The map – Click to enlarge

It was one of those random weekends and I didn’t have any scheduled places to visit so I headed towards Badarawela. It was almost 1pm when I got down at Halpe and my first place of interest was Gangarama temple. Though the Uva tourist board had put up a notice board, this temple didn’t have any historical importance. Next target was Yahalamaditta temple. To reach this temple one needs to proceed towards Badulla for few Km’s and take the road to the right with the name board. There was an old image house with reconstructed Buddha statues. After returning back to the main road I walked towards the Board directing towards Pattini devalaya. To reach this ancient Halpe Pattini devalaya one needs to take a path along a paddy field. This wonderful building was left alone after the death of the main kapuwa. It is now cleaned and opened during the festival season only. From here I headed towards Dowa.

Quote The Devale roof is supported on eligantly carved timber columns with lotus bracket-capitals. Its inner chamber has clay walls. The section of the building known as Maligava is a two storied timber structure and the upper floor could be accessed by a wooden ladder. Its walls are of timber panels supported on stone columns and beams. Between the timber columns is a latticed fence. In the ground floor a sandalwood statue of Pattini Goddess and deposited besides it are processional lances, lamps and water containers. The carvings in this Devale depict the typical Kandyan tradition. The door frame of the entrance to one of the corridors is adorned with a Makara Torana and the images of doorkeepers. The Devale premises have an ancient Bhodhigara and the structure of an ancient temple. The evidence that a parapet enclosing all these items had been in existence is visible. This site not only displays the archaeological significance of the area but also as a place subject to veneration. The Archaeological Department has declared the Devale as a protected monument.

this board was put up coz the monk was a friend of a lokka of uva provincial council, these are put up at very important places usually

image house of gangaramaya temple

boardering the temple

the pagoda

2km from the main road

image house of yahalamaditta temple

one out of many statues

some remaining paintings

belonging to kandyan era

Pali

newly built after treasure hunters destroyed it

what remains

few hundred meters from the main road

on the way scenery to Halpe pattini devalaya

new life

sinhasanaya

pattini devalaya on pillars

gloomy evening

the closed door

rear section

Dowa temple is famous among many visitors so I decided to wonder around appreciating the beautiful paintings. I went there in search of a specific painting called හස්ති-වෘෂභ කුංජරය where the head of the elephant and a bull seems to be merged together. Since time was limited I had to rush towards Bandarawela by cutting short my stay. ( More info on Dowa )

Dowa RMV main image house

Dowa bana maduwa

a painting at the entrance of the image house

roof paintings at dowa

budha statue at dowa

a unique picture of a single headed elephant and a cow

a meaningful image

copper door

paintings belonging to kandyan era

the closed tunnel which once connected bogoda, ravana cave, kande viharaya cave and kaptugala during king walagambas period

the beautiful sculpture

close up

Bandarawela was a town which was under the influence of colonial ruling so there were many interesting buildings from that era. I firstly visited the Anglican Church which is at the beginning of Ettampitiya road. This was a small yet beautiful Chapel. The evening rays which came through the coloured glass produced some stunning images. Next I went towards the Methodist church and to get to it one needs to cross the road from the Anglican Church and walk few paces towards the town and take the right hand road. Unfortunately the door was closed so I took few snaps of the exterior and returned back to the old Bandarawela bus stand. In front of the bus stand there is a road towards the Meteorology department land where once they excavated and found evidence of a pre historic settlement in bandarawela. All the artifacts which were found are now kept at a museum in England. ( More info on this )

Ancient Anglican church at bandarawela

dusk

the lamp

wow

a small yet beautiful church

Hydrangea

like a red sunflower

ancient Methodist church of bandarawela

christ

meteorological compound bandarwela which is located on an ancient site where the pre historic man made his weapons

where the pre historic weapons were found

Pre historic weapon at England museum

view from the site

where the weather is kept checked

Day two I was joined by few colleagues (some were lakdasun members) and Indaka from Bandarawela was going to guide us around. We reached Kinigama station and marched towards Heel oya and took a foot path towards Porogala from the railway. One could reach this rocky view point by taking the Kinigama Mahalpotha road. If you get down at Mahaulpotha temple you could walk to this site (if you don’t have a 4wd). There are few houses close to this rocky point. On the rock there is inscription stating (Herman) probably must be a survey engineer since this a triangulation point. From here one could appreciate Bandarawela, Kinigama, Diyathalawa, Heel oya, rail line and peaks of Nuwara eliya. We were also lucky enough to witness a train passing below. ( More info on this ) Next on the list was our main target for the day. That’s an ancient cave and a foot path from a forgotten era. To get to this place we took the road to Heel oya via Mahalpotha and got down at Ampitigoda. From here we climbed up through the tea estate. In this tea estate there is a cave with ancient paintings which we didn’t forget to visit. Continuing along the tea estate boarder brought us towards an ancient stairway which led uphill. And on this hill there were remains of a building. This was called ancient “Raja Vidiya” on Indaka’s blog. This peak had a wonderful view point where we rested awhile. From here we descended towards Makul ella and from there we walked towards Bambaragama to enjoy some breath taking scenery. From Makul ella we took a trishaw to Indaka’s place and had lunch before departing to our destinations.

Porogala our first target on the very next day

along the railway

on the way scenery

Porogala

view towards bandarawela central college

Kinigama

towards heel oya

here she comes

it goes through tunnel 39

St Catherine point

walking towards the ancient cave

petals

ancient steps

the drip ledge cave in the tea estate

you could still appreciate few flowers

note the drip ledge

another cave

a pillar

these steps leads all the way to the summit where few remnants of a building could be found

remnants

view towards makul ella from the observation point

the drop and kaputugala on the right

St Catherine point seen while descending

one of those lakes at makul ella

wild berry

beautiful road wish it had some mist

isolated Bambaragama located on top of Rawana falls(inappropriately named)

the Kaputa at kaputugala this is said to be formed by a crack on the rock which had given moisture for the licans to create and colony like a crow

the female Grey-headed canary Flycatcher

and the male

towards Porogala while returning to bandarawela

Day 3 was another lonely expedition day. From Bandarawela I took a bus to Nayabedda and from there I hired a trishaw to St Catherine’s point. While traveling on Nayabedda – Dambetenna road one would come across a junction where a direction slab could be found. We took the left turn and went towards the communication towers of St Catherine’s. The road was a 4WD one but the scenery simply made us forget about all the obstacles. From this point one could see far south and even south east. We returned back to the main road and went towards Dambetenna

St catherines and nayabedda range as seen from sandatenna

on the way scenery at Nayabedda

the junction

remains of the seat

narangala as seen from st catherines

namunukula

Pachawahini tower

fox hill

Bandarawela town

Gommolli range

diyathalawa – bandarawela

silver tip tea

Before reaching Dambetenna we took another left turn towards Lipton seat and reached there without any problems. Since it was a clear day we were lucky enough to see far towards the south. Koslanda, Wellawaya, Hambegamuwa & Udawalawa were the prominent areas seen. From Lipton seat I asked the trishaw driver to take me to Dambetenna where I took a bus to Haputhale.

lovely tea fields

Dambetenna

tuk tuk shots

what beautiful tea trail

lipton seat

early morning visitors

well maintained roads

view towards down south

poonagala range and hadapanagala

koslanda

From Haputhale I took a trishaw to Adisham which was 4Km’s away. Unfortunately the doors were close since it wasn’t a weekend day but the guard was kind enough to let me wonder around the garden a bit to take few snaps. There is a foot path which starts at the boarder of Adisham which goes through Thangamale sanctuary. This was going to be a lonely and a lovely hike. The 4km stretch to the end point went through mountain forest, mana patches, Pines plots until the rail line was reached. On the way I took a detour by climbing uphill via the pines plot to reach a summit point where a tea estate on Upper Haldummulla side could be reached. After getting back to the rail line I walked towards Idalgasinna station and took a train to Ella and departed towards Monaragala to end this long trip. 

reached dambetenna

Adisham monastery

the saint

side view

roses

a spectrum

starting point

bunch of flowers

what a lovely and lonely path

not all rays pass through the upper layer

providing shade

wow

a view point

wish i went to a bandarawela school

life on life

moss

a stream

mountain forest

the common beauty

entering the eucalyptus

view from the summit where the tea estate is found

view towards hambegamuwa

hanging from branches

never seen this one before

captured

entering the last eucalyptus plot

what a path

welimada side

a pano

the badulla rain line

towards ohiya

asoka

horton plains

exiting the sanctuary

wow

idalgasinna station

Thanks for reading!

Working as a government officer was never in my dreams. But my destiny has put me in to this position. From June 2013 I was busy with my work and I missed lots of opportunities to travel with my Lakdasun friends as we don’t get fixed off days in weekends. Irrespective of weekends, Poya days or other public holidays we had to work in to a roster. But there were some advantages too. Because of our duty we all have to travel all corners of the country so as to work in all approved ports in Sri Lanka ( Sea Ports and air ports ). Not like BIA all the other ports, we got a chance to enjoy beauty of Mother Nature while doing duty.

So end of March this year we got a chance to work at Trincolmalee Harbour . And in the leisure time we got a chance to visit few attractions in the area. Since there are many reports about Trinco I’ll let the pictures to talk.

We traveled in traditional transport method of a government servant. TRAIN

On the way

Paddy fields and mountains

The trio……..not in the official dress

Our Resting Bungalow…….Famous for Ghosts ………Sea is behind. Gave us the opportunity to purchase fresh fish at very low rate

First day evening using our contacts we went to a beautiful and calm place owned by SL Navy

Calm beach….closer to Fort

We were bathing

Next day we went for duties. Few more days we had to go for several other places for duties which are not mentioned in this report.

This is the entrance Tokyo Cement Jetty from where we board to a ship

SOFIA……….The Cement ship. See the small boat at right bottom which came and took us to the ship

When we have a free time we managed to visit attractions which are described below. All the Nine days went on like that way ……..Duty + Beauty

Nilaveli Beach &Pigeon Island

A Kovil Seen on the way

Nilaveli Beach Since it was so crowded we went towards Pigeon island

We three and our hired Boat ( Rs. 2000/-) If you by goggles and other diving equipments you have to pay more…….Also you have to buy tickets from DWC counter which is located in the Nilaveli Beach. It cost Rs. 650/- for three of us

Happy travel

Small Islands

Reaching the destination

Clear beaches

Sign Board

Sight we did Snorkeling ( It was a life time experience. I felt like entering a different world….Sorry I couldn’t capture pics of same but mind you these diving equipments are not that sophisticated…..So if you can’t swim don’t go so far.

