Birding is a favorite pastime among people who love watching the behavior of these wonderful creatures of the Mother Nature. However compared to other areas such as hiking, wildlife, etc. this is mainly done by relatively lesser number of people.

Gayan’s has become addicted to birds since recently thus we too have no choice but to follow him at times looking up at trees bending our necks at unusual angles almost dislocating the spinal cord near the neck. It’s a great miracle that these bird lovers manage to walk without tripping themselves as they don’t tend to look at the path or where they step on. If you have seen those pigeon lovers in the urban areas, you would know what I’m talking about. The only difference is that these bird lovers don’t whistle like those pigeon folks do.

Ok, back to Runakanda. This is a part of Sinharaja actually but is now being proposed as a separate Forest Reserve. I hope this will get legalized soon as we’re fast losing our forest areas. Even Runakanda like many wet zone rain forests have been ravaged by the Walla Patta Hunters. According to villagers many outsider had come in gangs and stayed inside the forest living in makeshift shelters or caves chopping down Walla Patta trees and making loads of money. The FD and Police are in high alert even though the damage has already been done thus the reason why you shouldn’t venture into these areas on your own.

We heard that the FD is now distributing Walla Patta plants for commercial planting where they help with the chemicals to produce that specific bit of residue after 5 years. At the age of 8, the tree is good to cut down and harvest. Hopefully these will put a stop to the destruction of our virgin forests.

We were greeted by Chanaka’s father-in-law and he was a very friendly and hospitable gentleman. He’s a retired Grama Sewaka in the same are so has a fair knowledge of the surroundings. Chanaka was away so he’d arranged Chathura who’s originally from the village inside the forest but they’ve moved to the village on this side of the river due to lack of facilities. However his father and grandparents have objected vehemently to the idea and are living inside the forest to date. Maguru Ganga is the border between the forest and the village and she acts like a protective shield for the forest from the evilness. Unfortunately even she’s not been able to defeat the wicked acts inflicted on the forest by those greedy people.

We hadn’t prepared for this journey properly due to the lack of details so this turned out to be a reconnaissance mission which we conducted to get a feel for the place. We’ll be going again for sure armed with the information we obtained and better prepared. So here are the pictures I managed to take in our short stay and hope you’ll enjoy.

Turn off to the Conservation Centre from the main road

Korawakka

Beautiful

Runakanda is over there

Elabatu if I’m not mistaken

There’s the info

Conservation Centre and this can accommodate up to 12 people

Another angle

Dewy	This fella had been injured and found by the wildlife department. After doing an operation, he’d been brought here for recuperation

Munching on a piece of break, one of his favorites

Fiery tale full of spikes

Grey Hornbill

Sunbathing

Enjoying a free meal

Looks nice but I don’t know the name

Drying his feathers

Close up

Plenty of diversity among trees

Well this is common enough

Probably not this one though

Floating around

He was a huge fella

Here’s Maguru Ganga

Crystal clear

Pelen, a fruit similar to Mora which is a delicacy among birds

Here’s a deep black hole where you shouldn’t attempt to bathe

Weaving on the way

Here’s the footpath used by the travelers as well as those who go to the villages

Golly, what’s this?

String Hopper like mushroom

Hanging for dear life

A stream that feeds Maguru Ganga which we had to cross

Just love the look of these pebbles underneath the water

Very slippery

Halt! No rail gates inside the jungle so keep an eye out for these along the path

100-foot tall trees

The tree cover

See the different shades of colors

This was a scary thing. I wonder if you can spot the trap here. This was laid along a game trail probably targeting porcupines, small deer, etc. Clear sign of hunters at large and also why you shouldn’t venture into the forest all alone

Grandfather of Chathura in his home turf

They’re drying these to make coconut oil

Searching for the nectar

Juicy

Look at that color

Another

Many different ones but very hard to capture on our lens

Tough cookie this one

From the other side

Spider man?

Wasn’t ripe enough

Kasun couldn’t wait no longer and made this then and there

Orchid type

Up close

Another strand of flowers

Chathura’s father in their own house but living all by himself now. Just realized that I didn’t take a pic of Chathura

My favorite

Back at the river and ready for a bath

It was heavenly to lie down in this cool shallow water

After a bath and meal, we were on the way back

It was isolated

Here’s another kind

Some more

This is a female. How do I know that? Well look at the left of the pic

Many of them

Goodbye Maguru Ganga… Will come for you again

Too far away for me

Ok, the name I know for this fellow is “Jambu Kottoruwa”

Just like in a vase

Look at that reddish patch in the middle

This fellow is a common one

Well probably this one too

He was taking a nap

Very cute

Munching on a roti

Glistening in the sun

Surprise visitor

Closer look

Very fidgety to take a good shot

Look at those green feathers

Oh hi there!

Standing on its hind legs

Just a cutie pie

Take off your tail from the rice

Another kind

Kept looking for something to eat

Closer look

This is a different one, can you see the contrast?

Not fully bloomed yet

Know this? It’s called Donka, a delicious fruit somewhat similar to Mangos teen

Runakanda, time to go

Well folks, I hope you got some valuable details about Runakanda in this short story. It really is a bio-diversity hotspot which needs to be protected before it’s too late. Do visit this place by all means but adhere to the laws of the nature and do your utmost to protect it.

This is Sri signing off and would hopefully meet you again with another fairy tale.

The day I heard about Lakegala, I started collecting information about this incredible rocky mountain. I was dreaming about this for very long time. When I did the ‘Nil Diya Pokuna’ cave expedition, I decided my next big thing is Lakegala. Me and my friends went to Lakegala during April 2016. Weather was perfect, but the night we stayed, Meemure had a heavy shower. Nava mama told that not do the hike. I was heartbroken L. But I made up my mind that something bad would have happened if we have hiked. From that day I was my clock started ticking……

Every time when I told my friends that I want to do the Lakegala, they said that it’s very hard and too risky. And to think twice before you attempt. But My mind was already set to do this hike this year. After my first attempt I tried several times, but planning screwed me up.

At last, I got an invitation from Kasun Priyashantha, I was walking on the moon. The plan was to climb Lakegala and camp at river bank. We planned to leave on 23^rd September, I informed Nava mama that we are coming on 24^th morning. We (Kasun & his wife, Shashika, Uditha) assembled at Kasun’s house on 23^rd at 6 pm. We have packed all the food, tent and other necessary items for camping and started our journey on Uditha’s Toyota pickup. We left Piliyandala at around 6:30 PM and guided by Google navigation to get the shortest path to Kandy. Our plan is to reach Kandy by 10 PM. For some reason, whole plan got collapsed and came to Nittambuwa at 9:30m PM ha ha ha…. Nothing to do we have to go on. We continued our journey and reached Nava mama’s house at around 4 am. According to Nava mama, we should start climbing around 5 am, we were very tired and exhausted. This worried me a lot, because the hike is very tough. Not only that, wind was blowing like hell, this worried me too much. Especially when you climb the rock surface, if the wind speed it too much, it’s very risky. I checked with Nava mama, he said that wind started only today…… not again L. But my mind said that you will do it today. So we continued.

We had a good cup of tea at Nava mama’s place. We packed with bread & spicy seeni sombol (thanks to Hasini) and started the hike. Before the hike, went to a devalaya to get blessings for a safe journey. I lighted 3 oil lamps and prayed. Now we are ready to rock. We were accompanied with Kalu malli (the guide).

During September, it was very dry, no water in the river and remaining water is contaminated with bugs and dried leaves. Therefore, make sure you carry enough water.

Our transporter……

WOW…… what a view…..

Walked through the jungle and passed dried streams for an hour. We took time-to-time short break and had jeewani & glucose. We all were tired and exhausted due to long journey, this continued to worry me. But inner mind said that we are going to achieve this goal today, and I trusted my inner mind. After hour and half walk, we came to small water fall (a stream), where we had our breakfast. Comparing to last time visit, this time stream was dried big time. We had search for clean water for drinking.

It’s breakfast time….

Contaminated water…. 

After the breakfast and a small rest, we started the journey. From this point onwards there was no big trees for shade, it’s like an open area; small thorny bushes, slippery rock surface and lose stones. You have to be bit careful, that now you are climbing at the edge of the Lakegala. On your right side, it’s a 90 degree drop, single wrong step; you know where it will lead you J.

On April 2016…..

On September 2016…..

Before and after………. Dried big time….

Edge of Lakegala.

At this point I could see the summit; first I thought it’s not too far. But it’s not true, it’s the illusion coz of the rock’s angle. The climbing angle has made us little more difficult to climb. Step-by-step, steep is increasing. Suddenly, we were hit by an another hurdle; very strong winds. Don’t know the wind speed, but it was very strong. I have to grasp the bushes coz of the strong wind; it was pushing me aside. The guide told us that, if this wind continues, we cannot reach the summit.

It’s just ‘WOW’ nothing beyond this……

What a creative mind of ‘Mother nature’

Not again……it troubled me too much, I came that much closer and returning for the second time also; not acceptable by me. I have made up my mind that I AM DOING THIS SOMEHOW. We decided to go as much we can, and see the, if it’s safe to reach the summit, we will, otherwise we will return. Even though my mind said to go, I cannot take stupid risky decision. As mentioned by Sri, in his report, “You have to understand your capabilities and decide for yourself whether you can do it or not. Remember, at the end of the day, safety comes first. You’ve gotta live to tell your story. Don’t try to be heroic unnecessarily and put yours and others’ live in danger. You don’t have to be ashamed of yourselves not being able to climb each and everything.”

These words MUST be followed to the letter, whoever tries this hike.

On the way to the top.

Walking through the thorny bushes…..

Finally reached the rock bottom of the surface…..

After few hours of steep climb through the thorny bushes, we reached the 80-degree angle rock surface. Simply ‘WOW’…. Now mind asked me ‘Are you really want to climb this?” …. Yes, of course…….

WOW…… the path-way to the haven……

The only way to the summit….

On the way to the top.

This is not a hike; this is 100% rock climbing, so be prepared for this.

When we came the rocky surface, the strong wind was almost gone, and the Kalu Malli said that we can continue to the summit. And not to waste time, coz don’t know when the strong wind starts again. And he said that we should climb down, before noon, coz if the rock surface get hot, we will suffer, where we did J. So we kept our backpack and took only water. I took my DSLR bag and a water bottle.

