I was home alone and since I will have to go back to ship somewhere in November, came up with an instant idea to visit Wilpattu once more. Called the usual resting place, L.L.T safari rest inn 1 day before to check the availability.I was lucky. One room was available. Spoke to my friends but no one could come in a short notice + since it’s during the week days. So, thought of going by bus instead of driving alone.

Started the Journey around 9.50am from Colombo and came to the rest inn by 3p.m. it started to rain in the evening… I was really worried. Started the safari next day morning. Sun was out till around 2p.m n started to rain. Will post the pics now on.

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.	Finally took a pic of some female peacocks

Perfect pose

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What???

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Friendly fight??

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Wet!!

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.	Close-up!!

Changeable Hawk in action

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.	Crested Serpent Eagle

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Then I saw a bear around Maradanmaduwa area late evening.. was very dark at that time :/

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Went back to the rest inn, had dinner and went to sleep early… was really worried about the rain. And it was strange not to see a leopard which was something very common during my past visits. Guess the rain has disturbed there life style…

Woke up next day n was happy to see no clouds. Started the safari with hopes 

Sun was out 

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Saw once more 

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.	Those jumps!!!

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.	Oops!!! My bad

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.	Trying to dry up…

Sambar deer

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Colors!!!

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It was raining after 2p.m. was roaming around and came back. Saw another sloth bear but I was late to take a pic since my cam was inside a bag to protect from the rain. There were no leopard sightings throughout the whole day as I got to know from other jeep operators. Spent the night at L.L.T Safari Inn n came back home in the next day.

Thank you for reading the report. Can check out the pics in below link,

https://www.facebook.com/anton.gihan/media_set?set=a.10151792351566909.1073741840.525126908&type=1

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!

The idea of seeking knuckles like a beautiful dream of a seeker is born in my heart before long time ago. The end of my interest is run out of this journey with beautiful memories.

I give my special thank to “Lakdasun” because of the help for materialize my dream.

We start our journey from Kurunegala to Kandy bus at about 4.00am and we reached Katugasthota about 5.15am. From there we went to Mathale at 6.30am by Anuradhapura bus. We took breakfast from Mathale & buy some other goods which we need to our journey from Mathale.

There is an only one bus from Mathale to Pitawala and also it is run twice a day. So if you use public transport, you must pay your attention well. The first turn of this bus is to be at 7.30am (You can confirm whether the bus is available or not. CTB Depot Mathale 066222228)

Our gang at Mathale bus stand

But the bus was late from one hour on that day. So we were left from Mathale at 8.30am. After 2 hours we get down from Pitawala junction at about 10.30am.
Mr wasantha who found as our guide was send a 3wheel to pitawala for us to his home Atanwala. Our guide Mr. Basnayaka gathered us from Atanwala and it was about 11.00am when we start our journey.

At the pitawala junction

Just click

We met “Wedda peni Ella” after 500m ahead and we stayed there a moment & then start our hike again by crossing “Thelgamu oya”.

Manigala mountain with a prosperous faddy field

Beauty of the “Wedda peni Ella”

After another 500m along we met a very prosperous paddy field of beautiful “Atanwala” village boundary. We were not forgetting to visit a villager’s house of Atanwala. We were very lucky to get their treats & hospitality also. One old woman in this village talked with us loyally. It was touched our heart toughly, which she said “ගල් ගෙඩි උඩ පන අරින්නේ නැතුව පරිස්සමෙන් ගිහින් වාරෙන් මයේ පුතාල…”
It was a great pleasure which talk with like that much unfeigned people and we said them to good bye & started our way again.

Prosperous paddy field in “Atanwala”

Another side of beautiful village

Feel with their hospitality

Authenticity

Loyal chat with innocent villagers

Our next target is the Walpolamulla village which we entered to the jungle from right side of the Manigala range. Though the Walpolamulla is considered as a village, there was no any sign of human being. It was about 4km from Atanwala to Walpolamulla and that way also very hard. After passed on another few kilometers we could see the faces of elephants on the path. In here we weren’t forget to put some crackers to informed elephants which our arrival. Specially our guide said that “මහත්තයලා පය ඉක්මන් කලොත් හොදයි…”

A visitor who met in transit

Get the blessing of god…

A moment of catching the beauty

A moment of catching the beauty

Another angle of “Manigala mountain’

We reached to Walpolamulla after 1.5 hour tired journey. There was a one dilapidated house & others seem to be as ruins. There was a paddy field beyond that. At very first time the travel head of “Kalupahana Kanda” was seen here and also there was a very beautiful surrounding. We could see the “Thunhisgala” mountain range & other mountain ranges were in back side to the “Kalupahana range”.

Finding various angles

Walk along the paradise…

The first scene of the destination

Decayed cottage in “Walpolamulla”

“Thunhisgala” mountain standing as a hulk.

While small shooting…

We spend some time there and started our journey again with a new inspiration and power. The way of this time was across a dip. The main problem was the path was very slippery due to the dry leaves. After 1 hour of hard journey we managed to finish our mountain dip.

Then we met a stream and we decided to have our lunch there. We rest for some time and started to walk again around 3.00pm. Our root was across a mountain range with a narrow ascending by that. We could reach to “Nugathalawa” at about 4.pm. It was a narrow dip from “Nugathalawa” to “Weddahena”. We faced an unexpected heavy rain and it destroyed all our plans. When reach to “Weddahena” we were tired and it was about 7.00pm.

Some members of our gang prepared dinner and others went to find some fire wood for bonfire. We faced some other problem as we had limited water for all uses at that time. After that the dinner was swallowed by us very eagerly and that was a very long and acrimonious night for us. Before the sleep we had to dry our wring wet clothes by using bonfire. Then we got asleep. All the members were affected by the cruel chigoes attacks by that morning.

Start withdrawing from “Wlpolamulla”

“Nugathalawa” (This a better place for camping)

First day night bonfire… (That was a long and acrimonious night with a chigoes attack and effluvium of bats)

With the intention of seeking beautiful dreams…

Second day

We started our second day hike at about 6.00am by adding sweet memories of earlier night to memory book. But we had to face an unexpected leaching force early morning because of their inspiration with the last night rain. We could reach to “Puswelketiya oya” after quarter an hour journey and first of all we got a long bath as our wish. We returned that place at 7.30am after having the breakfast also. We walked along nearly for two hours with the new inspiration and the road was across a valley.

Amazing beauty…

Feeling the cool of nature…

One of precious gift by mother nature…

What a great beauty…

The great morning in Knuckles

The hidden beauty of nature

Another angle…

Kingdom of bumble-bees

When we entered to “Kalu ganga” and the time was 9.30am by that. We met the first two waterfalls away from few kilometers. It’s a very beautiful waterfall with a tiny pool. We stayed there at a moment and feel its beauty as our wish and again started our journey.

The beauty of the first mermaid which we met

Woww..!!!

Another angle of first water fall

The second mermaid (Though the height is less, it’s spread in wide area)

The tastiest water drop I had ever drunk…

Along the dream…

The path of the journey was away from the river by that and we had to climb the mountain across a narrow ascent. We had to go out from our way in order to watch the water fall, so we kept aside our baggage and get relax to feel that beauty of the water fall. 3,4,5 water falls were very close to each other.

Amazing third mermaid (This falls to a deep brae, so it’s very dangerous to reach there.)

Zoom view of in third mermaid

Fourth mermaid (This situated in over the third fall and also there is a deep pool)

Can you persecute to mother nature furthermore..?

Sign of danger!!!

Again we entered to our way and came to “Kalu ganga” across a tough dip. We fed up too much by that, so we had got the lunch there and get a rest. Again we started to walk at about 12.30pm and then we entered to “Kalu pahana kanda”. It is also very difficult track and crossing this track also hard. It was risky because of the slipperiness of the path. We were affected cruel attacks of leaches because of the wet surrounding. This was much of snakes and but we could safe because of wearing safety boot.

Climbing the “Kalupahana mountain”. It’s a very fed up moment

Too…difficult (The road was tough & slippery)

Bleeder is not give up his effort yet

Though the size is small, the beauty is a lot…

We reached to “Duwili Ella plain” after 2.5 hours difficult journey. All of us got a good rest there. According to our guide reached our destination by that. After another half hour it was full filled our beautiful dream. We celebrated our victory with showering from the water fall.

The moment after materialized the dream…

Overflow the joy & happiness

Result of successful team effort

Beautiful “Knuckles Queen” with the angle of cave

We collected fire woods before getting dusk with the experience of early day. We spend second day night at “Duvili Ella cave” and it was an unforgettable night in our lives. The rain which started evening was continued till mid night. The water amount of the water fall is increased by that and it was a fresh experience also.

The beauty of Knuckles Queen

Another angle…

Don’t jealousy, feel the beauty and try reach it sooner or later …

Another angle from the cave

How do you feel..?

Yes I know it’s an amazing…

Extremely feel…preserve for next generation

As a victorious gang from the trail head.

Simple way…

Having a long bath as our wish…

So cool…

Beautiful night in “Knuckles” with moon bath

Third Day
We ready to go back before sun rising to the Knuckles. It seems to be very unlike from our gang because of the departure of Knuckles. However we had reached to “Rambukoluwa” before the dusk. So we left there with sad moods.

Is she the mermaid whom we seek?

Zoomed click of “Riveston peak”

Another beautiful morning of “Knuckles”

Beauty of nature

Just click…

Zoom view on “Karagahathenna transmission station”

Deep in “Knuckles” range

“Duvili Ella” with the cave (We spend second day night in this cave)

Finally we seek our “Queen mermaid”

Actually It’s amazing…

The cave is beyond the water fall (The cave which we spend second day night)

The cave is beyond the water fall (The cave which we spend second day night)

Dedication for one intention…

We hurried to “Pusselketiya” with watching other missed water falls in second day at it was at 12.00pm by that. Then we had our lunch & started our walk again and it was 1.00pm. We selected “Rambukoluwa” way for our return. Because that way was easier than “Atanwala”.