Pls check this report for nice pics and details – Snorkeling at Pigeon Island, Trincomalee

Me with the kit

Some hiking is available. But we didn’t attempt it because of the unbearable heat

The other side where Sharks ( Harmless ) roam

Crystal clear

Coming back

Back to Nilaveli Beach

Koneshwaram Kovil

Popular creatures

It was in the evening

Path

Entrance

The Historical Ravana Cut

Description ( Debatable but interesting )…….Click image to enlarge

The Holly GOD ………MAHA SIVA and His Loyal Servant

Daily Poojawa

Singing tribute to God

I can only forward the images . The sound was unbelievable and charming. I was fascinated.

King Ravana’s Statue

Lord Vishnu and his VIMANA

This was heart touching. This lady was telling her all worries to him. May be he’s conveying the message to GOD. Wish I could do the same.

The drop

.	King Ravana Again

God Family

TRINCO BEACH( Where we spend the most of the evenings )

This place was soo calm than Nilaveli ( In that time ) We did jogging in the morning and bathe in the evening…..

So silent ………………

Kanniya Hot water Wells….

Gate was closed when we arrived

Notice – Click Image to Enlarge

Entering

Temple nearby

Saptha Kanniya

Trying all seven giving you a marvelous experience

Hot water bubbles

Welgam Wehera

Newly buildings

Click image to enlarge

Entering the archeology site

Ruins of Dageba

Buddha Statue

Beheth Oruwa

Scenic and well maintained

So many people were killed by LTTE in this area. But Monk refused to leave the premises. A Motar was stuck between two branches of Bo Tree preventing a another disaster – Click Image to Enlarge

Marble Beach

Entrance

Very calm place

Accommodations

Beach

Here the space for bathing is very limited

Sea was little rough

Our team

Passing the Kinniya Bridge

End of the day

We returned home by train on 03/03/2014 early morning with our beautiful memories

Thanks for reading

We started form the suburbs of Colombo at about 4.30 in the morning. The crew was 9 in a Toyota van. We were fully geared up for two nights and 3 days.

The drive to wettambuyaya was quite effortless. The road via udawalawe is in good condtion, thanks to Ashan’s and suneth’s info via lakdasung we managed contact Ajith who is the contact person to take us to wettambuyaya, not even the local villages there are familiar with this place or its value. the service of guide is a must as there is about 6-8KM distance from the main road to “wettambugala” in “wettambuyaya”. The main turn off is at “kodayana” KST corn factory, it’s a large corn factory near by the road, a landmark that cannot be missed .a vehicle can only go up to certain point through the corn fields afterwards it’s either by three-wheeler or foot, unless you have a 4*4 drive

The road was in bad shape and not reachable by van so we stared the walk

Even Ajith’s three-wheeler got stuck at some points

After completing about 3-4km distance walk we managed to arrive at “wettambugala “, from their also you need to climb a rock and go to the other side of the rock

Making our way to the rock

Not easy on a hot day

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Once on the other side of the rock, the paintings can be seen. According to ajith, there were many paintings earlier but slowly they are disappearing because no authority is taking any action to preserve them

An elephant like picture

Some of the paintings

Pictures that are fading

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Ajith who helped us to come to this place

After the visiting “wettambugala” in “wettambuyaya” .Ajith showed us a place to buy vegetables and showed us a place to have lunch also , he was extremely helpful to us.

after having the lunch we straightaway went to “Ekgaloya” forest department bungalow, the main turn off point was 34 mile post and on the left hand side there is a notice board saying “Ekgal oya kandawura”,

Dining Area

River to bath

.	The evening was certainly beautiful from here

The place is designed very beautifully, but the maintenance of the property is extremely disappointing the property can accommodate 12-15 people , and has about 5 rooms altogether, but  out of all the 4 toilets in the property only 1 was functioning properly, so is the other in bathrooms faclities  no showers /no bath room doors

The property had  a cook  earlier and he has left and has not come back, the person who cook’s there is not an actual cook  he has little knowledge on the subject , despite that they only have very limited cutlery ,for example one single burner to cook everything  in the kitchen , so it takes  considerable amount of time  to prepare all meals (we had a problem when we wanted to leave earlier to senanayake samudraya for the boat ride to makare), basic crockery such as  cane openers  is not even their

Not even the rooms /toilets were cleaned when we got their  , its sad to see a beautiful located and designed property going to waste

On the second day we went “senanya samudraya”

We had previously booked the boat via “inginiyagala” wild life department office its about 7800/- to “makare”

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We spotted this giant coming out if the water

Along the river

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Hunting

This is somewhat sad to see, some fisherman’s have laid their nets but didn’t come collect the catch

This is somewhat sad to see, some fisherman’s have laid their nets but didn’t come collect the catch

“Makare” we wanted go to the other side but the water level was too high so we were advise not to leave the boat

After 4 hour boat ride and having lunch we went to” buddangala” , from our place to Ampara and then to “buddangala” it’s about 20km but the journey doesn’t take that long because of the good road and less traffic

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.	This was interesting

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After visiting  buddangala we went to “digawapiya” one of the places lord Buddha has visited

Click Image to Enlarge

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Leaving ekgaloya

it was a memorable experience to all of us ,with some of the guys joining us after some years. We discussed our next trip and hopefully we will start planning it soon

below are some contact numbers which might be useful to any one going their

Ajith wettumbuyaya guide 0772657465

Forest Dept.Ekgal oya –  0632222685

Wild life Inginiyagala – 063 2242 002

jagath Jeep safari GalOya -0773838454

“Knuckles”, is a name that is known all over the world because everyone has got them. Well I’m not gonna talk about those knuckles. I’m trying to pave the way for another fairy tale. There are five peaks hidden deep in a forest bordered by Kandy and Matale districts. They are shaped in such a way that whoever saw them felt as if looking at an enlarged set of knuckles created by the Mother Nature. Thus the name “Knuckles” not only for the mountain range but also for the whole forest. Now this is a world heritage site and a dream for many hikers.

Now that I have managed to get the first thoughts in black and white, lemme take you through this beautiful mountains. Don’t get left behind. Here, hold my hand and we’ll go and savor the greenery mixed with blue skies. After our monthly outing of February to the breathtaking yet exorbitant Nagrak, we decided to make have a go at this exquisite mountain range. Initially Ana had misgivings about the place as leeches are very common, especially when raining. However, we managed to convince him that there won’t be many as March is known for ideal weather conditions. I’ve been to Knuckles many times but this is a place where you can keep going back again and again, year after year yet couldn’t get enough of. Meemure was the center of my hikes and this time I wanted to try something different. I wanted to climb the Knuckles Mountains and visit the historic Alugallena which is somewhat similar to those pre-historical caves scattered throughout the country in places such as Beli Lena off Kitulgala, Batadomba Lena off Kuruwita, Alawala off Attanagalla and Pahiyangala off Bulathsinhala. However, there haven’t been any excavations by the archeological department at Alugallena like at those places. This time it’s gonna be centered on Thangappuwa.

So we fixed the dates and Atha went to book the Forest Department Bungalow at Deanston from the head office in Battaramulla. Had he been 5 mins late, you wouldn’t have got the chance to read this. But he didn’t and we got the bungalow ahead of couple of guys who were dying of jealousy and you are gonna be rewarded with the story as a result. As usual Ana took on the planning (he believes in the Japanese way, 90% planning and 10% execution) and we waited patiently for the day to arrive. I checked with Hari about the bungalow and what we had to take as he’d been there and given invaluable details on it.

I was debating whether to get a guide or not as many have done this on their own. Atha had even been there before with Hari and others couple of years ago but then from Bambarella. After a long and hard thought, I being myself, decided to have professional input and put in a call to Shiva Kumar. He’s an experienced guide too but couldn’t make it on the days we were going. However he fixed Rajah to accompany us. What a good fellow he turned out to be in the end. He is very calm and quiet, not an overenthusiastic chatterbox. Unfortunately his knowledge of Knuckles is limited probably due to lack of exposure to this vast jungle. On the other hand, I might be a bit unkind as I tend to compare guides with Nava mama who’s a walking encyclopedia when it comes to Knuckles.

This time it was special coz old Tony finally managed to come out of his shell and join us after a long time. Unfortunately Prasa couldn’t make it so it left Ana and Atha with Tony and me.

Day 01

We as usual left the stifling and humid Colombo in the wee hours of 21 March heading to Deanston via Hunnasgiriya.

Tour Highlights:

1. Alugallena.
2. Knuckles Mountain Range (Peaks 1 & 2).
3. Mini World’s End in the dark and Sunrise, Deanston.

We arrived at Hunnasgiriya around 7am and stopped where Meemure van parks. There’s a shop just there and we had our breakfast of string hoppers, bread, hoppers and dhal wadei with few curries including a very hot but surprisingly good Lunu Miris, very much similar to the Kohonawala one. It simply made our mouths salivating. I managed to put a call through to Shiva and told him that we were on our way. Turning into the Meemure road brought back many happy memories. The morning was chilly but crisp. Surrounding mountains looked greener than ever. We drove on and found many places where there had been earth slips during the heavy rains late last year. The road is still under construction but the stretch between Hunnasgiriya and Loolwatte is around 75% complete with carpet. However there are areas where the road is terrible and one would have to be very careful driving especially in a car.

By 8am we reached the Deanston bungalow. There was no sign of guests so we drove in. As you know this is right in front of the Knuckles Conservation Center where you have to buy tickets to visit Dothalugala and Mini World’s End. Kumara welcomed us warmly and said we could leave our baggage as nobody was there. There had been guests for the past fifteen days in a row and he’d been terribly busy. We refreshed ourselves and got back in the vehicle declining Kumara’s offer of cuppa tea. Before we go on let me show you around the bungalow coz you must be itching to know what it’s like.

Deanston Bungalow

This is one of the better-maintained FD bungalows. Here are some things about it for your information.