First step……

Shashika in action….

The rock surface is about 700-800 feet high. You should have a good body balance and strength to bare your body weight. Train yourself you planning for Lakegala.

This is how you will be on the rock surface Ha ha ha ……….

second step……

Hasini in action….

It’s recommended be on bare foot when u climb the rock, unless you have the full control. It was almost near to noon, and coz of the slight wind blow we didn’t feel the heat. But the rock surface was getting hotter and hotter.

While you are climbing take you time, be relaxed and don’t rush. If you are thirsty, drink a sip of water, don’t drink too much.  Carry a gloves, this will help you while you are on the rope.

Kalu malli….atha arinnam epa putho….

Still more to go…..very steep climb.

Uditha is in action…..trying his best.

Uditha, couldn’t make it to the summit, coz he was too tired and exhausted; so we don’t want to force him. He decided to climb down to the steam where we had our breakfast. Good decision, I would say. Climbing this rock surface will take very long time, therefore it’s highly recommended to have 5 or lesser members.

Kalu malli….resting

The iron rod where the rope is tide to.

After few hours of hard rock climbing, we all reached the summit. WOW, what an achievement, I felt, I am top of the world. From the summit, Kalu malli informed Nava mama, that we have reached the summit. This is the only place where u have Mobitel signal.

Lakegala Summit…..

Now the hard time begins, climbing down, don’t look down. Always face the rock and climb down like abseiling. By the time we started to climb down, if I am right it was around 3 pm, the rock was soo hot. Anyhow we have to go home; this trip shouldn’t be a history. Keeping this mind started the climb down approach.

I had left with less than 100ML of water. I have to reserve this till I reach down. I was thirsty, to drink 3 chilled Coca-Cola bottles; but only left with less than 100ml water J. This situation was deadly. Can’t explain in words, have to experience it. And we have climb down one by one, that is going to take another couple of hours.

At around 5pm were able to climb down from the rock surface. Now we have an another worry, Uditha. He climbed down to the water stream where we had breakfast and went alone. If he has gone in a wrong path or lost, that would be another disaster. All were worried and climb down faster we can before the night fall. At last we found Uditha near the water stream.

When we found him it was almost dark & he was worried about us, coz. He has thought that something has happened to us. So he got some dried logs and put up a camp fire, so that he can reach help from the villages. Very good thinking, and appreciate his effort. In this kind of a hike we must be ready anything.

We decided to rest for a while, but Kalu malli said that we should move on. Coz, usually the hike will take around 10-11 hours, and if we don’t reach the village ASAP, the villagers will get panic.

So we continued the journey. Kalu malli was right, Nava mama has sent few villagers with rope, drinks, water and with some biscuits; they thought something has happened coz we were so late.

At last we came to village around 8:45 PM. I immediately went to Nava mama’s home. When he saw me, he came running and hugged me said that ‘I was so worried that we didn’t return.’ That time I realized how much these village people are rich in their heart, money is nothing. Very emotional moment. We all thanked Nava mama, Kalu malli and said good bye to Meemure and returned on the same day.

We reached Colombo, next day around 9 am (home sweet home). I should thank Nava mama for this successful trip.

I will meet you soon once again for a cave expedition on Lakegala J.

Most important tips and some guidance.

• Don’t go in large numbers
• Make sure the backpacks are light and stay closer to your body.
• Carry plenty of water
• Climbing Lakegala is like a religious ritual, so guard your tongues
• You have to understand your capabilities and decide for yourself.
• You’ve gotta live to tell your story. Don’t try to be heroic unnecessarily and put yours and others’ live in danger.
• You don’t have to be ashamed of yourselves not being able to climb each and everything. Just gauge carefully and decide what’s best for you.
• Take frequent breaks; remember it’s not a race to the top
• Please don’t attempt this during windy and rainy season
• There are no water sources on top of Lakegala.
• This is not a hike, this 100% rock climbing.

Lakegala is the not yet polluted, my kind request; don’t pollute the mother nature. Even ‘Nil Diya Pokuna’ is polluted with Arak bottles and Red bull cans.

Thank you for reading, see you soon with an another adventure trip report.

In childhood I heard that song “Haputal Api Yanawa”. Ever since I want to go to Haputale. I should admit Haputale is very scenic place although people do not visit Haputale as much as some other over rated places. It is a small town with plenty of places to accommodate. You can reach Haputale by bus or train if you use public transport.
We left Galle early in the morning and went to Rathnapura. From Rathnapura we took A4 road to Beragala and then A16 to Haputale. On the way we went to visit Bambarakanda water fall. There was no much water as it is dry season. Anyway you might safely bath at the base pool.
It was around 2pm when we reached Haputale. Climate was misty. Thanks to Nayani, we stayed in Highcliffe Hotel which is situated at the centre of the town very close to bus stand and railway station. Hotel was well maintained and has nice view of surroundings. Price is economical but food prices are bit high. There are cheaper places nearby. In the evening we just walked around the town.
Next day we went to Lipton seat. Road is motor able but it is narrow and has lot of hairpin bends. Therefore extreme care is must. And I should tell it is very scenic road through tea estate. View from Lipton seat is really amazing. After spending 1-2 hours we came back to Haputale and went to Adisham Bungalow a well maintained catholic monastery. Although it is motor able to the bungalow I would advice to walk from main road as there is less parking spaces.
In the evening we took Kandy train from Haputale to visit Idalgashinna railway station. It is said that this station is covered in mist in most of the times. Although we spent about two hours at the station we were not lucky enough to see that. Anyway there was a filming of teledrama at that time. We came back to Haputale next Badulla bound train.
Next day was our last day. We went to Diyathalawa another beautiful town and then went Nuwaraeliya and took Hatton road to reach Kottawa. Road is now fully carpeted.

Bambarakanda water fall

Bambarakanda water fall

Bambarakanda water fall

My team at Bambarakanda

View from the Hotel

View from the Hotel

View from the Hotel

View from the Hotel

View from the Hotel

View from the Hotel

View from Lipton seat

Cloud train to heaven from Haputale

Sea of the heaven

Lipton Seat

Tea with Lipton

View from Lipton seat

View from Lipton seat

View from Lipton seat

View from Lipton seat

.At Idalgashinna station

At Idalgashinna station

At Idalgashinna station

Cute commenter about Idalgashinna station

Doggy at Idalgashinna station

Balancing…..

Filming a teledrama…….

Filming a teledrama…….

Adisham Bungalow

St Clair Water fall……

St Clair Water fall……

St Clair Water fall……

Thank you for reading

Summiting Lakegala was one of my dreams since 2010, when I first camped in the beautiful village of Meemure. After nearly a 6 year wait, this dream was finally realized in September 2016, thanks to some remarkable guidance and teamwork of a dedicated crew. During the last two years, I have been on a number of hikes of varying difficulty and complexity – some of them planned with the help of Lakdasun trip archive. But never previously I had the time to write down those experiences like this. However I thought of keeping a record of this journey due to sheer lack of literature on the matter. In fact, even by the accounts Nava maama – a seasoned hiker and villager in Meemure, less than 100 outsiders have been to the top of Lakegala in his 50+ year span of life. First climb on record was in 1943 by E.T. Dyson, who was the then Colonial Government Agent of Kandy. Sri Abeywickrema’s legendary report on his ascent in April 2014 was my only reference when I started planning the trip way back in February 2016.

Soon I got to know that due to an unfortunate incident occurred in September 2014, killing 1 person and seriously injuring 2, climbing Lakegala has come to a halt. Not even the villagers of nearby villages – Meemure, Ranamure, Narangamuwa etc. – were willing to take up this task. I called Nava maama for the first time in February 2016 to discuss on a possible journey in March or April, but he kept on discouraging me from doing this, recalling the accident and difficulty of the climb due to wind and rains. Knuckles range is notorious for its unpredictable weather – mist and sporadic rains in this case. So timing was absolutely critical for our success. Usually March-May is considered the best time for climbing due to lack of rains and wind. However it was March and this time, the rains have not yet departed. Towards the end of March, Nava maama finally agreed to take up the task of guiding us to Lakegala. He suggested to do it in between New Year festival in April and Vesak full moon poya day in May. Considering our work commitments and holiday arrangements, we decided to do it on 21^st April, exactly 2 years from Sri’s attempt. First week since the New Year festival was calm without serious showers to the area, raising our hopes.

First Attempt

So me, with 3 of my friends – Ashan, Chinthaka and Dinuka – packed our bags and departed to Nava maama’s place in Meemure on 20^th April with cheerful minds. Much to our dismay, a heavy shower started in the evening of 20^th, shattering all our dreams of making it to the summit. Nava maama casted a totally negative outlook of tomorrow’s proceedings, as it could be observed that streams of water sliding down the Western face of Lakegala, from where we are supposed to climb. Nevertheless we insisted on going as far as we could, and Nava maama had no other option but to agree J Next day we started the journey from Meemure with the guide introduced by him, Chanaka, and reached the base of the rocky surface after nearly a 5 hour struggle. It was clear to us that any attempt to proceed further would be suicidal. Such a venture would only result in consolidation of the already established opinion that Lakegala is a deadly peak. I am not going to further elaborate on our first attempt to climb Lakegala, since our second and the successful attempt also covers the same details up to this point. Only difference here was that the climb required extra energy due to forest patch being infested with leeches and rocky surface being extra slippery.

The captivating view of Lakegala. We were glued to view of this majestic peak every time we saw it. After the initial failure, this remained the wallpaper of my laptop until we finally made it to the summit in September 2016.

The lush greenery of the paddy fields of Meemure, as seen from the village Bo tree. However the greenery was nowhere to be seen when we came there again in September.

More of the enchanting beauty of the village. Did you know that Meemure is located at a lower elevation than Kandy? Elevation of these paddy fields is around 370m MSL while Kandy is at an elevation around 500m MSL.

Through the forest patch starting from Meemure towards the base pool of Lakegala.

First sight of the mighty peak. We were desperately hoping that these streams of water would be dried off before we reach the base of the rocky surface.

Streams of water flowing down the rocky surface.

Wannimaana range is seen to the West of Lakegala. Thunhisgala is covered in mist.

