Tour Highlights:

1. Kirigalpoththa Trail
2. Thotupola Trail

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

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

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

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

Good morning!

We’re ready to go

Hern the Hunter?

Not really

Whole family of them

Ok, no more pics after this…

Gorgeous colors

Agra-Bopath

Comms tower at Farr Inn

The Farr Inn covered by trees

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

Gigantic Ferns

KGP Trail – Uphill

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Video of KGP

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

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

Here comes the heavy guns

KGP and Agra Bopath closer to each other

Cotton wool sprinkled royal blue canvas

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

Agra Bopath – The unsolved mystery

The dead and the alive together

Endless plain

Not sure if it’s edible

The stream that we had to cross

Despite the rains, there was very little water

Through the bamboo

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

Two sexy girls

That color is simply uncopiable

Can you see the fella?

Here a close up. Can see the Horn clearly

One with no grass blocking the view

The path through the bamboo

Close up of the paw mark

Taking the paw mark on his lenses

Sitha Pera

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

Few Nelu flowers remaining

Orchid

Close up

The sky through the tree cover

Not Bandura, but something similar

Very beautiful but no idea what they are

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

The bones I told you about

Some more

Life on the dead

Dead Nelu trees making an arch for us

Beautiful sky all the way

Close up of the bunch of flowers

The summit of KGP is over there

A dead bird?

Just before the final assault

The view on the way up

Commonly seen orchid type

Very common

Finally at the viewing point

The expressions say it all

Clear view

Steep slope

The tricky bit I told you about

He was merrily shooting away

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

The trees closer to the summit

Typical summit point

Yeah, we did it finally… with two records probably

KGP Trail – Downhill

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

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

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

The steep slope

One of the fellows in disguise

Mind your head

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

The triple jump champion ready to cross

Simply beautiful

The muddy path

Prasa explaining the size of a leopard to Ana

Wading through the muddy path

Another orchid?

Wild berries

The SL team leader for Rio 2016

Entering back into the open

Furry

Crossing the stream back

Plenty of them

Very old Leopard Poo

Nearly finished our journey

Prasa complaining about the distance

Good bye Agra Bopath

Reminds me of the first journey too

Farr Inn in full

The modern Thomas Farr…

Click image to enlarge

Sri Lankan White-Eye

Another

Upside down

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

Prowling along the drains

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

“Anything to eat?” – asked he

Begging look

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

View through the windscreen

Maha Bovitiya

Up close

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

Another one looking at us

Trying to get up the tree

Whole lot of them

Thotupola Trail

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

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

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

Video of Sambar Fighting

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

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

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

The team and Abeysinghe at the left

Here they are

Watching the others getting ready to fight

Here they go

In the open

Closer look but not in good quality

On the prowl

The legend (Click image to enlarge)

The path in the morning

Some clearing

Plenty of flowers

Macro

Some more

With the dew collected off mist

The Dhal Tree

Closer to the summit

Here’s the team

Ravana Rawul

The view was not so great due to the mist

Maha Rathmal in the distance

Zoomed in

With my shadow

Ana kept going ahead of everyone

Some of the remaining Nelu

Some bones off the path

The mist had enough of us

Life on the dead

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

Towards Ambewela

The cluster of windmills

Giant Ferns

Beautiful center

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

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

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

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

Take care and keep travelling!

Sayonara…

Sri.

Look at the beard

Another

Colombo-bound train at Pattipola

And then at Ambewela too

Where we stopped for a cup of milk

Lusty greenery and blue

Waiting patiently for some milk

They were working

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

Full flow

The artistic point

Busy at work

Towards Watagoda

Colors

Bidding farewell

We made an unplanned trip to Kataragama on the 17th and 18th October 2015 and on the return trip decided to visit some important temples on the way travelling on Galle road. We onward trip to Kataragama was on the National Highway up to Matara.

As we have visited few historical temples in Hambantota and Matara (see previous trip reports on Hambamtota and Matara) we decided to visit temples beyond Matara starting from Kataluwa. But the evening thunder showers was dampening and hampering the sight-seeing.

Our first stop was Kataluva Purvarama Temple

It’s also called Ranwelle Purana Viharaya.

Actually there are two temples one adjoining the other.      The temple is said to have been founded in the 19th Century by Reverend Bulathgama Sri Sumanathissa Dhammalankara Thera. The temple later had to be divided due to a dispute between Asgiriya Chapter of the Siyam Nikaya and Amarapura Nikaya. It happened because the Chief Incumbent of the temple chose to leave Asgiriya Chapter and join the Amarapura Nikaya.

The other temple is called Kathaluwa Giniwella Purana Viharaya

Amarapura Nilaya was founded in the Southern province when the priests were not given higher ordination by the Siyam Maha Nikaya of Kandy region.  Afterwards it had been agreed that the dagoba and the Sacred Bo Tree of the temple will belong to both Nikaya

Click Image to Enlarge

The Nawamuni Seya, or the nine dagoba is a unique feature of the temple. It’s that the Dagoba is surrounded by nine small dagobas’

The Nawamuni Seya

The Nawamuni Seya

The plaque at the Dagaba say that it was constructed in 1841 by people of the village of Kataluwwa and one Amerasekara manthri and his wife.

The famous murals of the temple are seen inside the old Budu Ge, octagonal in shape,

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The  middle  chamber  has  paintings  depicting  events  in  the  life of  the  Buddha  while  the  outer  chamber  has  paintings  from Jatakastories  and Suvisi  Vivarana.  It is said that painting style  belong to  the  southern maritime tradition, the paintings of this temple are conspicuous. Constructed by Rev.  Kataluwe Gunaratna Thero, the doorway to the image house carries the date 1886.

There  are colonial  style  horse  carriages,  dresses,  shoes,  jewellery,  lamps and  there  are  even  paintings  of  soldiers  with  guns  as  well  as those   drinking   wine   and   playing   cards.   The   usual   guard carrying a sword had been replaced by a soldier carrying a gun. The traditional mode of transport for the elite was the palanquin or elephant.

However, in Kathaluwa, there are two unique paintings. See below :

One of them depicts a group of European soldiers dressed in European attire carrying guns, taking part in a Buddhist procession. It is a blend of the Kandyan style and Western influence

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The other paining shows Arhath Kashyapa Thera paying last respects to the Buddha at Maha Parinirvana and Lord Buddha’s body is carried in a casket

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Although  the  traditional  dress  is  commonly  depicted  in  the paintings,  in  some  sections,  the  traditional  grab  of  both  men women  have  been  replaced  with  dresses,  trousers  and  shoes.

The other important item to see was the printing press. When Buddhism was in decline, a Buddhist revival movement emerged. Bulathgama Thera also played a key role in this revival. He understood the necessity for a Sinhalese publication to revive Buddhism in the country. Through his efforts, Bulathgama Thera was able to raise money to buy a printing press. In 1860, the first Sinhalese newspaper in Ceylon, Lankalokaya, was published in Galle by the newly established Lankopakara Press.  It is said that the first editor was a lawyer, William Perera Ranasingha. Mudliyar DWK Jayawardena was the publisher. The Lankalokaya was priced at six pence and was published on the 10th and the 24th of each month.

This historic printing press which played a significant role in the Buddhist revival in Ceylon later ended up at the Kathaluwa Purana Viharaya. It is unclear as to when the machine was brought to the temple. However, the Archeology Department and other institutions had been concerned about the safety and preservation of the machine.

However, nothing constructive was done to exhibit the printing press in the temple until a fire destroyed the building in which the printing press had been housed. It occurred in November 2012. Although it was said that an electricity leak caused the fire, some locals say that there is considerable doubt about this explanation

Historic printing press

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After leaving Kataluwa we arrived in Galle for lunch and rain hampered the onward journey.

Any way we first visited the Thotagamu Ranpath Viharaya.

Totagamu Rajamaha Viharaya  or the Ratpat Viharaya  , or Telwatte Viharaya  situated in the Galle district has been identified with the ancient Vijeyaba Pirivena at Totagamuva; one of the foremost institutions of learning in the 5th century Lanka.

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It was an institution traditionally regarded as one where sages with the highest spiritual attainments flourished. Of all these sages and scholars the most eminent was said to be the Ven. Totagamuwe Sri Rahula of Salalihini Sandesa fame.

Reference to him in the Gira Sandesa indicates that he was an expert at the exegesis of the Abhidharma, Sutra and Vinaya pitakas, had an excellent grasp of the eight-fold grammar of the Sanskrit language, adept in the arts as well as of religion, well versed in the compositions of the most eminent poets, had an excellent grasp of poetics, composed Sanskrit poetry and his compositions were appreciated by other poets, was a master of the art of speech and a specialist in the 18 sciences which he expounded to other learned persons, gave spiritual counsel to the King Parakrama Bahu (VI) and that he was well versed in six languages.

The Statue at the entrance to the temple of Ven. Totagamuwe Sri Rahula Maha

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Unfortunately rain prevented us from getting down from the vehicle.

From Thotagamuwa we proceeded to Balapitiya to visit the famous Maha pansala or Balapitiya Purana Viharaya,

From the road the building looks like a church. The high arched doors and windows decorated in very European style floral motifs make it look quite out of place in a temple compound because the temple is the Balapitiya Purana Vihare, the headquarters of the Amarapura Nikaya and the main temple in a staunchly Buddhist coastal area.

The ‘church’ is actually the bana shalawa or prayer hall of the temple. No one is quite sure of how the temple came to have this type of curious architecture.

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It is mentioned that there were two theories about this strange building, one is that it was built as a Christian church and abandoned and later donated to the temple. The other is that it was built as a Muslim mosque and abandoned.

To add to its strange architecture, the facade of the building sports a large molded British insignia on top and a date reading 2414 in Buddhist years.It may have been originally built as a church by missionaries. But Balapitiya is a town that despite its coastal location remained staunchly Buddhist. Even today there are so few Christians around this area manner.So it is quite likely that although the building was constructed, the church was never allowed to function here. And later the land and building would have been donated to the temple,” he said.

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The Budhuge next to the church like building   is of immensely beautiful

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As it was raining too the Buduge was not opened.

As the rail was little improved we finally decided to visit the Ganegodella Rajamaha Viharaya at Kosgoda before returning home.

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According to legend the  Ganegodella Rajamaha Viharaya is believed to be built by Minister Devapathiraja on the orders of King Parakramabahu the second in the 12th century B.C. during Dambadeniya period. In addition to this temple there are number of temples and devalas built by this minister in the Ahungalla, Balapitiya and Kosgoda area.

Legends states that the popular ‘Pujavaliya’ and ‘Sidath Sangarawa’ published under the sponsorship of minister Devapathiraja was written at this temple.

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The Portuguese and the Dutch who invaded and captured the Maritime Provinces had attacked the temple and destroyed it. The temple was re-constructed again during the Kandyan period. The Kandyan influences are seen especially in sculptures and wall paintings

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which a Buddha’s footprint is carved has been discovered recently and now placed in a special shed for veneration. This carving is said to be older than 2000 years. According to experts, this could be the oldest of this kind of carving ever found in the area.

A stone carved Sri Pathul Gala( Lord Buddha’s foot print )had been discovered from a pond at the temple which has been dated to Anuradhapura era (between 3rd century BC – 1st century)

Click Image to Enlarge

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The stone slab had been lying there in the temple for centuries with no one noticing its value. It is said that both feet of the Buddha have been carved on the surface of the stone slab and between them is a carving of chatra (an umbrella or parasol) indicating that it belonged to the early Anuradhapura Period. The Buddha’s footprints found after the Dambadeni Period did not have the chatra carving. Later carvings had only a single footprint each. All these point to the antiquity of the Kosgoda Purana Rajamaha Vihara.

Ganegodella Rajamaha Viharaya had spread over 250 acres before the foreign invasions but the invaders have reduced this land to about 6 acres.