• The cost is around Rs. 2250/- per night.
• There are two bedrooms and 9 people can stay. One bedroom has 5 beds (including two bunk beds) and the other 4 (two bunk beds). So you have to plan ahead who’s gonna sleep up. 4 people will have to climb up for the night.
• There is electricity both hydro and generator (kerosene powered). Hydro depends on the water and many other things. So it’s safer to take some kerosene as well in case it’s not available.
• They will charge you for gas. I guess it was Rs. 20/- per person per meal.
• You have to take your own linen. However we were provided with some bed sheets which were clean. However it’s better for you to go prepared.
• There’s enough parking for a couple of vehicles at the bungalow.
• There’s only Kumara, the caretaker in the bungalow. He’s real good and a super cook. Just remember he doesn’t drink, one of the very few.
• There are two separate washrooms for the rooms and they are clean enough.
• There’s cutlery and crockery available.

Well, that’s about it and here are some pictures for you to look at.

The turn off to the bungalow

What a wonderful saying to begin our journey

Here it is

Side view

Courtyard

Well you know what it is

Entering

Chatting area

See if you can read the note on the wall above

Main bedroom (with 5 beds)

The second (with 4 beds)

One of the washrooms for those who wanna take a look

Adhere to these by all means (Click image to enlarge)

Click image to enlarge

Click image to enlarge

The story behind the name (Click image to enlarge)

Our vehicle at the park

“Ok, now let’s make a move coz it’s getting late and I promised to be at Thangappuwa as early as possible. Come on hop in”. Ana took the wheel and away we went. Dothalugala, one of the higher peaks in Knuckles was to our right looking serene. The sun was up and about. This is familiar ground and I enjoyed it very much. We passed Loolwatte, a major town before Kaikawala and Meemure. The noticeable difference was the electricity poles along the road beyond Loolwatte. Nava mama said recently that the villages around Kaikawala and Meemure are going to be powered from the national grid which might mean they would lose control of the hydro power plant as it would get absorbed into the main line. Well, I’ve misgivings about it but will keep them to myself for the time being.

We arrived at the sensational Corbet’s Gap or according to villagers “Aththala Mattuwa aka Aththala Mittuwa” in Sinhala. Do I have to tell you what we did next? Of course you know me by now, don’t you? We kept taking pictures like madmen running around like kids given new toys. Knuckles mountain range could be seen above the foreground hills but looking at them I felt as if the shape of it has changed somewhat. The coppery rays bathed everything on their path. The sky was cloudless and we saw the valley towards Meemure. My heart began to beat faster just thinking of a prospective journey back there. Maybe I’ll get my wish soon enough. After the inevitable photo shoot, we hopped back in and started the 4km-drive to Thangappuwa. The road has deteriorated since the rains but still in fairly good condition except for a couple of places. I hope you can remember me walking along this last year April, after the Lakegala hike. Sweet memories came flooding back to me.

Looking towards Knuckles peaks

Sphinx Rock

Towards Loolwatte

We’re coming to you (Alugallena is at the base of the pointed rock in the middle taller than the rest)

Fixing the monopod for a groupie

Resembles King-Kong

We drove through the forestry road which had certainly seen better days, especially during the cardamom season in the 70s and 80s. Along the way, closer to Thangappuwa we met Rajah, our dedicated guide. He’d been waiting but got tired and decided to come down to meet us. Together we went to Thangappuwa and drove right up to the line houses where Rajah’s house is. This is where our reliable Toyota had to wait until we came back. He must have been dead tired and looking forward to a well-deserved rest. We got our things and started on the journey. Our target for today is Alugallena.

“Ok guys, now you’ve been reading steadily for a long time, haven’t you? There you looked at the time and felt guilty for ignoring the work. Ok, it’s time you got back to work, if you ain’t got any, go take a break, have a cuppa tea or something cool as the sun must be bearing down on you. Don’t you worry, I’ll be right here waiting for you. I’m not gonna desert you having taken you this far. Because when we start the journey, there won’t be any stopping or turning back.”

Alugallena Trail

“Hello, you are back. We’ve been waiting and you took your time coming. We’re ready if you are, so shall we?”

We walked through the line houses, a Kovil and a playground and came to the estate road. It led to the edge of the estate but last km or so is a steep hike to reach the border of the forest. We started just after 9.30am, so much later than we’d have liked. It’s crucial to start as early as possible because the early morning hours will give you that boost to achieve most of the targets set for the day. We took on the challenge and tackled the first few hundred meters along the estate road huffing and puffing. The engines started to boil while the suspensions were at the breaking point. Then crossing a small stream we started to go uphill through the tea plants. It was backbreaking work and we were all bushed even before starting the hike properly.

We were all out of practice and hadn’t done any serious hiking recently and we felt the knees creaking loud enough to be heard a mile away. We were like Sherpas climbing the Everest. One step and one breath, another step and another breath. I know you are now laughing from every organ in your body, especially those who have already done this. I may sound very childish to make this such a dramatic hike but to be honest; it was real tough for us. Rajah meanwhile looked as if going to buy a loaf of bread around the corner while we like a pack of dogs that had run 100 miles. Finally, after so much struggling, we reached the forest department erected poles marking the boundary. It took us closer to an hour and a half (yeah you heard right, 1.5hrs) to get there. Worse than a snail, you’re bound to retort. We drank one third of our Jeewani quota to give us some strength.

The view towards Thangappuwa was grand. We could see the Alikanda (given the name as it looks similar to an elephant head) and tea estates running all the way to the hills afar. The road to Rangala and part of Rangala were also visible. The path mercifully was shaded by the towering trees and bushes keeping the harmful rays at bay. The trail turned into more flat terrain compared to what we came before. We all breathed a sigh of relief and continued on. For the next couple of kms it was more like a wavy track which was uneven. You would need a solid pair of shoes to tackle this path full of lose rocks, potholes and tree branches fallen across. The path bordered by typical bamboo trees and mainly Nelu plants which were on their last legs. Nevertheless we saw a substantial amount of flowers especially the purple and greenish white ones. We crossed couple of water streams flowing beautifully carrying that crystal clear water to feed areas such as Digana, Theldeniya, etc.

We saw a strange kinda frog thanks to Tony’s sharp eyes. The fella almost looked like a dead leaf camouflaging itself. Further couple of unique orchids was there too. We came across a fairly large stream and saw the remains of a bridge across it. Rajah said it’d been washed away due to the water flow. After a long leg of hiking, it brought us to the first view of Knuckles mountain range. She was standing high and we could see her over the tree tops. At the end of the range is another towering rocky mountain whose base lies the Alugallena. We kept up and soon came to the turn off to the Kota Ganga Ella. Passing that we came out into a large opening the size of a football field. This would’ve been an ideal landing site for the Ravana the Great. Well you never know what actually happened during his era in this mysterious forest. We were tired and behind schedule but the sun kept bearing down on us further slowing the journey.

Here’s the team with Rajah

Leading the way

Looking back towards Thangappuwa

Ana coming up

The path towards the forest. You have to climb to the top of the treeline

Small stream we crossed

Tiny bridge

Lawrence of Arabia at Thangappuwa

Rangala is that way

What you’re seeing is the Alikanda

Still inside the tea estate and sat for a much needed break

Finally at the edge of forest

Thangappuwa below

Patterns

Waiting for us

Tiny footpath bordered by the trees

Nelu?

“Binara Malee Ekka Enna Binara Mahe Meda” – sang Tony…

Sambar play ground

Unknown

Shady path

According to the age (guess who’s the oldest)

Heavenly

Looking for a better angle

Plenty of water streams

Oh yeah, Nelu

A resting point, however there was a broken down cement sign posting

Know the fella?

What about now?

Plenty of these

“Parata Bara Athu”

Wild berries?

Uneven path made the going tough

Very strong leaves

Ooops

Such beauty

More to go

Finally, the range came out of hiding

Mummified cricket

Never ending

Full range, to the right is the Alugallena Peak

2018 Rio Triple Jump Contender

Kota Ganga Ella trail

Tiny tiny hills below the big sister

Imposing

Out in the open but the job is far from finished

We crossed the open terrain and entered the forest once again. The path steadily went downhill crossing a couple more streams. Another half hour or so hiking brought us to a key point in the trail. It’s the forked junction where the trail divides into two paths similar to the arms of letter “Y”. The left goes towards the Knuckles Peaks while the right goes to Alugallena. We felt very happy coz we thought our target was nearby. Atha, who had been there before, kept quiet not giving away anything. We started happily hoping to get there soon and after a short while we saw a complete skeleton of a Sambar Deer that had been fallen victim to a leopard. It was right by the trail and the hairs of the Sambar’s coat along with rotten meat were lying underneath the scattered bones.

It’s the law in the wild and we carried on. Every passing minute added fuel to our anxiety and we kept wondering if we’d have enough time to get back. None of us had any torch but even with a torch or a few of them would have made very little difference. I’d estimated 8hrs for the whole journey, 5 to go and 3 to get back. We should get back by 5.30pm according to that. The trail was so uneven and wet. The leeches came out of their homes sensing a juicy meal. We crossed two fairly big streams that had caused landslides during the rains. Alugallena is about half a km from the second one. The towering rock I told you about was now very close. The wall towards the base had that grey-ash color. A tiny flow of water was falling from the top but it was nothing more than a few drops. We finally came to the target just before 2pm having toiled so hard for some four and half hours. Despite all the delaying we were still within my estimation but I was worried about the return journey coz unlike other times, this was going to be real tough.

It was not like what I had seen in many pictures. What I saw took me back to those pre-historical caves I’d visited before. It’s something I didn’t feel looking at the pictures. Rajah said this was used by the cardamom farmers to stay while collecting the crops. They would sundry them before taking them to sell. The cave is about 40-50ft in length and at the widest point about 15ft in width. There are signs of foundations and leveled floor. Most of the rudimentarily built walls have fallen but to the right was where nowadays travelers stay for the night. There is a partial three-sided covered room rather spot about 10X10. The toilet next to it and the water stream at the furthest corner. There was lot of water in it but we heard it can get very dry leaving precious little for drinking. There were signs of recent camping, around two dozen cans and bottles (mainly pre-cooked meals) were there. Wish whoever visited had taken the trouble to take them back.  There was an orange tree and a jack tree as well. However the most prominent thing was the cluster of banana plants. There must be around a few dozen either planted by the cardamom seekers or generally grown on their own with the help of animals. However they are there only near the cave.

We rested our battered feet and drank the cool knuckles water greedily. It ran down our parched throats bringing some energy back into our bodies. The vegetable roties and wadei we took with us evaporated in no time reminding us how hungry we were. It was time for a break but we had to cut it short due to time constraints. So this is a very good learning curve for you guys. It’s not a good idea to do the whole journey in one day, if so you would have to start as early as possible, preferably before 6.30am. However most of you would try to do both, Alugallena and Knuckles Peaks in one go. So stop overnight either in Alugallena or at a camping site which would make it not so strenuous. There is something I have to tell you about the camping site located on the way to the peaks. But, not right now. I’ll tell you that tomorrow when we’re going to climb the mountain range. You will come with us, won’t you? But right now, we gotta get back to Thangappuwa and then to our bungalow.