At the base of the rocky surface – this was the furthest point we could climb in this attempt. It was impossible to walk horizontally cross the slippery rock to reach the rock crevice.

A grim reminder – the shoe of the hiker who fell to death in 2014.

The mesmerizing beauty of Thunhisgala after the mist was cleared.

Though it was a setback for us, this failure could only strengthen our motivation to give another try to conquer this mighty peak under different weather conditions.

Second Attempt

Time passed and we did several other hikes during next 4 months’ time. But the incomplete job at Lakegala was always in our minds. Nava maama mentioned about a brief window of opportunity in September before the start of North Eastern monsoon, prior to our departure from Meemue in April. Keeping that in my mind, I gave him a call in the last week of August to check whether he has new plans. To my great surprise, he said that there will be a team from Colombo on 11^th September to climb Lakegala. He asked us to join with this team if possible. I quickly called my friends to check their availability. Both Chinthaka and Dinuka were okay but Ashan had other plans for that date. Considering the difficulty in arranging such a journey, we decided to proceed despite the brief time for the preparation. Fortunately for us, Rajitha joined the team to fill the void left by Ashan.

Nava maama said that he has some good ropes with him. Therefore we decided to take only 2 pieces of 10m ropes with us. Other stuff we took with us include gloves, knee guards, energy drinks, glucose and jeewani. With heavily loaded backpacks, we met in front of Sri Dalada Maligawa in the morning of 10^th Saturday. With the experience of the first attempt, we all knew the gravity of the task in front of us. Hence we went inside Dalada Maligawa to get the blessings of the sacred tooth relic despite the heavy crowd. I was sure that only a sudden rain could stop us this time, thus asked all divinity to be kind to these 4 souls until they get back safely. After spending nearly an hour inside Dalada Maligawa, we got into the van of Rajitha – whose father drove us to the township of Hunnasgiriya. It was around 12pm when we reached Hunnasgiriya. We bought ample chocolates and marshmallows on the way. After having short eats for lunch, we got into the van that brings passengers from Hunnasgiriya to Meemure once per day. There’s another van that travels from Hunnasgiriya to Kaikawala, which is located few kilometers before Meemure in the Hunnasgiriya-Meemure road. This van can also be arranged to go to Meemure if the Meemure van is too crowded. These vans usually start journey from Hunnasgiriya around 1-1.30pm, but it’s good to be there at least 1 hour prior to the departure so as to reserve a seat. There is also a possibility that it could leave early if there are many passengers. A bus service exists between Hunnasgiriya and Loolwatte estate, which is located 18km from Meemure. Villagers of Meemure were used to walk all the way to Loolwatte prior to the start of this van service.

After a tiring, 33 kilometer–3 hour journey inside this barely ventilated van, we reached Meemure around 4.00 in the afternoon. On the way we saw some forest fires which we later came to know that has destroyed hundreds of hectares up to Yahangala. Having known the Meemure village with our previous visits, we straight away decided to walk down to the stream that supplies water to the village – ‘Meemura oya’. Unfortunately there was very little water in Meemura oya, and the place where we had a quite refreshing bath during the last visit, barely had any water to take a dip. So we walked further down the stream for another kilometer or two, to the waterfall which comprises three sections. This is the place where the famous ‘Giniyam Rae’ video of Iraj was shot. However the darkness was starting to fall and after taking few snaps, we decided to return. After having an ice cold shower at Nava maama’s place, we sat down to finalize tomorrow’s plan. There was no news from the guys from Colombo with whom we were supposed to climb. So the following day was totally ours. Around 7.30pm, Nava maama arrived with a middle-aged villager, to whom we got introduced as Dhammika. At that time we didn’t know that Dhammika maama would become one of the best guides we’ve met to date. Nava maama seemed to have given up hiking Lakegala, perhaps due to his age. We also didn’t insist on him to join. However he seemed to be somewhat positive about tomorrow’s journey than the previous time. Nevertheless, he clearly warned us of the difficulty of it – ‘Mahaththuru, meka hari awadaanam gamanak. E nisa hama welema thamange parissama gana waga balaganna.’

After finishing a dinner which was totally vegetarian, we started testing the ropes. Nava maama had 2 pieces of good quality marine ropes of about 30m length. He also had another 30m rope which was made of the same material of our ropes, but contained 2 interwoven strings. We tied all three ropes to a tree and started pulling them one by one. What I noted immediately was that the third rope started to elongate gradually as we started to pull. This would’ve been problematic at the peak since a slight elongation per meter would create a dangerous pulsation when pulled from the other end of the rope. Marine ropes, which were much heavier comparatively, seemed quite stable under tension. However there were only the 5 of us there to carry them all the way. We had other essential stuff including food and water that had to be carried as well. Considering all these factors, I decided to take one 30m section of the marine rope. Then Chinthaka proposed that he will also take the two 10m ropes he bought from Kurunegala. At this point, we didn’t know that the success of our journey would critically depend on this decision.

After removing all unnecessary stuff from our backpacks, we split the food, snacks and water between the 4 of us. We took water bottles with a capacity of over 13L. There was no necessity to fill all that from the village itself because we could fill them from the base pool of Lakegala. After re-confirming that everything was in order, we went to sleep by 10pm.

Only a tiny trickle of water in stream this time.

Silhouette of the dusk at Lakegala

On the long awaited day, we got up at 5am. After having rotti for breakfast, we left Nava maama’s home at 6am. Dhammika maama joined with us near the Bo tree of Meemure village. While he was preparing his stuff, we went to the Kande Bandara Devalaya in the upper right corner of the paddy field and sought for his permission and blessings. Ultimately it is King Ravana’s adaviya, and we all were under his mercy during the course of this journey. I was watching how my friends were looking at this mighty peak, awestruck by its majesty and the power it disseminates. It was wonderful to see how the morning sun rays kiss the peak of Lakegala, reflecting a mesmerizing orange color and creating a huge dark shadow behind, even concealing a section of the Wannimaana range.

Statue of Kande Bandara Deviyo

Rituals at Kande Bandara Devalaya

After completing the rituals, we entered into the forest patch with the guidance of Dhammika maama. As Sri has mentioned in his lengthy report, this journey can be divided into 3 sections.

1. Path from the village to the base pool of Lakegala – around 4km journey through a forest patch (difficulty – moderate)
2. From base pool to the bottom of the rocky surface – around 2km uphill climbing through trees and maana bushes (difficulty – moderately strenuous)
3. Climbing along the rock crevice and through some trees and maana bushes to the summit (difficulty – extremely strenuous)

The hike to the base pool of Lakegala is similar to other hike in the Knuckles range. In the rainy season you find plenty of leeches but this time round we hardly found any. There’s a moderate downward slope until we met the ‘Lake ela’. Just upstream of the point we crossed ‘Lake ela’ there’s a waterfall named ‘Akula ella’. This time it had very little water compared to the previous instance. A key to success of this journey is to complete this 4km stretch without a significant drop in your energy. This is where your previous hiking experience comes in handy. From ‘Lake ela’ onwards it’s a continuous ascent until we reached the base pool. However in a sorry state of affairs, it had very little water compared to the last time. In April it was a full flowing stream from the top of Lakegala, but this time the water was stuck in mere 2 pits. Though there were no nearby habitats, we weren’t sure of the quality of the water. However we didn’t have any other option but to fill our bottles with this water. Altogether we carried 13L of water and 2L of Isotonic with us. Some of the water was mixed with Jeevani to avoid cramps during this strenuous climb. After approximately a half an hour break, we left the base pool at 8.30am.

From here onwards there was no proper footpath. A cattle track beginning from the base pool lead to a rocky surface with was located approximately 300-400m up in the hill. There was water flowing from the top of Lakegala when we did the limb in April, and it was quite slippery. But this time we managed to pass this without much hassle. In another 100m or so we reached an edge of the rock from where we could see the deep ravine of Lakegala as seen from Meemure. This is where we first saw Meemure after leaving the village. A few minutes into the journey from that point, we suddenly remembered that we are still carrying the lunch packets with us. Since we had enough chocolates and other snacks with us, there was no need to carry them further. We quickly collected them and put into a bag which was hung in a tree to prevent the reach of animals.

Dhammika maama looking at the steep uphill climb.

Team with Dhammika maama. Here the Gombaniya range is seen behind the Uda Wannimaana range.

Up to this point, there were 2 dogs who followed us from the village itself. However they were in no mood to give up climbing. After another short break for water, we started climbing again. This time through some thick undergrowth. There was a tunnel created by frequent travels of wild boars and hedgehogs, through which we had to crawl to reach an open area. It seemed that this is a resting point of cattle. After another break to gather our energy, we started the uphill journey again. Soon we came out of the jungle and were heading towards the rocky surface through a ‘pathana’ area made of maana bushes and other small trees. It should be noted that these maana bushes are fixed to the ground by a very thin layer of soil; so most of the time the bushes came out easily when we grabbed them to get a support. Every step had to be placed with care because loose rocks tend to come out all the time. Slope of this range was around 50-60 degrees, so we had to take a zigzag route to climb up.

Through the Pathana area in a zigzag route.

Team climbing the maana patch, aiming at the rock crevice we are supposed to climb.

These two dogs followed us from the village.

Rajitha contemplating about the hard climb ahead.

This terrain with maana bushes was unforgiving. Therefore it’s good to wear gloves keep your hands unscratched.

Scenic background all around the place.

Climbing the first rocky surface. Still some 100m below the actual base of the last leg.

Chinthaka trying to maintain his balance on a rock surface of 70 degree angle.

As I have mentioned earlier, the third and the last leg of this climb is through a rocky surface. Dhammika maama related to us that there are 2 routes to do this task. One is the popular route along a crevice in the rock. All recent hikes are done along this route which has a slope of around 70-80 degrees. The other route is along the edge of the front face of Lakegala. The major advantage of this route is that the roping distance would be shorter. However climbing had to be done along the ridge of the mountain, with one step away from a 90 degree, vertical drop. As he mentioned, Lakegala has been climbed by the villagers along this route when he was young. Later it had been abandoned as it was deemed too risky. But in a youthful spirit, he suggested that we should climb along the crevice and come down using this long lost path. At this moment, we did not express any opinion about that. However I was worried that this path had not been used by anybody closer to 3 decades – hence there could be nasty surprises even Dhammika maama was not aware of, if we were to reinvent it.