We returned home turning to the highway from Aluthgama with heavy rain until we reached Colombo by 8.00pm

(Information from incumbent priests and internet)

Thanks for reading.

Harsha Soysa

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

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

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

The wooden bridge over the Kalu River…..

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

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

Take the road to the right……

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

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

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

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

Going uphill not straight forward…..

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

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

Upper and middle sections……

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

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

Thanks for reading.

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

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

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

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

This was the status one month back…….

There are few streams to cross on the way….

Crossing another stream…

Crossing another stream…

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

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Thanks for reading…..

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

Day 01

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

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

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

The view around Watawala

Closer

Icing on the cake

Plenty of food for the birds and squirrels

Cotton-wool sky

Ana’s Nest

Around the garden

Beans growing high

Busy at work

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

Gorgeous colors

Peeping inside

Plenty more

Mummified Gas Gemba

Nature-made ponds

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

Most of the time it’s gloomy

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

Shannon Tea Factory in the far

Not missing these tiny details

Ready to plant

Looks as if done with a foot ruler

The mountains covered in the mist

Tea is the main player

Having a bath

These tanks are used for breeding fish

One of the buses that runs through the estates

Green in different shades against a gloomy background

Very tempting to have a bath

Closer

Not missing anything

Cascades in the middle of the estate

Sumptuous lunch

Here comes the mist

Covered the whole area in no time

One of the houses being built closer

Ideal for relaxing and having a nap

Mulligan Soup, full of all the nutrition

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

Day 02

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

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

Here comes the morning

Dew on the leaves

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

There she is, but only partially visible

Great colors

Like blue berry but not sure if edible

Very tiny ones

Picturesque

Not missing much

Wow

Great scenery

An airliner passed overhead with the typical smoke trail

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

The shadow of the mountain covering the half of the pic

Look at the patterns of the sky

Silhouette

More of the paintings

Some more

Another pond in the marsh

We headed straight ahead

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

Endless view

Here we are back again

Deep red

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

Templestowe Estate

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

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

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

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

Video 01

Video 02

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

Here we are

The lawn in front

The mighty bungalow with more than half a dozen bedrooms

Towards Watawala

Maha Bovitiya with her lusty purple

One of the rare blooms

Even the thorns are red

Bunch of yellow and whites

Closer look

Amazing colors

Will probably bloom in a day or two

Flower creepers running wild

How about a swing with a steaming cup of coffee

More vivid colors

Bright colors

“Hey dude, what you looking for?”

Some more beautiful but unknown plants

A group of them, the color of flame

Through the portico

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

Behind the mammoth bungalow

Fully organic

The standard guava

The bungalow beyond the lawn

Guess what? Mushrooms

Purple buds

Huge Sitha Pera, some call it Ambul Pera too

Full of fruits

Some distinctive colors

Before the misty hit

Greenly velvet mountains

Various plants throughout

Some more vivid colors

Ana having a word with the MD

Hadn’t seen this thorny Rambutan like fruits before

The bright orange

One of my best moments

Had always wanted to take a pic like this

The path bordering the garden

Here’s the first of many

Note the red feathers

A pair of them

Hiding away from me

Very cheeky fellows

Just plucking a fresh guava

Using the foot to help eat properly

I nearly twisted my neck imitating the fella

Here comes the mist

Just see the patterns made by bamboo pots

Heap of them

Interior of the bungalow

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

Where we had lunch

Long corridors

Map of the estate

The mist covered the faraway mountains

The color of love

Great medicine

Here are the ripe guavas I told you about

A big one

Bunch of them

Through the man-made arch

Some more parrot show

Just flew off before I took the pic

This was way up on a tree

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

Here is a clear one

Portrait

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

Screaming at me

Here Ana with Mahesh

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

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

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

Take care and enjoy the life while it lasts…

Au Revoir,

Sri.

Year and Month	October, 2014
Number of Days	Four Day Trip
Crew	3 adults between 35 and 45
Accommodation	Homes of friends
Transport	Bus, car
Activities	Helping a friend move house and exploring
Weather	Gloomy, rainy. No sun
Route	Colombo –> Trinco –> Kallarawa ( on the Pulmudai road, just past Tiriyaya turn off) –> Valathamalai site (less than 50km from Trinco)
Tips, Notes and Special remark	The main road is excellent. If there has been no rain for months, and you are in a 4WD, you may be able to drive closer to the site than we did. We parked on the main road and walked…or rather sloshed in the mud till we got to the hill! It’s not a long walk, it took us about 20 min from the main road to the top of the small hill. It’s not thick jungle but its deserted. No houses anywhere near. Plenty of evidence of wild life. Elephant droppings everywhere. Surprised a jackal …or rather it surprised us. Not sure who was more taken aback! Think it had come for the carcass in the water. The buffalos – though not quite wild – were far from friendly! Strongly suggest you go with a villager, unless you are very confident. There is always the issue of nidan horu. The whole area is absolutely clean. Think we picked up just one or two biscuit wrappers.
Author	NG
Comments	Discuss this trip report, provide feedback or make suggestions at Lakdasun Forum on the thread Nagathambarani : Naga and lady on a hill

This is not really a trip. It’s just one site. But thought of writing it up as it is one of those ‘hidden gems’ …and I have partiality towards it as I had been searching for it for awhile. Yes, one of those! And since it was not in Ashan’s zone he could not oblige has he so often does
First saw it as a small photograph titled ‘Nagathambarani, Tiriyaya’ in the book ‘Eloquence in Stone’ . ( Ashan renamed this book “gal potha” due to its size and contents!). This is the same book that gave us the clue to finding Budupatuna.

Followed up a few leads, but could not trace it. So mailed the Studio Times  (the publisher of the book) and got further information on its location and a tip on a potential guide.

We were in Trinco a few weeks back with a day to spare, so we went looking for Mr. Dayananda Manawaduge – the potential guide. The directions we had – just by the 47/1 culvert past 46th km post on the Pulmudai-Trinco road – proved to be spot on. And what a find! Mr. Manawaduge welcomed us to his home like long time friends, though we had never met before! He proved to be a mine of information on the area with an unending supply of stories about his growing up years in a village beyond Thiriyai, the multiple displacements and trauma of war and unexpected experiences of peace.   Pulled in to the conversation we almost forgot our target: Nagathambarani – the five headed naga carved on a rock.

You would need a guide for the simple reason that there are no real landmarks. If anything, I can only offer, look left when travelling along the Trinco – Pulmudai road, just past Kallarawa, between the 49th and 50th km post,  you can see a small hill. You need to head to the top of it. This hill is known as Valathamalay, we were told. The longer hill to the south that you see is ‘pansal kanda’ ie where Girihandu saye is.

The Valathamalay hill

What we found was a potentially large and unusual site. Believe it or not – I forgot to take my camera and had to learn my friend’s camera rather unsuccessfully.  Most of the photos given here are Gayathri’s.

Unusually this Naga stone is not carved by a water /irrigation site. It is right at the top of the little hill where you find a cluster of boulders.

Set in a cluster of rocks

Found! right on the peak

And for the first time, we saw a figure carved next to the Naga. It is clearly a female figure, in a posture similar to the ‘man and horse’ figure above the pond at Isurumuniya.

Female figure detail

Female figure

The thirnunoor (three lines in ash) has been drawn on the figures by Hindu devotees who come here for a special puja. The bulk of the white on the naga figure also seems to be a similar colouring. Apparently the naga image is a popular place of puja, especially with Hindus living overseas. They come here to fulfill vows and usually offer milk based preparations.

In addition to the white, there is a distinct bit of colour ( orange – red – white) in the groove of the naga at the bottom. So it must have been plastered and painted at some point in the past.

Detail – note the way the faces are turned and the expressions

What seems to be remnents of the original plaster and paint

The rocky peak with the naga and female carving seems to have been surrounded by buildings. There are steps leading right up to it ( below the steps nidan horu have been practicing their sub-human activities), and behind it is a low cave complete with kataram , remains of plaster, and gal andan. On the rocks that make up the cluster, there are lots of cuts and niches that indicate considerable construction.  And strewn all around, and down the slope of the hill, there are stone pillars, steps, paving stones, door niches, etc.

Cave with gal andan and traces of plaster

Remains of buildings

At the bottom of the hill – first signs that we were nearing the site

Behind the carving, drip ledges, cross beams

When we were climbing up we were so focused on finding the naga stone that we did not pause to explore the mash land we crossed at the foot of the hill. On the way back, we walked around and realised it was not just a marsh that sucked us in, but the remains of a pond – one that had been built up with rows of cut stone. Not unlike what you find in monasteries of the Anuradhapura period.  Something like a rala panawa. No restoration has been done, but the layout of the stones is clearly visible.

What used to be the pond at the base of the hill

Rocks forming the ralapanawa of the pond

But, this apparently was just a small source of water. The real wewa had been further up, with the bund being built across two hills that were visible through the trees from the peak where the naga carving was.

Where the tank is supposed to have been – zoomed

All the time we were walking, Mr. Dayananda kept a sharp look out, and since there was so much fresh elephant dung around it was not hard to figure out what he was peering at!  So when we saw a body in the water, we jumped to the conclusion that it was an elephant..a baby elephant..no, actually a full grown buffalo!

The jackal could not reach it

After we cleaned up – in not so clean water!

The day did not end there as Mr. Dayananda invited us home for a super lunch, and proceeded to extend the invitation further saying to come and stay whenever we want as there was plenty more to explore!!

Their lovely home

Next time you are in Trinco – do take a look. And the 16 dagaba rock  in Kuchchaveli  is also on this road.

Knuckles is fond of so many beautiful & isolated villages. The life of the people in it is blended with nature. Their food, tradition, occupation, Emotions, Romance etc is based on nature. That’s why I love knuckles. If I memorize the villages in knuckles; Meemure, Kaikawala, Dandeni kumbura, Glamuduna, Udagaldebokka, Pallegaldebokka, Kalugala, Rangala, Thangappuwa, Karambaketiya, kumbukgolla, Na Ula, Ranamure, Narangomuwa, Rambulkoluwa, Illukkumbura, Pitawala,Pathanegama, Rathninda, Ettanwala, Walpolamulla, Puwakpitiya, Poththatawala, Dhammanthenna, Kambarawa, Huluganga, Gomara, Bambarella are some of them. Pls. add if you remember more.

Out of those villages there is a favorite for me. It’s Ettanwala .Out of 7 visits so far to knuckles, I’ve been to Pitawala/Ettanwala for 3 times. Like Meemure for Sr, Ettanwala is becoming my own village ( MAGE GAMA) and I am not board with going again and again there. Adding to this I was able to pay a quick visit to the beautiful, isolated villages Pathanegama & Puwakpitiya. It’s worth spending few night there too in my future visits.

Beautiful Ettanwala

Beautiful Ettanwala (Another view)

Beautiful Puwakpitiya

Pathanegama

So I wanted to visit these beautiful villages and do the “copy cat” waterfall tour of Niroshan’s report
Two of my office mates also promised to join me and one of them was living in Rattota. So we decided to travel by bikes and to leave homes around 4.30 a.m. on 7th October. But when the trip day came it was pouring from 4.30 to 6.00 a.m. in Colombo. My friend who lived in Colombo told me he’s unable to join me because his mum was not happy with his leaving. Although rain is a miner factor to me( In fact a plus point ) when it comes to waterfall hunting ,the bad incidents happened to our friends recently, made my mind not to push the limits of him further to join my trip. So I went alone. The other funny fact was because of the absence of the other fellow my Raththota friend also refused to come. But I was not in a mode to give up and I strongly decided to do this trip and importantly as another lonely trip.