Back on the trail

Rocky slabs are common in the open terrain

Another specie of Orchids

How they got the name

Entering the forest once again

Dead tree art

Beautiful

Ana blocking the path to Alugallena. The left goes to Knuckles which we did the following day

Dark	Curd and treacle?

Woody woodpecker is round the corner

“Where’s this darn cave?” – was everyone’s question

More water streams and entering leech infested terrain

Starry shaped plants

Branch of dried mushrooms

Couple of them

Cardamom, the reason why Knuckles was a key area in the past

Life on the trunk

You know I can’t resist them

Alugallena is not in sight

Holy moly guacamole

Can’t be that old

The back bone and the rotten meat stuck to the bones

Jaw with some teeth as well

Thick mushroom

The best way to quench the unbearable thirst (Hari Style)

Path covered in bushes

Leech inspection

Huge boulder along the path

Remember the peak?

Just before the cave, looks like people keep coming for it, or is it an old one?

But this is not old

Finally

Water dripping from the top of the rock

Our target

The view upwards

See the remains of walls

Banana plants signaling the civilization

Ideal camping place

Toilet and the washing bucket

Inner room and the floor is well flattened

Camp-fire

Getting ready for the return journey

Don’t take any notice, he’s pretending

Here’s the joyful team

Return Journey

We rested for about half hour and decided to get back around 2.15pm. The thought of having to back sent shuddering down our brains but we were determined to make it happen before the dark. We all got going this time mostly climbing up. The evening sun was trying in vain to penetrate the top layer of the forest but he kept resisting in a big way. We passed the land slid areas and entered into the somewhat even terrain. When we came into the view of the skeletal remains of the Sambar, we knew that the turn off was nearby.

Couple of times we stopped to massage our thigh and calf muscles. Out in the open, the view was spectacular. The sun was setting to the right of us and looking back the mountain range looked absolutely irresistible. Those pointed knucle-shaped peaks were something out of a dream. Now that the sun was setting, there was an orange glow along the crest of the peaks. We had to stop to admire this sensational picture unfolding before us. Crossing the open terrain we entered the forest patch to do the last bit of the hike. We were still within the schedule, don’t ask me how but miraculously, until we out of the forest to the edge of the estate, just where we had to climb steeply, we were within the time table.

When we came to the edge of the estate with a panoramic view of Thangappuwa and the surrounding in the dusk, we heaved a sigh of relief. The final episode of the hike took longer and coming down to the flat terrain felt like winning a million dollar lottery. When we reached our vehicle, it was 6pm which meant we had been hiking for some 8.5hrs. We exceeded the planned schedule only by half hour despite all the drawbacks. We went to a shop and had a sugary boost before saying goodnight to Rajah and promising to be back early on the following morning.

See ya!

Very tiny fella and I almost stepped on it

Signs of landslides

Sent a shiver down my spine

Towering high

The old couple

Cherries?

Beautiful path

Sun is setting slowly

Crossing those streams once again

Again, showing that he’s dead beat. A great actor

Last rays of sun bathing Alikanda and Thangappuwa

A cloud is hovering above

Ready to be taken home

End of a grand but strenuous hike

The drive was not so bad thanks to the build quality of Toyota. We passed Loolwatte in the dark and around 7.30 reached the bungalow to the dismay of Kumara who’d been worried sick of our delay. Thankfully and very sensibly Ana had given him the menu for dinner which was nice and ready.

We all had a quick wash in the cold water giving an ice treatment for the overworked tendons and muscles. The dinner was delicious and Kumara can definitely cook. We tucked up in our cozy beds by 9.30, so much late for us as we hit the sack normally around 8pm. The temperature was a mild 20 degrees but dropped another few degrees in the night.

Well, I guess it’s time you too get some sleep coz we got a long day ahead and I can hear Ana cursing me for taking him on such a strenuous hike. Go sleep now but remember, you have to get up by 4.30am. Well I wish I could look at your face now. “So early, and after such a tiring journey?”. I can almost hear your groans. All I can tell you is, “be ready or get left behind”. Sounds like the army, doesn’t it? Well, so long for now. Sleep tight and get up early.

Day 02

We got up as usual to find Ana up and about. Kumara was boiling grams and making roti simultaneously. A cup of coffee woke me properly. We rushed through the morning rituals and sat for a hearty breakfast. Kumara, in the meantime, packed our lunch of roti, pre-cooked sprats with onions and boiled eggs in their shells. Everything was ready by 6am and we left once again for Thangappuwa. The morning breeze came in through the lowered windows refreshing everything on its way. Dothalugala rose majestically against a royal blue sky showing off her greenery. All of a sudden, we saw this red hot plate to our right through the trees. It was the sun, coming up still in his sleep looking like a plateful of lava. We met the Loolwatte bus followed by Kaikawala and Meemure vans going to Hunnasgiriya.

The drive did us well and we stopped for a quick break at Corbet’s Gap. The mighty Knuckles mountain range looked higher than ever now that we were gonna climb her. She looked calm yet very much dominating. The drive along the jeep track to Thangappuwa was now familiar and we reached the parking lot closer to Rajah’s house just after 7am. Everything was in time but Ana and Atha decided to take it easy for the day asking Tony and me to go ahead while they tagged along behind at a more bearable rate. The strenuousness of the previous day’s hike had taken their toll on all of us. The prospect of having to maneuver up the steep path through the tea estate sent shivers down the spine.

Mmmm, smells nice

Sun coming from the east. Tomorrow we’d see him from a special place

Big glowing plate

Fiery lava

The road isolated in the morning

Oh, finally a pic of mine

Today our target is the Knuckles

Knuckles Mountain Range

Ok lads, I won’t bore you with all the agony of climbing up the first part coz you too had a tough time and I’m sure your limbs are complaining as much as ours. So I’ll save my breath for the first part and let you enjoy it through the pictures. The forest however looked greener and more beautiful. We arrived at the open area having made good ground and on time. However Atha and Ana were not too far behind. We sat down on the rocky ground in the shade to enjoy a biscuit but found we were already hungry. A couple of boiled eggs went down with a packet of lemon puff. We felt better and let’s now take a long jump straight to the turn off where the path divides. “Ok, ready for the jump? Right hold Tony’s and my hands tight and here we go”.

A Duck, you know the plural form? “Godak”

The same old road

Oops, beautiful colors

Walking through the path

The open terrain, remember?

Here’s Rajah

Uncle Tony showing the path to the Peaks

Unfortunately Ana and Atha were too heavy to carry with us. So having let them come in their own pace, we took the left path this time that goes steadily up. Unlike the Alugallena trail, there is plenty of open places on this trail making you feel a lot better. It also helps to get your bearings and check how much you have to go. It’s a lot worse when you have to walk through the thick forest without seeing much and knowing where you are. It can make you claustrophobic. Knuckles kept with us all the way waving her hands urging us to make it snappy. Old Tony kept with me and Rajah who said this was the first time any group had done these hikes like this as far as he knew. Well looking at how strenuous it is even I’m surprised how we managed it.

We walked through a path that pretty much resembled Thotupola Trail. I hope you remember that journey but if you don’t, a simple click on the link will take you. We stumbled upon the campsite with two camp beds. However the toilet had been broken down (yeah, you heard me right. It looked broken by someone) probably by the forest officials. The tin roof was lying on the path and the main structure had been destroyed in almost half making it unusable. We were wondering what was happening. Are they gonna discourage people camping here? Well, that is what I wanted to show you. However we saw the remains of burned wooden sticks signaling some group had camped there recently. All the sign postings inside the forest had been either taken away or destroyed as well. Atha said in his last journey there were some signs but we saw nothing like that.

Knuckles looked appealing from the path and we arrived at a rocky slab and a clear area just before the climb up. This reminded us of Kirigalpoththa Trail where on the way we found a similar spot with Agra Bopath looking at us from the distance. We stopped for the first of the documentaries of the journey. Unfortunately we couldn’t do one at Alugallena. We were dead tired and it went clean out of my mind. Afterwards we crossed the open ground and entered the forest to find another set of Sambar bones nearby the trail. These leopards only seem to hunt along the footpath. This looked older than the set we saw yesterday. Hurrying on, Rajah showed us the last stream before our hike where we topped our water bottles. Hopefully Atha would remember to do the same.

This was so much like the Kirigalpoththa as only the final stretch has that steep climb with no water sources. So, if you’re not tired, shall we go on and start the climb. I don’t mind taking a break but looking up, seeing those inviting peaks is something I can’t bear much longer. So if you want to take a break, make it quick.

Our target

The typical uneven path

Shiny colors

Campsite is nearby

Here it is. Can you see a white object to the right of the pic? It’s the broken toilet

The stream near the campsite

Rajah going ahead

Don’t know what they are

Back on the shady path

And open terrain too

It’s in continuous use

Reminded me of Kirigalpoththa

There’s our target

Another Sambar remains but this one’s much older compared to the one we saw yesterday

Scattered bones

Like a fin of a swimmer

Dead and twisted

Just before the final assault

Climbing Up

The sun was up and shining when we came out to the final push. Rajah showed no sign of feeling tired but we on the other hand we were bushed. We kept pushing beyond the limits topping ourselves with Jeewani and cool water. The higher we went the spectacular the view became. So we took numerous breaks to enjoy and capture them on our cameras. Tony had got a new smart phone and kept shooting away. I guess it’s just a matter of time before he loses it coz he’d lost so many before and the odds are this won’t probably see the end of the year.

We were climbing up the first peak and about one third up met the path which comes from Bambarella. This is what Atha, Hari and the group had taken when they climbed some time ago. The Nelu, Bamboo and many other plants are so close to the path on either side making it possible only one person at a time. If Hariya were there, he would’ve made bigger. We after a while came to an observation point which gave us a grand view from Corbet’s Gap to the edge of Riverston side. The heat getting on our nerves and we had to keep drinking water and Jeewani to keep them under control. Some more hiking brought us to a stone’s-throw from the top. We were so tired and if thrown, the stone wouldn’t have made it 100ft. Then we were on the summit of the first peak where it forks like a camel back.