We aimed at the rock crevice from the point we came out of the jungle. Last time we arrived at the rocky base some 30-40m to the left of the crevice, so had to take a treacherous horizontal path along the rocky surface to arrive at the starting point of it. After arriving at the base of the rock, we had to revisit our backpacks to identify what else we could leave behind. Even an ounce of unnecessary payload could make the journey far more difficult. After preparing our backpacks and having some water, we gathered all our energy for the final push. We had to be mindful of every step, as one wrong step would draw curtains to the entire journey. Dhammika maama took one end of the rope and went into the lead. First target was to reach the rock crevice, which was located some 20-25m to the left. Rope was of no use at this point because it was not attached to something solid on the top and the path was horizontal. I went from the behind of Dhammika maama, carefully avoiding sand and pieces of rock. 3 others also followed me without much trouble.

Team ready to start the ultimate climb. Look at the way Rajitha is staying there – something in between sitting and standing.

It is essential to use all 4 limbs during this part.

Dhammika maama preparing the 30m rope.

The view behind us was terrifyingly beautiful. It was a scenery we could sit and watch all day if we didn’t have to worry about where we were sitting. In a few meters of climb with all 4 limbs, we could reach the famous rock crevice which we had seen even in our dreams. For me, the crevice was far more accommodating than the bare rock because we could take cover from wind, and also gave something to hold on. As long as I was holding on to an edge of the rock, I felt comfortable even without the rope. This is where the gloves came in handy. Here we strictly advised Chinthaka, who had a slight fear of heights, not to look back no matter what. Making our worst fears come true, the 2 dogs who were following us also came to the place where we were staying. There was no way those 2 could be sent back without hurting them. However it was evident that they will not be able to climb all the way to the top.

By this time, Dhammika maama was free-soloing the rock with one end of the rope attached to his backpack and one hand on a wooden stick we found near the base pool. He used this stick to fix the rope when we required. All 3 of my friends were around 60kg of weight with slim and athletic bodies. I was the heaviest of the team with 80kg body weight. Therefore I was always afraid to give my entire weight to the rope as it was not fixed to something solid above. All this time I used it only as a support. Journey from here onwards was extraordinary – unlike anything I have done before. Crevice was not enough to set my foot most of the time. Therefore had to step on the side walls while holding on to edges. When it was not possible to get any push from the legs, I had to use the power of the arms to push forward. Sometimes my foot got stuck inside the crevice and had to remove the foot first and get the shoe after climbing one step down. Me, Rajitha and Dinuka were wearing shoes while Chinthaka and Dhammika maama were climbing barefoot. If you aren’t sure of the grip of your shoes, it is highly advisable that you remove your shoes. Only downside was that by this time, the sun was rising above the peak of Lakegala and the rock was gradually starting to heat up.

On the rock crevice. Now we are at a point of no return.

Dhammika maama has attached the rope to the pole which is fixed in between the rocks.

Chinthaka trying to climb the first (innocent) boulder.

The crevice contains 3 places where the climb was purely vertical. While first and third boulders are manageable if you have the height, the second one is quite nasty even for a tall guy. Villagers had placed a piece of wood as a support to climb this earlier, but because of the absence of climbers for 2 years, this piece of wood was nowhere to be seen. It poses a real challenge for the person who’s climbing first. Fortunately, Dhammika maama, with all his experience found a way to circumvent this boulder by climbing on the bare rock surface, holding on to miniature cracks on the rock. This is where something unexpected was occurred. Dhammika maama lost the hold of our prized rope and it fell down the boulder. Therefore the one who was leading the 4 of us – by this time it was Chinthaka – had to climb without the rope, grab it and throw it some 10-15m above his head. Having stuck in a tiny crevice, surrounded by vast granite walls, this task was by no means easy. However Chinthaka took up the challenge and went ahead without any aid to grab the rope. From that point, he grabbed the rest of the rope and threw it at Dhammika maama with all his might. But sadly, it fell short of him and Chinthaka again had to do some risky climbing to get to the rope. This was unnatural for somebody who is known as the best cricketer of our gang. Such was the tension of the situation we were dealing with. In the second attempt however, he was successful and Dhammika maama was able to grab the rope. He went expertly up to the first iron rod which has been placed in the rock by somebody who has climbed Lakegala in 1990s, and tied the rope there. That was the first time we could give full weight to the rope during the climb. And there was no other way to climb the nasty second boulder, which seemed like a piece of rock stuck in the middle of the crevice. Thanks to the heroics of Dhammika maama, we were able to reach the first iron rod with all body parts intact.

Rajitha climbing up to the point where the first iron rod is fixed.

Dhammika maama – hero of the day. Picturesque Thunhisgala is seen in the background.

Dinuka – up on the second (nasty) boulder.

Second iron rod. People who fixed these rods in the rock should be born as gods in their next lives.

Then started the climb up to the second iron rod, which was placed with a slight deviation to the right from the vertical line we were following. So the rope again had to be used only as a support, since it was unwise to give full body weight to the inclined rope. However, soon I figured out that there are no edges that I could take assist from. Thus we had to maintain perfect balance while doing this task. Fortunately, everybody was 100% concentrated on the task they were up to; thus able to reach the second iron rod without any shocks. We have now climbed the up dreaded rock crevice, and were looking at the perfect view of Wannimaana, Udawannimaana and Thunhisgala peaks in front of us. Dhammika maama seemed relieved.

But it didn’t take that long for us to realize that the rock climbing part was far from over. There was no way to climb upwards because path was obstructed by a nasty boulder. Thus the usual path villagers have taken is walking on the rock horizontally, and reaching the maana patch from the botom. Rope was useless since there was no place to fix the leading end of it, not even a tree. As usual, Dhammika maama went ahead, keeping his rock solid balance. Slope was around 60 degrees, not as steep as the rock crevice. But I was shocked to see that the rocky surface was absolutely smooth in most parts. There were scarcely any crack to hold on or set foot in. Rajitha gave me a serious look and asked whether we are really going to do this. Frankly speaking, this was the first time I was scared in this entire uphill journey. Even the rock crevice was somewhat manageable because there was something to hold on to. But I was in no mood to turn back, having come up this far. It was down to the grip of my shoes to take me to the end of this rocky surface. I cannot recall how I managed to do this part which could only be 30m in horizontal distance. I barely remember that I had to jump from one crack to another to set my foot in somewhere solid. Somehow I was able to pass this treacherous surface and all my friends followed without any incident, under the merciful watch of Kande Bandara Deviyo. We were relieved to enter into the final forest patch before the observation point in the summit. However I was psychologically drained after the scary experience we just had to undergo. Walking through the forest patch was by no means easy because there was no footpath or paths taken by any medium sized animal. After another struggle for nearly a half an hour, we were able to reach the pinnacle of Lakegala.

A dream of 6 years and a plan which was in the making for nearly 7 months had just come true!

We were exhilarated at our success which took away all our pains. We were looking over the village exactly the same way how King Ravana was looking at it millennia ago. It was 12.30pm when we reached the summit. We lost no time erecting the flags – the Sri Lankan flag and the flag of our alma mater Dharmaraja College, Kandy. The piece of stick which Nava maama used to erect the flag during Sri’s visit was still there to help us with that task. The breeze on the top of Lakegala was so strong, but it took away our tiredness and pains.

Time for a sip of water after reaching the peak.

Dinuka enjoying the unbelievable achievement. Sorabora wewa, Maduru Oya reservoir and some other reservoirs are seen in the background.

On a clear day, we should be able to see all the way up to the ocean.

Paddy fileds of Meemure are seen in brown. Green paddy fields are located in the village of Kaikawala.

Rajitha preparing to raise the flags.

Then we sat down to eat some snacks and chocolates. Dhammika maama described the surrounding peaks and notable locations one by one, starting from Riverstone in the right side extreme to Yahangala in the left side extreme. We were facing the dome-like peak of Thunhisgala (Kalupahana peak – 1), and below that were Wannimaana and Uda Wannimaana. Gombaaniya aka Dumbaana Gala, the highest peak in the Knuckles range was covered in thick mist as usual despite the scorching sunlight over the rest of the region. We were witnessing something only a few pair of eyes have seen all this time. Dhammika maama showed the place where they did the legendary pirith chanting on top of Lakegala on 20^th September 2002. He and Nava maama were two of the 45 men who climbed Lakegala for the event that day. Later I found this (http://www.asiantribune.com/node/2697) beautiful piece of writing by Dr. Sudath Gunasekara, who had also been one of the people who went to the top that day.

We remained roughly 1 hour there in the heavens. It was freighting to think about the downhill journey. For a brief moment, we contemplated on taking the long lost second path which Dhammika maama mentioned earlier. However it came into my mind that even if how difficult or long the journey along the rock crevice is, now we know every bit of it, and we know what to expect at each point. Wind on top of the peak was also too strong to consider a downhill journey along such an open ridge.

It was close to 1.30 now, and we started re-packing our backpacks. It was only then it occurred to me that we have finished all the water we bought with us. We might have left a 1L bottle down the base of the rocky surface, but until we reach there, we are without a drop of water to drink. We have effectively consumed 12L of water and 2L of Isotonic during these 7 hours!

The moment we envisaged for nearly 6 years!

Breathtaking views towards the east.

Dinuka was overjoyed.

Leaving the summit – bidding farewell to the flags we raised.

Leaving only the flags behind, we started our return journey. It was bit of a challenge to figure out from where entered into the forest patch. After some deliberation among the teammates, we were finally able to find the location. But now we were confronted with a deadly task.

Rope we left near the end of the rocky surface was still there. Dhammika maama had to stay behind holding on to one end of the rope, while somebody from us had to go horizontally to the second iron rod and tie it there. This was one hell of a task due to absence even tiny cracks in rock. We could only hope that our shoes had enough grip to stick to the surface. Rock was heated up by this time, making a barefoot descent more difficult. Dhammika maama too was wearing an additional pair of socks I had with me. Considering the fact that it was me who brought others on this journey, I took up the task of crossing the horizontal surface and tying the rope to the rod. Total distance was close to 30m, since our rope was barely sufficient to tie to the rod. It took me more than 10 minutes to go that distance, holding one end of the rope in my hand. I was on all 4 limbs, praying that my shoes won’t slip. After a dreadful experience, I was finally able to reach the iron rod. Rope was just enough to tie onto it. My friends also came there one by one. And lastly it was Dhammika maama who came there, maintaining his supreme balance, and holding on to the other end of the rope. We were relieved to finish that part without any incident.