My Guide was Niroshan’s report and his creative map. My plan was to cover the waterfalls except Rathinda and Wedda Pani ella First day and do the rest next day

Niroshan’s Creative Map

So soon after the rain stopped around 6.00 a.m. I left home and reached Peradeniya around 9.30 ( Had breakfast at Nelundeniya) Normally I used to visit Dalada Maligawa in my Knuckles visits but had to skip it because of time factor. So I turned left from Peradeniya and reached Mathale via Katugasthota. From Mathele I purchased all the things I need and proceeded towards the North end of Misty Mountains ( Riverston ). My First attraction was Bambarakiri Ella

Broken Bridge and side view of the fall.( Not recommend to use bridge). I crossed the stream to reach other bank .But it’s risky too

Bambarakiri ella

Bottom part (View From the other bank)

Kuda Bambarakiri Ella which 100 m walk from other bank is now reduced to a tiny cascade. Also the beauty the Bambarakiri ella is adulterated due to recent earth slip. You can compare with the picture which was taken in 2012 http://trips.lakdasun.org/trip-to-riverston-pitawalapathana-and-maningala.htm

She is now not that gorgeous due to stones Remembering the truth of the world ( ANITHYA- Uncertainty )

Better shaped waterfall and good conditioned bridge in 2012

Then I re started the journey riding through steep roads. As usual surrounding view was fantastic. Although my heart tempted to visit Riverston and Pitawala pathana again my brain said “No You Must Focus on Pahtane gama falls “as that was my Goal.

My Bike and view from the road

Taken from Riveston

My Old Friend KALUPAHANA

This is not Sky. Giant mountain is almost covered with mist

Beauty

After passing Pitawala Pathana

I reached Pitawala village around 12.30 and directly went to wasantha’s Home. He warmly welcomed me. I kept my bags there and took a school bag of wasantha’s son and packed some biscuits, Buns and a bottle of water and started to move to Pathanegama to see the two hidden beauties. Wasantha was kind enough to prepare me some quick lunch (rice and two curries) .

But my main issue was that I couldn’t contact Ekanayaka Mama in the morning (Although he promised me to come to the paddy field atPathanegama , he wanted me to confirm my arrival before hand as he had to come from Puwakpitiya to Pathanegama using short cuts) But when I dial the phone no one was answering. I was in two minds but decided finally to give a try to reach the Paddy field at Pathangama

Directions : If you are coming from Riverston side you have to pass the Pitawala junction ( do not turn ) and go forward.( See the map). Then after passing few hundred meters from the 33rd km post you will see a clear path to left with a concrete slab ( Bokkuwa) . This junction is called Red Bana Junction .The road is very calm and beautiful but very difficult to travel with car. 4WD or bike is a must. Then after traveling about 2.2 km along the road you will find a Y junction where somewhat straight road will lead to the only house of a villager called Niamal. The left footpath will lead to the paddy field of Ekanayaka mama. Even with a 4WD you can’t travel in this road as it’s a footpath and so many obstacles are there. I came across with uneven stones, fallen trees and creepers, snakes, elephant Dung etc. Best option is walking but if you are heroic you can use a bike. You have to travel another 2km to reach the paddy field

Since I was alone and was traveling with a bike I had to stop the bike and remove the obstacles few times. But elephant Dung increased my heart rate. Although this time (October) elephants usually move to Wasgamuwa side, according to Ekanayaka mama there were few elephants roaming in the wild. After tremendous effort I reached the Hena ( Paddy field ) around 1.30 p.m. with some uncertainty in my mind . Since no body was seen In the paddy field I was bit frustrated but I remembered the familiar method of finding missing friends when we travel in wild. “The HOOT” .I made a big hoot and surprisingly the return hoot came in no time. He was a small thin fellow who was sitting and collecting some Kochchi at a far end. That’s why I initially didn’t notice him. So the Hoot saved me that time and I went towards him. Although he didn’t received the confirmation from me in the morning (I was little late to call him) he had come there by trusting my word given last night. That’s how they honor their word. He was bit surprised with my lonely visit.

The Hena/ Kumbura is an amazing place with the view of Mini world’s end of Pitawala Pathana and a Giant Mountain called Kawdagammana . It’s a perfect place to set a camp and spend a night. Meanwhile mind you about Forest Department restrictions too. But If you are with Ekanayaka Mama that won’t be a greater issue as he’s still owned this place although it’s in Buffer zone of Knuckles. There were few families when this village was owned by RED BANA Company but almost all the lands were taken to Government except Ekanayaka Mama’s Kumbura and the land of the a Villager called Nimal. But don’t know whether the conditions will change in future.

Scenic Path to Pathanegama

Junction you meet after coming along the path( after 2.2km). Clear straight road will lead you to the house of a villager called Nimal and foot path slanted to left will lead you to Hena of Ekanayaka mama. ( NOTE : This is taken in the return journey that’s why Ekanayaka mama is visible )

Pitawala Pathana Mini World’s End seen far away

Mini Worlds end

Hut which can accommodate 6-7 people

They gave me a Nasty look. Remembered me Sri’s Funny incident in Meemure

After few chat we moved towards Pathnegama falls. To reach first one you have to walk upwards and to reach second you have walk downwards from first falls. Although there were abandoned foot paths, they were not clear. So guide is much needed. If I say about Ekanayaka mama he was a perfect guide for me. Although he walked in front of me he had a fair estimation about my fitness and intentions. So many times I have warned or even scolded some guides who made me hectic by running behind them. But Ekanayaka mama was so calm. At a certain point he did some rituals by hanging some tree leaves. Most of the time we came across elephant dung and broken tree branches by them. He said “ Putha Ali nam Innawa eee” Although this made me little upset he made me laugh at times because of his constant shouting at elephants. Whenever he had to remove the tree branches across our path, he shouted “Ali haththa , Mun meka wanasanawa“. I think These Giants were very intelligent because they had put all these branches across the paths uses by man with an eye to block human entrance to their territory. I asked him “mama ithin Aliyek hamuwunoth Mokada karanne “ He replied “ Wena Monawa karannada Putha Maga erala yana eka misa. Mama Kande Bandara deviyanta barawela yana ena gaman mewa….Ai Nikamata karanaewa newei ong”. According to him they were not that notorious and he’d lived more than 40 years with them harmony. That eased my pressure.

So after nearly 45min hike we reached the Pathanegama falls 1. She was a tall isolated beauty. Only few have got the chance to see here beauty. As I knew he hadn’t got his lunch I served him with biscuits and Buns. After spending nearly half an hour there we went downwards to see the Pathanegama falls 2. It took us another 30minute or so. Pathanegama falls 2 was the best beauty in my whole trip .She is much taller and prettier than the fall 1.

Walking towards Pathanegama falls

Jungle and my perfect guide

Elephant dung

Stream we had to cross. Not much of water despite of recent showers

Pathanegama falls 1

Tall beauty. isolated

Bottom

Mamai Benai having snacks at the calm environment

Going down towards to reach fall No 02

Her First glimpse stolen my heart

Wow	Another angle

Top

Middle

Full view

Group photo again

After spending some time we went towards the Paddy field by another route. I would say we did a circular route for this journey. If you wish to visit only the Pathanegama falls 2 the path is bit easy. In our return journey Mama showed me the ruins of houses where few families used to live in that area. After coming to the Paddy field around 3.45 p.m.we relaxed for about 15 minutes. Around 4.00 Mama packed his Kochchi and got in to my bike and returned to the Red Bana Junction. I wanted him to join with me rest of the waterfalls. In fact he guided me to the Bambarun Gahana ella as it was in his village i.e. beautiful Puwakpitiya .

Coming back to the paddy field

Traces of early civilization

Mouth watering Kochchi……..Daiyaaaaaaaa

Good bye Pathane gama and Kawdagammana……..I’ll come again

We first came to the Puwakpitiya turn off ( left path around 35km post ) then rode towards puwakpitiya. After about 5 km we met the Bridge at Wambatuhena and had a quick visit to small cascade called Wambatu Hena falls. But water levels very low. Then we visited Sera Ella. She was also not in her full flow as compared to my previous visit in 2012.

Wambatuhena bridge. One has to get down left from the bridge to reach the bottom of the falls.

Poor looking Wambatuhena falls. But worth spending 5 minutes there in a rainy season as it’s on the main road.

Palama yata

Important junction after about 10 km ….left is the Puwak pitiya villege ( 2 km ) right path is towards Sera ella in Pothtatawela ( 1.5 km )

After about 500m you ‘ll reach this Y junction …TURN RIGHT

Land Mark & Foot path to Sera Ella ……..you have to get down for about 250m

Sera Ella with less water ………but it’s comparatively better than in dry season

So calm

Flowing down

Famous Funny face

Side view

Steps to the cave

Like Duwili Eli in kalupahana

After returning from Sera Ella we came to Puwakpitiya village with a hurry. Mind you Puwakpitiya is a very isolated as well as neglected village by politicians. They were given promises about electricity but they have been betrayed so far. So Puwakpitiya still doesn’t have electricity. While enjoying the beauty of the village we hurried to Bambarun Gahana ella . You have to walk nearly 1 km and then hike upstream for nearly 300m by dealing with rocky boulders. Mind you it can be dangerous to go upstream in a rainy season

The house where ekanayaka mama’s Mother lives . ( I parked my bike there)

Bridge. you can see distance view of Pathanegama fall no 1 from here

Temple . From here you have to take the right path

Beautiful stream

Paddy fields and surrounding mountains

From here it’s dealing with rocks

Bambarun Gahana ella with calm base pool.

Zoomed

I liked the calmness

Now it’s time to leave the beautiful Puwakpitiya. I regret as my stay was only for one hour

After visiting the fall we came back to the place where I parked my bike. Then settled Mama’s dues and said good bye to him by promising to come back again. It was 6.00p.m when I left the place. I had to hurry up as I had to travel nearly 20 kms km to Wasantha’s home at pitawala in dark.. It was like a dark curtain lead in front of my path and I was in alert about jumbos too. At about 36th km I helped a guy who was walking upwards towards pitawala by getting him in to my bike. I reached pitawala village by 6.40 p.m.

As usual Wasantha gave me the key of his rest house. It was more than enough for me. He told me to go and have a wash and he would bring dinner. But how can I taste the delicious meals and enjoy the nature alone. Mind you knuckles is not ideal for a lonely trip. I remembered a phrase of a great poem by an unknown author. It was about a returned solder after war.

“I Boiled the grain and make porridge
I pluck the mallows and make soup
Soup and Porridge were both ready
But there is no one to eat them with….”

So I kindly requested Wasantha and Ettanwala Ekanayaka Mama( with whom I did Duwili eli tour ) to take dinner with me and have a chit chat. They happily agreed in fact ekanayaka mama was delighted and replied “ Putha… Mata harima sathutui umbata mawa mathak unu ekata .”.

Wind was blowing. Whole environment was calm and quite .We three gathered around the table.
We were chatting about our past adventures and future tours to lesser known territories. Meanwhile I remembered the Kawi which he sang in Duwili eli trip and I requested him to sing few of them. Please note these are not poems about nature. These are poems of a teenager who was fed by this beautiful unspoiled nature. Ekanayaka mama wrote these poems to his love i.e his wife ( Nenda) When he was young “Those were true and real unlike so called “love “ in modern society . She had passed away two years ago but he’s still memorizing those beautiful days. As I am not quite sure whether it’s suitable for to post in this trip I’ll put here only one. If you are interested just p.m. me I’ll send more

Namal Suwanda Nithi Obagen Wihidewa!………………….
Obe Ruwa Mage Hise Nitharama Pipidewa!……………….
Namaya kisi dinaka Amathaka Nowewa!…………………….
Obe Sahakara(y) adara sudu Mama Wewa!………………

Interesting thing was they got married as a ran away in Moon light ( Handapana ) Their honey moon was spent in unspoiled pure jungle ( I’m talking about early 70’s ). Last two lines of another poem mentioned as this

Wadipura athi nisa watapita Naraka Lamai ……………
Oba mehi genenneth Sanda athi rayaka thamai……….