Another beautiful mermaid (Our gang named this one as “Padipela Ella” because of the position)

What a great beauty like a sari…

It fall down to deep pool

Foaming water like milk

Sixth mermaid…

Creating fifth water fall…

It has a great bio diversity

Fantasy of mother nature…

While preparing lunch in middle of the “Puswel ketiya oya”

We are also good chefs…

Mmm… Lunch is ready…

The way was parallel to the “Kalu ganga” & it was across a valley. This was a great consolation for our fed up gang.

We could see other beautiful fall which “Deganthuduwa Ella” after a 1km along the way. At very first time, the “Aswedduma paddy field in “Rambukoluwa” village had seen after another 2km. It was little rain by that & it was quickening our walk.

Beautiful “Deganthuduwa fall”

Our gang entered to “Rmbukoluwa” way…

Another little water fall (You can see this along the “Rambukoluwa” way)

It was seems to be signs of human settlement so far ahead. There was a little bit narrow path & the evidence to people walking. We reached to the boundary of “Rambukoluwa” village at about 4.00pm & we were completely wringing wet by that.

Amazing view of “Kalu gaga” (This join with “Mahaweli” river which starting from “knuckles” range with feeding “Ambangaga”)

View of “Aswedduma” paddy field in “Rambukoluwa” (The first sign of human settlement after 3 days)

Quick steps towards “Rambukoluwa”

“Rambukoluwa” is another beautiful isolated village in Knuckles range like “Atanwela”. The people who living there is very poor by physical properties but they have high level of human qualities than us. We stayed a moment in their house & came back with finish of successful & adventuresome journey in whole 3 days nearly 30km walking.

But very special thing is by that also our gang was in high mental & physical health even with many challenges.

Dilapidated house in “Rambukoluwa”

Our 3 day adventure journey finished like this…

We came from “Rambukoluwa” to “Pallegama” by hired taxi & we could catch the “Dambulla” bus at about 6.30pm. We could reach to “Dambulla” at 8.30pm. When we reached our home the midnight was passed also.

If I had not a gang shoulder to shoulder with me like that & also our guide Mr basnayake, I never get experience as much as beautiful like this.

This is a trip that I was planning to do for some time and finally I was successful to achieve my dreams. We started from Gampaha at around 6.30 in the morning and had our breakfast at the restaurant of Ambepussa rest house which provides a very good buffet meal for a reasonable cost.

We managed to reach Padiyapelalla via Kandy and Hanguranketha by about noon but the road condition was bad due to the road constructions that were taking place at that time.It was gloomy and raining in the morning which made us scared of a trip spoiled by rain.

From Padiyapelalla we went to MA Eco bungalow at Elamulla and this stretch of road was carpeted and in very good condition. We were warmly welcomed by the manager of bungalow Mr. Janaka ( 0773592304 ), who is a very nice and knowledgeable person.
We enjoyed a very tasty village style lunch prepared with fresh vegetables and fruits plucked from their own farm. Unfortunately we could not engage in any outdoor activity in the afternoon and evening due to continuous rain and only thing we could do was to see the beautiful sceneries around the bungalow.

Rear view of MA Eco bungalow Elamulla

Misty and rainy on arrival.

Comfortable room where we stayed

Excellent sanitary facilities of the bungalow

.	Gramophone of colonial era.

HIS MASTER’S VOICE

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Memories of colonial era.

Old tea boiler!

Memories of colonial era.

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Following day was a bright and sunny day and after our breakfast we went to see a nearby waterfall.

Dawn of a beautiful day at Elamulla.

Beautiful morning!

.	A refreshing hot cup of tea in the morning.

Strawberries of the backyard

Beautiful flowers for vases.

The beauty we visited near Elamulla.

As Mr. Janaka told us there are many waterfalls around this area, but as we have to travel to Nuwara Eliya on same day, lack of time prevented us from visiting them.

After having a tasty breakfast we thanked Mr. Janaka and started our journey to N’Eliya via Mandaramnuwara.

On the way to Mandaramnuwara.

Piduruthalagala range from Mandaramnuwara.

Pidurutalagala transmission tower seen from Mandaramnuwara.

After reaching Mandaramnuwara we started travelling towards Ragala via Goodwood, Gonapitiya and Highforest. This stretch of road is narrow but filled with beautiful sceneries

Mandaramnuwara seen from Goodwood.

Near Goodwood.

From Ragala we travelled to N’ Eliya via Kandapola and this stretch of road is carpeted and is in superb condition. At N’Eliya we had our lunch and went to Victoria park as our little one wanted to have some fun.

Near Kandapola

Bomburella reservoir near Kandapola.

Beautiful scenery near Kandapola.

Little train at Victoria Park N’Eliya.

Ready to go round the park.

In the afternoon one of our friends and her family joined us at N’Eliya and all of us stayed the night at SANASA Holiday Resort at Top Past N’Eliya.

Following day morning we decided to visit New Zealand Farm Ambewela and Horton Plains.

At the strawberry farm near Ambewela.

Strawberry farm at Ambewela.

Soil being prepared for cultivation of strawberry.

Beauty of the Mother Nature.

Sri Pada seen from Ambewela.

WOW ! Ambewela wind mills.

On the way to New Zealand farm.

Soothing to eye.

New Zealand farm Ambewela.

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.	Peaceful breakfast.

Stud bull.

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Then we started our journey towards Horton plains via Pattipola and were able to see so beautiful landscapes through out it.

On the way to Horton Plains.

Awesome!

Sun bathing.

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Visitor centre Horton Plains.

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Maha rath mal

After visiting Horton Plains we returned to N’Eliya via Ohiya, Boralanda, Guruthalawa and Welimada. Then we returned our homes on same day night via Gampola and Peradeniya.

Like Sherwood Forrest in Nottingham.

Thank you for reading.

Waterfalls of southern border of Sinharaja rain forest and Neluwa can be classified as follows

1. Waterfalls in Neluwa (4) – Thapolena Ella 1, Thapolena Ella 2, Neluwa/Kosmulla Duwili Ella, Thambalagama Duwili Falls
2. Waterfalls in Warukandeniya (3) – Aliboda Falls, Ratawal dola Ella (? Beraliyadola Ella), Beraliya Galanda Ella
3. Waterfalls in Lankagama (6) – Classic five waterfalls and Hathbinna Ella
4. Waterfalls in Pitadeniya (3)-Malmora Ella, Pathan Oya Ella/Wathugala Ella and Kakuna Ella.

• Waterfalls I couldn’t visit- Wadan Ella (වදo ඇල්ල) (Situated in Mawanana (මාවනන) area which is 2km away from Neluwa town towards Thawalama). Ellewela Falls (ඇල්ලේවෙලඇල්ල) (Situated in Mandalapura (මණ්ඩලපුර) which is in Mathugama-Neluwa road)
• Classic five waterfalls of Lankagama and waterfalls of Pitadeniya are situated within Sinharaja Rain Forest. Therefore need permission and guide to visit there.

Order of these waterfalls from Neluwa.

Order of these waterfalls from Neluwa

Waterfalls in Neluwa

Thapolena Falls 1 and 2 (තපෝලෙන ඇල්ල)

These waterfalls are situated within the premises of Sinhalena (සිoහ ලෙන) Buddhist Hermitage of Neluwa-Kosmulla road. You can notice the name board of this hermitage in left hand side when you travel from Neluwa along Kosmulla road. (Before popular Duwili Ella). Climb up about 1.5km till you reach the Buddhist hermitage. As the road condition is good, you can drive up to some extent.
The foot pathway towards Sinhalena hermitage branches at a junction where it goes upwards to Kande (කන්දේ) Wiharaya (left hand side) and Hermitage (Right hand side). Get the small foot pathway just before this junction towards the water stream. When you get down to the water stream you will notice Thapolena Falls 1.

Thapolena falls 1

It is a small waterfall with 4-5m height.

Directions from Neluwa-Kosmulla road. Red arrow shows towards Kosmulla. Black arrow shows the direction to Sinhalena Buddhist Hermitage.

Surrounding view.

Foot pathway in the hermitage.

Towards “Sinhalena Thapowanaya.” සිoහ ලෙන තපෝවනය

Towards Kande Wiharaya.

“Kande Wiharaya.”

Thapolena Falls 1.

View from above of Thapolena falls 1.

After visiting at Thapolena falls 1, you have to climb down about 20m to view Thapolena falls 2. This is bit risky thing to do. You can have only a pilot view of Thapolena falls 2. (Don’t know there is a foot pathway to the base of this waterfall.)

Thapolena falls 2.
This is 15m tall waterfall which is situated close to Thapolena falls 1.

White arrow shows the direction you have to go down.

Thapolena falls 2.

Thapolena falls 2. Unfortunately only lateral view could be captured.

Thapolena Falls 2. Prominent part.

If you ask from villagers about this waterfall they may not know it. Because they don’t use this name.

2. Neluwa/Kosmulla Duwili falls. (නෙළුව/කොස්මුල්ල දුවිලි ඇල්ල)

This massive and beautiful waterfall will come across at Kosmulla (about 7km away from Neluwa). It has three parts. Due to it’s popularity among tourists, they have made cement foot steps to reach the waterfall. There is a man made pool at ticket counter to have a bath.

First part of Neluwa/Kosmulla Duwili falls.

Neluwa Duwili falls-first part in full view.

On top of first part.

Steps to climb up.

Most beautiful part-2nd part.

2nd part in full view.

3rd part of Neluwa Duwili falls.

On top of 3rd part.

3. Thambalagama Duwili Falls (තඹලගම දුවිලි ඇල්ල)

This waterfall flows from Kabaragala Mountain and situated in Thambalagama area.
You have to walk/drive along the road where “Gramasewaka” house is situated about 1.5km. Then take the right hand side road which is situated in front of the last house of this road. This road will bring you to the water stream where the bridge can be noticed. Then you have to go upwards along the water stream about 100m till you reach this beautiful waterfall.
Before Kosmulla Duwili Ella becomes popular, this was the famous Duwili Ella of this area.
It’s height is 16m.

Well paved road to the water stream.

“The bridge” and direction towards the water fall.

Going upwards through Dola.

First glimpse of waterfall.

Thambalagama Duwili Ella.

Thambalagama Duwili Falls.

Only upper part.

What a beauty she is.