We spend some 10-15 minutes there to gather our concentration. We were surrounded with insanely beautiful sceneries. Dhammika maama was relating to us how he had climbed Uda Wannimaana via the front face of it. At one point a rock he was setting his foot just slipped and he has had to jump out of it in a fraction of a second. He also pointed out a loose rock of about 1m length, at some 20m horizontal distance where we were sitting. It was right above the rock crevice we were about to get into. When we informed this to Nava maama later that day, he said that it should be removed before people start climbing the rock more frequently.

Dinuka accepted the challenge of climbing down to the rock crevice with the aid of the rope. He went down expertly using the rope and disappeared into the crevice in a matter of minutes. The rock had a sharp angle at this point and guys at the top couldn’t see what anybody at the other end of the rope is doing. We screamed asking Dinuka whether he was okay. We did not get an answer immediately. Rope was still tensioned, so we knew he was holding on to it. It took us a little while to understand that answers are not audible due to sharp edge and the wind prevalent at that point. After getting confirmation that Dinuka was at the crevice safely, Chinthaka and Rajitha also went down the same manner. Now it was my turn to disappear into the abyss. I gathered all my concentration and went down using the rope, looking only at the place where I was going to set my foot. After a struggle that lasted few minutes, I too was able to get down to the crevice. Now it was time for Dhammika maama to release the rope and come down without any aid. But at this point, Chinthaka remembered that he brought two 10m sections of rope with him. We tied one end of that rope to the main rope and asked Dhammika maama to pull it. This way, he was able to get some support during the descent. We did not mind that we had to leave behind those pieces of ropes. However the next section of the descent, with the rope tied to the first iron rod was going to be far more challenging. We were sure that the remaining 10m section was not going to be enough, since we had to pass two boulders including the nasty one in the middle. Dhammika maama did not reveal what was his plan when it was going to be his turn. Instead, he tied the rope to the rod and asked us to start the descent. Dinuka took the lead as usual. At this point, something dreadful happened. While Dinuka was holding on to the rope, the knot released. However the rope stuck in the head of the nail (iron rod). Dhammika maama quickly caught the end and strengthened the knot by keeping one foot on it. Our blood literally turned into water!

On the second iron rod. Riskiest descent ahead.

The drop! To get to this point, there was some 30m section that we had to walk across horizontally.

Target is to get into the rock crevice without slipping the foot.

Dinuka doing some risky roping. Our hearts stopped for a while.

Chinthaka doing conventional roping.

Despite the mishap, Dinuka started his journey again. He climbed down the first boulder and then the second one by keeping his foot in two side walls. Then he lost in the rock crevice like the first time. This time it took more time to get confirmation from him because the distance was more than 20m. We were waiting for like 20 minutes until he finally gave confirmation for somebody else to start the descent. Chinthaka and Rajitha also went down the same way and took a long time in the process. I wasn’t sure why it took so long until I went there myself. This time I had no option but to give my full weight to the rope because the rock was far more steep – almost 85 degrees – to release one hand. The boulder was almost 90 degrees and around 2m high. There was absolutely no place beneath it even to set my foot. So I was virtually sliding along the rock surface, tightly holding on to the rope with my hands. If not for the gloves and the long sleeve T shirt, skin would’ve been ripped off at this point. After nearly a half an hour struggle, I was finally able to set my foot in somewhere stable. Now it was the turn of Dhammika maama to start his journey. I was frightened to even think of climbing down the boulder without a rope. But we could not leave Nava maama’s rope there, and there was only one 10m section of other rope left. We had no idea what so ever how he was going to do this.

There was no sound from him for a long time and we were waiting desperately for him to appear from the top of the boulder. It was more than 20 minutes past and there was no sign of him. We called him, and got a faint reply amid the breeze. We all were chanting ‘ithipiso’ gaathawa, since his plight was quite obvious.

In another 10 minutes or so, the joyful face of Dhammika maama appeared from the top of the boulder. He was somehow holding on to the other rope brought by Chinthaka. Even that was not adequate to reach the place where we were. But the riskiest part could be done with the aid of the rope. Only after reaching our resting point he narrated what he has done there. His thinking was such that, there was no point of bringing the extra rope if this nasty drop had to be done without the help of it. So he has climbed up to the highest (2^nd) iron rod and brought back the rope tied to that. Only after attaching both sections together, he has done this miracle descent. We all were thankful to the divinity looking from above for taking him down safely. Now we were left with only the 30m rope of Nava maama. Dhammika maama fixed it in between rocks and asked us to start the descent again. It was not dreadful, but still the risk was higher compared to the climb up. In another two rounds, we were almost at the bottom of the rocky surface. Still the last part had to be done without the rope and there was no time to ease the concentration.

Dhammika maama looking at the performance of the guys from the 2nd iron rod.

Now it’s Rajitha’s turn for the descent. I was getting unnerved, knowing that it’s my turn next.

Making the matter more complicated, we found that one of the dogs which followed us from the village was stuck in the rocky surface, unable to climb up or down. We tried to bring it down but it was dangerous to bring the chap with one hand. So yet again, it was up to Dhammika maama to perform the riskiest act. Dog was severely dehydrated by that time. We climb down slowly to reach the place where we started the journey from the base. Everybody was sweating and was in a state of disbelief what we had just done!

Dhammika maama, with all his expertise, was still descending carrying the dog in one hand. It was an amazing sight, but it was unfortunate that I didn’t have my zoom lens to capture the moment. Both of them reached to the safety in another 10 minutes or so. Altogether it had taken nearly 3 hours just to descend the treacherous rock surface. The water bottle we left there was finished in no time. But our thirst wasn’t quenched. I too was getting dehydrated so my only target was to get to the base pool as soon as possible.

This is where I noticed that the sole of both by shoes are going off. However there was no option but to proceed at this moment. I was thankful that they didn’t go off while in the rocky surface – especially in the horizontal section at the top! There were plasters in the bag we hung in a tree some 1km downwards, that was the only hope for getting this fixed. Downhill journey was difficult than I thought, because my foot was hurting and I was getting severely dehydrated. Small rock pieces were making things worse, and we lost the count of times we fell down after stepping on loose pieces. My foot started hurting really bad when it hit on the rock. It was only after reaching the village I noticed that that the nail of my big toe was broken. Rajitha did some patchwork to my shoes with plasters after reaching the tree where we left the backpack containing lunch packets. We decided to take it down to the base pool since we had no water with us. It took nearly one and half hours to get to the base pool, and it was around 5pm when we finally reached it. I straight away drank nearly 3L of water with scant regard to the quality. After having a late lunch and some chocolates, we started the journey through the forest. The forest was hidden in the dark shadow of Wannimaana. Time to time we saw the bright reflection of sunlight by the rocky surface of Lakegala. Our eyes could not believe that we had just climbed this monster peak.

End of the story of my shoes. Glad that they served me well during the riskiest part.

As Dr. Sudath Gunasekara has described in his article, Lakegala could be one of the largest rock masses on the planet which is visible to the eye. The paddy fields of Meemure are located at an elevation of roughly 370m from Mean Sea Level (MSL), while the top is at an altitude of 1310m. Therefore the altitude gain of today’s climb was close to 1km! We were dead tired as we reached the village. Near the village, we saw Nava maama’s campsite on the banks of Meemura oya. We were fortunate to receive a warm cup of tea from the person who was working there. Near his home, we bid farewell to Dhammika maama, to whom we were indebted for taking us up to the heavens. It was around 6.30pm by then, but we did not forget to go to the Kande Bandara Devalaya for the thanksgiving. As we heard, it has been a ritual of everybody who come to the village after climbing Lakegala. We walked along the road of Meemure under the serene moonlight, reviewing the day’s proceedings. Everybody had so much to talk, and those talks didn’t stop even after reaching Nava maama’s home.

Nava maama came to see us with a broad smile in his face. He has seen the flags we have erected on the top, from the village around 2.30pm. Asked whether he truly believed that we could make it, he straight away said ‘no’. He has even said that ‘me mahaththuru kochchara kaiwaaru gahuwath, gal poththa langata gihin aapahu harila enawa’ even to Dhammika maama on the previous day. Not even Dhammika maama believed that we could do it as he said near the base pool during the return journey.

We had one of the most fulfilling dinners that night at Nava maama’s place. We prepared our backpacks and went to sleep around 10.30pm. Then we got up at 4.30am, and went to Hunnasgiriya in the 5.00am van from Meemure. It was around 8.00am when we arrived at Hunnasgiriya. There we had a superb breakfast and got into a bus which was heading to Kandy.

It was the end of the greatest journey of our lives so far!

I have no doubt that we will cherish this adventure until the day we leave this world… J

You can watch the footage of our journey using below links. Sorry for the poor upload quality.

Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3 , Part 4 , Part 5 , Part 6 , Part 7 , Part 8 , Part 9 & Part 10

This trip was happened in January 2013. I wanted to go the highest mountain in Sri Lanka and at that time I knew that is not allowed due to high security reasons. However I directly called Ministry of Defense office and explain them about my requirement. After that I send a request letter with names, NIC no of my friends and the motor bicycle numbers too. On the same day within 2 hours they faxed my confirmation letter which is under ministry letter head and with the director’s signature. After that I was awaited for that day where I can be at Piduruthalagala.

On that day we four left from Colombo via Avissawella to Hatton and then turned to Nuwaraeliya road which is more familiar to our rides. However on that day we spent 3 hours to reach Nuwaraeliya from Hatton due to the maintenance of the road. On that days Hatton-Nuwaraeliya road is like a hell, too narrow and gravel type road. That day there were big traffics due to renovations of the road and now you all can see a beautiful carpet road which will take around 1 and half hour to Hattoon-Nuwaraeliya.

