sons company has made these steps of Mahagiridamba.

“Bagawa Lena” (බගවා ලෙන)-This will come across in left hand side of Hatton road when you coming down.

Stone inscription found in “Bagawa Lena”.

Details of stone inscription.

Found in Bagawa Lena.

“Ehela Kanuwa”

We were not alone in getting down.

Mist

Getting down.

Sun rays.

Mahagiridambaya.

At the end of “Mahagiridamba” of Hatton road we came to the starting point of Rajamale route.

Rajamale-Sandagalathanna route
It will end at Rajamale division of Moray estate and a plain called Sandagalathanna will come across on your way in this route. It is considered as the least distance route to Sri Pada if you can come to Rajamale by a vehicle. It is not difficult to find the starting point of this trail just after the Mahagiridamba of Hatton road. Initial 100-200m would be narrow and then foot pathway is much clear. We could finish the trail by about 3hours.