There was an area which was kinda marked with a thin rope (probably by a group of hikers) making it look like a camping site. It really looked ideal coz the place nearly 12X12 was completely covered all around and over by the trees giving it shelter from gusty winds and to a certain extent from rain as well. The only concern is the water coz there didn’t seem to have any water source anywhere near. So one would have to carry plenty with them should you do camping which is not a pleasant climb with the added weight. However I feel it’s worth the trouble if you can manage. We decided to have our lunch on the way back and pushed on towards the second and highest peak. Unlike the first, the last bit of climb to her and on top are bare save for plenty of itchy Mana bushes. You would be completely at the mercy of the sun and the winds. We carried on the final stretch and arrived at the top of Knuckles Mountain Range.

Up we go

Window?

And the view got better

Higher we went

You know them, don’t you?

Clearer view

Where’s the Bambarella Trail?

Oh, here it is. Tony showing the path to the peaks, Rajah to Bambarella and me on the way up from Thangappuwa

Little more

Plenty of bamboo

Uncle Tony

How to get up?

This is how you do it

Almost on the top

Can you see the Sphinx Rock?

Come on, nearly there

Ok, don’t ask why I took it. Maybe the sun was too hot

As long as a big arm

The contrast

On the top of the first summit

Here’s the fenced camp-site

Beautiful views all around

The second and the highest peak

Come Tony

Just below now

Up in the world

Tony Mama not giving up

The path we came from

Tony feeling overjoyed

We felt very proud of ourselves and Tony even danced around feeling the joy. Here it gives you a near 360-degree view. I said near coz the towering rock that has Alugallena at the base blocked the view somewhat. The third peak was right next to us and we could make out a path running on top of her but to reach there one would have to climb down the second peak to some extent before start climbing once again. However the path from the summit was not so clear so we decided not to venture further. Well you could see the road to Meemure, Corbet’s Gap, Dumbanagala, Sphinx Rock, Thangappuwa, Alikanda, Rangala, Bambarella, Panwila and the surrounding areas. Moving further I guess we could see up to Matale and Riverston as well. This was some place. We took loads and loads of pictures as souvenirs. Finally the sun asked us to leave before getting sunburned.

Summit point

The third peak is this

The rock and the Alugallena is at the base. Gosh, we were there yesterday

Bambarella Path is somewhere there

Towards Matale and Reverston

Endless views

The path goes below to the third peak

Well time to go

Tony and Me, other oldies on the way up yet

Downhill Journey

We turned around and started the downhill journey. It was a relief to get back into the forest patch on the first peak where we decided to have our lunch. We also met a foreigner coming up panting like a Morris Minor, with a local guide. We settled near the campsite and enjoyed our lunch of Kurakkan mixed Roti, tempered Sprats, boiled eggs and for dessert, lemon puff biscuits. It was so good and all I wanted was a hammock to take a nap. Unfortunately we had neither a hammock nor time. The atmosphere inside this forest patch was simply amazing. Feeling sad to leave the comforting shade, we got back onto business.

We made some good progress and found ourselves soon on the rocky open area. Looking up to the tall peaks and knowing we managed to climb up was a great feeling. We continued passing the campsite, then the turn off to Alugallena  and arrived at the huge open area. We gave our feet and bodies a 10-minute break before doing the final push. Seeing Thangappuwa below was a great feeling but climbing down along the tea patch was a killing blow. It was 4.30 when we arrived at Thangappuwa. Our faithful Toyota was waiting ever so patiently.

After a cup of tea at the shop we drove on towards our bungalow. The drive became more pleasant as there was plenty of daylight left. Finally we arrived at the bungalow around 6am. Kumara had been waiting with the kettle boiling and we had delicious coffee, a cold bath and a chat in that order.

Our lunch

Gosh I’m hungry

Tiny flowers

See the bee?

Plenty of these came across us

Looked like a huge rock python

Back on the solid ground

We filled our containers and made Jeewani too

Hiding from us

Looking back feeling proud

Some more bees

Back at the edge of the forest

Managed to climb down without a major incident

It says 8km to Alugallena but it’s close to 10 I guess, coz Rajah said it’s 7 miles

Well, I’m hungry and you must be too. So let’s go see what Kumara has got for us. The dinner was delicious and we kept shoveling until there was no more space. With a difficulty down went a chunk of cashew nut choco as well. What else can a man ask for after a backbreaking hike? We’ve done our quota for this journey but I had an ace up my sleeve. Don’t worry; you’re going to come with us for that as well. It’s gonna be something not so common. There’s my bed calling for me. Will see you tomorrow. Oh forgot to tell you, if you wanna join us, get up at 4am. I know you hate to do that but there’s no other choice. Good night folks!

Hearty meal was in order for the tired group

Don’t be jealous

Day 03

Good morning, it’s just gone four and I’m as lazy as anyone to get up. However one must do things like these if they are to achieve greater things. Ana as usual was up and having coffee. He always beats us in the morning to get up and we haven’t a chance of getting up before him. After three cups of coffee I was reasonably awake and started the morning chores. By 5am, we were fully dressed and ready. The chill was a mild 18-degree and we started our hike. Oh, I forgot to tell you about it, didn’t I? Well we’re going for a kind of a night safari to the Mini World’s End. It’s about a 3km walk through the pine forest with a steep and deep ravine at one end. Check out my first ever trip to Meemure when I visited this. Many people do it during the day but I thought of adding a bit of adventure into it and walk in the dark in the hope of witnessing the sunrise.

Mini World’s End

As usual my team backed my decision and with them three dogs joined in the morning stroll. We carried torches which helped walk without tumbling down in the uneven path. Previous night, Kumara narrated one of the horror stories of him and two other foreigners had come across a hunting leopard on the way to the Mini World’s End. It was during the daytime when he accompanied those foreigners. Suddenly a barking deer had run across the trail passing them. After a second or two another huge animal had come bounding through the forest and braked hard about 10ft before Kumara. You know who it is, don’t you? According to Kumara, the leopard was about 8ft in size and had stood still staring at him. He said when turned around to check on the foreigners, there was no sign of them. The leopard and Kumara had been eying each other for some time before he bent down and pretended to pick something. Afterwards the leopard had turned around and walked slowly but not before giving him another of his vicious looks. When he came back to the office, those two foreigners had been in their vehicle all locked up. Apparently even they had had no clue as to how they managed to get there.

We were not scared by the tale, rather got very excited. We had Tony should a leopard happen to come across. We started the hike while those faithful dogs went in front of us stopping every now and then to listen to any danger. They acted like our warning signals, like scouts in military operations. We arrived at the tiny pond and carefully avoided falling into the ice cold water. Passing that we entered the forestry path where the leopard roams around. We walked carefully and soon arrived at the turn off where the path separates into two. This is the beginning of the circular trail and we took the right climbing up.

It was pitch dark and our torches did very little to pierce the inky blackness. Only the crunch of our shoes making on the gravel was audible. There was no wind and the air was so still you could lean on it. After a while we saw a change of color through the trees in the sky. The bluish tinge was more visible and it kept spread out. When we arrived out of the forest to the edge where the path runs for about half a km along the edge, the sky was getting very colorful. Towards the top of the sky was the blue tinge, and it got lighter in color and met a dull yellow. It went further down meeting bright yellow, orange and red just above the mountains. This was a picture no artist could replicate, be them Da Vinci, Michael Angelo, Van Gogh or Picasso. The needles of pine leaves looked sensational in the foreground.

We went along the edge looking for the observation point while the thick clouds delayed sun’s arrival. The endless mountains bordered the villages below. From the left we could see Dothalugala, Sphinx Rock, behind it the Knuckles Peaks, then the Corbet’s Gap. Moving further to the right is Dumbanagala. Between Corbet’s Gap and Dumbanagala, we could see the Meemure road. Then came Gerandi Ella to the right of Dumbanagala with a tiny streak of white. Thelambugala, Kehelpathdoruwa and square shaped Yahangala followed after. Behind the mountains in Kalugala, we could very faintly see the reservoirs of Hasalaka, Sorabora Wewa, Rathkinda and Ulhitiya. A26, Kandy-Mahiyangana road ran just below the mountain range. Famous 18 bends were a little beyond. Further to the right, was the Uda Dumbara town. This is the picture we saw and I don’t have to say how mesmerizing it was.

The sun finally arrived showing a tiny bit of himself looking like a blood red pearl. He rose steadily and became a full plate of glowing lava. A thin layer of mist hung on to the trees below and the steps like lush green paddy fields glowed in the morning rays. Well you could have spent a lifetime admiring this but we had so much more to do in this lifetime so sadly went back bidding farewell. The lighted pine bordered path was so good and the smell of the pine trees was refreshing. We arrived at the bungalow for a hearty breakfast.

Just gone 5am and we’re on leopard hunting (now don’t get confused)

Waiting for a leopard to appear

First sign of rays

Beautiful

Towards Hasalaka and Mahiyangana

Knuckles in the dawn

Villages below the Mini World’s End covered with a thin layer of mist

Getting the best angles

The path we came and that cement bench like thing is the sign post

A gem in the sky?

No it’s the Sun

Coming up

Slowly

My goodness

Huge lava ball

The endless views of the mountains

Smiling from ear to ear

We were there

Here’s the board I told you about

Pine tree path

Not edible, at least for us

Resting point

We carried on

The entrance to the forest patch

Towards Dothalugala

Tiny pond

Remember this bridge where Ana stood

KCC

Now is breakfast time

Go on, serve

Pinkie

Kumara is at the right

The 4-man crew

Afterwards, it was time to say goodbye. We paid our dues and gave some money for Kumara. He is a great host, one of best we’ve met so far. We arrived at Hunnasgiriya and headed straight to Colombo.

Well folks, if I don’t show you some of the Panos, it’d be a real pity.

Pano 1

Pano

Pano 3

Pano 4

Pano 5

Pano 6

Pano 7

Pano 8

Pano 9

Pano 10

Pano 11

Black Star – Dothalugala; Dark Green Star – Sphinx Rock; Red Star – Knuckles Range; Yellow Star – The Peak whose base has Alugallena; Light Blue Star – Dumbanagala; Brown Star – Gerandi Ella; Pink Star – Thelembugala; Light Green Star – Kehelpathdoruwa; Indigo Star – Yahangala.

So, it’s time I left you to get on with your work.

Hope you guys enjoyed it as much as me and my team. Keep traveling but be safe.

This is Sri signing off for now.

Take care!!!