After we had our breakfast at Nanuoya we stopped our bicycles at the main entrance check point of the Piduruthalagala, We showed them the letter and they took our mobiles and cameras. However I was able to keep my camera secretly with me. One of my friend already contacted a known officer who lived at the camp on the top. Hence we meet him at the top of the mountain and he took us to see the whole area where public cannot go and he allowed me to take photographs of them too.

We spend more than 3 hours and had some tea and biscuits from him and walked around the camp site and we went inside of the satellite rooms and those are not captured by us. Reaching to the mountain from the base check point is about 7km and it is too difficult to use 2nd and 3rd gear at most time. Whole the road is concreted and 10ft wide road. Those days there were small Bankurs on the way of the road and we saw some sambar, wild boar too.

Now anyone can go to this mountain without any prior approval from the ministry. But motor bicycles and three wheelers cannot go on that road due to the protection of the people from Leopards, Wild Boars.

Facebook – Travel in Sri Lanka-Sobasiri

Passing Thalawakale

Windsurfing clouds

The Giant in Sri Lanka

Piduruthalagala Mountain

On the way to the summit

Wide roads with misty environment

At the top of the mountain

Misty environment

Team at the highest point

Piduruthalagala forest reserve

Mist is coming

Beauty at the top

Beauty at the top

Beauty at the top

They help us to see more inside of the towers

Communication Towers

Going to the Satalite room

We were lucky to see this place

Towers covered by the mist

Dissapeard

Getting down to the base

15ft wide road

Ready to the actions

Nuwaraeliya city

Having a small rest

Environment is like on the way to Horton Plains

Had a wonderful day

End of the tour

Giant rocky plains

Every year we handover school items to rural school. Last time we went to rural school in Badulla. This time we choose Narangamuwa Primary School in Laggala Pallegama  to our project.  We left Maharagama on December 1st at 11.00 p.m. Our team comprises 11 persons with 2 vans. Around 5.15 a.m we reached to Riverston. At that time very cold & misty. Then we waited till 5.45 a.m & start journey to Riverston peak. It was new experience for us such journey in very cold & misty early morning. Around 7.00 a.m we were at Riverston peak & around 8.30 a.m we came back to main road. After that we went to Thelgamu Oya & having wash there. After that we went to Narangamuwa School & it took nearly 1 hour to Illukkumbura to school. When we went there the principle, teachers, school children & villagers waiting for us. They welcomed us warmly. They arranged ceremony to handover gifts. We handover school items, sweets to children & they were full happy. We handover School Name Board, computer , sports items & other school items to school. We gave gifts to Principle & teachers too. Pls see photos & it will tell whole story. They arranged simple & superb lunch for us.

After having lunch we took little rest & went to see Narangamuwa Lake. It was very beautiful place & water comes to lake by 3 “Diya Peeli”. It was very unique feature of this lake. We bath couple of hours there & after that we went to see village.We overnight stay at school hall & very cold at early morning.

Next day early morning we plan to go see few interesting places. We started our journey around 6.30 a.m. We arranged villager to provide our meals & guide us.His name was “Muthu Banda”. First we went to his house & had our breakfast. They were poor people but they treat us their maximum. Around 8.30 a.m we started our journey & first we went to see newly built “Kuti”. At that time monk leaves the place. “Kutiya” build in very beautiful place & ideal for meditation. Our 4 members stopped there & rest of the team started journey. After that we went to see Uyangomuwa Lake & “Rawana’s Garden”. Very little water there & few “Embul Dodam” trees in the area. After that we went to “Kapuwatugala Lena”. Only 3 of us able to reach to lena. Without rope it was bit difficult to reach. After few hours walking we reached to “Reassa”. From there we can get beautiful views & photos will talk rest. We waited nearly 1 hour there & decided to come back without going to “Meeriyagolla Peak” or “Lakegala” due to time we have. On the return journey we bath at beautiful rock pool. Water was very cool even at 1.00 p.m. After having bath we came to “Muthubanda” Mama’s house. Our other team members also came there. We had good lunch same as previous meals. After few hours we reached back to school. After thanks the Principle & “Muthubanda” Mama ,we packed our bags & left from village around 4.00 p.m. On the way we stopped at near Pallegama Bridge & we spent nearly hour in water. After that we started our journey back to home & we stopped at view point of “Pitawala Pathana”. After having beautiful evening views there we started our return journey. We came back to our homes around 12.00 a.m.

We completed another big project & big tour with lots of sweet memories.

Entrance to Riverston Peak

Around 6.00 a.m

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.	Thelgamu Oya

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.	Turning to Narangamuwa

Old Name Board

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Narangamuwa Primary School

School Children welcome us

The Priciple

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.	Principle with new Name Board

Little ones with their parents

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Distributing Gifts

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Handover Computer to School

Happy Faces with their gifts

.	Narangamuwa Lake

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“Diya Peella”

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Narangamuwa Temple

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.	Sleeping at night in School Hall

Morning Views

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Crossing the Stone Fence

“Pindapatha Kutiya”

“Muthu Banda” Mama’s house

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.	Newly built “Kutiya”

Inside the “Kutiya”

Around views from the “Kutiya”

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.	Resting place

.	Uyangomuwa Lake at “Rawana’s Garden”

.	Plucking “Embul Dodam”

“Lakegala” from “Rawana’s Garden”

Crossing water stream

“Kapuwatugala” Lena

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Coming down from Lena

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.	Showing “Maussa Kola” danger than “Kahabiliya Kola”

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.	Views from “Reassa”

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.	“Kapuwatugala Lene” from “Reassa”

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Surrounding Views

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The Drop

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“Clear & cool pool”

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“Muthu Banda” Mama’s Family

The villagers favorite “Thala Kola”

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We met Principle before leaving

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Pallegama Bridge

Having bath in river

Looking at Pitawala Pathana

Evening view’s

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Thanks for reading.

Sanjeewa

As per my experience, Devil’s Staircase road is the most hardest, dangerous and beautiful road in Sri Lanka. I knew about this on 2012 and I was lucky to visit there at the beginning of 2013. I got little information about this route conditions from Viraj Rathnapitiya and Dinesh Dekker in that time. Then we four got ready to face the challenges about our Motor bicycle tyres.

On that day we came from Visari Ella, Diyaluma, Beragala road and entered to the Bambarakanda road by 10am. However we started our journey from Kalupahana junction and proceed up to Bambarakanda fall, we spend little time there as one of our guys didn’t see this fall before. After that we started the Devil’s ride. On that time the whole route was gravel, uncomfortable and ugly road. Sometimes we had to ride over the 6-8inch highest stones. There is an area where named as a dangerous area since there might be patches on the tyres. We were slowly passed that area and entered to the V-cut. We had a small rest and took some photographs.

After that we again started the journey and successfully crossed the Bambarakanda water stream. That was a lovely experience since I still remember that our new guy how faced to that. Again we ride over mountains, gravel roads and came near to a small village. There we saw a beautiful waterfall at the dead end and took some photos and had another rest.

Again we started our journey and reached to Udaweriya by passing the Devil’s part and talked with a villager about the facilities in this area. That time the Udaweriya hospital was working like a dead man. Finally now we know that hospital was close down forever. There are 2-3 schools and around 250 children with 1400 population for the entire 16km area. There are no common facilities and their main occupation is tea plucking.

This road is having beautiful environment and sceneries as this was situated over too many of mountains and near to the HP boarder. Leopards Sambars, Wild boars are common animal lives in this area. There are no any specific camping place on this road and people can choose their own camping place but with own risk. Most suitable vehicles are motor bikes, 4×4 vehicles and Lorries; hence the duration for the entire route will be around 4-5 hours. If you want to walk along the road it will take about 7-9hours. If someone looking for a real hike, this might be the ideal solution for that.

Starting the journey

Side view of Bambarakanda

Wangedigala and Gommoli mountains

The best medium to the trips

Through the hard points

V-cut

Entrance to the Bambarakanda fall

Roadside beauty

Crossing the stream which carrying water to the Bambarakanda

Crossing it

Another person ready to cross it

Crossing the stream

Searching for the difficult points

We crossed it

Towards Giniseelin estate

Near to Nagadowa fall

Capturing beauties

Gommoliya can see

Endless road

Along the journies

Mountains over the mist

Village part of the Estate

A Junction

Roadside waterfalls

Through Devils Staircase

Towards southern side

Towards Idalgshinna side

Roadside waterfalls

Roadside beauties

Path

Along the way

Difficult points

Beautifull places

To the Udaweriya Estate

Rural lives

At the mist

The Church at the Udaweiya

Namboard

Udaweriya Tea Factory ruins

Udaweriya Tea Factory ruins

Udaweriya Tea Factory

My machine

Mother Mary Statue at a bend

Protection at this Rural villages

A kovil

Tea + Mountains + Mist

Towrds the Factory

More to go

Tea Estates

Nature

Beautiful mountains

The path we came

Close to the Worlds end junction

Gravel road is over

Where we came across

Over the mountains

Udaweriya village

The old nameboard

team without me in 2013

Sidupiyanila is a catholic seminary where they train students who are at their final stage of being a priest. This place was the home for our first trip as well as for 4 another trips. They don’t have any room facilities for the public and that is not a place to visit for a holiday. There is a beautiful waterfall at the behind of their land and we have climbed that waterfall too. (Trip Report)

On this day we left from Sidupiyanila around 9am near to the Bandarawela railway station. Then turned to nearby road at the station which goes to Lipton Seat. There are name board at some junctions hence it is not difficult to find the correct road from the number of by roads. This route is about 7-10km journey goes around too many tea estates. Sometimes you might get surprised by seeing some towers at the highest points where you could not saw on the way. At a place we have to buy tickets and again near to the Lipton seat we again have to buy tickets. On that time there was a lightening accident at the top of Lipton Sat and a foreigner was died there.

It is true that we can see 5 provinces at this place up to Hambantota Harbor too. But that is as per the weather condition of the day. Do not go there on rainy days since that place was very popular for lightening. We spend 1-2 hours around there and had some short eats at the retails shop over there. After that we got down from Dambetenna side to Haputale by seeing “Obada Fall”.