Waterfalls of Warukandeniya (වාරුකන්දෙනිය)

1. Alibodadola falls (ඇලිබොඩදොල ඇල්ල)

There are two Alibodadola falls-Alibodadola Ihala Ella and Alibodadola Pahala Ella. Once you enter the school road of Warukandeniya you will come across a board mentioning Warukandeniya-Alibodadola falls hydro power project. Follow the foot pathway closer to this board towards a tea patch first and then towards the water stream. Cross the water stream and you will come across hydro power plant. Take the foot pathway which is in behind the hydropower plant. It goes parallel to the Alibodadola.
After climb about 1km in this road you will come across Alibodadola Ihala Ella where they have diverted water.

Alibodadola Ihala Ella (ඇලිබොඩදොල ඉහල ඇල්ල)
This waterfall has few steps and main part is 8m tall.

Black arrow shows the foot pathway closer to the board.

Crossing the water stream.

Alibodadoal Ihala Ella- upper two parts.

Second upper part.

Alibodadola Ihala Ella-lower part.

Two parts of Alibodadola falls shown here.

When you come back in the same foot pathway about 50-100m, Alibodadola Pahala Ella can be viewed through trees. Follow the foot pathway down to the Alibodadola from main pathway and then climb up towards the waterfall.

Alibodadola Pahala Ella (ඇලිබොඩදොල පහල ඇල්ල)
It is about 5m in height.

Black arrow shows Alibodadola Pahala falls. Have to go along the Alibodadola to reach the waterfall.

Alibodadola Pahala falls.

Beauty.

Alibodadola Pahala falls.

Alibodadola Pahala Falls.

2. Ratawal Dola Falls/? Beraliya Dola Ella (රටවැල් දොල ඇල්ල/?බෙරලියදොල ඇල්ල)

This waterfall is also situated in Warukandeniya. You have to walk along the school road of Warukandeniya about 1km till you reach the temple. The Hydropower house can be seen close to the temple. Take the foot pathway from there towards the waterfall. (We were guided by a kind villager and Buddhist priest of the temple. Thanks for them). Better clarify the pathway from nearby villagers.

This is 6m high waterfall.

This is Beraliya Galanda waterfall. Not Ratawal dola fall. This is seen when you start the walk.

Ratawal dola falls.

Ratawal Dola Waterfall. Another view.

Ratawal Dola Ella-Through bushes.

Villagers are not using this name-Ratawal Dola. They basically say “waterfalls in Beraliya Dola” for all these waterfalls (Ratawal Dola Ella and Beraliya Galanda Ella). Therefore you might be confused if you search these waterfalls by it’s name.

When you go down along the Beraliya Dola, Beraliya Galanda falls will be come across. (Be careful in getting down along the water stream).

3. Beraliya Galanda Falls. (බෙරලිය ගල් ඇන්ද ඇල්ල)

This is 5m tall waterfall.

Beraliya Galanda Ella-side view.

Beraliya Galanda Falls-front view.

“Pus Ata” පුස් ඇට

Looking away.

Now it is a historical monument. This hydropower plant has been shifted away.

Waterfalls in Lankagama

Classic five waterfalls- Can be entered from Lankagama ticket counter.

1. Lankagama Brahamana Ella ලoකාගම බ්‍රාහ්මණ ඇල්ල (17m)

This is the first waterfall you can visit and can be seen even over the bridge of the road. This is made by Hariyawa Dola. Following this, Hariyawa Dola (හැරියාව දොල) flows further to join with Gin Ganga (ගිo ගග) . It is named as Brahamana Ella due to fallen of “Brahamanaya” from top of this waterfall.

Lankagama Brahamana Ella-Side view.

Lankagama Brahamana Ella-Front view

Lankagama Brahamana Ella-Distance view

Directions-Red arrow shows direction to Lankagama Brahamana Fall. White arrow shows direction to other four waterfalls.

Joining of right and left branches of Hariyawa Dola. Water is diverted from here to hydro power production.

Crossing of right branch of Hariyawa Dola. Our guide said this as the Sinharaja Dola and other part as Hariyawa Dola. Don’t know whether he is correct.

2. Lankagama Thattu Ella (ලoකාගම තට්ටු ඇල්ල)

As this waterfall flows in 2-3 steps it is called Thattu Ella. It is about 10m high.

Thattu Ella-Full view.

Thattu Ella-Upper part.

Hariyawa Dola-left branch following flow of Thattu Ella.

Thattu Ella-Lateral view.

3. Lankagama Duwili Ella. (ලoකාගම දුවිලි ඇල්ල)
This 23m height beautiful waterfall is made by the right branch of Hariyawa Dola.

First glimpse of Duwili Ella.

Closer view.

These trees were at top of the waterfall and dropped down due to fast flow during rainy season.

There is a small cave at the base of the waterfall. Arrow shows it. The “Brahamanaya” who has fallen from Brahamana Ella, has lived here. It can be reached from the base of the waterfall.

It is in monochrome.

4. Gal Oruwa Ella (ගල් ඔරුව ඇල්ල)

This unusual shape water fall has 40m height. It is made by the left branch of Hariyawa Dola. There is an observation flat form to watch the waterfall.

Gal Oruwa Ella. Difficult to capture it’s full length.

Gal Oruwa fall.

View of Lankagama Uranwatuna Ella from Gal Oruwa fall.

5. Lankagama Uran Watuna Ella (ලoකාගම ඌරන් වැටුන ඇල්ල)

This 20m tall waterfall is situated just above Gal Oruwa waterfall, formed by right branch of Hariyawa Dola. It’s base is full of slippery rocks. Therefore the best view can be taken from the observation flat form at Gal Oruwa fall. When you reach the top of the waterfall you can watch another two beautiful waterfalls above Lankagama Uran Watuna Ella. (Our guide called them as “Nuga Deka Ella” (නුග දෙක ඇල්ල). But no waterfall exists like that).

Lateral view of Uran Watuna Ella. To get this view you have to go closer to the waterfall through bushes on your way up to the waterfall.

Another side snap of the waterfall.

On top of Uran Watuna Ella.

The base of the waterfall and Gal Oruwa fall.

The left branch of Hariyawa Dola forms another two beautiful waterfalls above Uran Watuna Ella.

6. Hathbinna Ella (හත්බින්න ඇල්ල)

This 6m tall waterfall is made by Gin Ganga when it takes a bend at Nilwalla (නිල් වැල්ල). It is such a wide waterfall. You have to cross Gin Ganga close to Lankagama ticket counter and follow the foot pathway to view this waterfall.

Used to cross Gin Ganga.

Gin Ganga-It’s muddy colour due to yesterday heavy rain.

Foot pathway goes through the tea estate.

Direction to get a clear view of the waterfall, towards the bank of Gin Ganga.

Full range of Hathbinna fall.

A part of Hathbinna fall.

Waterfalls of Pitadeniya

To reach waterfalls of Pitadeniya, you have to walk towards the bridge between Pitadeniya and Lankagama and have to cross Aranuwa Dola (ආරනුව දොල).

1. Pathan Oya Ella/Wathugala Falls (පතන් ඔය ඇල්ල /වතුගල ඇල්ල)

You have to walk about 1.5-2km to reach Pathan Oya fall from Pitadeniya Conservation center. This waterfall has 16m height and it flows in few steps. It is bit difficult to reach to the base of the waterfall.

The bridge over Gin Ganga at Pitadeniya conservation center.

Gin Ganga is getting number of branches from rain forest.

The foot pathway through the rain forest.

Our guide Jayantha and Wuminda.

The place called “Wadi Dola”( වාඩි දොල). Nice place to rest. But leeches didn’t allow it.

“Wadi Dola”

Good morning!

The junction. Black arrow shows the way we came. Green arrow shows the pathway towards Pathan Oya fall (300m). Yellow arrow shows towards Kakuna fall (1200m).

Work of Jumbo.

Pathan Oya falls.

Closer view.

Another view of it.

2. Kakuna falls (කැකුණ ඇල්ල)

As Kakuna trees are abundant around this water fall, it is called Kakuna Ella. It is 11m high and has 5m width.

“Gona Thuththiri” Area (ගෝණ තුත්තිරි මණ්ඩිය)

“Gona Thuththiri”

.	Rising up…..

First glimpse of Kakuna falls. To reach Kakuna falls then have to cross the water stream. If water level is high it is not possible.

Kakuna falls with it’s base.

Kakuna falls-Closer view.

At it’s base.

On top of Kakuna falls.

Following the waterfall.

3. Malmora Ella (මල්මොර ඇල්ල)

This 30m tall waterfall is situated within Sinharaja rain forest and need about 2.5-3km walk into the forest to view this. This foot pathway is highly infested with leeches.

Distance view of Malmora falls.

Closer view.

Another closer view.

Malmora falls in full length.

End result of the journey.

Cascades of Gall District.

Above mentioned waterfalls are belong to Galle district and situated closer to Sinharaja rain forest. It covers large number of waterfalls in Galle district. Other waterfalls of Galle District are

1. Andahalena Ella (අඩාහැලෙන ඇල්ල)
2. Waterfalls in Kanneliya Forest-Anagimala Falls (අනගිමල ඇල්ල), Narangas Ella (නාරoගස් ඇල්ල) and Manamala Dola falls (මනමාළ දොල ඇල්ල)

Anagimala Ella.

Narangas Ella.

Pitadeniya Conservation Center

There are 3 accommodation options at Pitadeniya Conservation Center.
1. “Wana Niwahana” (වන නිවහන)
2. Gin Ganga Sewana (ගිo ගග සෙවන)
3. Wanigasekara Memorial Home

“Wana Niwahana”

“Gin Ganga Sewana”

Wanigasekara Memorial Home.

Historical Information.

Pitadeniya Office.

Lecture Hall.

Educational matters.

Samples of plants.

Kitchen and dining hall. Their foods are tasty.

Thank you for reading.