So it was a very fantastic night with all valuable conversations. He mentioned about Basnayaka too……..”Putha Wasanthai Basnayakai mata puthala wenne ( His relations) . Basnayaka koluwa hari Honda eka putha……..uuu tikak pissu natuwata okage papuwa hondai”……….after having dinner we went to sleep.

Early in the morning after having tea Wasantha and me went to see Rathninda falls and came back. After having breakfast we went towards Ettanwala village by bike. After seeing Wedda Peniella we wentto Ekanayaka Mama’s Home and spend some time while having a cup of tea.

Sun rise from Manigala end

Surrounding mountains

View from Wasantha’s cottage

Wasantha’s basic cottage

Started Rathinda falls tour with wasantha

Scenic bungalow close by .Not open to public

Rathinda Paddy fields

Rathinda falls upper part

One of my favourite guides Wasantha

There were many parts

Bottom Part

Lonely Traveler

Pitawala paddy fields and Manigala

Thelgamu Oya

Wedda Peni Ella with Thelgamu oya bridge

Wedda peni ella

Wedda Peni ella seen from bottom

zoomed

View from Ettanwala peddy field

scenic

Village covered with mountains

More views

Loved the view

Basnayaka’s Home

Then we returned to Wasantha’s home again. After saying Good bye to Wasantha and his family I came home via Pallegama, Bakamuna, Dambulla,Kaduwela

In my return journey

Scenic Path

Thelgamu oya closer to Forest Department Bungalow

He was hiding from me in my whole trip but showed off at Bakamuna-Dambulla Road He said “Hey HARI Please Come Back Again “. I replied “YES SIR “ and came back home with Beautiful Memories

Thanks for reading

I woke up one fine morning having spent the previous night at the base of Maragala Mountain Range that is probably one of the longest ranges in Sri Lanka, in Monaragala. I know you must be wondering how on earth I ended up in Monaragala, especially at the base of a mountain range. It’s because I’ve started my story in the middle. I can hear you groan with disappointment wondering what on earth is going on here. “What this mad wonderer is up to now?” you are asking yourselves, aren’t you? Well, just take it easy coz I’m not gonna keep you out of this wonderful experience.

I started my journey the previous day morning, around 3am and after a mixed bag of a day, ended up here at Monaragala sleeping off the weariness of the journey. Well, that’s all about the previous day for now. You can read more about it and the next day in the next report. For now, let’s concentrate on the present and see where I’m gonna take you this time. Waterfalls – one of the sweetest words in English. My heart starts beating faster and leaps with joy every time I hear that word. “You look like the cat that got the milk”, my friends say when they see me. It’s something beyond a passion for me.

It was first week of Jan 2015 when I did my last waterfall hunt and since then there was nothing much when it comes to waterfalls. I had to be content with other attractions while the rains played havoc with all of us. The patterns of the rains have shot to hell making it extremely unreliable and unpredictable. Is it the El Nino or the Global Warming to be blamed? I’ve no idea but I can feel we are heading towards the hell if anything like that exists. If you don’t know what a hell really is, just listen to the Red Indian Leader Seattle for a second.

I’ve shared this before but going to share it again. This quote from Chief Seattle is so good and relevant for the present that it should be put up in big bold letters on every notice board, every household and every office building.

“Only when the last tree has been cut down,

Only when the last river has been poisoned,

Only when the last fish has been caught,

Only then you will realize that money can’t be eaten.”

It is so good and I’ve put it up here for you in bold letters. Hopefully the powers that be will realize this bitter truth before it’s too late, before we are in a position where there would be no turning back.

While I was pondering over the day’s prospects I could hear Ashan shuffling about in the dark. Time was just past 5am and I remembered we agreed to make an early start. So with an effort managed to drag myself out of the reverie and get ready in a very short time. Our plan was to cover the Bibila-Passara stretch of the A5 which is full of waterfalls thanks to Ibban Oya, Kumbukkan Oya and many other waterways. Well I guess, I don’t have to introduce my guide for the day to you, do I? Ashan must’ve been a one of those surveyors in his last life especially in Uva Province. There’s very little that has escaped his tentacles. So what better person than him to be my guide?

I will tell more about the significance of this journey for Ashan in the next journey. Right now, we’re hungry and thirsty so must go find something to eat in Bibila which is about another 20km away. Thankfully the roads were in good condition save for the causeways that brought our intestines to our mouths when the vehicle jumped over them. Ashan knows nothing about ‘slow-and-steady-method’ when it comes to travelling and it’s no different in driving either. We covered the distance in a short time and my stopped for one of the lousiest breakfasts I’ve ever had during my travels. Oh dear, what would I have given for those egg sandwiches, fish cutlets, boiled cassava with hot chilies, etc. we had during our travels to HP with Ana and Co.?

Tour Highlights: 

1. Pahanawala aka Panawala Ella, Bibila.
2. Mudiyala Kandura, Mudiyala.
3. Naya Kandura Ella aka 32 Ella, Malaputuwala, Alawaththagoda.
4. Arawakumbura Dunhinda Ella, Arawakumbura.
5. Besamwala Bathing Place and Cascades, Yapamma, Hopton.
6. Rodakadanguwa Ella, Peessagama.
7. Peessa Ella, Peessagama.
8. Adi 60 Wala Ella, Hopton.

Ok, are you ready? Let’s head along Bibila-Passara Road aka A5 which is one of the longest and key highways in Sri Lanka but probably one of the worst A Grade roads as well, especially the stretch we’re gonna cover today. We’ve got the best mode of transport for the road, a Mitsubishi Jeep which is known among Ashan’s friends as the CTB Bus. Ok, hop in and hold tight.

Pahanawala Ella aka Panawala Ella.

We drove towards the Unagolla RMV where Hitihami Mudiyanselage Rate Raala killed the then British Agent of Uva Province, Sylvester Douglas Wilson on 16 Sep 1817 during the Kandyan Rebellion. Even today you can see the memorial placed just before the temple right by the road and a statue of Rate Raala at the entrance to the temple grounds. There’s so much history buried in Uva-Wellassa area. In fact Wellassa means Wel Lakshaya or One Hundred Thousand Paddy Fields where they supplied the whole country during the fights against Elara by our King Dutugemunu the Great. Would you like to see a few pictures?

Here’s the memorial

Close up

Some note in Sinhala too

We then reached the point where we had to get downhill to the left about 50m to reach the top of Pahanawala Ella. This is located just before the 185^th km post and about 4-5km from Bibila. Pahanawala Ella has got her name due to the shape of her base pool as it is similar to a lamp. Some even call it Panawala Ella too. She’s being fed by the Ibban Oya which is a main tributary to the mighty Gal Oya that ends at Senanayake Samudraya having travelled through the Gal Oya National Park and creating a mysterious rocky formation popularly known as “Makare”.

There’s another gorgeous lady created by Ibban Oya some way upstream in Arawakumbura Village known as Arawakumbura Dunhinda Ella. Oh hold it right there coz don’t get too excited and start wondering about her now. Right now, let’s go see this sexy lass known as Pahanawala Ella and I promise I’ll take you to the Arawakumbura Dunhinda Ella little later. So be patient folks and be careful when you get down as the path is slippery and keep an eye out for the tiniest surveyors in the whole world. Ok, for those who don’t know about the smallest surveyors in the world, they’re known as Leeches where they keep coming to you measuring the distance between you and them. You don’t trust me, do you? Wait till you see them if you haven’t already.

We arrived at the top of this beauty whose beauty is somewhat tarnished by an irrigation canal by diverting water. I couldn’t be cross with that coz these areas get very little water by rain and the farmers need every drop they can get hold of to grow their plants and feed the 20+ million hungry mouths in the mango-shaped island. She was falling in two sections on either side with a space about 10ft between them. From where we stood we could see the right hand side but not the left hand one so Ashan kept going slowly towards the left parallel to the water stream to get a better look.

In the meantime I was busy taking this beauty in the early morning while sun bathed the green leaves slick with water from the previous night. The smell of the wet earth carried by the soft wind went through my nostrils all the way to the brain and it made my hair sit on their roots. Not that I have a lot of hair though. After a few pictures and admiring this beauty I headed along the general direction where Ashan went but found him already snapping from the downstream about 20m from the falls. Before I go off my head and run towards him, see a few pictures of her.

Here we are

She’s cute, isn’t she?

Water overflowing from the irrigation canal

Need to go down for a better look

The main part falling to the base and look at the rock formations

If only we could get there

Better view

Time to get down

I felt elated and hurried along the slippery rocky surface before finding a rope knotted to a huge wine to get down to the water about 12ft below. It was just an ordinary coconut mat rope but had held Ashan’s weight. So I knew it’d hold me just fine as Ashan was probably one and half times heavier than I am. I was for the first time glad that Hari wasn’t with us coz he’s easily three times my weight and the rope would’ve broken like a dry twig had he put even the weight of his arms.

I managed to get down with no incident and joined Ashan. “Oh my my” was the first thing that came to my mind and I’d spoken it out loud coz Ashan looked at me bewildered wondering if I might have injured myself. She looked absolutely sensational and even Ashan who’s roamed around Uva as if in a trance not leaving any stone unturned, hadn’t been to the base before. So we both enjoyed like a pair of cats that got the milk. The overhanging branches of a tree added a great mixture of green to the white of the falls and the muddy greenish river with metal grey stones doing the finishing touches.

A picture painted in heaven and sent down to the earth in a wet canvas. Oh baby, such beauty is unheard of and unseen before. We spent as long as time permitted, even though could easily have stayed the rest of the day, and got back on the path uphill maneuvering with a difficulty up the rope which is strictly off limits to Hariya. Ok, while we get back to the road and get going, you folks enjoy this beauty. I’ve been very liberal with the pictures and don’t forget to enjoy the videos as well coz you’ll find Ashan doing a commentary (probably for the first time in his one and half centuries travels) as well.

There a better view

Close up

Base pool and see the garbage collected at the end

Where we had to climb down

Greenish tinge to the water

Look, she’s trying to hide

No hiding from us baby

I’m afraid these pictures don’t do enough justice to her beauty

See both sections?

There goes Ibban Oya in search of Gal Oya

Time to go

Ready for it

There he goes

Mudiyala Kandura Cascades

This is something where I needed the expertise of my guide and he knew where to go without me having to waste so much of time asking here and there. We travelled for about 1km from Pahanawala Ella and turned to the right at the 184/4 Bokkuwa (Don’t I just love these signs coz it’d simply be impossible for you to find your way in the future when you go to see these beauties). This is the road that goes to Kotagama where there’s another famous bathing place but we didn’t attempt to go there as our primary target was the silken beauties of Uva.

We travelled until we came to a paddy field to the left. There was also a narrow road adjoining it to the left with a rudimentary bus stop right by the main road. We stopped the Jeep and started walking and the lush greenery of the paddy fields were to our right and in the far distance appeared the mountain range of Madolsima beyond which lies Kohonawala where I’ve seen my quota of share. You will see the notice of Mudiyala Grama Niladhari’s on your way and keep going for about 600m on this road till you reach a mega site of a gem mine at the end of the paddy fields across the stream.

There was a small dam built to diver the water towards the village and we walked along it and hit the stream. Oh on our way along the cement wall there came a dog running from the mine and met me in the middle. The wall was so narrow and there was no way he could’ve walked past me so without stopping to slow he jumped right into the water and swam past me and got back on the cement wall. Gosh what a sight it was and we both couldn’t stop laughing.