The rhythem of the world

The rhythem of the world

The rhythem of the world

The rhythem of the world

The tallest tree in Bandarawela

At the Seminary

Morning Sunshine

Rabbits

Sidupiyanila Seminary

Sidupiyanila Seminary

Sidupiyanila Seminary

Beautiful Flowers

Beautiful Flowers

Beautiful Flowers

Beautiful Flowers

Beautiful Flowers

On the way to the Lipton Seat

Road to the Lipton Seat

Obada Ella

Obada Ella

Over the mountains

Towards Dambetenna Estate

Directions

Greeny Estates

Tea Factory

Lipton Seat nameboard

More to go

More to go

More to go

We at there

Welcome to the LS

At Lipton Seat

Nameboard – click to enlarge

Towards Hambantota

Greeny Mountains

Greeny Mountains

On the Way to Bandarawela via Dambetenna

On the Way to Bandarawela via Dambetenna

On the Way to Bandarawela via Dambetenna

On the Way to Bandarawela via Dambetenna

Roadside Gap

Towards Badulla

The Team

Connecting Lives

It was December holidays again we decided to have a family trip and we opted to cover part of the East this time. On a Friday I made some calls to two friends at Ampara and Trinco and got 2 hotels booked. This was intended to be a road trip with time to rest in between.

Summery

Day 1, 3 and 5 were more or less travelling and days 2 & 5 were visiting places at a relaxed pace.

The places visited are not discussed in details. If you wish to know the exact locations, more details or driving directions on google maps you can click on the links below listed places.

1. Udawalawe National Park
2. Veheragala Archaeological site at Thanamalvila
3. Senanayake Samudraya Fishing Harbour
4. Senanayake Samudraya Dam (Inginiyagala)
5. Rambakan Oya Canal Ruins
6. Rambakan Oya Archaeological ruins near the Dam
7. Rambakan Oya Reservoir
8. Niloba Wewa
9. Kiralagas Wewa
10. Mahaoya Hot Wells
11. Aranthalawa Massacre site
12. Buddhangala Monastery
13. Trincomalee Lagoon
14. Kathiraveli Prehistoric Burial Grounds & Archaeological Site
15. Pashana Pabbatha Viharaya
16. Lankapatuna Samudragiri Viharaya
17. Seruwila Raja Maha Viharaya
18. Girihandu Seya
19. Kokilai Lagoon
20. Arisimale Beach
21. Kanthale reservoir and the ancient stone sluice gate
22. Kala Wewa
23. Awkana

So we were off on a Saturday at about 4.30 AM from Moratuwa and we were at Udawalawe around 7 AM. We had our home made breakfast at a peaceful location  bordering Udawalawe National Park.

Breakfast with a view at Udawalawe

Breakfast with a view at Udawalawe

Just before Thanamalwila Junction, we noticed a Kalu Board called “Veheragala Archaeological Site” and took a turn in to the road. We travelled quite a distance without any success and one elderly gentleman showed us a temple on a rock little away from the road. We could see the site and figured we would take about 1 hour for the detour with the kids and decided to visit the temple on another day due to timing restrictions.

Veheragala Archaeology Site

We couldn’t resit stopping at this guy on the way to Veheragala

We came back to the main road and a friend at Monaragala recommended us of a nice eating place near the famous Biso Pokuna called Siyambala Sevana for lunch.

Lunch Break – Siyambala Sevana at Monaragala

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Our next stop was Senanayake Samudraya Fisheries Harbour point. The waterline of the reservoir has receded about 200 meters at the Harbour since my visit in January and lot fresh growth could be seen on the exposed tank bed. It was about 3 PM now and elephants were already appearing on the dried up lake bed adjoining harbour point. We spent a good 45 minutes there enjoying the scenery and took a tea break.

Senanayake Samudraya Fisheries Harbour

Senanayake Samudraya Fisheries Harbour

Senanayake Samudraya Fisheries Harbou

Elephants @ Senanayake Samudraya Fisheries Harbour

Tea Break @ Senanayake Samudraya Fisheries Harbour

Then we were off to the Senanayake Samudraya dam at Inginiyagala. After enjoying the scenery we took off on the final leg for the day – destination Ampara. We had booked the Kings Jay, a new hotel at Ampara solely on the friends recommendation but found it to be an excellent place. Rooms were more than we expected and service and the facilities were also impressive.

Through Galoya

To Inginiyagala

Next day was our visiting day. First, we took off to Mahaoya to visit the Rambakan Oya Ruins which was on my list of places to visit for some time.  The site lies about 12 kms off Mahaoya. The road is being constructed and there are number of stretches lined with crushed stones with sharp edges.

First you will come across the massive ancient canal built by king Giri Abaya in the 3^rd century BC of prince Saddhatissa (2^nd century BC) about 500 meters before the dam.  Huge Rectangular cuboids cut in granite creates a two channel canal for over 250 feet. Why this project was not completed is unknown.

Rambakan Oya Ruins – click to enlarge

Rambakan Oya Ruins

For a perfect fit

Next we travelled a further 500 meters to reach the Rambaken Oya Reservoir which was deserted  other than for us. Spending a good time there we came down the gravel path from the bunt to see another “Kalu Board” in middle of shrub jungle declaring it an archaeology site.

Rambakan Oya Reservoir

Rambakan Oya Reservoir

Weaver Bird Colonies from the Rambakan Oya Reservoir Bund

Rambakan Oya Reservoir

The area was completely covered in thorny bushes and creepers. We managed to get in to the area under a large tree with some scratches and found few granite remnants of an ancient building. There should have been more ruins further in but it was not possible go walk any further.

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.	Ruins hidden by Jungle. Couldn’t make out what lied here thousands of years ago.

One thing we noticed was this area was abundant with weaver bird colonies. Some birds had gone to the extend of building two levels in their nests.

Ruins hidden by Jungle.

Note the double decker nests of some enterprising Weaver Birds

So after washing off the scratches we came back to the Mahaoya town.

There are 3 minor lakes which had been renovated with the Rambaken Oya project on the route from Mahaoya to Rambaken Oya. We missed the  Pollebedde tank but made stops at Niloba tank and the Kiralagas wewa tank on the way back.

A tree of a weaver bird colony

Niloba Wewa

Kiralagas Wewa

Kiralagas Wewa

Unfortunately we were unable to locate the Hinguremada Archaeological site which is supposed to be on this route.

Our next stop was the  to the hot water wells of Mahaoya. After a refreshing bath at the wells, we returned to Ampara and and made a stop at the site of Aranthalawa Massacre. The first time I visited this site was in 2009. The site was in the middle of a jungle with only a footpath towards the monument. It was very sad to see that today it has turned in to a fully fledged business operation. A large area has been cleared, buildings constructed and a temple has been set up to run the business.

Around 4 PM we took off the Buddhangala Rajamaha Viharaya. The temple is known to enshrine the relics of Sariputta and Mogalana maha theros. Compared to what this temple was in 2009, this temple too seems to be getting more and more commercialised.

The chances of finding wild elephants on the road to Buddhangala is is quite high after about 6 PM

Buddhangala Monastery

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Buddhangala Monastery

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Day 3 was again a travelling day and our destination was Trincomalee. We drove through Kalmune, Kanthankudi and Batticaloa. Seeing some large flock of birds we got down at the Batticaloa lagoon and found the edge of lagoon infested with Jellyfish. At the rocks on the edge we could see jellyfish in the ephyrae stage. May be it was their mating season.

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Click, click, click and we were off again. We stopped at the Kathiraveli Prehistoric Burial Grounds  & Archaeological Site to find that it has been turned in to a Tourist Park.

Its still not opened and gates were locked.

Kathiraveli Prehistoric Burial Grounds & Archaeological Site

Kathiraveli Prehistoric Burial Grounds & Archaeological Site

Our plan was to go to Seruwila and then to Lanka Patuna and possibly Foulpoint Light house. But we saw a signboard directing us to Lanka Patuna after passing Verugal, we decided to make this visit first. On the way we came across the Pashana Pabbatha Viharaya, an ancient temple complex which was used as a base for the LTTE terrorists and their transmission station.

After liberation, the incumbent priest has taken over and held on to the site under many difficulties from the politically motivated Tamil community. TNA (Tamil National Alliance)  has made number of attempts to grab the land belonging to the Temple to build an Hindu Kovil.

The priest, Rev Dr Devananda thero is a tough charactor fighting a lone battle with the tamil political parties in the east. He is a medical doctor who had taken up robes at the later stage of his life. Without a single Buddhist in area, he stated that he doesnt even stay the night at the temple due the threats to his life. ‘Is that why I see cops at the entrance?’ I asked. “They not here to protect me but to protect  the Kovil. The kovil owners has put a case against me stating that I have burned their kovil, and the case is still going on” he said. His final words before departing was “මේවා අපි බලාගත්තේ නැතිනම් කවුරු බලාගනීවිද මහත්තයෝ” We climbed up to the top of the rock passing few rock inscriptions which had etched the history of this ancient site. At the top you can see remains of a stupa, now

overgrown.

View from the top @ Pashana Pabbatha Viharaya

View from the top @ Pashana Pabbatha Viharaya

Remains of a stupa at the top

One of the many inscriptons

Next destination was to be the Lanka Patuna at the end of this road. But we found that the bridge to the other side of the lagoon was still being built and we had to travel on boat to get to the other side. This being a 4 day holiday, there was a quite a queue for the boat. So we decided to give it a miss considering the time we had.

Lanka Patuna

The bridge is being built across the lagoon

We turned back to the road which we came, and proceeded to the ancient Seruwila Rajama Viharaya built during the reign of King Kavantissa (2nd century BC) containing the Lalata Dathun Wahanse (sacred forehead bone) of Buddha.

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Then it was to the hotel we had booked at Trincomalee. After getting lost number of times we finally managed to find the hotel.

We planned to go further up for day 4. First stop was Girihandu Seya at Thiriyaya. Driving along the Pulmode Road, there are 2 routes to access Girihandu Seya. One route is from Kuchchaweli, or else you could travel further upto Thiriyaya and then take the turn towards  Girihandu Seya. The road from Kuchchaweli is not carpeted but that is off set by the surrounding natural setting. Considering the drive, this is by far the most picturesque route.

Girihandu Seya lies on a hillock. 300 steps will take you the main Watadege site. The walls of the Watadage is well preserved and you can observe the pillars which held roof lying all around the temple grounds. This is considered the first ever stupa built in the world and enshrines the hair relics of Buddha.