Year and Month	January, 2014
Number of Days	3 Nights and 4 Days
Crew	3 Guys (between 25-30 years of age)
Accommodation	Camping – Horton Plains Campsite 3
Transport	Jeep – Alternatively, you could take the Badulla Train and get off at Pattipola. (more details below)
Activities	Camping, Trekking, Photography & Relaxing
Weather	Good Clear Weather on Daytime. It Rained on two nights but overall manageable weather.
Route	Colombo -> Awissawella -> Dehiowita -> Karawanella -> Kitulgala -> Ginigathhena -> Hatton -> Thalawakele -> Nanu-Oya -> Ambewela -> Pattipola -> Pattipola Entrance – Horton Plains National Park (approximately 200km)
Tips, Notes and Special remark	All campsites are located within around 500ms from the Horton Plains Wildlife Centre and all sites consist of a permanent toilet (squatting) and garbage disposal facilities. If you have a lot of equipment to carry its best to get there before afternoon so you can setup your camp and be prepared for any weather changes. No plastics or polythene is allowed within the park, the officers at the gate would check your bags occasionally but are not that strict, in any case if you bring any plastics please make sure to dispose them accordingly at the garbage pit at the site, don’t leave them scattered in the campsite. Nights in Horton Plains will get really cold, so make sure that you take enough warm clothes including socks and warm gloves if possible. Make sure to take a raincoat, as it rains often, you would at least get caught in a small drizzle. You are not allowed to make campfires, but the officers would not come to check on it at night but it its advised to take a gas-cooker to cook food ( with smaller gas cyclinder) as it is harder to make fires with the constant mist and rain. Don’t shout and sing very loudly disturbing the peacefulness. When we camped there was another group who were singing very loudly disturbing visitors and were evacuated by the Wildlife Officials. – respect nature…
Related Resources	Attraction: Horton Plains (Maha-Eliya) – Heaven on Earth, 2100m Above Sea Level Discussion: Contact Numbers of Forest Department and Wildlife Deparment for Reservations
Author	NaveenM
Comments	Discuss this trip report, provide feedback or make suggestions at Lakdasun Forum on the thread A Quick Guide to Horton Plains Campsites

We recently concluded our camping trip to the campsite 3 in Horton Plains and spent 3 nights and four days. We have camped at sites 1 and 2 before and when we wanted to book site 3, we didn’t really know if these were better than the others, so decided to include a small comparison also with the report so that you can choose the sites as you prefer.

The idea behind this post is to offer a quick insight into the 3 campsites in Horton Plains. We had camped out on campsites 1 and 2 in the past several years, but this year when we wanted to camp out on site 3, we weren’t able to find any detailed comparisons on all three sites.

To put things in perspective this is the latest update from January 2014 when we finally managed to visit campsite 3.

Booking the Campsites

You would have to visit the Wild Life Department Office in Battaramulla to make a reservation to any of these campsites. It would cost you LKR 2500 per day, and you could accommodate upto 10 people. If you are travelling by a vehicle they will charge you a vehicle fee at the park entrance which would be around LKR 280.

Wildlife Offce Contact Number – 0112888585

Getting There

If you are travelling through public transport, its advised to take the Fort-Badulla train and get off at Pattipola or Ohiya stations, from there its a ascending hike of around 9kms, but if you are taking a TukTuk it will cost around LKR 1500-2000, which is worth-it if you are carrying lot of camping gear.

A rough map of the 3 campsites in Horton Plains

Horton Plains Campsite 01

This is the closest campsite to the Wildlife Conservation Office. This is my favorite camping site out of all 3. If you are camping for the first time I would recommend to book this. It doesn’t have much space to camp out, but has easy access to constantly running stream of water, which will make your life much easier. It is also completely sealed off from the public eye, giving you much privacy.

The campsite is located on a small island like strip of land with water on three sides.

Getting there – below is the campsite 1

Getting there – below is the campsite 1

campsite 1, its covered by the stream from all other 3 sides.

Horton Plains Campsite 02

You could camp here if all other options are out. This campsite is located just across the hiking path to World’s End, so you will have visitors passing by your campsite during the daytime. So you will not have much privacy unless you are inside the tent. However, this campsite is located closer to the Chimney Pool, which is a great place to have a wash and a bath.

But I would recommend to avoid this if possible as this doesn’t have much privacy and on a weekend the path would get really busy with visitors. But if privacy is not a concern it is a great place to camp as it has easy access to running water.

campsite 2 – Water Bund at campsite 2 (other than privacy, its a great place to camp)

Horton Plains Campsite 03

This campsite is located between campsites 1 and 2, and has a lot of space to setup your tent. However, the only downfall here is that you would have to walk around 100 meters along the water stream to get to a decent place to have a wash, as water just in-front are stagnant and harder to access.

Since its not covered by larger mountains like on campsite 1, it has a great view at night and in the morning.

Campsite 3 is seen ahead, this is from the path to campsite 1 which is to the right

Campsite 3 is seen ahead- the picture is taken from where you can get access to running water, so you would have to walk a bit to have a good wash

Visiting Worlds End & Kirigalpoththa

If you are camping long enough we would recommend visitng worlds end at one end and Kirigalpoththa Mountain (second highest mountain in SL) at the other end.

Generally if you want to visit Worlds End I would recommend starting as early as possible, try to at least start your hike at around 6 or 7 so that you could reach there quite early. We started off a bit late and by afternoon the mist had gathered there and was no proper view.

End Product

3 days allowed us to create this time-lapse video capturing the breathtaking landscape of Horton Plains.

Special Thanks to Kelum, Varuna, Thinu & Thisara for the pics from our trips through the past few years.

SPECIAL NOTE – The caving experience in Ella mentioned herewith, “Nil Diya Pokuna Cave”, should not be attended / tested individually as it is definitely a life threatening activity where a single wrong move / slip will take a toll on your very own life as well as the others involved. Should you wish to explore this cave please make sure that you are accompanied by those who are experienced and knows their way in and out of the cave as well as with proper climbing gear only. (Using coir rope as a climbing aid is NOT recommended at all)

The number of times that I have travelled in the train “passing” Ella equals to the number of visits to Horton Plains National Park by my-self which is self explanatory for those who know about me and Horton Plains Finally the day had come! After several “passing by” trips I decided to head over to Ella on an exploration visit over the long weekend which was laid out alongside the Independence Day of Sri Lanka (4th of Feb) As usual my decision was sudden and only a few days left for me to plan my trip. So with the help of previous trip reports from Lakdasun and along with few other links I sketched my trip during which a friend (John) volunteered to join me for the trip. All set! However my initial plan of departing from Colombo on the 31st of Jan night had to be postponed due to few commitments that I had to attend to hence I ended up at the Pettah bus station on the following day, 1st of Feb, night around 22:00 hrs. Though there were few busses I decided to kill sometime assuming I will reach Bandarawela too early to catch any bus en-route to Ella. But I was wrong!

After midnight there were no A/C Badulla busses irrespective of what I have heard from others about the 24×7 service. However the Leyland Badulla bus line was still a bit too long hence I decided to wait and see of the outcome. Patience paid out really well and I managed to hop into a Colombo – Welimada bus which was basically empty all the way. The bus left Pettah at 02:10 hrs and it reached Bandarawela at 07:45 hrs on the 2nd of Feb.

After getting down from Bandarawela I walked down the Wellawaya road and stopped at a shop to fill my stomach after the journey from Colombo. Afterwards I hopped into a Bandarawela – Namunukula bus with the intention of getting down at Ella!

Finally I reached the city of Ella for the very first time in my life! However it looked quite extra-ordinary to me compared to any other hill country town that I have been to. The city of Ella, the way I saw it, is more of a commercialized city filled with foreigners, mostly backpackers. All the properties converted into guest houses and home stays, the locals of Ella are trying their level best to earn few extra bucks during the tourism season of Ella.

After getting down from Ella I called up the local trekker, Meththananda, to check with him the best possible trek for the day given the fact that I have to be back at Ella train station at 15:30 hours in order to welcome John, heading over to Ella after an ascend on Adam’s Peak via the Hatton route. Meththananda stated the fact it’s better that we go explore the “cave” today for which I said fine and soon was on my way down the Ella – Wellawaya road heading towards his house located near the 10th mile post.

After a welcome refreshment at his place soon we were on our way and the adventure unfolds!!

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Entrance to the cave which leads to the “Nil Diya Pokuna”

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The challenging work in-side the cave

The challenging work in-side the cave

We were compelled to squeeze through the rocks in most cases

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After walking through the cave entrance the walk became a challenge with every step taken forward. The cave narrows down all the way to the depths of the earth and it gets steeper as you climb down. In certain areas you are compelled to traverse in rock ledges with a 20 – 30 ft drop just few inches away from your foot-hold (The idea reminded me about the deadly crevasse traversing that I did back in the Himalayas last year too!)

The soil is more of a sand composition (more like quick sand) making it’s difficult to hold on to our footholds without slipping down and also reminding us about the constant threat of rocks coming loose from the top. After descending for approximately 1 ½ – 2 hours we reached the pond known as “Nil Diya Pokuna” which unravels in the famous Rama – Ravana legend as well

Meththananda (Local trekker) was explaining to me about how wide and deep the pond is and I was stunned to experience that by very own eyes. I tried to throw a rock as far as possible towards the rear end of the pool which was an utter failure! The water is crystal clear that I didn’t realize the existence of water at the first place!

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The initial attempt to photograph the pond was a failure since the water was way too clear. Hence I basically disturbed and created few waves in order for me to capture it from my all time favorite cyber shot camera

I basically disturbed and created few waves in order for me to capture it

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Afterwards we left the pond and headed for one of the few underground lounge areas where there were quite a number of bats flying around. The lounge that we visited seems to be a “room” carved in from the rock slabs themselves which may have served as a resting place back in the days. Unfortunately the power of our torches was outsmarted by the power of darkness that was ruling inside hence I was not able to take any pictures of the vicinity. Though there were few more locations that can be explored inside the cave I was reminded the fact that I had to be back at the Ella train station in time to welcome my friend. So after a challenging ascend out of the cave finally we were heading down to Meththananda’s place to refresh. And so the caving adventure ends!

After refreshing at Meththe’s place soon I was on my way back walking towards Ella town on the Ella – Wellawaya road. I managed to catch a bus and I reached Ella Station in time for me to greet John.