Hiya folks, hope you guys are doing great. It’s been a while since I did a rail hike. Of course I’ve done quite a few since my first hike from Bandarawela to Uduwara with Atha and Prasa. Since then I managed to cover till Nawalapitiya and the stretch between Kadugannawa and Rambukkana almost completing the upcountry railway line. However there was this one piece of it (between Haputale and Ohiya) that I missed due to many reasons. It kept getting postponed until I decided enough was enough. However I had promised Hasi not to do this stretch without him and finally a great opportunity presented itself when he could squeeze a day off amid his ultra-busy schedule. Unfortunately the rest of my crew couldn’t manage it leaving it only the two of us.

I just checked out the time table of trains so that it’d give us a sense of times so that we could take precautions. These new Chinese trains are very quiet compared to the grumbling old German ladies. However I don’t think when it comes to performance, technology and endurance, the Chinese can come anywhere near. I’ve seen how they operate in my Exclusive Journey on the S12 some time ago. Hasi took over the meals with the help of his wife. Even though she wanted to join us, a sudden illness confined her to the house. We were very excited, especially Hasi as this was going to be his first ever rail hike. I could imagine how he felt coz it was the same when I was getting ready for my first rail hike.

We left around 3am (a habit of Ana) for Haputale taking the E-01 to the Gelanigama exit, then continuing to Ratnapura. The sun was getting ready to pop up when we went past Belihul Oya. The sky was full of cotton wool like clouds and the reflection of the morning rays turned them into pink and magenta. In between the royal blue sky glowed beautifully making us stop at Beragala for a few pictures. They turned out to be couple of hundred by the time we finished. It was exquisite and we enjoyed the morning chill admiring this unbelievable beauty.

The Walawe Basin looked greener than ever. There were layers of mist rising out of the tanks and the morning rays fell on the Gon Molliya Mountain Range. We stayed beyond them last month at Nagrak enjoying the beauty of the Horton Plains and the Gon Molliya Mountain Range. This was a different view and we spent some half hour or so taking in the scenery. I practically had to drag Hasi and it was closer to 7am when we reached the Haputale station.

To the left of Walawe Basin

Good morning Walawe Basin!

Cotton wool sky

Further to the right is Gon Molliya Range with Balathuduwa and Wangedigala

Uneven terrain mixed with lush green

Being lighted slowly

The left of the road where it’s bordered by rocky hills

Gorgeous

Towards Diyatalawa

The sun fully up and the sky glittering

We went into the isolated and waking up station looking for the station master seeking permission to leave our car at the car park. Thankfully one of the workers came into our rescue and asked us to leave it. He even showed us a place when we said what we were planning to do and even offered to keep an eye out for it. The day was beginning beautifully and we hoped it’d end the same way. So leaving the car and having packed our meals and drinks along with this and that, we got on the track. There was some 16km of railway for us to cover.

Haputale to Idalgashinna

The sun was behind us giving a clear field of view and made it easy to take pictures. Hasi kept taking pictures of virtually every sleeper, nut, bolt and anything that came to view. He was like a kid who is just been given a new remotely controlled car. We made very little progress in the first hour because of this intense picture taking. There were acres of tea to our right and some hills in the far distance sort of marking the border. Most of the clouds hung over them as if not willing to leave the peaks. The sky was clear and blue. There was the typical smell of spilled diesel and oil. The wooden sleepers had their own unique aroma. We trod on the concrete, wooden and metal sleepers carefully.

After a km or so we arrived at what looked like a tiny railway platform to our right. There was the unmistakable look about it and the name Glenanore written in large letters. We thought initially this is a tiny substation but coming closer it didn’t look like one. However I was lucky to have found out later from Indaka (check out my Bandarawela report to know who he is) that this was specifically built to bring in the materials to build the Adhisham Bungalow off Haputale. Apparently everything was imported from England to build this and this Glenanore station was built to unload them from the train. Plenty of history behind these seemingly unimportant structures.

The Thangamale Forest was to our left and stayed with us almost all the way except a few patches. The scenery was breathtaking in many ways and we both enjoyed it to the fullest. Around 8am, the Udarata Menike coming from Badulla met with us. Hasi took a long burst before she went past. There were more foreigners than Sri Lankans. Time was getting closer to 8.30am when we decided to stop for breakfast as I could wait no longer. Hasi produced a large packet of toasted sandwiches (apparently his wife had burned the midnight oil making them), boiled eggs in their shells and fruit juice. We stopped at a place that looked very much similar to the Sensation Rock (remember that in my previous rail hike?) and spread out the breakfast.

Entering the station

Isolated

Sunbathing doggies

1431.4m from sea level

This used to be a healthy sunflower bed but maybe the demanding cost of living has turned it into a beans farm

Dripping water

Cotton wool sky and the isolated railway line

Plenty of history behind them

Towards Diyathalawa and beyond

On the track

Entering greenery

The valley to the right

Distant mountains, do you notice the white speck just below the mountain line?

Here it is… a beautiful Stupa

Thangamale is close by

Looks like a Japanese Ikebana

Along the railway

Lush purple

Many curves

Brilliant color combination

The distant hills

Glenanore former railway platform

Blooming

Here’s one of the many signs

Here we go

Hasi’s first encounter with a train on a rail hike

The sky added flavors to the settings

Sun lighting the railway

Plenty of shade too

He wouldn’t spare anything

Portrait of the railway

The Adhisham Bungalow is somewhere to the left

Entering another curve

Now I’m hungry

Grand place for a break

Can see a beautiful house

Here it is, note the bicycle in the garage

Endless view, great for panos

Here’s a cluster of buildings

“Shall we stop here? “

A tiny trickle of water helped us wash up

We were ravenous and wolfed down more than half the meal in record time washing it down with mixed fruit juice. The valley below was a part of Diyathalawa. We could see the famous Fox Hill in the distance with the fox and the year marked with white stones on the hill. Having finished a hearty meal we decided to make it a bit quicker. Nevertheless the endless scenery gave us very little chance to step up the pace. Then came the next surprise, a railway worker who carries the flags, train crackers (I guess you can remember them despite my own name for them. I even called them in one of the reports as Ali Don aka Elephant crackers. They are used to warn the trains especially at night or when misty of possible dangers ahead. They are stuck on the line using a metal strap so that when the wheels of the train go over them, they burst like a cracker giving a warning to the drivers) and a can of oil. He applies the oil to the inner side of the track at bends to minimize the friction and wastage of the wheels and the track itself. He kindly agreed to show his armory to us, especially Hasi who had never come across them before. They all like the hikers like us and offer to help in any way they can. He even took the trouble to show the equipment and how they work. Great personalities these people. Everyone I’ve met along the upcountry railway line has been friendly and helpful. Every worker has to cover 3-3.5 miles of the track up and down a day, he said. We thanked him profusely and kept going. The sun got fiercer but the cool mountain breeze kept up nice and cool. We then arrived at some kinda gap where we could see the Walawe Basin to our left over a tea patch and the upcountry villages of Diyatalawa and others to the right. So far only the right side was visible but this point signaled that we were closer to Idalgashinna.

Idalgashinna is a famous gap where both southern and central parts meet. The scenery is believed to be sensational and breathtaking. It was one of the reasons for our rail hike as well. We then arrived at the first tunnel of the day, No. 36. She was small but it gave Hasi’s first ever walk through a tunnel experience. I guess by now you know how he must have behaved so I’ll just let you speculate that.  Finally we saw the Idalgashinna station in the distance and hurried towards it. We had walked closer to 3hrs but covered around 7km. Well we were behind by a big margin. The station was small but similar to almost all upcountry stations, still looks grand. Idalgashinna town is located around the station and we saw the white washed buildings beyond. There is a prominent peak further to all with pine trees that looks like giving a good view towards Walawe basin. It was a dream come true coz I’d always wanted to come see this station since 2002.

Back on the track

Oh, hello!!!!

Looking back

And forward too

The sun bearing down on us

Hasi got lucky to have come across him

See what he’s doing?

Was kind enough to educate us on his part of work

Showing how to set ‘Train Crackers’

Here it is. Wish we could test it while a train was going over!

The bare bit of the railway

Gosh, where’s Idalgashinna?

One of the resting places for the railway workers

Another turn

Going to Haputale from Idalgashinna… No trains at this time and public transport is not reliable so have to walk

Atmospherical haze making it hard for the camera

Reminded us the hike from Kadugannawa-Rambukkana

This is where I told you that we could see both Upcountry and the Southern Valley

Maha Rathmal

Vital lifelines

The Walawe Basin

Endless scenery was with us

First tunnel encounter for Hasi

No. 36

Not so long

Out comes Hasi

Hurraaaah… Idalgashinna is close be

Pines to the left

Estates below to our right

There’s the Idalgashinna Peak

Abandoned

There’s the Idalgashinna Peak

Not so big

But no mist

Tiny buildings of the station

Yeah!

Waiting for the next Colombo-bound train

Can you guess the age?

Note the signs used for the trains

This station is now a big hit due to a teledrama being telecast nowadays

On the way to either Colombo ro Kandy

Very famous place now

Beauty

Friendly one that didn’t pester us for anything to eat

Towards the Idalgashinna Estate

Was there to pose

Idalgashinna to Ohiya

Idalgashinna looked good but one of the most important things was missing, the mist. Whenever you talk about Idalgashinna, it’s the mist that comes to mind. Just imagine a picture of mist covered the old white washed station, the smartly dressed station master standing with the tablet on the platform. You can hear the grumbling of an M6 in the distance. Couple of people clad in thick sweaters and woolen caps are getting up from the seats hoping to get onto the train. All of a sudden, a powerful beam of yellow light pierces the thick mist and slowly green and red German lady appears out of the mist carrying seven chocolate brown carriages behind her. She comes to a standstill while the usual hustling and bustling of the people goes on. That is what everyone wants to witness at Idalgashinna. But we were not so fortunate and I will have to keep dreaming about it until hopefully it comes true.

We got behind the station to see the Walawe basin. However the haziness of the sun prevented us seeing much. We could barely see the Udawalawe reservoir and a couple of other tanks and hills. There was a friendly looking doggy that got fascinated by these hikers and followed us everywhere. He might even have kept an eye out for the strangers guarding the station. We rested our feet and had a long pull from the mixed fruit juice. The dehydration is a real danger if you don’t keep topping up yourselves with plenty of liquids. We cut short our break and got back on the track hoping to increase the speed. Well, a big fat chance we had when Hasi was taking pictures of everything that was on the track.