We then walked along the stream and despite heavy rains it was easy to walk without getting my shoes wet. The mine to our right has been working for a long time and the workers were just getting up for the day’s work. The rocks were slippery and we sang “Hickery Dickery Dock – Slippery Slippery Rocks” as we went along.

We walked upstream for about 400m till we reached the first cascade of Mudiyala Kandura. She was small and falling into a tiny base pool. Had I come alone or with someone else, we’d have turned around here but Ashan said the main cascade is about a short distance upstream so we climbed more rocky boulders before arriving at the main one that fell in two sections.

However the lighting was not so great due to the thick roof cover so after a short stay we retraced our steps. On the way we found several pits which had been abandoned carelessly after digging for gems. The destruction they’ve done to the environment is so much I wonder why no authorities take any action against them. Gosh, we need to free our government organizations from the clutches of the corrupt and ignorant politicians as soon as possible before we fall below South Sudan’s levels. Ok, here are the pictures.

Paddy fields I told you about

Another sign post

Well, some sort of typical village thing I guess

Towards the edge of Madolsima

Not ready yet

No walls to put up notices

The path goes on

Here’s the water stream

Just near the first cascade

There she is and I’m sorry about the quality of the pics due to poor lighting

Closer look

Here the elder sisters

Even she looks better in real life

Base pool

Portrait

Time to go and we later heard that there are bigger ones upstream but very difficult to reach them

Back on the path

Their life goes on

Naya Kandura Ella aka 32 Ella

We got back to the A5 and drove up towards Alawaththagoda. At the 182/6 Bridge which is located in Malaputuwala Village we stopped the Jeep and went to the water stream to the right. This bridge is one of the few newly done bridges on this road with ready-made materials and located between 31^st and 32^nd Mile Posts. As a result this falls is also known as 32 Ella in addition to her real name Naya Kandura Ella.

As soon as you get to the stream, you will see the dam built to collect the water and then divert it to Bibila using a huge and long pipeline. Please be kind enough not to litter around this area or relieve yourselves as we shouldn’t be making the people in Bibila sick with diarrhea or hepatitis. Ashan said that Monaragala suffered a major outbreak of Hepatitis as a result of a few line houses scattered closer to the water supply of the city. So be extra careful not only when you go along the rocky path but also with the things you do. About 100m from the road you’ll find this sensual girl so close to the main road but cleverly hidden from the prying eyes.

She was in full flow and we managed to get closer without slipping on the rocks (remember our song, Hickery Dickery Dock – Slippery Slippery Rocks). Nobody travelling on the road would know such beauty existed so closer to them unless they knew about her. I fell in love with the moment I saw her. The base pool looked deep and was large but you’re requested not to attempt to bathe here. Well, you should not attempt to bathe at any such places unless you’re absolutely sure they are safe or villagers use them. Remember, your safety comes first and you must get back in one piece to tell your story of glory not a tragedy.

We stayed looking her over until Ashan nudged me and reminded that we have a long way to go and the rains will come around 2pm. Gosh he should’ve joined the Met Dept. instead of choosing medicine coz as it turned out the rains came exactly at 2pm. So we have to go see them before it rains and jeopardize our chances of seeing the ladies in their new costumes. Until then, you guys enjoy the pictures.

The bridge I told you about

Just got to the stream and the path to the falls is to the left from here

There she is all dressed up

So beautiful

Wide angle

Portrait

The top of her

The mid-section

And the base pool

No bathing please

Time to go sweet heart

But one pic with me

If you can make out why I took this pic, please let me know

Where we had some tea

View towards the East

Arawakumbura Dunhinda Ella

We had a cup of plain tea and some roti from the shop near the bridge before starting our journey. After a short distance we passed the district boundary of Monaragala and Badulla. Just as you pass you’ll see a signage put up by the Uva Provincial Tourism Ministry to the left saying Arawakumbura Ella. It looks like the Uva PC had taken some trouble to promote these beauties to the visitors even building some paths and observation points. So thank you for whoever initiated these and hopefully they will continue to improve on them. However, please make sure you leave the nature unharmed in the process and try to curb illegal activities such as logging and mining.

No. 180/2 Bokkuwa is located here as well so you simply can’t miss this beauty even if you wanted to. From the sign, take the path downhill which goes through a private property of Pepper Creepers and Areca Nut Trees but the owners won’t mind so long as you behaved yourselves. You can see the falls in the distance about 300m away. Despite the distance, it offers a full portrait view of the falls and there’s a road about 500m from the signage that goes to the left where you can use to go to the top of the falls.

We even saw a lady drying her clothes on the top so had to take extra precautions to avoid the bright red and yellow clothes playing silly with the pictures. Hope you can remember I told you before at Pahanawala Ella that this lass is also borne by the Ibban Oya before joining with Gal Oya. Well, this is some fall coz she’s tall and beautiful.  There was ample water thanks to the rains and we enjoyed her to the fullest except the clothes drying at the top of her. Look at these and tell me what you think. Isn’t she adorable and kissable?

The signposting, thanks a lot Uva PC

Just there is this

Oh look at her

Such beauty!

See the lady on top in red?

The head and shoulders

Lower body

She was majestic and just imagine when she’s in her full flow

Another look at the top

Time to go baby

Besamwala Bathing Place and Cascades

Our next stop was at Besamwala which is one of the many bathing places in Uva where one can enjoy a cool dip in safety. When coming from Bibila, you’ll find a notice (thanks to the Uva PC) announcing the place to the right. This is about 3-4km before Lunugala Town. Travel this road for about 2km before arriving at a bridge where you need to stop the vehicle (if you come by one) and take the steps just passing the bridge to the right.

The road is in good condition but extremely narrow. There’s hardly any point where two vehicles can go past each other and we were lucky to have not come across any. The water levels were healthy and there were two cascades formed by the stream. The bathing spot is on top of the first one and at the base of the second cascade. The water levels of the pool had risen making it probably more than 5ft in depth but still it looked a safe place for a bath.

You will feel the cool water inviting you to shed the clothes and jump right in but we resisted the temptation. There was nobody there leaving the whole place for us completely and we got to enjoy this beauty to the fullest. The good thing was even Ashan hadn’t seen such healthy water levels before so this was an unforgettable journey for him as well. I know you’re getting impatient to see this place so here are the pictures. Now don’t start blaming us for not having a dip in such a grandeur place. We still have a long way to go and the time is catching up with us. We could see the black clouds coming from the mountains in Madolsima threatening to break open the sky.

It is a very safe place

Where we parked the vehicle

This is across the bridge

What are those?

Read carefully

Lower base pool, note not here where you can have a bath

Lower cascade with a canoe-shaped base

Portrait

Narrow pool

Going up to the main bathing place

The lower cascade from the top

The top cascade

Closer look

Another angle

Here’s the pool, large and about 5ft deep towards the falls

Time we went

Rodakadanguwa Ella

Now I know what’s going in your mind. What a weird name for a waterfall, isn’t it? I’ll tell you what a villager said about how the name came about. Apparently one of the estate managers, an Englishman had fallen off his horse cart near this place giving it the name and we just followed suit and called her the Rodakadanguwa Ella. In fact she’s a series of cascades that fall in majestically on her way. She’s borne by the Kumbukkan River and further downhill makes the mighty Peessa Ella. As soon as I heard the name I remembered my grandmother using the names “Padanguwa”. The old folks used this word to describe clothes which had been used many times and are at the verge of falling apart. They used the same thing for old rope sacks “Goni Padanguwa”.

Having resumed our journey we came to the junction where there’s a prominent sign board announcing Peessa Ella is 5km away to the left. Without a second thought we turned to the well carpeted road. Driving downhill we saw a waterfall in the distance to the left and Ashan exclaimed that she could be the Yodakadanguwa or something as he’d heard about her during his previous visit but not got the time to pay a visit.

So we stopped by the main bridge across Kumbukkan Oya to ask one of the villagers what it was. He confirmed it was the Yodakadanguwa (well it can be misheard as Yodakadanguwa when in fact it is Rodakadanguwa) and showed us the road. One needs to travel for about 2.5km along the road and take a left uphill concrete paved road in front of a transformer. You then have to travel for another 2km along this road (just note that there are odd patches where no concrete is available which can be awkward for low clearance vehicles) till the Peessagama Grama Niladhari Office with a small playing ground.

Unless yours is a 4WD or 3WD, this is where you gotta leave your vehicle and start walking along the wide but typical estate road full of jutting out rocks and pot holes. We got the directions from one of the villagers who said it’s about 500m and then we’ll have to get to the water through the Mana bushes which can be very vicious and scrape you so bad you’d wish you were dead. Always make sure to cover your body with long cargo pants and long-sleeved T-shirts if you travel through the Mana bushes. Also keeping a thick stick about 4ft in length in front of you as a shield to bend the plants as you move forward is a good idea.

We first of all lost the way as we went too far and had to turn around. So let’s not get into that now. About 500m from the playground you will come to a small drain across the road and your best bet is to follow the tree patch along the stream to the main water body which is about 150m downhill but can feel like half a km. However we made the mistake of approaching it a bit farther away through the Mana and managed to have a few dozens of the thorns embedded in our exposed skin. They hurt like hell but finally we walked across instead of downhill and met the tiny stream and followed the slippery rocks.

With a greater difficulty we reached the water and were mesmerized by what we saw. All the pain and trouble we took was worth it. The whole river flowed down through the rocks making a huge roar as if a Boeing 747 was taking off in full throttle. Unfortunately we got to the top of the falls and there was no way down to the base. If there was slightest the opportunity, we would’ve attempted it but the risks were enormous. So we took a few pictures and turned around. Here are some of the pictures for you to see but they don’t say half the story.

The signage just by the A5

Granite walls where we asked for directions

The place where we reversed and got back

Ok, if you can make out the place in future

Butterfly

Where we got to the water and note the diversion

Beginning to fall down

There she goes

The river goes on to make Peessa Ella

The best view we could get of the upper cascades

She is tall and has many cascades, need to come from along the river

Rocky outcrop made it difficult to get to the base

Let’s get going

Mushrooms among leeches

Lonely road

Already looking gloomy

In the distance

Close up

Peessa Ella

We got back into the vehicle and drove slowly and saw the mountains to the right rising with clouds covering them. We wanted to see if we could get a proper view of the whole set of cascades and stopped about 200m away and got down. The view was ok but not satisfactory so Ashan got on top the Jeep and took a few decent pictures. Here are some pictures of the opportunity.

He couldn’t resist it any longer

There a better vantage point

One of the pics he took with my camera

See the tiny cascades falling beautifully

Zoomed in view

Another

Time to get down and go

We then got back on the main road and drove towards the falls. Like Rodakadanguwa Peessa Bride originates thanks to the raging Kumbukkan Oya and falls almost 100m right down to the base. About 5.5km from the A5 we arrived at the point but you can easily miss it coz there’s no sign near the steps. There’s a U bend after 5.5km and this is where you gotta stop and look for the steps to the right. Keep your eyes peeled off so that you won’t miss it. Someone had made an attempt to carve a sign in Sinhala on the bark of the tree at the head of the steps. The steps had been recently done and in good condition. You have to climb down for about 300-400m before arriving at the viewing point.

I remembered the path to Sera Ella and then Kirindi Ella. However this was well maintained compared to the Kirindi Ella and I always wonder why the relevant local government bodies introduce a ticketing system to enter these places. The money earned from the visitors could be used to pay the wages of the people employed and maintain the paths. However, it’s not an easy task as the person working at the ticket counter can easily charge the visitors without issuing tickets (very much like public car parks in Colombo) making the whole project collapse.

We walked and found the Hydro Power Plant about halfway down. Well, I’m not gonna talk about my hatred to these things now coz it serves no purpose. The water stream which had been diverted to the power house was gushing through the concrete channel at such speeds I was scared it would blast the whole canal into million pieces. Passing that we came to the point where the concrete canal has been sloped to get the water from the top and here it was another rich waterfall even though she was artificial. Ashan named her Peessa Canal Falls.