After a brief discussion with him about his Adam’s Peak experience the previous night and about his schedule for the next 02 days while in Ella we decided to hike upto Little Adam’s Peak on the same day evening and to continue the rest of the exploration on the following day since it was approximately 16:00 hrs when we walked out of the train station.

Little Adam’s Peak – The route to Little Adam’s Peak is easily noticeable. From the city of Ella there is a huge notice at the centre of the town where the road separates into 02 (One towards Wellawaya and the other towards Namunukula). Little Adam’s peak trail is approximately 02kms up on the road towards Namunukula from Ella

Little Adam’s Peak, picture taken standing at the rear end of the mountain range

A picture of John leading the way down from the summit of Little Adam’s Peak

After the hike we returned back to Ella and found our-self a guesthouse for the overnight. Though the initial plan was to campout we were not able to prep the logistics including the tent since all the resources were already booked and given away due to the long weekend

Guest house details – Dream Café & Guest House, Main Street, Ella (+94 57 222 8950)

Next day, after eating pol rotti and being responsible for 02 cups of tea from a shop in the town we soon hit the rail track on our way to the Ella Rock. In order to reach the trail head to Ella rock one needs to step into the railway line from Ella station and walk towards the Kithal-ella station till they reach a bridge where there is a Bo tree adjoining the bridge (Easily noticeable)

Notice board at the Ella railway station highlighting the main tourist attractions of the vicinity (Click Image to Enlarge)

Ella Railway Station

Ella Railway Station

Ella Railway Station

The bridge from where the trail head to Ella rock commences

Once you reach the bridge and walk over it to your left had side there will be a bo tree and a path downwards. When you follow that path you will be able to see the house and these crops that are visible in the picture. Walk alongside them and and over the small bridge that you will come across. As soon as you pass the bridge there will be a “Y” junction from where you need to follow the path to your right hand side which will lead you straight to the summit of Ella Rock!

Path leading to the 1st view point From Ella rock

View of Little Adam’s Peak from the First view point out of Ella Rock

John enjoying the view

After the first view point the final bit of the hike towards the top is a bit of a steep terrain

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The last bit of trees before reaching the view point from the top of Ella Rock

View from the top of Ella Rock

After resting at the top for a while enjoying the view we got back to Ella for lunch, after which we commenced our rail hike towards Demodara

The trail head bridge to Ella Rock. There is another path which walks right under the bridge as well. On our way back we took that

Yeah well he wanted a picture of mine badly so I said OK

A bit of a curvy track or, am I just playing around with my camera? During the rail-hike from Ella to Demodara

The famous Nine arch bridge of Demodara (Refer below) When one stands underneath it and looks up there is a beautiful sight of ‘nine skies’ through the nine arches, hence the Sinhala name. This bridge is also called ‘The Bridge in the sky’ due to the sheer height. This massive bridge is built entirely of solid rocks, bricks and cement without using a single piece of steel. The bridge was finally commissioned in 1921

After spending sometime at the bridge, enjoying the marvelous piece of architecture, our original plan of, catching a train to Badulla, from Demodara was crashed when we were basically chased by the same train and had to give way for the train

So moved to plan B, hitch hiked from Demodara railway station to the Demodara town and hopped into a bus towards Badulla in time for me to meet my ever-lasting love, Badulla – Colombo night mail train, which leaves at 18:00 hrs from Badulla.

After reaching Badulla and bidding farewell to John who will catch a bus the following day to Batticaloa I reached the Badulla railway station to buy a ticket for the ride back home.

Just before I hopped into the train I went to the other end of the platform where there was a water tap so I can wash myself before the 12 hour ride back home and this captured the attention of my eyes

We have been planning for a long weekend by taking Monday 3rd Feb, off – day before National day – but were not sure of our destination. Going through the options we decided on a scenic drive to Deniyaya via Buluthota Pass since we have never taken that route. We also added Lankagama waterfalls and Kanneliya forest to our list, as all these attractions were new to us.

So, on the 2nd we left Colombo around 6am and took A01 up to Gelaniyama to reach Ratnapura via Kiriella and quite enjoyed the journey along the misty winding road. From Pelmadulla we turned towards A18 and the road was good up to Madampe. Madampe – Rakwana Road was under construction and traffic was halted a number of times as trees were being cut down for road widening. We had to pass some very bad muddy patches too. Though the road was bad we enjoyed the changing scenery.
Soon we passed the 8 hair-pin bends and stopped on a number of occasions to enjoy the landscape. We could see the Rakwana mountains and the view was breathtaking.

Changing landscape of Rakwana

Numbered Hairpin Bends…

.	Enjoying a road-side waterfall…

Passing the bends it was time for a break and we came across a road-side paella where we washed the mud off (from Rakwana road) our vehicle and also enjoyed some hot-hot poll rotti from the nearby kade.

Peella with car wash facilities

After a refreshing break we passed Sooriyakanda and took the left turn from Kandamuduna to reach the peak to view the towers. But soon we had to abandon our effort as the road turned from bad to worse. The villagers assured that the bad patch will be only for about half-a-kilometer, but we did not want to take the risk – sometimes can’t rely on these “just a half kilometer” stories!

Passing Sooriyakanda

The mountain range

Road condition deteriorating

Abandoning that task we decided to visit Maduwanwala Walawwa by turning towards Kollonne from Sooriyakanda town. The road was narrow but quite all right and has not still being touched by “road development”. We reached the old Walawa by noon and spent quite some time walking from room to room in the gloomy old mansion. The restoration work has been completed and it looked quite grand from outside.

Entrance to Walawwa

Walawwa as seen from the entrance..

A page from history… – Click Image to Enlarge

Front view of main building

Adjoining building – ancient court house

Mosaic design at the entrance

One of the many courtyards

The outer wall

Complicated roof

Having spent almost 1-2 hours at Maduwanwala Walawwa it was time for lunch and we inquired about a safe bathing place and ended up at Makuluwathota River by the main road. It was almost dried up therefore safe for bathing and the kids enjoyed their river bath before lunch.

After lunch we headed towards Deniyaya via Kelle without going back to Suriyakanda. It is a shortcut and we joined A17 at Hayes. The view of the surrounding tea estates was quite breathtaking making us wonder whether we were in Nuwara Eliya.

Hayes landscape

We reached Deniyaya around 4pm and proceeded towards Kotapola, just 5 kms away, where we stayed the night at a relative’s place. The house was in the midst of a tea estate boarding a dola. The kids had a great time with their cousins splashing water in the dola till sun went down.

Next morning we were to leave after breakfast as we wanted to visit Lankagama waterfalls and planned to be there for lunch. But our relatives insisted that we visit Getabaru Devalaya which is an ancient temple on top of a nearby hill. The previous night we saw the lights of the Devalaya o n top of the hill and to me it looked liked the lit up udamaluwa of Sri Pada. A vehicle can go all the way to the top (nearly 2km) then you have to climb fleets of stone steps to reach the Bodhiya, Dageba and Getabaru Devalaya. You get an aerial view of Deniyaya from the top.

The cousins at Getabaru Devalaya

Sri Pathula in the shrine room

Fleet of steps to Udamaluwa

View from top

After observing religious rituals we returned home and it was time for a final dip in the cool and refreshing Dola before we leave.

Cool and refreshing Dola

A basin full of rambutan on the way from the Dola

Finally it was almost 2pm when we bid good bye to our relatives after lunch and we realized that we had to put off Lankagama tour to another day, but the kids did not mind at all as they had a grand time running about tea bushes and plucking juicy ramburan from the garden.

We proceeded to Morawaka and then to Neluwa via Lellawala. This stretch was undergoing widening and we had to move at a slow pace. From Neluwa we proceeded about 1km towards Pelwatta and took the right turn towards Lankagama. We drove about 7km along this road to reach Kosmulla Duvili Ella. The sign board there announced another 10.15kms to Lankagama.

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We bought tickets from the counter and climbed the concrete steps to view the falls. There was a crowd bathing in the man-made pool constructed at the entrance. The climb was easy but the fall was not in its full glamour may be due to lack of rain.

Poor looking Kosmulla Duvili Ella

Poor looking Kosmulla Duvili Ella

It was almost 4.30 when we came back to the ticket counter and had a cup of plain tea with hot hot pol rotti from the nearby kade. The nearby sign board showed 10.5 more kms to Lankagama and we realized it was pointless proceeding along the badly damaged road as it would be dark soon.

We came back to Neluwa and proceed towards Udugama via Thawalama to our night’s rest, Kanneliya Forest Rest. Just 3-4 kms before Udugama we turned left along an uphill road leading to Kanneliya Forest Reserve. The narrow, winding road has been recently carpeted and we reached the Forest Rest within minutes. It being a Monday the place was calm and quiet and we loved the shady environment. The sun was going down but we managed to get a cool deep in the crystal clear stream adjoining the resort. Our Room was just by the stream and it was spacious with two double beds and a clean large bathroom.

Our friends from Matara joined us with their kids at night and we all enjoyed a delicious dinner. The roof of the dining area has been done with Beru leaves and the caretaker said that they did it almost ten years ago and it is still in very good shape. (Of course it is covered with sheets)

The roof done with Beru leaves

Next morning after a filling breakfast we proceeded to the forest. We were there by 8am and we were the first group to arrive. We chose the easiest trail covering Anagi Mala Ella, the cave and giant pus wella – covering just 2.5km.

The trails

We were assigned with a guide and we started our journey enjoying the cool breeze in the morning day light. Our guide was Mr.Gunadasa and he was a wealth of knowledge and was very keen on explaining things in detail. We were fortunate to have him as our guide and it was an educational walk in the forest for the kids.

Mr. Gunadasa howing something to the kids

My little Tarzen

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Wallapatta plant

…..and a grown tree

The trail went through a cave. We all had almost to crawl through it and come out at the other end to continue the trail.

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An observation platform

Note the use of Beru leaves for the roof

The next attraction was the giant pus creeper. For that we had to go off the road and climb uphill through the forest.

giant pus creeper

Anagi Mala Ella was the last attraction of our chosen trail. We had to walk into the forest for more than 300 metres to see this beautiful waterfall.

