මහා වනයේ සැගවුණු මුලගම ගුහාව සොයා ගිය ගමනක් (Mulagama cave Expedition)

The map

Mulagama cave was another random site I noted on a sheet of paper (1:50000 maps) within the Gal Oya Sanctuary and later on only I found the relevant details about it on Ellawala Medhananda Thero’s publication. I have been planning to visit this site for few months and I had been gathering information since then, finally my dream came true. With the help of the department of wild life it was time for us to go in search of this cave but this time I was not alone(crew of 10). Our team consisted of NG of Lakdasun and her friends plus an Archaeology guy and three wild life guys.

Namal Oya reservoir

a morning at Namal Oya

misty

Fishing and fishing

parked for the day

selling the catch

rowing back

another fisherman returning with his catch

main mode of transport

locked up tight

the 2Km bund

So after Planning out everything smoothly the big day arrived. We reached the wild life office at Namal oya at around 7am on a Sunday and enjoyed some breathtaking views of Namal Oya reservoir before commencing our journey. There is a foot path leading towards ancient Mulagama village (which is now submerged to the Gal Oya Reservoir) starting from the wild life office. The initial path was through a flood plain where deer’s and Samber enjoyed the greenly grass but the joyful walk ended in no time when we entered an unexpected thorny shrub forest. When I inquired about the bushy nature of the forest the wild life officer explained me that this area was once cultivated by villages before it was claimed to the forest reserve. The 2.5Km path was pure torture because at most places it was almost covered. Thanks to my cap my face and forehead was spared of thorny scratches. Finally we arrived at a place where 3 miniature streams of “Mulgama ara” met; we had a small break at this point before we recommenced our journey in search of the cave.

through the flood plains

initial path through the shrub forest with on and off open areas

my hat got caught to thorny creepers almost always

Entering the dry zone virgin forest

having a stop at the Mulgama sub stream

From Mulgama ara onwards we had to trek through the typical dry zone forest which was a pleasure for us considering the initial path, with no time we started to ascend upwards but the slippery nature made the task bit difficult than expected. Thirst was not a big problem because it had rained daily and the forest had plenty of moisture in the air to offer. In few minutes we arrived at a drip ledged cave which was not so big and without hanging around much we continued further uphill until we came across another long drip ledged cave, there were some rocky slabs which seemed to be placed as the floor plates of this cave centuries ago. We also came across some water collections in miniature rocky ponds formed in the wall of the cave. These might have been the water source for the monks who meditated in these caves.

plenty of log mushrooms

Nai Hathu

The first drip ledge cave

tackling obstacles

another cave

a birds nest

exploring

source of water

scattered bricks

After a while we started to ascend further up until we arrived at the main cave of Mulagama. This cave was a huge one with brick walls. There was one entrance and an exit plus a huge window. The walls were at least 3 feet thick, there were many bricks scattered around in the vicinity and two alter shaped structures were also seen in the surrounding area. The drip ledge was seen up high and there were no clear evidence of any inscriptions. The surrounding of the cave seemed so dry indicating that the drip ledge was functioning properly. We also noted two or three slots carved in the cave roof which once harbored Pillars.

Towards the main cave of Mulagama

two doors and one window

modern art

an alter

and another

remnants of a statue

where the pillars fitted

part of the drip ledge

remnants of a plaster

more modern art

Mulagama ancient cave

scattered bricks

The entrance

Next it was time to enter the cave, and to surprise us further there were at least four separated rooms (Kuti) in the cave which was once used by monks and currently occupied by thousands of bats. Exploring the rooms was quite a challenge with these bats that flew around almost knocking us down. The floor was like walking on cotton because of the left overs of bats. We came across two small platforms by the side of the main entrance which once had two Budhdha statues. After getting out of this marvelous construction we had some breakfast before we decided to go in search of more adventure.

Towards the rooms

wow!

a small platform

towards the forest

walking on cotton

Plenty of them

time to exit

After having a long break we continued further uphill and came across another drip ledge cave and from here onwards we had to crawl through a very small cave like area which was quite an experience before we landed safely in the next drip ledge cave. From here onwards it was an ascend which seemed never ending but at last we reached a summit point of Mulagama mountain where we rested a bit before we ventured around. From this point we easily spotted Senanayake reservoir, Inginiyagala Mountain, Wadinagala peak, Westminster Abbey and Pallan hela.

another drip ledge cave

crawling through the narrow gap

landed in a another cave

a Kaluwara tree

Mount inginiyagala as seen from the summit

Walasgala and Senanayake reservoir

towards Pallan hela

towards Kadurugoda

time for a rest

Gal Oya sanctuary

towards iginiyagala

note Wadinagala and govinda hela

Our descent was not as difficult as we thought and with no time we were back on ground zero. We came across a fruit similar to “Mangusteen” in shape but those were yellow in colour and named “Thimbiri”. The taste of it was not even close to our “Mangus” We arrived at the junction where the Mulagama Ara tributaries met each other and had another small break before we entered the thorny shrub forest. We had to hurry up a bit because the thunder showers were closing on us but we were forced to take a break at one point to have some “Karamba” which tasted like “Dam”. Just before we left the forest we got caught to a passing shower which lasted few minutes. We were also lucky enough to spot a pack of deer that ran fast as they can even before we picked up our cameras.

we came across another cave while getting down

just like a married couple

Thimbiri

and ara of Mulagama oya

colours

Resting at the stream before the last part

enjoying crystal clear water(taken by NG)

Karamba which tasted like Dam

After arriving at the Namal Oya wild life office we had some wood apple which we picked up in the forest plus few more fruits before we thanked the wild life guys and left the place. Next on the agenda was a nice bath in Namal oya reservoir which is now one of my favorite bathing spots in Sri Lanka simply because of its scenery. When we noted the showers coming through the hills of Namal Oya we decided to end our joyful bath and head towards Inginiyagala to have some lunch and end our adventure. At the end of the day I feel happy that everything went smoothly but on the other hand felt sad that few friends couldn’t make it.

time for a bath

a comoron

Amugala peak

a pelican spreading its wings

the tallest peak is Degalawalakanda and the not so tall one is Mulagama peak

here comes the rain