From here the path downhill was steeper very much like Kirindi Ella and whoever built it had done a superb job trying to keep the nature around it intact. It was a pleasure to walk on and we could hear the Peessa Manamali (Bride) falling down with a huge roar. I was beginning to lose patience and my heart started doing summersaults beating faster than a Concorde Jet. We got down to find another group of people waiting at the platform and I ran past them and stopped dead the moment I saw this tantalizingly beautiful Mother Nature’s creation.

“Oh my gosh, how on earth I stayed all this time without coming to see this one?” I asked myself. She was falling in one long jump sending millions of tiny water droplets spraying the surrounding. I wish I could hug her. The color of her was like the milk drawn in the morning from a young cow after her calf had had his share. Ok, now you would want to know how on earth you’re supposed to know the color of that. Me and my idioms just don’t worry. She was pure white and this long white silken cloth fell seamlessly over the rocky wall and scattered on the ground like a glass.

This is not a sight to be missed so folks, you gotta make the journey especially during the rainy season and go see the beauty of our country has in store for us. There’s no such place on earth like this tiny island where you can practically experience anything worth having. We madly took pictures all over and did another documentary. Ashan is improving I can tell  you in his narrations but not quite in the class of Hari and Tony but he’s getting there and needs more practice. Ashan pointed out a rocky cave about one third from the top behind the water and said that it could be accessed from a different path. Maybe another day and time I decided. So I’m not gonna keep you guessing anymore. Here’s the beauty of the Mother Nature.

The scratching on the tree bark

The steps built

View towards Monaragala, can see the falls towards the right among the greenery

Close up

The water flow after the power house

In the middle you see is the Maragala Range in Monaragala and I stayed near the base towards the left

We followed the trail

Just after the power house

There it is, and the water gushing through that narrow gorge was ferocious

“Peessa Canal Falls” according to Ashan, this is diverted from the top

It was fearsome

Getting down along the path which is well maintained

Looking back, reminds me of Sera Ella

Keeping the natural beauty intact

The cave complex

See the falls

Close up

Platform

We are here

Oh beauty!

Her little sister to the right

The top

Below

Rocky base

Milky way

Simply stunning

Tree branches across making it more beautiful

If it wasn’t for the railing, we’d have fallen over

You can’t get enough of her

Here we are

Trying to lean on her

Ashan the Caveman inspecting a prospective shelter

There he goes

Likens and moss

Going up was very exhausting

Was waiting for us

Old signs still along the road

Adi 60 Wala Ella

We then got back to our vehicle and uphill journey was really tiring and we were battered by the strenuous hike to see the Rodakadanguwa and as Ashan wisely pointed out if we had done the Peessa first we wouldn’t have dared going downhill to see the Rodakadanguwa. So if you’re faced with two difficult situations, it’s advisable to choose the most difficult first coz the less difficult one will look more appealing after the strenuous one.

We then drove towards the 19^th Mile Post Junction in Hopton along A5. There’s a tuk-tuk park and a shop on the left side with the name, “Ayingaran Stores?” (I got the spelling right so don’t worry about it). From this junction, take the concrete paved road to the right and go about 1.5km before coming to a point where you can see the upper section of the falls in the distance and then start walking. Ashan has sweet memories of this place where he’d been crawling along the stream to the waterfall about 1km when he should’ve taken this road. What to do, you sometimes learn the lessons in the hard way. If you wonder why I picked Ashan as my guide, you now know why. Where he’d had to work like a slave to get to the falls, I was going in the comfort of the front seat of a Mitsubishi driven by my driver cum guide.

Unfortunately about 1km up, we came across an obstacle where the road was blocked by the lorry unloading sand. So we left the Jeep and started walking. The clouds looked menacingly down at us as if to warn us. We walked fast and found a group of kids hanging around and as we passed one of them called out “Photo”. So we stopped and got them to pose for a picture and promised to publish it on the newspaper.

Afterwards, we walked the last bit to the base of the upper part of the falls. Ashan had reached the bottom before but we could get a decent view of the bottom section from the path itself. On the other hand we were exhausted and hard pressed for time to go see her from the base. Instead having pictured her we reached the base of the top half.

If you wonder why she’s called Adi 60 Wala Ella, it’s coz of the depth of the base pool which is according to the folklore about 60ft in depth. This hasn’t been verified by anyone so you’d have to go with the flow. Ok, enough of my ranting about, here are the pictures. Hurry up coz we need to get back before the heavens open up and drench us.

The boys who asked to be photographed

Pink and Blue houses

Now the sky is really angry with us

The falls in the distance

Lower part where Ashan had crawled up to last time

Zoomed in view

Surrounding

Surrounding

The top where we could easily get to

Portrait

The top

Base

Sensual, ain’t she?

Do you think the depth is 60ft?

Another angle

Goes downstream to create the lower section

Time to go sweet heart

Rare beauties

50:50 Goat, black and white – In fact Ashan had to imitate their sound of “Bahhhhhhhhhhh” to get the bugger to pose

Ancient signs still on the road

Started raining just as we called it a day

As soon as we were safely inside the Jeep, the rain started and kept up till we got to Passara where according to Ashan harbors the highest number of Piaggio tuk-tuks. Oh Passara is Ashan’t most favorite town as well. He simply loves it and even when he hears the name Passara, he looks very eager and hopeful. Remember to ask him why he loves Passara so much if you come across him. I won’t be responsible for the aftershocks though.

We had lunch at Passara and bought some provisions for dinner and headed towards Dewathura, another remote but unbelievably beautiful village in Sri Lanka hidden behind Namunukula. We’d spend our night in this beautiful village before exploring what she has to offer. Well it’s gonna be the next report when I’ll be telling you about my Day 1 and Day 3.

Well, folks, I hope you like the story I told you. It felt so good to be back with the veiled princesses and I enjoyed it to no end. Wait for the next report where I’ll bring more of them to you and some of them only seen through Ashan’s eyes before. Thanks to my guide, I managed to make a grand tour in Monaragala and Badulla.

Well, I’ll see you soon and until then take care and keep travelling. This is Sri saying good bye for now.

Hi folks! Hope you are ready for the next episode of Waterfall Hunting in the Uva Province. I hope you enjoyed the Day 2 and I’m going to tell you about the Day 1 & 3.

Not seeing a waterfall for some time is like living without an aim for me. I simply adore them and when it starts raining out of nowhere my mind starts to protest. Thankfully there is no Lipton Circus in my mind otherwise I would have had to call on the riots cops with water cannons, tear gas and batons to restore the law and order.

Now the rain patterns are shot to pieces making it extremely unstable and not reliable. However the downpours that started in late September seems to have more power than I thought. As a result one of my much awaited tours had to be brought forward. The waterfalls in Uva had been evading me for years mainly my focus was on elsewhere and they were too far away. I just wanted to make sure I cover as many of them as possible in one solid journey but it didn’t seem to come anytime soon.

Suddenly the rains appeared and I got tempted as usual. So I decided to seek professional advice before making the 250+km journey. When it comes to Uva, there is nobody better than Ashan. I wonder if there is a place where the fellow hasn’t been in the area. So I called to find him still honeymooning in Mullaittivu. He promised to get back as soon as he went back to Monaragala while I tried to get someone to join me.

Most of them were too busy but I was hopeful about Shareez who had come back to Sri Lanka on holiday and was ready to go for a grand journey. Last time I managed to take him to see Asupini Ella. Unfortunately he pulled out at the eleventh hour due to personal commitments leaving me in the forlorn hope that something miraculous would come by. As a matter of fact a magical thing happened. Ashan’s planned exploration to Maduru Oya got cancelled and he agreed to play the guide for me on Saturday and Sunday leaving me to fend off for myself on Friday. Something was better than nothing so I prepared in a couple of hours to leave on the wee hours of Friday.

Tour Highlights: 

1. Wisari Ella, Hunuketiya.
2. Elle Wala Ella, Randeniya.
3. Kaluwala Ella aka Ice Peella Ella, Wellawaya.
4. Buduruwagala, Wellawaya.
5. Habaraththawa Cascades, Dewathura.
6. Kandahena Cascades, Dewathura.
7. Aradunu Ella, Passara.
8. Pareiyan Ella, Badalkumbura.
9. Menik Ganga Dunhinda Mini Falls, Badalkumbura.
10. Menik Ganga Dunhinda Ella, Badalkumbura.

Day 01

The Badulla bus took off slower than I wanted and my attempts to fall asleep were turned out to be futile. The sun peeped around the corner when we reached Balangoda. From there falling asleep was simply impossible coz of the gorgeous range of mountains to the left from Pettigala towards Kalupahana where Wangedigala, Balathuduwa and Gon Molliya stood proudly above the rest. Sweet memories of Bambarakanda and Nagrak came flooding to my stream of thoughts. Boy, have I enjoyed them!

I kept my eyes peeled for Brampton Falls and Surathali Ella just to get an idea about the water levels. Passing Belihul Oya what I saw pained my heart to no end. It was nothing extraordinary but a small stream slowly going downwards. “Where on earth all the water had gone?” I wanted to scream. Then came two major heartbreaks one after the other. Brampton Falls looked sad and no wider than a coconut tree. Surathali had lost her mischievous behavior and slid down the rocky crevice as if she didn’t care anymore for attention.

I was getting frantic and almost jumped out to return to Colombo. “Have patience” the calm side of my brain said. “Get the hell outta here fast” the panicky side screamed in the back of my head. I took a deep breath and weighed the options and decided to listen to the calm side. “You will be sorry” the impatient side mocked me. I’ll just go do what I’d planned to see today and return if it turned out to be hopeless, I decided and sat back to get a rest.  Finally after a long journey I reached B’Wela just after 8.30am. Without wasting any more time, I got into a Wellawaya bus and settled. Without even my knowing, I’d fallen asleep and missed seeing the Bambaragama Ella too. When I got up, we were passing the turn off to Kurullangala.

Wisari Ella

I’ll give you the directions first. Hunuketiya is about 14km from Wellawaya in Uva Karandagolla area. There is also a sign board put up by the Uva PC. Wisari Ella is on the Hunuketiya-Kurugama-Bambaragasyaya Road about 3km from Hunuketiya junction. Best method of transport is to hire a tuk-tuk from the junction. If you go in your own vehicle, by a car, you can go up to Kurugama village or with a high ground clearance vehicle all the way to Bambaragasyaya. There is also a single bus operating between Wellawaya and Kurugama (No. 998) but couldn’t get the exact times.

I did the sensible thing on Ashan’s advice and hired a tuk-tuk. The driver was a friendly person called Ranga and we drove up to the last house where you have to start walking along an irrigation canal for about 400m. The path is now well paved and easy to reach the falls. We met one Mini Hydro Power Plant and Ranga informed that it is now redundant after the main power supply came to the area and he went onto say that the village used to have three such power plants. However all of them have been made redundant since the arrival of national grid. Hurrah!!! I felt like dancing.

We could also see the rocky hill where Kurullangala is. The memories of our back-breaking journey in the recent past sent a shiver down my back. Ranga said that there’s even a path from the top of the Wisari Ella to the Rakkiththakanda Cave Temple where we went last time before the hike. Project sites of Uma Oya could be seen in the distance and the water in the streams has turned into an unusual white color after the ammonia mixed with it as a result of tunnels dug out to take water for the Uma Oya Project. That was quite visible even to the naked eye.

We got to the falls in no time but what I saw made me cry. There was very little water in her as if coming from a blocked tap. She is tall and the rocky surface is ample but the water level was abysmal. “Oh dear! Did I just come 250km after some 7hrs to see this?” I felt. This was worse than even St. Claire after the Upper Kotmale Project. “Didn’t it rain here at all?” I exclaimed out of sheer frustration. “It did but as this is not the regular season (Nov to Jan), the water levels are low” replied Ranga.