Anagi Mala Ella

Anagi Mala Ella

Anagi Mala Ella

On our way back Mr. Gunadasa showed us a very rare sighting. It was the Sri Lankan Kangaroo Lizard – a tiny lizard about 5 inches in length – hiding amongst the dried leaves. On our own we would have never spotted the tiny creature.

Sri Lankan Kangaroo Lizard

When we were coming out of the forest we met many groups walking in. There were not enough guides to assist the crowds and even the officer who issued tickets in the morning was leading a group. As we were almost close to the gate Mr.Gunadasa bid us farewell and joined a group. It looked like many have chosen Kanneliya for a day outing as it is only one hour’s drive from the Baddegame exit of the Expressway.

The dormitory at park entrance

We left the park around noon and went back to the Rest looking forward towards a cool dip in the stream before lunch. The rest was crowded with day visitors but many were heading towards the forest and we had the stream to ourselves. We all had a great time in the crystal clear water.

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After almost two hours in the water we headed for lunch and had very delicious rice and curry to our hearts’ content. We went back to our rooms and had a short nap before we left Kanneliya Forest Rest around 5pm. We drove via Udagama, Kurapanawa, Nagoda to Baddegama. The road was along the Gin River and the drive was very enjoyable in the fading sun. We reached Baddegama entrance and went our separate ways – they towards Matara and we towards Colmbo – with our hearts filled with pleasant memories.

FRIENDS

Thanks for reading.

We are a group of 3 people decided to go and worship Sri-Pada via Kuruwita-Erathna road as we have already been there via Rathnapura-Palabaddala route and Hatton-Nallathanni route.

We started the journey from Petta CTB stand around 2PM on 21st Friday, 2014. There was a Rathnapura bus and we took it to go to Kuruwita. It was around 4.30 when we got down from kuruwita. Our aim was to go up to Erathna and stay there. However after getting down at Kuruwita, we were lucky to catch the last bus that goes up to Adewikanda which is the last point that public transport is available during Sri Pada season. We got meals for the night and bread for the following day morning. Around 5.10PM the bus started from Kuruwita to go up to Adewikanda. If we got down from Erathna, there are few kms that we have to walk or go by a taxi to get Adewikanda. Around 6.30PM we got down from Adewikanda and we stayed the night there. Our main objective was not to climb fast but to walk as normal and see the nature as well. That is why we didn’t start it at night.

Sun set seen from Adewikanda

The following day we visited Mahamevna Asapuwa for religious activities at Adewikanda and started the journey afterwards

Mahamevna Asapauwa – Adewikanda

Tunnels that goes to the hydro power station at Adawikanda

Sunlight rays seen on the way

The color makes the eyes to rest a while

Places where people worship on the way to summit

We walked neither too slow nor too fast

We met this mother climbing down. See how healthy they are.

Nepenthes distillatoria ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepenthes_distillatoria )

Before warnagala resting place, there is a large rock bed with a water stream on the right side of the way (not more than 100m from the path) and it is very beautiful to see and also a good place to rest a little while.

Large rock bed and it’s time for a break

Could hardly see the way back to Adewikanda

Having breakfast

We were visited by these beautiful butterflies

Hardly you will find stairs like this before Haramitipana

It looks so much beautiful and the greenery is amazing

The starting point of the Adewikanda hydro power plant

When you climb via Kuruwita, you will find a price list like this that displays the cost for each item. We have never seen this on Hatton side and also the prices are very much reasonable and well organized.

At Warnagala, we saw so many beautiful things.

There are 3 epigraphs at Warnagala but we didn’t know what it says

You will see many sceneries like this when you come to Warnagala resting point.

A lizard who wants to hide her eggs

After lunch, he was trying to have a nap.

Passing warnagala resting place, it’s filled with beautiful sceneries like this

Thick forest is having millions of these

Walking towards “Sitha Gangula”

On the way, you will find many water streams like this.

There is no climb in some places where you will have to walk as usual.

We reached “sitha gangula” around 3PM.

A tribute for god who protect us during the journey – at “Sitha Gangula”

Around 5.15PM, they switched on the lights. But its better you bring a torch.

You will see this notice at “Haramitipana” where Palabaddala route and Kuruwita route join together.

After “Haramitipana”, you will find another 2 boutiques and this is the one before last.

The new glim that has fixed recently but it’s not allowed to light it because it’s made from stone and it’s already cracked due to heat. So we went for the old glim thinking “Old is Gold”

We didn’t remember how many times we visited.

We were planning to get down via Hatton route but there was a massive crowed who had blocked the way down. Therefore we decided to climb down via the Rathnapura route till we get the cross road that links both Rathnapura and Hatton routes together. It was a good idea and we could reach to “Idikatupana” without any problem.

It was so crowded at Hatton route – “Sitha Gangula”

Beauty of the sun was seen on the way back

Sunlight comes through the trees created a picture

“Saama chaithya”

At Gangulethenna we had breakfast and around 11 AM we could reach to Nallathanniya where we got a bus to Hatton.
We saw lots of people are not aware of how valuable the nature is and polythene is everywhere. It’s less on Kuruwita route because the amount that tackles that way is less compared to Hatton route. Another important fact we noticed is that, there are certain procedure followed by the owners of the boutiques on Erathna route such as they don’t sell cigarettes and having price list so that people can see the prices of each item they sell.
We had walked 24kms in 28 hours. If it is the kuruwita trail, it’s much better not to hurry because it makes us tired soon as well as we won’t be able to see the nature and surrounding. Finally we want to thank all Lakdasun members and especially the trail details published. (http://www.lakdasun.org/trails/trail-18-kuruwita-erathna-trail-to-adams-peak-sripada.htm). It was a great journey at last and having long lasting memories. You may see the video here too. (www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkVOP3Iz1_U& ). Thank you.

Matale-Illukkumbura-Pallegama road (B 274) gives access to number of waterfalls and tourist destinations like Riverstone, Pitawala Pathana etc. During this three days journey we covered following waterfalls.

Waterfalls visited during this trip (Order from Matale)

1. Bambarakiri Ella (බඹරකිරි ඇල්ල)
2. Pitawala Pathana Ella-1(පිටවල පතන ඇල්ල-1)
3. Pitawala Pathana Ella-2 (පිටවල පතන ඇල්ල-2)
4. Raththinda cascade (රත්තින්ද ඇල්ල)
5. Wadda Pani Ella (වැද්දා පැනි ඇල්ල)
6. Wambatuhena Ella (වම්බටුහේන ඇල්ල)
7. Bambarungahana Ella (බඹරුන් ගහන ඇල්ල)
8. Sera Ella (සේර ඇල්ල)

Road guide (Waterfalls in bold letters)

Road guide (Waterfalls in bold letters)

Bambarakiri Ella (3m)

This couple of waterfall can be found at Bambarakiri turn of Matale-Illukkumbura road. It is fairly popular place. It has two waterfalls as Maha-Bambarakiri Ella (මහ බඹරකිරි ඇල්ල) 7°29’43.02″N, 80°41’57.01″E and Punchi Bambarakiri Ella 7°29’41.05″N, 80°41’56.76″E (පුoචි බඹරකිරි ඇල්ල).

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Bambarakiri Turn

Maha Bambarakiri Ella

Maha Bambarakiri Ella –Few years ago it had a deep pool. This claimed for so many lives. Following landslides it became shallow

Maha Bambarakiri Ella

Suspension bridge-Have to cross this and take right turn to Punchi Bambarakiri Ella. This bridge to connect Welannwaththa (වෙලන්වත්ත) village

Punchi Bambarakiri Ella

Looked up

Wambatuhena Ella  (7°33’13.46″N, 80°46’4.34″E)

This 10m tall waterfall is situated in left hand side of the road towards

Puwakpitiya from Puwakpitiya junction. The water stream comes from Pathana village (පතන ගම) and later joins with Thelgamu Oya.

Direction at Puwakpitiya junction- White arrow from Matale side, Red arrow to Illukkumbura and Black arrow is to Puwakpitiya. We were stranded there without having a three wheeler

Wambatuhena Ella

Wambatuhena Ella-Different colors

Closer view of Wambatuhena Ella

Bambarungahana Ella (3m) 7°34’40.19″N, 80°44’4.73″E

This beautiful waterfall is situated at Puwakpitiya village. Getting closer to the waterfall is bit challengeable task. You have to get the foot pathway on left hand side of Puwakpitiya temple. Then walk about 1km to reach the waterfall. The origin is Dunumadala Oya (දුනුමඩලා ඔය).

(Villagers of Illukkumbura don’t know about such a waterfall. Always ask from Puwakpitiya village)

Note the direction of the foot pathway closer to the temple

Pitawala Pathana Ella-1 is seen to Puwakpitiya temple

Pitawala pathana

Have to cross the stream

Bit challengeable

Dunumadala Oya. Red star shows the place of the waterfall. It is better go on left hand side of the stream (red arrow)

The beauty

Bambarungahana Ella

Closer view. It is an energetic waterfall

Sera Ella 7°35’17.95″N, 80°45’18.57″E

She is the queen out of these beauties. Sera Ella is situated at Poththatawela (පොත්තටවෙල) village. The origin is Puwakpitiya Oya. It is one of a widest waterfall in Knuckles range (about 35m width). Two waterfalls can be seen here. Sera Ella has an additional feature of a cave which is situated behind the waterfall. A Bird species called “Seru” were here to give the name – Sera Ella.

You can drive up to the foot pathway towards Sera Ella. There is a nice foot pathway to the waterfall. It branches to the base of the waterfall and to the cave of the waterfall.

This is the junction where road divides to Puwakpitiya (black arrow) and Poththatawela (red arrow). Have to drive about 2km to reach the waterfall

Scenic

Road to Poththatawela

Nicely made steps to the waterfall

Getting down

Getting down

Lateral view

Sera Ella

View from the cave. Fantastic experience

Front view

Front view

Naturally made frog face

Walking from Poththatawela to Kambarawa.

This was a reward for us. After visiting Sera Ella we didn’t have a time to catch the bus from Hettipola to Matale at Illukkumbura. The next available option to get a bus is to walk from Sera Ella to Kambarawa.

