Pallan Hela (1065ft), A Fortress of King Saddathissa?

Year and Month	October, 2012
Number of Days	One Day Trip
Crew	5
Accommodation	N/A
Transport	Private vehicle
Activities	Hiking, Archeology and scenery
Weather	A mix of Sunny and overcast weather conditions
Route	Inginiyagala -> Devalahinda -> Pallan oya -> Inginiyagala
Tips, Notes and Special remark	It’s better if you can carry a stock of water (1L per person) and food products. Start as early as possible Do not carry Plastic items (Minimize), Make sure you bring back everything you took. Beware of wild elephants and insects like wasp Need a guide if you are not familiar with the terrain Get permission from the head priest. Avoid overcast conditions
Related Resources	Discussion: Hot Water Springs in Sri Lanka
Author	Ashan
Comments	Discuss this trip report, provide feedback or make suggestions at Lakdasun Forum on the thread Pallan Hela (1065ft), A Fortress of King Saddathissa?

map in Blue = the waterways | Green = pallan hela | Orange = spill | Purple = hot water spring – Click Map to Enlarge

Since I landed at Iginiyagala I have noted one abnormal dome shape rock close to Pallan oya and one day while I was wondering around the dam of Senanayake reservoir I asked a school boy about this rock and he said to me “ඕක උඩ නටබුන් තියෙනව සද්ධාතිස්ස රජ දවසෙ කරවපු” which lit a bulb in my brain matter and the next thing he said is that he has a friend who knows in and out about this rock. So within no time I decided to give it a go before the monsoons spoiled everything.

Pallan hela as seen from Iginiyagala mountain

as seen from the gal oya dam

After about a week or so we decided to climb the rock, our crew of five comprised of two of my staff members and two school kids with me. We arrived at Devalahinda Wikramasheelaramaya premises and walked towards the site with some ruins of a pagoda where a mini sthupa has been build. There are few ruins close to the ancient “Bo” tree too, out of them few steps carved on a rock seems interesting. From here onwards we climbed a small rock and found a fleet of steps which led us to a well carved pond in the rock and one can easily go in to this mini cave. From top of the rock they have cut a gutter, so rain water will drip in to this pond.

ancient steps

ancient rock pond

remnants of a sthupa scattered around the new mini sthupa

a flower alter

ancient Bo tree

Ruins at wikramashila temple devalahinda

where gods reside

perfectly framed

more to climb

steps towards the pond

inside the pond

wow

Next we returned back to the small devalaya and from there onwards took a steep foot path which led uphill; this stretch was bit difficult because of the dried out leaves. Finally after a struggle we reached a summit of a small mountain and continued long the path until we reached an open area where we could easily visualize a vast area of Gal Oya valley. From here onwards it was along the rocky neck where a clear path couldn’t be found. We also noted at least three rocky buffer walls build many years ago by King Saddathissa according to the locals. It is believed that this was once used as a fortress by the king; the rock wall is so unique that if one looks closely you could note how the size and shape of the rocks from top to bottom differs. These rocks are not pasted but placed perfectly to stay together even after thousands of years.

the path

wow on the way scenery

first view of jayanthi lake

lush green

the path continues

Degal hela centered

the rock wall used as a defensive barrier

first sight of gal oya

wow still intact

Wadinagala range

another wall

abnormal clouds

towards govinda hela, panamapanguwa and jayanthi lake

dam of Jayanthi lake

note the layers of rock changing from size and shape from top to bottom

side view

Ampara lake and Kondawattawana lake

ekgal oya and ambalam oya lakes

We also came across some newly laid elephant dung while climbing further uphill. We got in to a small forest patch and emerged on top of the main rock which was a wonderful plateau to wonder around. On the summit there is a pagoda which is almost washed away and vandalized and in addition to that we came across a site where a building once stood tall. There was a huge rock pond with crystal clear water suggesting that once people did live up here. The vast area on the summit was explored by us over an hour in search of a peaceful place to rest.
On one side it’s a perfect front view of Gal Oya reservoir with its forest reserve with sheer drop on the rock. Other landmarks which can be easily seen were Iginiyagala Peak and the dam, Namal Oya and Mullegama mountains, Ali oluwa, Kondawattawana, Ampara lakes. Ampara town, Ekgal Oya, Ambalam Oya , Pannelgama lake , Jayanthi lake, Wadinagala, Govinda hela and many more. If it was in the morning one could easily see the eastern costal line too.

a clean water pond on the summit

Senanayake Reservoir

contrast

forest and civilization

Mount inginiyagala with two peaks

the iginiyagala dam

the මාළු තොටුපොල

Namal oya reservoir

gal oya forest reserve

♥

wadinagala peak

remnants of an ancient structure

wondering about

wonderful scenery

while on the summit

Ali oluwa lake

largest reservoir captured in to a single image

shhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!

more scenery

the school boys

flat summit

the pagoda

pannelgama and ekgal oya lakes

getting down

towards Ul Hela

After having a good rest we descended along the path and arrived at the base of the hill where we started our journey and deviated from the path to see few caves where the monks meditated. Our little guides also said that locals call this Pallan hela mountain as Seetha Kanda because a lady called Seetha committed suicide by leaping down from its summit.

finally on the ground

a cave

a hooded cave

another cave

After refreshing ourselves we got together and went towards Pallan Oya in search of a hot water well which many people are not aware about. To get to this hot water well at Kivulegama one needs to reach the iron bridge at Pallan oya and take the road which leads towards the Jayanthi lake dam. After few hundred meters one needs to take the road to the left. The hot water spring was continuously overflowing and the water of it was not extremely hot either. Next we walked further to reach the dam of Jayanthi Lake where we got caught to a heavy shower which forced us to return back to Iginiyagala.

Hot water springs of Wadinagala

warm Luke water

Jayanthi lake

at gloomy jayanthi lake

bunt house

drops of life

At Iginiyagala we went to see a waterway which passes under another waterway. This is a very rare sighting in Sri Lanka. At this point Namal Oya flows over a canal of water diverted from Gal Oya towards Ali Oluwa Lake and other tanks in the region. Next it was time for a bath, so we went to our favourite bathing place which is the spill gates of Iginiyagala to enjoy an evening dip before leaving towards the dam of Senanayake reservoir to enjoy the spectacular sunset before ending our day.