I was beginning to realize that after all the negative side was correct and I should have turned around while I could. Now it was too late and no going back until I finished the day. Look at these pictures and tell me if I was right to be frustrated.

Already dark clouds developing

Towards Badulla

Should be ready soon

Redundant power plant

Going rusty

Well maintained

Oh, not the sight I was hoping for

Abysmal, isn’t it?

When in full flow, she must look gorgeous

Portrait

The upper part

Wishing for more water and left

Gorgeous looking

Beautiful views

See anything familiar?

Kurullangala, the mysterious cave paintings

Know what they are? Amu Kaha flowers

My first thought was an Orchid

Time to go

Didn’t taste that good coz of the rain

Elle Wala Ella

We returned to Hunuketiya but on the way Ranga said that there’s a path through the jungle where it leads to the top of Elle Wala Ella. I was very excited and asked if he could find someone to take me there. Unfortunately his cousin brother didn’t share the same enthusiasm so we had to give up the idea. This path could have been one used by the Sinhala forces on their way to massacre the Portuguese invaders at Randeniwela.

I then decided to take the tuk-tuk all the way to Randeniya just to save time and trouble of having to find the falls on my own. Lemme give you the directions first.

Randeniya junction is about 3km from Wellawaya along Ella road. There is a school named J. M. Kumaradasa. With it there’s a road to the left (when coming from Wellawaya). The pillars of Iran-Sri Lanka are also located nearby should you happen to miss the school. Take this road for about 3km. You will find the reservoir for the Uma Oya is being built on the way and the road goes at the edge of the would-be water body. There is hardly anyone to ask the road so make sure you have your bearings right. You will then meet a village and take the left side path (not quite visible from the road at a glance) as soon as you pass the first house to your left. That is how we were given the directions by one of the people we met. This is where you have to leave your vehicle coz this is 3WD/4WD terrain. There are houses on either side so you can get directions. It’s another 1km before you reach the last house at the end of the road. From here you need to take the footpath (well used) parallel to the water stream (on your right) for another 400-500m to reach the destination.

I hope you got it right. So let’s go and see what she has to offer. There was nothing positive for me for the whole day since I started my journey but the moment I saw her I felt I was human after all. Two puppies followed us from the last house and they too looked awed by the beauty in front of them. She reminds me of Dunhinda (the actual one) but a smaller version. She was falling from left to right where as the original Dunhinda falls other way around.

The base pool looked huge and gradually increased the depth towards the falls. The surrounding is devoid of any disturbing activity save for a anicut built downstream to take the water but not harming the waterfall in any way. There were plenty of Kumbuk and similar trees around making it like a giant canopy shielding us from the piercing rays before the rain.

However there is one rather silly video I came across (thanks to Ashan) on YouTube I came across. It’s about something called Dual Survival where two lost people trying to find the way to civilization. In the video, one of them climbs to the top of the falls to find any humans are there but comes across a herd of jumbos. This is hilarious coz no jumbos roam in this area according to the locals. Watch it and see. All they had to do was retrace the path they took to the falls to find civilization. It proved documentaries done by even the most prominent channels could be no better than movies.

Ok guys, while in savor the first good thing for the day you can enjoy some of the pictures. As I keep reminding myself and you folks, the pictures don’t do enough justice to the beauty of these places. So just don’t judge by them by not so glamorous pictures of mine. There is very little my point-n-shoot can capture. Here we go:

There’s Elle Wala, the first glimpse

Our guides

Very shady and soothing

Finally some happy thoughts

Base pool gradually increases its depth

Closer look

Portrait

Sandy floor

Downstream

Found a delicacy

Couldn’t get enough of

See the dam built for diverting water?

Pipelines

Closer look

Different angle

The view was spectacular

Ranga, the tuk-tuk fellow who roamed around with me

Time to say bye

Kaluwala Ella aka Ice Peella Ella

After a good 30-40mins we left for Wellawaya. Ranga decided to take me all the way which suited me just fine. This is when Ashan called and said that he’s going for a bath there with a couple of friends. We arrived at Wellawaya and while I was pondering what to do, Ranga said that he would take me to the place. It was a good idea coz I was not in the mood for bargaining with tuk-tuk fellows. Here are the directions:

This is located about 1.5-2km from Wellawaya along Koslanda road near the Water Pump Station which is popularly known as the Ice Peella Pompagaraya. Just look for the No. 215/3 Bokkuwa. There is a tiny footpath between the pump station and the adjacent house to the right. Take this and it’ll circle to the back of the pump station and you will come to a narrow concrete canal built across the stream which is about 25ft below.

This is where all your gymnastic skills will come into play. The canal is about a foot and a half each in width and depth. Either side the concrete walls are about 5-6 inches wide. Yeah inches not feet. You have to balance on this (remember no getting into the canal) for another 30ft to reach the safety of the other end. For those who still don’t get what I am trying to tell you, just imagine walking along the iron bars on the railway line only about 1/3 in width. My legs shook so bad I had to caress them a bit and do a little pep talk. They kept refusing but the urge to see this beauty overpowered the unsteadiness of the legs.

I got on to the concrete and didn’t look back or up until I was on the other side. Just as I was heaving a sigh of relief, the legs reminded me of the return journey. Stopping the breath in mid-air, I followed the water to a leak in the canal. All this is about 200m from the main road even though I try to make it like 20km. This is when I met Ashan and his friends coming after a bath. They kept on coz he had work till late and I urged Ranga forward.  Here go downhill to the right until the base of the falls. This is a rare beauty with a large base pool and another rock pool on the top.

The water level was not so bad and I was beginning to change my mind about going back to Colombo. Well, it was one of the wisest things I’ve ever done in my life coz the journey ended after 17 waterfalls. Almost all of them looking rich and glamorous. So the lesson you have to learn is always weigh a situation when faced in a dilemma and listen to your calm side. The temptation to have a cool dip was so much but I felt that Ranga was in a hurry so decided against it and got back to the path once again crossing the canal with legs playing all the guitars from Rhythm to Base. I’m sure you’re itching to see the pictures and here they are. Next I’m gonna take you to a place quite different from the theme of the journey. An archeological site which is known all over the world for its craftsmanship like at Aukana and Res Vehera.

It’s behind this premises

Water treatment plants

Another

Where we had to go

Just before the falls

There she is

Looking at the rocky wall, she must get very wide during heavy rains

Lots of tree cover

Portrait

Safe enough for bathing

Let’s go up

From the top

Downstream

The water pool on the top of falls

Nice and shallow for people like me

Time to go

Huge ones

Shady path parallel to the stream

Ranga had no problem

Buduruwagala

Buduruwagala is located about 6km from Wellawaya along Thanamalwila road. Near the main road you can see the Buduruwagala Archeological Museum but the main archeological site is another 4km from the main road passing the Buduruwagala Tank. The charcoal grey clouds had developed over Ella mountains and were on their way to the southeast where we were. I bid farewell to Ranga and thanked him for the help and guidance. I got into a Thanamalwila bus amid the not-so-friendly gestures of the conductor. It was around 2pm and the bus was crowded with school children.

It is only Rs. 15/- to Buduruwagala and I spent a restless quarter hour trying to make sure I don’t miss the Buduruwagala junction. Finally I managed to make my way out of the bus after a lot of wriggling. I was in two minds whether to go to the museum or the archeological site. Finally I decided to go to the archeological site as it was the most important thing. I hired another tuk-tuk and made our way to the magical location. Chamika, the tuk-tuk fellow, seemed quite a nice person and we chatted along. After about 15 mins we arrived at the site to find four buses of school kids (two groups) swarming around. Fortunately one group was just leaving and I asked Chamika to come with me to visit the stone sculptures.

It’s about 400m walk to the place along a beautifully done path. We rushed to beat the school kids coz I wanted some decent pictures of the statues without having to wrestle with a bunch of playful kids. However you hardly have a chance with a bunch of let-loose kids. After a few pictures they invaded the site running all over. I was glad that the ground was sandy not muddy coz they would have turned it into a ploughed paddy field in seconds from the way they ran around. Chamika said that they would be gone sooner than they arrived and for me to stay put. So I sat at one corner and concentrated on the sculptures.

There are 7 in all. Two groups of three either side of the main Buddha Statue in the middle. Like at Res Vehera, the makers had either not been able to or purposely left them bringing forward from the granite wall. They are carved into a huge rock about 100ft in length and more than 50ft in height. The Buddha Statue here is 51ft high and considered to be one of the tallest in the world especially after the brutal and extremist attack on Bahamian Buddha Statues in Afghanistan. Just like to the LTTE, see what happened to those ruthless killers.

On the right of the Buddha Statue (to your left) is the Avalokitesvara (the Bodhisattva of Compassion). To the left of this white-painted figure is a female figure thought to be his consort, Tara. Local legend says the third figure represents Prince Sudhana. Moving onto the other side, the crowned figure at the centre of the group is thought to be Maitreya, the future Buddha. To his left stands Vajrapani, who holds a Vajra (an hourglass-shaped Thunderbolt Symbol) – an unusual example of the Tantric side of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. The figure to the left may be either Vishnu or Sahampath Brahma. Several of the figures hold up their right hands with two fingers bent down to the palm – a beckoning gesture. For a comprehensive reading, please read the article on Wikipedia and Amazing Lanka.

Just as Chamika predicted the kids vanished as they found very little excitement looking at the stone statues leaving me to enjoy the ingenuity of our forefathers. I’m gonna share them with you.

Trying to beat the large crowds

Please adhere by all means

We almost ran past these

There it is

Closer view

To the left of the main statue

The middle one looks as if it had been coated with some kinda plaster

To the right

Center one

Side angle

Oh god, finally they were all over

The teachers had a time getting them to sit and pose for a picture

Surrounding

Finally some space

See the carvings

Back to the left side

Is that a tiny Buddha Statue on the middle of the head dress?

This was huge and reminded me of Aukana and Res Vehera

Full view

Some peace for the place after the raucous crowd

The rain was imminent

Good day’s work

Spotted purely by chance

See you again

We then left this grand place and got back on the road. Chamika was hooked on the phone and paid very little attention to my questions. So whenever I want him to stop, just a pat on the shoulder. We saw remains of another Buddhist temple with a Dagoba and stone pillars some way before the main complex. And I got him to stop at the Buduruwagala tank as well. Here are some of the pictures and I can hear Ashan’s calling impatiently. Gotta hurry up and get to the Buduruwagala junction.

The canals leading to Buduruwagala

Rains have taken care of them

Waiting game

Buduruwagala Tank

There it is

Got a nice view point

Isolated

Greenery

Done for the day

Rain is imminent

Very true

The Dagoba I told you about

Here it is

Closer look

Standing on the top

More to excavate and see

I met Ashan and went to Monaragala where I’d spend the night. Well, don’t expect anything from tomorrow coz I’ve already told you guys about it. If you wanna refresh the memories, check out the Day 02 on this link. Well, on day three, we’re going to see some more beautiful girls and it is going to be Ashan’s farewell for them as well having been in Monaragala for so long, he’s due a transfer to Chilaw (will have been transferred by the time you read this and probably done a half a dozen tours as well).

On the day 02, we reached Dewathura, another beautiful and isolated village surrounded by the mountains in the Namunukula Range. To reach there, take the Passara-Palwatta Road till the 11th km post. Just there take the right uphill turn for another 6km and you will be in Dewathura and mark my words, it’s gonna wow you to no end. It was raining cats and dogs when we reached there. Well there was nothing else to do but have a sumptuous dinner and tuck in for the night. The distant noise of the Dewathura Oya put us to sleep and I slept like a hibernating grizzly bear. Come in the morning for another roller coaster ride.

