Kapurella the thermal wet land and many more hot Jacuzzi’s!

A rough map

map around Kapurella – click to enlarge

Hot water springs are a fascinating creation of Mother Nature. There are few theories how these form and they are

• Radiation from radioactive substances like Uranium, Thorium etc may heat up the surrounding rocks which in turn heats up the deep seated water sources.
• Warmed up minerals and rocks in the earth emits heat and this can heat up water springs (most likely)
• Heat from cooling magma could be the cause of heating deep seated water sources which spurs out of earths cracked points

This is a special report on hot water springs of Sri lanka. This was a very tempting topic which made it so irresistible that I ended up visiting almost all of these remarkable sites in a short period. The hot lakdasun forum post was indeed my greatest guide on this venture. I would be adding few details on some hot water springs I visited during the past few years for the sake of completeness. Here are the documented hot water springs in Sri lanka.

Rankihiriya – Gomarankadawala

Kanniya – Trincomalee

Nelumwewa / Gal wewa – Welikanda

Muthugalwela – Gurukumbura / Maduru oya

Kapurella – Tempitiya / Maha oya

Mahaoya (Maha siyambala gas kandiya) – Maha oya

Marangala / Wahawa – Padiyathalawa

Embilinna – Inginiyagala reservoir

Kivulegama – Jayanthi Wewa / Wadinagala

Mahapelessa – Sooriyawewa

Gal wewa / Nelum wewa hot water springs – Welikanda (63⁰c)

We were off to Passikudah for a relaxing weekend and on the way we suddenly decided to visit Nelum wewa hot water springs. One will find the turn off close to Welikanda (after Manampitiya) towards Nelum wewa. After traveling 9km’s we reached the lake which was dried out. If it was full we would have had to hire a boat but since the lake was dried out we did walk towards the springs which were at an elevated island in the center of the lake. This was known as the warmest spring (63⁰c) in Sri Lanka but was pushed back to second place recently by Kapurella. After visiting Nelum wewa we went towards Passikudah and rested the whole day as it was our main purpose of this visit.

Dimbulagala

dried out Nelum wewa

nelum wewa / gal wewa

the drought

hot water wells in the center of the lake

bubbling

Gal wewa / Nelum wewa

what lovely beach at Passikuda

shells

slow shutter at its best

dusk at Passikuda

Next day we departed towards Monaragala along the coast line and on the way we visited the Batticaloa Portuguese (later Dutch & English) fort which was built in 1628 which is now the district secretariat office. They do allow visitors to walk around the fort but it’s limited for obvious reasons. On two sides it’s surrounded by the lagoon and the other two by a canal. The view from this fabulous location is unforgettable. After hanging around we decided to get back to Monaragala via Pottuvil to end that day.

good morning

eastern sun

Eravur lagoon

Batticaloa fort

towards the lagoon

VOC

guard post

bell tower

Kallady bridge as seen from the fort

still in place

makers name

a jelly fish in the lagoon

Golden fields of Akkareipattu

Kapurella hot water springs – Tempitiya (64.5⁰c)

Next was the big one and most anticipated Kapurella hot spring sparsely known and located within the jungle close to Omanugala forest reserve. This was a must visit place in my long list so I decided to give it a go. I had been to Tempitiya temple once and the chief monk was kind enough to introduce me to a guide also I had to get permission from the Maha oya police post to make this expedition a reality. So on a Saturday we gathered at Tempitiya temple where two police officers and our guide Bandu joined us. The distance to the hot springs was around 3Km’s from the village. First 1.5km was through the chena land until Mundeni aru (Maha oya). Crossing Mundeni aru we were in to elephant country. Plenty of elephants roam around this land and there were hundreds of foot paths to justify it. We initially went through a dry zone forest patch and then entered a shrub forest which led us towards Nilgala type forest patch. At last we arrived at a vast open area where a wetland with mangroves could be seen in the center of it. This Thermal wetland is the only one remaining and the Conservationist are trying their best to name this area as a protected site. Walking around this wet land is like walking on sponge and the floor tends to swing with every step we take. The roots go horizontally creating a maze which we could walk on over the mud but one should be careful because if you step on a wrong place you would be stuck in mud. We were told that every year during the drought one or two elephants and few other animals die by drowning in this muddy warm wetland. After tackling the mangrove we reached a pond like area where we could note bubbling and steaming. The heat in the air around this lake was unbearable and we started to sweat in seconds. One foot away from the edge (the roots we were standing on) the water was extremely hot and it was not like any other hot water spring I have ever been to. Definitely this should be hotter than what they have documented (64.5⁰c) unfortunately we didn’t have a thermometer to measure it. Look at the satellite image to get a good idea about this location. The water which springs out forms a stream which leaves this mini lake and ends in a nearby major stream which in turn ends at Mundeni aru. After hanging around we came back along the same route and we did spot few elephants on the way too. There was an archeology site close to the springs where a seven hooded cobra carving could be found but we opted not to visit because of the time factor. After returning to the temple we did note that there was a seven headed cobra carving there too which was found in the nearby Tempitiya lake. After thanking each and every one we took off towards Karadiyanaru and took a detour towards beautiful Unnichchai lake and the detour was worth the effort. We then headed towards Trincomalee after a satisfied morning session.