The total distance was about 5kms and it took 2 hours to reach Kambarawa. There was a mortable road from Kambarawa to Poththatawela a decade ago. But it has been forested and now only a foot pathway can be seen. This was an unexpected beauty. It was nice to walk along this foot pathway which was bordered by the forest.

Road from Sera Ella to Poththatawela village. Well functioning

Road gets narrow after Poththatawela village

“පැල”

Scenic

Nice to walk here

Old “Sapaththu Palama” සපත්තු පාලම

Water streams crossing the road

Flow

Again road gets wider as we are closer to Kambarawa

Reaching to the Village. Border of Mahaweli development area

Kambarawa Village

Greenish

Pitawala Pathana Ella-1 (Approxiamte-7°33’10.46″N, 80°44’26.73″E)

This 75m tall waterfall is situated at Pathana village. Origin is Pathana Dola (පතන දොල). After making Pitawala Pathana Ella-1 and Pitawala Pathana Ella-2 (Unnamed waterfall, we have named as Pitawala Pathana Ella-2) it joins with Puwakpitiya Ganga.

You can observe the full cascade of this waterfall flowing down from Pitawala Pathana at Puwakpitiya village.

Reaching to Pitawala Pathana Ella-1 is not an easy task. First you have to go to the abounded village called “Pathana Gama” පතන ගම and then take the help of the guide called “Ekanayaka Mama.” (Most of the villagers in Pitawala and Illukkumbura are not aware of this waterfall and haven’t visited there.)

Pathana Village and Redbana Company (Narrated by Ekanayaka Mama)

The story of Pathana Village is interesting. This village was established by Redbana Company in 1960-1970 for cultivation of cardamom. Initially it had about 150 families and functioned as a village with a school and a temple. After 10years this cardamom cultivation project was given up by the company. Then villagers moved to their initial residences and village was invaded by the forest. At the moment only two villagers live at this abounded village. Ekanayaka Mama is one of them.

You have to walk about 3km from Red Bana junction of Matale-Pallegama road (after 33km post) to Ekanayaka Mama’s house. Then another 1hour walk to Pitawala Pathana Ella-1. There is no proper foot pathway to the waterfall and leeches are often come across.

Red Bana junction will come across after 33km post of the road. Arrow shows the direction to Pitawala village

Initially it seems as a mortable road

Nice to walk here

Wow

Road divides into two: left one is the correct one

View of Pitawala Pathana Mini World’s end

Note-People at Mini world’s end

Jumping over the Fence of Ekanayaka Mama

Small house and tree hut

Karagahathanna (කරගහතැන්න) (Left) and Riverstone (right)

Ekanayaka Mama -He showed the ruins of houses of the village.

“Wallapatta වල්ලාපට්ටHunters” were there

First view of the waterfall

Climbing up

Pitawala Pathana Ella-1

Lateral view

Another view

After successful journey

Then Ekanayaka Mama accompanied us for another beautiful waterfall made by the same water stream down to Pitawala Pathana Ella-1. This waterfall is bit taller than the previous one and more beautiful than it. I would like to name it as Pitawala Pathana Ella-2 as it is unnamed. Pitawala Pathana Ella-2 is much popular among Puwakpitiya villagers than Pitawala Pathana Ella-1.

Pitawala Pathana Ella-2 (Approxiamte-7°33’15.26″N, 80°44’27.63″E)

Pitawala Pathana Ella-2

Pitawala Pathana Ella -2. Closer view

Pitawala Pathana Ella-2

Summary of the route. Black arrow shows our approach to Ekanayaka Mama’s house. Red arrow shows the direction towards two waterfalls. Picture was taken from Mini World’s End-Pitawala Pathana. You can’t see waterfalls from here

Zoomed view

Raththinda Ella (7°31’24.00″N, 80°44’59.98″E)

This waterfall is situated at Pitawala village. It is a cascade of three parts and clearly visible to surrounding areas like Pitawala Pathana, Maningala. There is a foot pathway towards the middle part of the cascade from Pitawala village. (About 1km journey). Once you come to the middle part you can go to upper and lower parts of the cascades. There is a nice foot pathway which goes along a private land to connect with other side of the waterfall. We followed the first one to reach the waterfall and other one to come down.

Sun rise over Maningala and Thunhisgala (තුන්හිස්ගල) is far away

Riverstone

View of Raththinda Ella from Pitawala village

Land mark we came across on our way to the waterfall

Another land mark is this water tank. Drinking water project of Pitawala village

Middle part of the cascade

You have to cross the middle part and follow the foot pathway on left hand side to reach the upper part. This is upper part

Top of Raththinda waterfall

Beautiful landscapes

Paddy fields of Atanwala village

Follow the foot pathway down to reach the lower part of the cascade. This is the lower part

Side view of lower part

Surrounding view

Another snap

Towards Atanwala village

Good morning

.	A hotel is under construction closer to Rathninda waterfall. Above landscapes were taken at it’s garden

Wedda Pani Ella (7°31’2.08″N, 80°45’21.27″E)

This waterfall is made by Thelgamu Oya when it flows under the bridge connecting Raththinda and Atanwala villages. It is about 6m height waterfall. To get a clear view of the waterfall, you have to get down to Thelgamu Oya. There is another small but beautiful waterfall about 50m down to Wedda Pani Ella.

Due to the death of a Wadda by falling down from this waterfall is the reason for this name.

Thelgamu Oya flows under the bridge. Just before to make the waterfall

Wadda Pani Ella and it’s base pool

Wadda Pani Ella

Complete view of Wedda Pani Ella

Small cascade found down to Wadda Pani Ella. Photo credit goes to Ashan

Thanks for reading

When we were (Ashan, Sanketha and Me) climbing Pettigala I pointed my finger to a far end and asked Ashan whether it’s Horton plains. He replied me with a smile “Hariya Nogiya Thenna “. Surprised???? Yes for more than 30 years of my life I had never been to Horton Plains. So I was desperately needed to do HP ASAP and was in a hunger to do many trails within a short period. Within 3 days we ( Me and my friend Thenuka ) were able to cover five paths/trails of Horton Plains

1. Kalupahana-HP jeep track
2. Worlds end Circular trial
3. Thotupola mountain trail
4. Kirigalpottha mountain trail
5. HP to Dayagama trail

As this was my first visit to Hp I wanted to do this in somewhat different (I mean special) manner. My basic plan was like this. In the first day, start from Bambarakanda falls and walk towards HP as much as possible (at least to pass Devil’s staircase) and camp in a suitable place. Then to reach HP early morning next day and do Circular trail and Thotupola trail then camp in campsite No 1 ( we booked earlier ) .After that do the Kirigalpottha last day and descend via Dayagama .

Everything was executed accordingly except camping inside the park (due to Bad weather)

This report concludes the first trail “Kalupahana HP jeep track” i.e. Scenic walk along the solitude jeep track

We left our home around 5.00 a.m. and took a Three-wheeler to Kaduwela. Then we Boarded to a Badulla Bus and got off at Galagama in order to buy some essential items. Then we picked another bus and got off at Kalupahana. After that we hired a three wheeler to V-cut. Surrounding view was splendid

View from Kalupahana

Starting Point of the jeep track (waypoint KH01)

Nice views

Paddy fields too

Bamarakanda falls – Low level of water (waypoint KH02)

Bambarakanda,Wangedigla,Balathuuwa & Gonmolikanda in the Single frame

Endless mountains

Roads were paved with these type of bricks and still men were working

Famous V- CUT(waypoint KH06)

From here onwards we started our original hiking around 11.30 a.m. Although there were short cuts through tea fields we stuck to the main path to enjoy scenery without getting hacked. Since there were only two in our gang we had to carry considerable amount of weight including the tent, Gas cooker ( Given by our Friend Prasanna ) food, water etc.

Stream We crossed

This is the stream which feeds Bambarakanda falls

There were short cuts but we chose the original track as we had ample time

After little while I showed my friend a foot path which leads to Bambarakanda falls. I was not interested to visit the top of Bambarakanda falls as I had done it once (from the bottom). But my friend was desperate in visiting same. So I obeyed to his request and did a detour to top of Bambarakanda falls after keeping our backpacks in a safe place

Descending through pine plots. He was happy

This place is somewhat below the top of Bambarakanda falls. But went there to get the thrilling experience. (Be careful though )

Water fall on the Top of B’Kanda Fall

Top of the Bambarakanda falls

Then we came back to the jeep track and walked along the heavenly path

Path to heaven

Oh……… This was a heaven

Lanka Ella seen far away

Flora

More views

Estate houses

Tea+ mountains

We had lunch here ( Biscuits+ cheese ) filled water bottles from nearby house ( from pipe lines )

Old buildings

Kingdom of mountains

More views

Then we came to a tricky place. One guy said that the left path is the way to Horton plains. We told him that we wanted to do Horton’s plains along the jeep track. But he didn’t realize our intentions and strongly said to follow the path left. But after walking in that path we realized path becoming narrow and it’s not a jeep track. May be there could be foot paths to Horton’s plains from that point. But our intention was to explore the jeep track. So we came back and chose the right path.

This was a tricky place. But As we had a GPS we went straight

Land mark in the path

Tiny waterfall

Another landmark

After this point we encountered a difficult descend

Isolated path

Udaweriya estate at far (As I guess)

Y junction Mentioned in Trail guide(way point KH08) picked the Right Path

The Devil’s Staircase

The Devil

Wow

You should go there and experience it………………

Bridge before the important junction

Land mark

flora

More	A place where we had shelter in a drizzle

Difficult for a driver but Scenic for a walker

Around 5.00 p.m. we reached the most important junction of the jeep track .According to the trail guide the road left will take you to HP ( 3 KM )which very difficult for a driver. We took the left path and proceeded in the isolated scenic road searching a suitable place to camp. As the trail was not broad and surrounded by tea fields finding a camping place was not easy. After nearly 1 km from the junction (near a small water tank) we found a suitable place for camping along a small foot path. Even that place had marginal ground space to pitch a tent. After pitching the tent we cooked noodles for dinner and settled in.

It was windy but we had already tied our tents well using stones. Although it was a tea estate there were no houses nearby and no one was traveling. We had a nice chat till night and went to sleep. Heavy winds hit the tent throughout the night also temperature was remarkably low but it was a rewarding experience to flee away from our usual hustle bustle life.