Day 03

Somebody walking around woke me and as I peeped out of my thin-layered sleeping bag I saw Ashan moving about and the time had gone past 5am. “Go back to sleep. There is more time” was I remembered just before falling asleep once again. When I got up again it was well gone by 6am and I wriggled out of the sack holding me. The sun was coming up over the mountains but from where we were there was precious little to see the morning show.

I came back and had a wash coz the rains and the dew usually leave their prints on the soft petals and green leaves in the shape of droplets of water. While I was washing I heard Ashan saying that he’d been busy trying to shake the water off the leaves and petals. “What a wicked thing you’ve done” I screamed but realized that he was trying to take the mickey out of me when I ran out into the garden.

The mountains in the distance looked amazing and below them about 100m from where I stood was a paddy field with its typical green coat on. My under feat felt cold due to the dew on the grass and many flowers smiled at me as if trying to make me feel better. The dew was there all over the plants, leaves and the colorful flowers. I was just getting crazy wondering where to start. Pink rose petals were like cheeks of a new born baby girl. They had many droplets of dew clinging lovingly to the soft tissue like petals. I wanted to feel them but was scared to touch them. The whole garden smelled of fresh dew, grass and flowers invigorating my mind and the soul.

Well, I know I’m making you jealous and you should be coz this is not something you get to see everyday. Here are the pictures for you to enjoy. Oh just forgot to tell you about the juicy guava which were waving for my attention. I just jumped up and scooped up a few and popping one in and chewing slowly I realized how tasty they were. They were from a different world, gosh I want more.

Good morning!

Where we stayed

Here we go, Ashan probably shook these off

Ginger

Plenty of them

Sign of dew

Oh just look at that color

Not ready to bloom yet

Not ripe enough otherwise you wouldn’t have seen this

Drenched birds’ nest

Water was all over them

Almost touching the ground

See the dew all over?

More

Like a glass flower

Guava, very juicy and tasty

We had them after the picture

Gorgeous red

I went mad trying to take pics of all

Bougainvillea

Central Dispensary, Dewathura

Here it is

See who it is?

Resting after breakfast

Paddy fields

Gorgeous but rains have ruined the crops a lot

See the hut?

There, looks strongly built

Still more to grow

Time for the waterfalls

Habaraththawa Ella

After a good hour or so of my enjoying the guava and the beauty of this remote village we decided to go for the first waterfall of the day. She’s been named as Habaraththawa Ella by Ashan coz the place where she is known as Habaraththawa. She originates from Dewathura Oya that starts from Namunukula Mountain. It’s easy to find coz everyone in the village knows it. Located about 1-2km off the main road where the last stretch (800-1000m) you need to go on foot. The turn off is near a cement built bus stop about 1km before the Dewathura Central Dispensary.

We drove on and parked at the last house before we had to take it on foot. The walk along the leech infested path was no trouble and I was impatient to see this beautiful falls. When we got to the flowing Dewathura Oya, I just couldn’t take my eyes off of what I saw. Here in front of my eyes was a scene I dearly would love to see anywhere and anytime. This not-so-tall fall was jumping over a wide rocky wall creating a white cloth full of silken threads.

“Oh my gosh!” was all I managed to utter before firing the shutter button until Ashan laughingly said that this is not the real fall. “What do you mean? Is there another falls here?” I asked feeling anxious. “Right over there” he pointed downstream where the water fell into a deep gorge. We had to be extremely careful not to slip and fall into the fast flowing water or hitting the rocks scattered around. While we do that you check these out. I can’t afford to lose concentration now.

Where we parked our vehicle

Mountains in the distance

The boy behind said “Amme ayyage photo gaththa”

It may be a rural village but the creativity is not lost

If only you know the trouble we took to take this single shot

Tiny ones

The leech-infested path

Japanese umbrella?

Dewathura Oya

The upper cascade

Oh looks really good

Wow

One sexy lady

Like a set of threads falling in unison

The base pool is huge but deep too

Through the blocks

She was so beautiful I couldn’t get enough of her

Another close up

Spent quite a long time with her

Well, guess time to go see her elder sister

After slipping and sliding down, we managed to get to the top of where the water fell and here was a taller and gorgeous lady. I pinched myself in the left arm to make sure this wasn’t a fairy tale dream. “Please let this be real not another of my dreams” I pleaded and “aawh” I gasped at the bite my nails made on the exposed biceps. But the joy I felt overpowered the pain coz this was for real and I was there in person and what I was seeing the real thing not a hallucination.

She is tall and playful as she curved around before falling onto the rocks below. “I want to go down” I told Ashan who was balancing carefully on a rock which was very slippery. “No can do. We have to cross the river but not when she’s in a raging mood”. He was right and the fattened up body of Dewathura Oya looked very dangerous to be messing around. I looked around frantically for a way down but none safe way was available. However I managed to get about 5ft down to another rock hanging onto a wine where I got a decent look. Last time Ashan had come, he’d been able to get to the base but the water levels were very low compared to now.

This was a long and pure white flow of water. I just looked mesmerized by her playful ways. Every minute felt like a second as time flew past me but I simply didn’t want to leave. Here was a sensual and adorable virgin that was worth looking again and again for the rest of the day. However as always it looks as if it always drags us from the best of the things rather quickly while the sorrows seem to stay on forever. Feeling both elated and sad at the same time, we turned around to go for the next beauty waiting for us. Remember; never leave a gorgeous girl waiting for you too long. Here are the pictures you are craving for.

The top

Slanting along the rocky surface

It was tough to get the whole length in one shot

See the base

No chance to get there

The best shot with the whole falls

Top part

Glistening in the sunlight

Hugging to the rocks

Dewathura Oya was rich and dancing

Wish they were edible

“The God Must Be Crazy VII”

It was cool to be among the filtering rays

Superb

Had to spend a long time to capture him

Saying bye

A million-dollar worth pic

Kandahena Ella

Like the Habaraththawa Ella, this was named by Ashan as she is located in Kandahena Estate. She originates from a stream that starts from Namunukula Mountain. Here are the directions for it but should be no trouble to find her either.

Take the road to Kandahena Tamil School No. 2 (there is a concrete road that is off the main road running through the tea plantation) and go past it up to the sign board “Kandahena Tea Nursery”. The road after about a couple of hundred meters is simply not drivable except in a 4WD. Fortunately we were in one and swaying from side to side as if we were in a choppy sea, we drove on while students from the school looked surprisingly at us. From the sign (a good place to leave your vehicle if you were foolish enough to take it that far) go straight through the gate and then turn left at the line houses and follow the trail. Remember that the road you followed up to the sign is continuing with a sharp bend to the left. If you have the time, follow it and it will bring you to the top of the falls and farther higher up is the Kandahena Tamil School No. 1. You simply don’t understand the difficulties until you go there in person and I just can’t imagine the plight of the kids who have to traverse the rugged terrain probably in just a pair of flip flops.

The path will take you after another couple of hundred meters to a place where you can see the falls in the distance. The trail was muddy and we got bogged down a few times but managed to free ourselves without muddying the socks. Here was a fall with a relatively bigger and taller upper part and many small cascades as she plunges down. The trail we were taking had been a fairly wide estate road but now overgrown into a tiny footpath due to the minimal use by people let alone vehicles. Here are some distant shots both zoomed in and out.

On the move

Ran and hid behind the mother

Line house you have to turn left

Droplets on the leaf

Furry

She’s there and this is the actual distance

Zooming in

Reminded me of Wee Oya Ella

Perfect frame

Managed to find a better place

The top part

Bottom

Ok, let’s get closer

Wonder if this is a trap

Full package

We then walked up to a wide bridge signaling this had indeed been a large jeep track. The cascades went under the bridge making some more downstream. However the view of the top was somewhat blocked due to the close proximity of us standing closer to it. “Shall we climb up and see if there is a good view?” asked Ashan and I didn’t want a second invitation. So we climbed on all fours like land crabs holding onto the rocks and roots of grass bushes. Mana blades scraped our already smarting (after the Rodakdanguwa Ella experience) exposed skins mercilessly. But their resistance was just a trifle compared to our determination to get up there.

After slipping a countless times, we finally reached a good vantage point where it offered a grand view of the top section and a couple of other segments. After a while, we decided to get back onto the solid ground but found it was gonna be tougher than we anticipated. Do you remember what happens to the cats, leopards and most of the feline family that are silly enough to climb up trees? They simple don’t know how to get down and were faced with a similar a dilemma. So why don’t you enjoy these pictures while we do the climbing down?

Up close, covered with the rock and we gotta get up there

See that

Only the top part is visible when zoomed

Cascade just below the main one

Closer look

Another one (the third in overall from the top)

Here’s the fourth cascade

Portrait of that

The fifth one

The bridge where we started climbing up

Just near the bridge and we couldn’t get below the bridge to see the rest of the cascades

Towards Monaragala and South East

Our Jeep aka CTB Bus waiting for us

Black & White

Aradunu Ella

Our next attraction for the day was Aradunu Ella in Passara which is according to Ashan is the headquarters of Piaggio tuk-tuks. So we returned to Dewathura and had breakfast before driving fast to Passara. If you had read Ashan’s report, there is a hydro power plant which is run using the water of Aradunu Ella. If you’re to see healthy levels of water one needs to go there before 8am. We spent so long with beauties of Dewathura and the time was past 10am.

While we were wondering whether or not to visit Aradunu Ella (I had no intention of visiting a dried up rocky wall), Ashan came up with an idea. He’d the telephone number of one of the workers at the power plant and we called to check the situation. Fortunately he answered after a frightening delay and to the joy of us said that there’s ample water despite diversion to the power plant. We drove faster not wanting to miss this great lady.

Aradunu Ella originates from Loggal Oya which then flows separating Kohonawala from Badulla side. To get to the falls, take Madolsima Road from Passara for just over 2km and take the left turn at the name board. Then take the left on that road at the first Y point and then a right when you come to a shed which is about 200m from the main road. From here stick to the right and walk for about 1.8km at the edge of the tea estate. However you will have to keep checking the directions coz it’s hard to give you exact directions due to the nature of the estate road. However if you happen to come to a place where the towering Namunukula is in front of you and a deep ravine below with paddy fields, you have gone too far. We too got as far in the jeep and decided to walk back.  Just back track and take the road that goes downhill to the left or right depending on how you go. We lost it a few times even though Ashan had been here twice before but some two years ago. Fortunately we got lucky and found a person to get the correct directions.

Alternatively you could take the Passara RMV Road which meets the former path about 1km before the power plant and the falls. We walked down hearing the roar of Aradunu Ella in the distance. The closer we came, the louder she fell. I was as excited as a boy who is going to see his girlfriend on their first date. Finally we saw the roof of the power plant and a notice warning against bathing in the base pool. We had no such idea and crashed through the bushes almost falling headlong into the viewing point. “Oh my my” was all I seemed to manage recently when coming face to face with such beautiful and graceful ladies.

The worker was right coz there was so much water even though they had diverted a large amount to generate electricity. She was simply truly amazing and worth every trouble we took to visit her. We just sat on a rock and admired the sheer beauty in front of our eyes. I knew for sure this was no dream and felt very happy about it. Well, I won’t keep you guessing for long and here are the pictures.

Sign board at the Madolsima Road

Gorgeous Namunukula… If you’ve come this far, you gotta turn around and take the first left downhill path

To the right of her

Left of her

Valley down below

Gem mining goes on with backhoes despite the ban

Couldn’t resist taking more of her

Re-tracing our steps

This is the point where the Madolsima trail (to the right uphill one) and Passara RMV trail (from where this pic taken) meet. You need to go towards Ashan

You can see the roof of the power plant

She’s a beauty, ain’t she?

Beginning of the endless pic journey