Google map image – click to enlarge

Tempitiya lake

omanugala seen to tempitiya lake

Kohila ela / ravana ela at tempitiya

a “kon” tree

Neelimalai

maha oya / Mundeni aru

dried out

through the forest patch

pus wel

elephant foot marks

open land

easy to navigate around

it ran away

note the marshy land where the hot water springs could be found

entering the marshy land

more to go

two dogs also followed us

pleasing colours

Kaprulla hotest hot water spring in sri lanka 64.5 c

bubbling and steaming

Kapurella hot water spring

bubbling

extending further

note the mangroves

elephants do die here when they get stuck in muddy hot water

note the marshy land

the water from the spring meeting a main stream

fresh stuff

edible

plenty of foot marks

tempitiya getting ready for the “Katina poojawa”

korawak gal

note the 7 headed cobra

more ruins

half a statue

thoppigala seen over rugam lake

Rukam / Rugam lake

remnants of war

mountains of narakamulla

at Unichchai

Unnichchai tank

the spill

halted

nuwaragala seen to Unnichchai

friars hood

life	pumping drinking water

Like a painting

Kanniya hot water spring – Trincomalee (42⁰c)

After passing Trincomalee we took the Anuradhapura road and reached Kanniya hot water springs (42⁰c) and archaeology site where there were plenty of visitors hampering my attempts to get a clear shot of the site. We obviously didn’t hang around much and decided to leave the place.

Kanniya archaeology site

runis at kanniya

42 c Kanniya hot water wells

one of those wells

Rankihiriya hot water spring – Gomarankadawala (38⁰c)

From here we took off towards Anuradhapura and after passing Mora wewa we took the Gomarankadawala road. Just before reaching Gomarankadawala(4km’s from main road) there was a name board directing towards Rngiri ulpotha temple(4Km’s). This road ran through elephant country and finally ended at a temple. The temple was in good condition and we were amazed to see such a beautiful temple in the middle of the forest. There is well with walls been used by temple residents for bathing purposes and this was the hot water spring(38⁰c) we were searching for. For me this is the best well to have a peaceful hot water bath out of all others. There is an archeology site close to the well where a beautiful pagoda could be found. It’s fascinating to find ancient temples close to many of these hot water springs. This nature of the water is known to cure some skin diseases & etc according to ancient literature and that might be the reason why archeology sites could be found around these springs. From here we took off towards Anuradhapura along the new tar mac which has been completed and which was a pleasure to ride on. On our way we did have few pit stops and one was to enjoy few elephants at Maha divul wewa. We reached Chilaw at around 8pm to end a long and satisfying day.

Rangiri ulpotha arche site gomarankadawala

ruins

38c Rangiri ulpotha hot water spring at gomarankadawala

the perfect place for a hot water bath

steps to the new sthupa

new sthupa

the view

Maha divul wewa

tusker at maha divul wewa

Here are the other hot water springs I managed to visit.

Maha oya / Siyambala gas kandiya hot water springs – Maha oya (54⁰c)

It is located 2Km’s away from Maha oya town along Aralaganvila road. There are 7 wells here.

Please refer the link to see more.

Maha oya hot water wells

bubbling

Wahawa / Marangala hot water springs – Padiyathalawa (48⁰c)

To reach this one should take the road from Padiyathalawa to Uraula and take a turn to the left from Dorakumbura junction and travel 2km’s. One could also reach this site from Ekiriyankumbura. There are about 17 springs but only half of those have been tanked and used for cultivation. The main attraction is the tall pipe well. Please see this link for further information.

the high pressure hot water geyser of wahawa

continous supply

a hot water well

bubbling

Muthugalwela / Gurukumbura – Maduru oya

Absolutely nothing is known about this place and it’s located in the Maduru oya forest reserve. One Maha oya resident said once he came across an army troop who came across this place. This seems a mystery that needs to be resolved.

Kivulegama / Jayanthi wewa hot spring – Wadinagala (34⁰c)

This spring was shifted from the original locations by pipe line because Jayanthi lake was build where it was located 40 years ago. Now it’s in a privately owned land. To reach it one needs to travel along Wadinagala – Iginiyagala and reach Kivulegama where you would come across an old iron bridge. From there take the left side road towards the bund. Please refer the link for further information

Hot water spring of Kivulegama

warm luke water

Embilinna hot water spring – Inginiyagala reservoir

Currently hidden in the largest reservoir of sri lanka. Must try visiting this site during extreme droughts (if I’m lucky enough)

Mahapelessa / Madunagala hot water springs – Sooriyawewa (44⁰c)

The Famous one out of all and more towards down south not like its other cousins who are restricted to eastern province. Take the road towards Sooriya wewa from Nonagama – Embilipitiya road and take another right turn towards Mahapelessa to reach this famous place. Please refer the link for further information.

modified madunagala springs

same as others bubbling

Temperature order: – Kapurella > Nelum wewa > Maha oya > Wahawa > Mahapelessa > Kanniya > Gomarankadawala > Kivulegama

Chemical composition: – Kapurella > Kivulegama > Wahawa > Mahapelessa > Maha oya > Kanniya

Now you see how fascinating this subject is, it just deviated me away from all mountain climbing, waterfall hunting and etc. Something I found common was the nearby villages named because of the springs itself for example: – Ulpotha at Gomarankadawala, Unuwatura bubula at Maha oya & Kivulegama at Wadinagala. Also there were archaeology sites at most of these places for example: – Gomarankadawala, Kanniya, Nelum wewa, Tempitiya, Maha oya, Wahawa & Mahapelessa. Hope you enjoyed this report, So until I find something new it’s time to say adios.