Trail division – Starting the Most difficult part of jeep track ( Go left ) waypoint KH 11

Going up……..No civilization ………..my favourite section of the trail

Dangerous bends

Our tent ….Nearly 30m away from the jeep track

Cooking was easy thanks to Prasanna’s Gas cooker

We woke up early in the morning and got ready for the final section of the journey around 6.50 a.m. Morning mist had invaded the path and it was a holly experience for us to walk along the path. Sometimes I felt whether these estate works are managed by ghosts as we didn’t see any human till we reached the park. Little by little we were reaching the border of the park. Only decision point was the T junction which was described in the Trail guide and we took the left path. By 7.45 a.m. we reached the Ohiya – Hp paved road

Bed Tea

Mountains covered with mist

Here we Go again

T junction ………..Took the left path (waypoint KH12)

Oh this was my favourite bend

Some white marks in order to ease the driving under misty conditions

Why not have a relaxing break……….It was rewarding

Seen this for the first time

FD land marks

End of the estate and beginning of the forest

Here we are at OHIYA-HP Road ( Not to mention to take the left road )

Remember the land mark (waypoint KH13)

Path was so beautiful and we were forced by nature to walk the next 1.5 km to the ticketing office. While enjoying the scenery we reached the ticketing office around 8.15 a.m.

So this was a historic achievement for me to be at Horton’s plains for the first time. I really enjoyed this journey as well as the four other trails described in next report. Hope you enjoyed the report and till I meet you in the next report Good Bye

Misty path continues

These were very common

Life on life

Near park entrance

Here how HARIYA Celebrates his First arrival to HP

Thanks for reading!

So this is the continuation of my Horton plains journey. If I describe story so far briefly:-

We started from Kalupahana and came to V cut by a three wheeler and started walking in the jeep track. Had a de tour to Top of Bambarakanda falls and came back then continued walking. After passing Devil staircase and walking further few kms we camped in the last part of the jeep track (in the tea estate) and reached Ohiya – HP paved road next morning and reached ticketing office around 8.00 a.m.

You can view the full report here.

After reaching Horton plains for the first time I was in a hunger cover many trails. Although my friends informed that’s difficult to cover so much in a single trip I was not in a position to give up. “If there is a will there is a way”. My plan was to cover Word’s end circular trail and Thotupola trail as fast as possible and to reach camp site 01 before dark. Then do the Kirigalpottha trail next morning and descend via Dayagama Trail.

I would say our timing was perfect as we finished all the trails earlier than we estimated. But Weather didn’t allow us to camp as it was raining and thundering in the evening but God had faith on us and introduced a kind hearted human so as to execute our rest of the plan smoothly.

So this is our Four Trail Marathon of Horton Plains

At the Ohiya entrance. We showed the receipt of Campsite booking and entered the park

There is nearly 5 km to the visitor centre. we walked nearly for 2km and hired a three wheeler for the next 3km

Along the way we saw the path to Ginihiriya Bungalow

Near canteen. Feeding wild animals is not a good thing. We also had our breakfast around 9.00 a.m.

Word’s End Circular Trail

We kept our bags at DWC office at farr inn and took only a bottle of water and proceeded. Wildlife officers requested us to remove even the polythene label of the bottle .That’s really good supervision.

Starting the circular trail Sharp at 9.30

Stream at Red Bridge

Beginning of Circular. We took the Right path

Chimny Pond

Another pond……….. Mutton Leg???

Belihul oya was flowing calmly

Entering the forest patch

Steps down to see baker’s falls

Baker’s falls- view from the observation point

View from the middle

View from the bottom

Promoting tourism………………….

Back to plain

flora

The Great World’s end Drop

Houses at the bottom ( Belihuloya )

Zoomed

Towards Mini world’s End

Mini World’s End Drop

Valley

relaxing

Interesting (Rawul Gas)…..From this point we speeded our walk

Interesting rocky path

wow

Closer to starting point of circular trail

We were at farr Inn at sharp 12.30 . Completed the trail within 3.00 hrs

Thotupola Trail

Then we came back to the car park and searched for a three wheeler. But there was only one. The driver was waiting for his visitors/passengers as he had to drop them to Pattipola. What to do. As humans who have the best ways of communication we should be able to solve a problem by negotiating peacefully. We gave him an offer.

First drop us at Thotupola and come quickly to car park to pick his passengers. Then drop them at Pattipola and come back again to pick us at Thotupola trail head. The bid we offered was 1500/-. He happily agreed.

So we got in to three wheeler and rushed towards Thottupola even without having lunch. He dropped us at Thotupola Trail head Sharp 1.10p.m and we told him to come and pick us at sharp 3.00 thinking we could cover the trail before 2 hours. We settled Rs.500/- for the initial journey and promised to settle balance after picking us .Also gave some extra money to bring a pair of batteries and some food items. Sometimes it’s worth trusting humans by taking a mild risk.

At the Thotupola trail head. We started Sharp 1.10

Important notice – Click Image to Enlarge

Misty path

Misty, rainy and dark .I loved this weather although it was not good for photography

Dark and mysterious ………

Resting a bit at a flat rock

Journey continued

Thotupola (familiar word for both of us. But this time it’s an unofficial visit )

New one

We were at the third highest peak of SL

We came to the summit around 1.55 p.m. since rain started to pour we crept in to a small hut nearby and waited for 10 minutes. Then we started coming back. It was like a marathon. Not only had we wanted to escape from rain we wanted to flee away from the mysterious dark surrounding. Two times we were stopped by a sound of a large animal that was running through the forest patch. Both times it was a large elk. Luckily we didn’t notice a clue about its predator.

We came back to the trail head at 2.25 p.m. it’s a real marathon to cover this trail in 1hr and 15 minutes. So we waited for our driver at the rest room/wash room which was being built.

Resting after the marathon

To our surprise our driver came at sharp 3.00. After thanking for the commitment and settling his balance we rushed to the canteen and had two large spicy egg fried rice.(They didn’t have fish or meat.).Then we came to Farr Inn before 4.00p.m. and got ready for the camping part.

Unsuccessful Camping

But weather was not friendly. It was raining and heavy winds aggravated the condition. Also few thunders were joining the tragedy. Wild life officers by their experience told us it was not suitable for camping. They also mentioned If we were deciding to abort camping better to leave park early as after 5.30 it would be difficult to find a mode of transportation. But I was not in a position to give up and told them we’ll wait till the last moment.

We waited till 5.30 but conditions were getting worse and we had to make a decision. I gave up the camping part but was really concerned about other upcoming two trails. Only option was to go back to Pattipola and come back in the morning which will consume a lot of time, money, and energy. I knew if we had gone to Pattipola or Ohiya it would have affected the positive mind set and Moral, surely it would have lead us to abort the trip from that point .Because I knew we couldn’t expect such a commitment and punctuality from our tired bodies and soul .

Again the Communication Skills came into part .We talked to the officer in charge for the night shift and clearly described our intentions. He was a Young, well understanding and kind gentlemen. And he was a very intelligent officer who used “Rubber Band Theory” at that moment and gave us an option where neither had he to break the rules nor we had to suffer the night. As there are some ethics to maintain I am not going to describe each and every thing. I can say because of his helping hand we were fresh, fit and positive enough at the Kirigalpoththa trail head by 6.30 a.m. following day.

Kirigalpoththa Adventure

Farr Inn

My Friend with the Helping Hand. New friendship is begun with two departments.

Our First attraction

Beautiful but threatening plants. Gave us a hard time to walk.

Morning view of the plain

Activities of big cats found even at the beginning

Mist ……….my favourite

flora

interesting

Came to the first forest patch

Came out of the forest….We passed a plain then a forest.Again a plain then forest for few times until we reach the last forest patch

Only decision point…Cross the stream..Turn right………that’s all…….

Drown in the mist

Bowitiya the queen in the hills

Spongy / bumping sections .here after we entered the final and the longest mountainous forest patch

What has happened to this large bee hive in Sri’s Report…. Tony must have eaten it all…

There were so many jungle cocks and emerald Doves eating Nelu seeds. But they didn’t give us a chance to picture them

Rock where we had breakfast

Lovely

Starting to climb the peak

Taking a small rest

Some barriers

Here we are at the viewing point which is 150m below the summit. But the view was not clear due to mist

So we made it interesting and adventurous. walking in narrow path in the misty and drizzling condition

There was a safe edge at either side. So we didn’t want to pick the forest trail(by route)

Slowly but carefully walked on the rock

Final part

Flat area at the summit .we reached the summit at 9.15a.m ( 2hrs and 45mins for the hike)

Here is the second highest peak of SL ( Similar rock arrangement as Thotupola)

How do you express your feelings in the highest peak which is accessible by foot…… ……..By Doing YOGA ?????

I’ll do it in my way……………………

beautiful

We waited nearly half an hour and decided to come back

Through the Nelu Bushes again

Foot prints of the Giant. It was not there when we were climbing. He had come to the foot path from right end and walked for 20-30meters and re entered to the forest from left side. Also there were nail marks on a tree .didn’t bothered to take a picture even and left the place with rocketing speed.

colourful

Coming to the plain. Is it Agra – Bopath mountains? we slowed down the speed after this

Maha Rath Mal

At 11.35a.m we were able to reach Farr in .We were above par to do this in 5hours as I was thinking of 6hrs initially..So we slowly refreshed and got ourselves ready for the return journey. We had a hearty meal at the canteen and said good bye to park and Wildlife officers then started our last trail at 1.15 p.m. That was to descend via Daygama

Dayagama Trail

We had to walk in the pattipola Road for nearly 500 m before we enter the trail head near one of the bungalows belonging to wildlife officers. I should say Dayagama trail is a very scenic and isolated one. It had been used to enter the park using vehicles early days. But it’s now abandoned. We were walking along the wide paved road (initial part was difficult) .It was truly a walking in the park (Almost no change in elevation).Mild breeze and scenic mountains washed away our tiredness. We felt like fit enough to do another three day trip. By 2.45 we were at the Dayagama upper division (estate /HP border)