About 500m into the walk, we heard the unmistakable roar of a train coming to the Idalgashinna station. A quick note on the noise of the new S12 Chinese trains. They used to be very quiet compared to other German and Canadian engines. I guess they are not so silent anymore. This was the second Chinese one that came across for the day, Udarata Menike and now Podi Menike coming from Badulla. They were as noisy, if not noisier, as the 40-60 years old German and Canadian ladies. Are they already feeling the heat and the toughness of the the upcountry railway line? I was wondering if they have come to the end of their lifespan after a few years of traveling up and down coz they are after all Chinese and they have a notorious reputation for the quality and endurance. You might wanna disagree and say that many things even Apple IPhone is now built in China. Well that’s a different thing coz they have to build them according to the original manufacturer’s specs whereas Chinese originated ones don’t have the same luxury. “Enough of tarnishing the image of the Chinese”, I hear some of you grumble so let’s move on, shall we?

We waited for her to appear on the scene and Hasi took another long press on the shutter button. As usual the number of foreigners exceeded the locals. I was wondering if we were in a foreign country. She went past with her usual grace and the foreigners waved at us smiling from ear to ear. We returned to the track and walked on. All this time closer to 7-7.5km we were walking through an open area despite Thangamale forest standing to our left but now we were entering a full blooded forest that covered the track all around giving loads of shade for which we were really grateful. We had been sweating like nothing but for the first time could remove the sweat-soaked caps and cool air brush our boiling heads. The tea estates paved way to the towering turpentine trees and typical upcountry forests. The track became curvier and more beautiful thanks to the shade. So far we hadn’t encountered any of the tunnels (there are 14 of them No. 35 to 22) between Idalgashinna and Ohiya. However we came across all of them within the last 6-7km thus giving the name for this report.

Looking back

“Move away, the train will kill ya”, shouted Hasi. “Don’t panic, it’s going on the other line” replied the Pigeon

Hasi the Linesman

We hurried up

The view still with us

We found the best solution for landslides. “The Rail Fences” – It’ll let the water out but keep the solid stuff trapped

Here comes Podi Menike

Closer

Clouds provided the precious shade

The tough life

Two learning points: 1. Keep the Powers-that-be informed all the time. 2. Always stay away from the track when making a call

Plantations

An estate road

Now we’re into the thick forest covered all around

Hiya sweet heart!

Completely isolated

Well, not completely

Turpentine forest

Farmlands either side

Through this

A hint of mist in the air

No. 35. We walked through it without requiring a light as it was a small one. Only a couple of tunnels in this bunch would require a light coz it’s pitch dark inside. They even take curves inside the tunnel making it darker. Even a mobile phone flashlight will do the trick. There were hundreds of gulls (Wehilihini) inside the tunnels, especially the darker and longer ones screeching angrily at us for intruding into their homes. They flew all around not liking our torches one bit. We went through the 35th and reached the 34th. Before going in I saw some nests lying at the entrance to it. Closer inspection proved them to be gulls’ nests. They were built of dried tree branches, leaves and creepers put together using their saliva using it like a cement mixture to bind everything together. Those nests looked brown, grey and dull yellow (probably due to the saliva mixture) and probably had fallen from the roof.

If you can remember, there was a crazy chase for these nests not long before similar to the ones such as Wallapatta, Kimbul Huna, Rathu Komarika, etc. The world is a funny place, isn’t it? I wonder if there will ever be some manic rush for leeches. We took a few pics and carried on. Now the tunnels kept coming one after the other. We still hadn’t come across any German ladies yet but didn’t have to wait long. Passing the 33rd, we met the first one coming rumbling up carrying half a dozen fuel carriages. This was a moment Hasi was waiting for and took another long press at the shutter. If only the engine driver could hear the rapid machinegun like burst! He’d have run for his life. We met the odd person coming along the track carrying bunches of firewood on their heads. Other than that there was no human being on sight. To compensate for it, we saw dozens of Purple-faced Leaf Monkeys jumping from tree to tree not giving a chance for a picture.

Well, let me jump straight to tunnel 26. Don’t worry you will be given the whole journey in pictures. It’d make it easier for you and me. Walking through the tunnel 26, we saw the 25 immediately with only a 50m or so gap between them. The 25th tunnel is a different one compared to all the other tunnels in the upcountry railway line. They are all shaped like an oval (in layman’s terms, like a standing egg) whereas this 25th one is circular in shape. I haven’t seen anything like this before anywhere else. Well I’ve seen a few odd tunnels in my hikes; one example is the Elephant Back tunnel off Kadugannawa just passing the Lion’s Mouth. There was a group of railway workers doing a side wall to protect the track from landslides. Couple of railway carts (Dakkuwa) were parked between the two tunnels by the track. Another first for Hasi and the picture taking intensified. I was once lucky to see a rail cart full of workers going attached to the Podi Menike in 2012 through the observation saloon.

A couple of typical nosy monkeys were going through the carts in the hope of finding something other than their usual meals. One of them was nibbling at a plastic bag definitely thrown out of a window. Well I’ll just have to tell you about this as well. There were many plastic cups (coffee and tea), biscuit and toffee wrappers, plastic bottles and many other things scattered either side of the track. The number of them were so much especially inside the tunnels as those who travel probably think these dark holes are the dumping pits or do it quietly so that no one else will see. It’s just a great pity that we Sri Lankans still can’t get rid of dirty habits such as these. After having a cup of tea or a toffee or a drink, all they think of is getting rid of the wrappers and empty bottles as quickly as possible so throw them foolishly, carelessly and ignorantly out of the window both in the trains and buses not to mention the private vehicles. Please don’t do these kinda things in future if you’re still guilty of doing them. The damage caused by those plastic items to the nature is so great and the effects are irreversible.

Ok, let’s get to the story. While we were taking pictures of the rail carts, there was a rumbling of another German lady, the third passenger train coming from Badulla. This was a great opportunity for us, especially Hasi, to take pictures of this beauty coming out of a tunnel. She slowed almost to a standstill due to the repair works giving us a perfect chance to take pictures. We then took pictures of her entering the 25th tunnel. “So far so good” said Hasi. We passed the the workers and carried on towards more tunnels. Passing 24 & 23 we reached the 22nd or the 14th and the last tunnel between Ohiya and Idalgashinna. It was past 1pm and we were planning to catch the 1.38pm Podi Menike coming from Colombo to get back to Haputale. It looked like we might miss a by a few minutes and the next one (Udarata Menike) was due two hours later. We couldn’t afford to wait that long doing nothing so stepped up the pace as much as our battered legs would go.

I can remember our 2km run (yeah you heard right, we ran and then hopped like rabbits) from Ella towards the 9-arch bridge hoping to catch the train on the bridge but missed it by half a km. It took a heavy toll on our legs especially the knees and we suffered for a long time afterwards. The train delayed by a few minutes giving us the window we wanted to reach the station. I felt grateful for the delays after a long time. We arrived at the station at 1.40pm and had a good 10-minute break to take pics and rest our feet before the train arrived at 1.50pm. The rain gods kept rumbling in the sky threatening with dark clouds but we were safe from their threats. We felt the whole weariness goes away after completing the whole journey and within the timeframe. There were a few foreigners waiting for the train to go to Ella.

The headquarters start here

In we go

Out we come to find another waiting for us

There was a crazy hunt for these

Wehi Lihini Nests

Chipped rocky surface

I love these pics a lot

Looking back

More to go

First of rail bridge, a tiny one at that

Side view

Must be at least a century old

Passing that

Split rock and a turpentine tree fallen near

Oh wow, very tiny one

Out of it

The first one going towards Haputale

Here comes the German lady

Away she goes with the observation saloon

Another tunnel round the corner

I told you that I love these

Another, now I’ve lost count

Well finished interior

Out we came

No. 30

There’s 29

In front of it

28 in the distance

Some more tunnels to cover

Concreted walls

Hasi carrying on

This is the No. 27

There’s the circular shaped 26

Very much like a proper cylinder. Note the carts to the left

Munching on a left over lunch sheet

There she comes

Out of the tunnel

Into the 26

Plenty of foreigners were staring after us

They were repairing the road and the side walls

I told you, more circular than all the others I’ve seen

Busy at work

Strenuous stuff

Another bridge

This is the 25th

Since then some open terrain

Full of shade

All it was lacking was the mist

Mist, oh mist we are you?

Not a sign

Ramrod straight

The 24th

It’s a beautiful area

Oh yeah, watch out

The penultimate tunnel

Can you see the manholes?

Outside

The terrain

The final one

Here we are

Ok, now to the station to catch the train

Gosh, it’s gonna be a close thing

This is not for rent

At the station

Thankfully we made it

Yeah, Ohiya

Almost all of them foreigners heading to Ella

A famous picture

Now we are waiting

Famous tree too, now grown beautifully

Well, here we are after the target achieved

Signs of rain

There she comes

Ok, let’s hop in

We bought tickets and got into the train taking a place near a door to savor the journey which we just completed on foot. It’s a feeling I simply can’t express in words. We arrived at Haputale closer to 2.45pm and found the person who helped us park our car coming towards us smiling broadly. “Where did you?”, he queried. “We went up to Ohiya” I replied. He looked really pleased and we bid farewell to this friendly and helpful person and got ready for the return journey.

At Idalgashinna

Waiting

About to wave the flag

Brampton Falls

We made good ground and it’d rained in Haldummulla, Kalupahana and Belihul Oya increasing the water levels of Surathali and Brampton falls. However we couldn’t afford to stop and see Surathali but Hasi wanted a quick stop at Brampton falls. She was in full flow and we took a handful of pictures quickly and headed home.

From the bridge

Have to get down

Going towards her

Full of water due to rain

Top part

Bottom

Portrait

We arrived in Colombo just after 7pm, double quick time.

Now you can enjoy the Panos I took.

Pano 1

Pano 2

Pano 3

Pano 4

Pano 5

Well folks, thanks for being there with me in this hike. I hope I managed to take those who couldn’t, haven’t or can’t with me along this beautiful stretch.

Take care and keep traveling. This is Sri signing off for the time being.

Travelling the Delft, the largest island of Sri Lanka is dated on final day of my travel. There is a boat service which commence from “Kurikadduwan” jetty for this and our intention was to left from the first boat which started at 8.30 am. According to that three of us left from house very early and other guys join with us from Jaffna.

The one of late comer completely broke our dreams and the boat had left when we reached to the jetty. The only alternative is the second boat which leaves at 9.30 am. So we stay jetty for that and it started at 9.30 am.

Sun rising for another beautiful day

Walking to the school

It’s familiar for Jaffna

All are good riders

Fey lives

It’s memorized our earlier day trip

Waiting for a chance

Lonely

She will brings us to delft

The devotes for Nagadeepa

Watch hut

Towards Nainativu

Island lives

Times’ up for launch the boat

Good bye Kurikadduvan

Withdraw orderly

Delft people

Nainativu Island

First clear view of Delft

Part of our gang

Coastguard by SL Navy

Close to disembark

Erect new jetty

Land to Delft

We reached to Delft Island after a one hour boat journey and Nishanthan arranged a jeep the rest from here.  It was easy to find a taxi from their because of the tourism. The dry weather condition of here those days and the huge wind mixed with dust are disturbed for us.

First of all we walked to watch the huge “Bao Babs” tree. “Baboba” is a rare species for Sri Lanka and also it called as Cream of Tartar, Monkey bread tree, Lemonade tree etc. Delft is a one of place which we can see “Baboba”. It’s a good food for camels. It has an enormous trunk which tapers into branches. Large “Baboba” trees have been used by people for centuries for various purposes including houses, prisons, pubs, storage etc.

Ready to go

Ohh it’s not good

Palmyra yard

Little cow boy

Huge Bao Babs tree

Like a cave

He is very friendly

Where we next?

Just click

Then we went to watch the “growing stone”. This stone is five feet height above the ground and islanders believe that the stone is growing gradually. And also they believe the power of the Island is depend on this stone. So they treated this as god. And also a small shrine can be seen near to this miracle stone.

Growing stone

Worshipful place

A fane

Nice way

Good idea

Coral use for this

Still collect

Ohh…

Yum… Yumm…

Then we walked to watch the pigeon nest which situated near the Dutch fort. This is designed as lodge to the pigeons that send mails to Jaffna by Dutch people.

The Dutch fort which made on colonial time can be scene back to the government hospital. According to the data which mentioned here, mortar & limestone are used to make that. And also it contains two stories and the ground floor consists of five rooms. And also there are no any ventilation systems, so it consider as a store of ammunition and prisoners. This is strong enough to face the hostile attacks and now it goes to ruin. But the splendor of that is still exists in safe condition.

Then we went to watch the only religious ruin place. It is situated close to corner of the island & made by using limestone.

Walking

Pigeon Holes

Just click

Name board

Lonely hospital

Old Dutch fort

Huge wall

Now it become ruins

All are in one frame

Ruins of an ancient Buddhist pagoda

Innocent child

Colossal footprint

In front of mini shop

Just click

Road is not bad

One part of the Island is used by villagers and the other part is used by horses & cattle. After bringing wild horses they had brought plant to feed them as well as medicinal plant. The “Biobab” tree is a plant which brought to feed to the horses. The population of wild horses is around 500. Early in the morning these horses come to grassland and when the heat is high they are going to covers. Though there is water in one part of the year, the rest part they are suffering due to lack of water.

Unfortunately when we go there 12.30 pm. So there are no many horses can be see because of the tough sunlight.

Wild Horses

Straight way

Not suit to drink

We finished our Island journey at about 1pm. The lunch is ready at the Island home according to Nishanthans’ message. (There is a place to buy foods for tourists in this island) So then we came back after the lunch.

The first boat which left from the Island is on 2.00pm & it’s a RDA boat. So we can go free of charge. (This one is the first boat which from Kurikadduvan to Delft also) The depth of the jetty is not enough because of the size of boat. So passengers travel to that boat by a SL navy boat in four stages

Time to leave

Navy guys helped us

Vainglory

They dig the jetty

You can come to jetty near future

Crazy name

Transfer to ship

Finished the duty

Endless ocean

Close to Nainativu

Life is not simple

Shining

Crossing point

Ready to landing

We entered to “kurikadduwan” again noted with the end of the boat safari with full of beautiful experiences. Then we went to “kasurina beach” across Kites. It is not any suspect, that’s the most beautiful beach in Jaffna.

A Successful journey

Lonely boat

Plucking harvest

Next there

Old

A ferry

Name board

Owners of the lagoon

Freedom beach

Blue border

Sand pattern

Sand pattern

Friendship forever

Try to touch the sun

Feeling crazy…

Friendship forever…

Majestic sunset

Majestic sunset

Majestic sunset

Majestic sunset

Majestic sunset

After feeling the beauty of “kasurina beach” we were lucky to watch a majestic sunset at there. Then we went to “Rio” with noticing end of the day. After that we left from there with leave our friends & went to Aruns’ home at Chankanei.  We end our dream journey during 6 days which looking for beauty of Jaffna with the intention of come back home by a “Yaldevi” next day.

I give my heartiest thanks to Arunjan,Nishanthan,Selwadas & all of my friends to gave me such sweet memories to my memory book.

Thank you very much for reading my report.

Have a safe & successful journey!!

Beragala is an important junction when you travel in Colombo-Badulla road. At Beragala the road get divides towards Koslanda and Badulla. (Actually A4 continues as Colombo-Wellawaya-Batticalo road and A16 starts as Beragala-Hali-Ela road) Most of the time travelers get a short break at Beragala.
Beragala Kanda is situated at back drop of Beragala junction.
I have noticed this mountain during my first visit to Haldummulla (Refer trip report).
I planned to climb Beragala Mountain on the following day of climbing Idalgashinna Mountain (Refer trip report).

We met our guide at Haldummulla (හල්දුම්මුල්ල්ල) traveled towards Bathgoda (බත්ගොඩ) junction where Beragala Kovil is situated. There is a tarred road on left hand side at that junction. We walked just 10m – 15m along this road and got the foot pathway in right hand side.
This foot pathway goes closer to our guide’s home and we kept all our unnecessary stuff there.
There was a clear foot pathway through Mana bushes till certain distance and then it disappeared. It was not difficult to walk after this as Mana bushes were not that much tall. After about half an hour journey we came to first view point.
Koslanda area, Balangoda, Haldummulla and Southern plane of Sri Lanka were clearly visible there.
After another 20 minutes climb, we reached second view point.
Highest point of Beragala kanda can’t be reach from this direction due to acute steepness. You have to come from Haputhale side to reach the top of Beragala Kanda.

Black star shows Beragala Kanda and black line shows pathway we followed. (Approximate)

View of Beragala Kanda at junction

Beragala Kanda is shown in black arrow. This was taken at Idalgashinna

Closer view

Pathway we have to walk

Just started in early morning….

Balathuduwa (බලතුඩුව) and Gommolliya (ගොම්මොල්ලිය) are shown in black star and Idalgashinna Mountain is shown by red star.

It is a sunny day

ALUM coverage

On the way up….

On the way up

Climbed further up….

Zoomed view of Beragala tea factory

View towards Koslanda side

Beragala Hindu Kovil

Southern plane and Pambahinna ( පඹහින්න) area

Some more to go…..

Rest of the climb

Narrow pathway

Guide is leading….

Another move….

Good bye Nirosh…He refused to climb further up…..

Second view point……

Beragala junction

In between Beragala and Haldummulla

Haldummulla side

Black arrow shows A16-Beragala-Hali Ela road and yellow arrow shows A4-Colombo-Wellawaya-Batticalo road

Further up….

This part can’t be conquered from this side…..

Beragala Mountain has a unique view of rock formation. This can be seen from Beragala Junction. The name “Beragala” (බෙරගල) also came due to this rock formation (most probably, according to our local guide).
Then we headed towards this “Beragala”. It was situated towards Beragala town. There was a foot pathway towards this rock. Actually this foot pathway connects Idalgashinna with some other village (can’t remember the name).

Clear foot pathway and one of the good guides I met as he always carried my bag.

We were there

Reaching Beragala

I am on top of බෙරය.

Beragala

Beragala is circled

We had a day…..

Thanks for reading

Map around Kumana – click to enlarge

Map around Lahugala – click to enlarge

Though I have been to Kumana twice and visited many interesting locations I did miss out on Bambaragasthalawa site. So with my wife I took off towards Kumana on a late afternoon. Our first stop was at Panama Lake. We took the road which led towards Wedagama Lake. At the border of Panama lake there was a road to the left and that ended at Panama RMV which is in ruins. The monk who was residing there was not available at that moment so we walked around a bit and returned to the lake which is famous for its bird and Croc life.

this sign is found at the beginning at Wedegama lake road

Panama ancient temple

inscription

stairway to the top of Balumgala

art of mother nature

Panama lake

bit hazy

Whistling ducks

type of karawila

beauty

From Panama we headed towards Kumana and we didn’t forget to stop here and there to enjoy a random elephant and a herd of deer of Panama – Kudumbigala NP. Before reaching Kumana we came across Weheragama Kovil where we did stop to climb the road side rock. On top of this there were ruins of a pagoda and there were many other ruins scattered everywhere which signifies that this must have been once a hermitage. After having some “dane” which was offered to us we headed to Kumana. At Kumana we inquired about the route to Bambaragasthalawa and no one could answer us properly luckily Rajitha was aware about the route since he was the only one who had been there for the whole year.

Weheragama gana devi kovil

Weheragama pagoda

stairway to the pagoda

kema

ruins

traversing the park which doesnt have any jeep tracks

different ethnicity

a kite

With Rajitha we took off on a less muddy route (took a road to the right somewhere passing yoda lipa) and few Km’s along the lonely road disaster struck.. We got stuck in mud hole and the differential was knocking on the ground. It took 1 ½ hours to recover ourselves and continue on our journey to Bambaragasthalawa. This route is a very lonely 8Km stretch and if something happens you won’t receive help as fast as you expect. Finally we reached Bambaragasthalawa and we were surrounded by many rocky hills on either side. Each of these had prominent caves on them too. After a 500m walk we reached the main cave with the statue. It was a huge reclining statue just as seen at Pidurangala, Tarulengala, Mailla & Hebessa. Sadly the head part had been vandalized by treasure hunters. This must have been a majestic hermitage in the past. One could still appreciate the lime plaster and the excellent craftsmanship of this sculpture though it has been vandalized. Bambaragasthalawa is known to be one of the highest points at Kumana and we did manage to climb up on a rock and enjoy the fascinating view.

national pride

where we got stucked

what a helpful guy was this Rajitha

harvesting minerals

our destination

Bambaragasthalawa cave

full circumference drip ledge

the large statue