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To the right of the stupa house lies steps going down to a different level of the hillock where you will find ruins of number of buildings which has been used by the monks.

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Ruins of the Monastery

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After Girihandu Seya we took the road to Thiriyaya and drove further up to Kokilai Lagoon which is a declared bird sanctuary. We ended up in a fisheries harbour and the lagoon turned out to be an birds paradise. We walked along the edge of the lagoon a bit enjoying the flocks of birds and the eagles surrounding them.

On the way to Pulmude

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@ Kokilai Lagoon

@ Kokilai Lagoon

@ Kokilai Lagoon

@ Kokilai Lagoon

We turned back after about an hour and returned on the Pulmde road until we reached the turn off to the Arisimale. Arsimale is an beach hidden near a navy camp. You need to drive about 2 km on a gravel road to the reach the site. The road is motorable but washed away in few places.

Once you park the vehicle at the Navy camp site you need to walk about 500 meters through thick thicket to reach this beach hidden away from any public view. As the name suggests the sand particles on this beach is large like rice grain.

Although its so much hidden, being a 4 day holiday, the beach was crawling with activity. Most of the people had come here by lorries and 3 wheelers. So probably they were youngsters from  surrounding areas. Since we didn’t find the tranquillity we expected we decided against taking a bath.

Path towards the Arsimale Beach

Path towards the Arsimale Beach

Path towards the Arsimale Beach

Sand like Rice

Seems to be a popular bathing place for locals.

This was the last stop for the day and we returned to our hotel around 4 PM to have a sea bath in front of it.

Few things about Trincomalee. Being on the Eastern beach, sunset and sunrise was awesome, with the sun setting against over the land and rising over the sea, it gives a different view compared to sunset from  west.

Sunset in the east. The tall building is our hotel

Sunrise in Trincomalee

We couldn’t find a single decent pastry shop in the town but there are enough Saivar Kada. These didn’t look decent enough for a family, so going out for a meal is a not a option unless you know of a good place.

Kanthale Reservoir

Kanthale Reservoir

Kanthale Reservoir – Ancient sluice gate

Restoration memorial of the Kanthale Reservoir dated 1875

Day 5 was getting back to to Colombo. We left Trincomalee after a late breakfast and decided to make a one last vist to Awkana. Passing Kanthale and reaching Habarana, we took the Maradankadawala Road and took a shortcut to Kekirawa and reached the Kalawewa around 1 PM. After a stop at Kalawewa, we were off to Awkana Statue.

Kala Wewa

Some attribute Awkana statue to king Dhatusena of the 6th century AD, when he was living in a temple called Sinhagiri Vihara. Still others say it was built during the epic reign of King Parakrama Bahu the Great of the 13th century, AD.

In addition to the massive granite Buddha statue, walking passing stupa will take you to 2 ancient inscriptions, a large rock pond and a fantastic view of the area.

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The stupa at Awkana

The stupa at Awkana

More protected inscriptions

View from the Stupa

From Awkana, we came back to Galewela and from there it was back to Colombo

through Kurunegala, Giriulla and Katunayake ending a 1300+ km 5 day family trip.

Thank you for reading

Nawalapitiya is like a inter change for many beautiful places in central province. Here are some information about the routes connecting with Nawalapitiya town.

– Nawalapitiya–> Dolosbage–> Dedugala–> Bulathkohupitiya–> Ruwanwella–> Karawanella (Trip Report)

–  Nawalapitiya–>Amanawela–>See Forth–>Yatiyantota (Trip Report)

–  Nawalapitiya–>Ginigathhena–>Kithulgala–>Karawanella (Trip Report)

–  Nawalapitiya–>Galbada (Trip Report)

–  Nawalapitiya–>Kadiyanlena–>Thalawakale

–  Nawalapitiya–>Ulapane–>Gampola

There are plenty of waterfalls and mountains situated on above routes. Hence when we travel through all the above routes we found that Nawalapitiya as an important city. This tour we done few years ago and like to share them with Lakdasun as somehow they will be helpful of someone.

Before we started this tour from Nawalapitiya we were travelled through Bulathkohupitiya area (Link) to see some waterfalls. We turned to Thalawakale road and again turned right to Galabada just passed the Bridge. After that we went to Galbada waterfall (Link). And again we come back to the bridge and continued our journey to Thalawakale side.

After we ride about 10km we came to the Ketabula/ Kadiyanlena Waterfall which is situated on the road. It’s a very beautiful waterfall and it flows under the arch bridge situated on the road. The lower part is height about 20m and the middle and upper part is height about 20m. Bathing from the upper base pool is possible and there is a small foot path for there. After that we continued our journey directly to Thalawakale and saw some road side waterfalls and some of them are height about 10m.

This road will join to Hatton-Nuwaraeliya road and its few kilomitars for Devon waterfall. Devon waterfall is a most famous waterfall in Sri Lanka as it located at a brilliant place. There is a place to park your vehicle and see the waterfall. After that we went to St. Clair waterfall. Once up on a time St. Clair is the most beautiful waterfall in Sri Lanka where it had a unique style of falling the water. But now it was like dried. But we spend few minutes there. We have visited St. Clair for 6th times to up to now.

After that we went to Thalawakale town and turned left to Pundaluoya side. From there we can go to Nuwaraeliya too. Pundaluoya/ Dansinan waterfall is another waterfall same as like Ketambula. Both are situated on the way and the lower part is so beautiful. At that time the road up to Dansinan fall is well carperted. After that the road is like devil’s staircase (Not sure about present status). As we want to go to Nuwaraeliya we continued the same road. Before few kilomitar for Nuwaraeliya we saw a small waterfall where the villagers wash their vegetables, especially carrots. Hence we name that small fall as “Vegi Wash Waterfall”.

Actually there are some more waterfalls at this area, and most of them are far away from the main road. However we came to Nuwaraeliya safely around 6pm.

The gap towards Ketabula

path to the Thalawakale

Ketabula Waterfall

We near the waterfall

The lower part of the waterfall

The water stream continued toward the hydro power center

View from the under of the bridge

The middle part of the waterfall where it likes the widest waterfall

Beauty

Roadside beauty, unknown waterfall

Another road side beauty

A stream, zoom capture

Beauty on the way

A great painter

Devon fall

The tea factory

Another view of the waterfall

Looking for Friends

Usual Habbits

Another view

Devon fall with its mountain range

Devon Fall in 2015

St. Clair waterfall in 2014

Beautiful Mountains

St. Clair in 2015 middle journey

St. Clair in 2016

St. Clair in 2012

She is really beautiful

Dansinan Waterfall

Dansinan Waterfall

The Kovil at the Waterfall

Lower part of the Dansinan fall

On the way through the gravel road

Satisfactory road situations

The base pond of the Vegi Wash fall

Vegi Wash Waterfall

Wewelthalawa is a plateau located in Amanawela – Yatiyanthota region on the mountain top, above a height of 2,800 feet. It lies in the center of a ring of mountains like a bottom of a basin. This belongs to Halgolla Estate of Kelani Valley Plantations Ltd. Halgolla Estate has 4 divisions namely Wewelthalawa, Halgolle, Punugala and Ullswater.

The estate has diversity in its elevation, with the lower reaches at 90 feet above mean sea level, rising to the upper divisions at 4,000 feet. Thus, boasting its impressive biodiversity in both fauna and flora. Known in Sinhala as ‘Rathu Mihiriya’ or ‘Rath Mihiriya’, Gordonia speciosa is one of four Gordonia species in Sri Lanka, all of which are endemic to the country, the others being G. ceylanica, G. dassanayakei, and G.elliptica. All four varieties are rare, found only in the montane forests of the highlands, with G. speciosa being the most difficult to find.

Gordonia speciose

Gordonia speciose – Photo by Buddhika Mawella

Gordonia speciosa is an evergreen tree, with flowers of up to 15cm in diameter. The tree requires a high level of rainfall, proved by the fact it has only been found in such areas. The flower contains five petals, as with other species of Gordonia found in Sri Lanka. From the brilliant flower, G. speciosa produces a fruit, a little smaller than the size of a human hand. The tree grows up to 80 feet in height and is scattered across the Wewelthalawa Plain on the mountain top, above a height of 2,800 feet. Individual trees flower at different times of the year, which means that the flowers are never out of season. The flowers last about two weeks, after which the trees does not flower again for several months.

The Wewelthalawa Division, at 3,000-4,000 feet, is a perfect picture of virgin forest swathed in mist, brilliantly green tea fields and marshy land, from which spring perennial streams that flow off the mountain to join the Wee Oya, a main tributary of the Kelani River which falls into the Sea at Colombo. ‘Olu Ela’ chief amongst the many streams cascades from the mountain top as the breathtaking ‘Olu Falls’. Olu Falls, at 200 meters in height is the fifth highest in the Kelani River Basin, and also the Kelani River Basin. Halfway down these hillsides lie the tea fields of Halgolle Estate, while above and all around them are thickly forested areas in which lurk leopards, sambur, jackals and many other creatures. Halgolla estate is generally classified as a low country tea state due to its factory being at a lower elevation, despite the main tea fields being located between 2,800 and 4,000 feet. Halgolle is home to more than 200 faunal species which includes 16 endangered and 49 threatened species. It is also home to 27 endemic floral species and six that are listed as threatened among its 167 identified species.

In addition to above Wewelthalawa has created some interesting places for its visitors too.

1. Mini World’sEnd
2. Top of Olu falls – starting point (Upper Olu Falls)
3. Bat cave

Prior permission should be obtained to visit these places and it’s open for nature lovers only.

The Map

Map – click to enlarge

It’s another dream become true. We were sent back by the Gate keeper when we visited Wewelthalawa in 2015 November by the Gate keeper as we had not taken prior permission. So This time we got prior permission from the office as I’m an employee of the company.

We started the journey at around 6:00 am and had breakfast at Nawalapitiya. Then we took the Balanthota-Seaforth road to reach Wewelthalawa. Condition of the road is not good at all. You should have 4wd or motor bikes can manage this. If you are travelling from Colombo then Yatiyanthota-Nawata road is the better route to reach the place.

Kandaloya

Wawlagala

Crystal water

Olu Falls

Wooden Bridge

Olu Falls

Suspension Bridge of Pergashandiya

Wewalthalawa Mountains

At the Entry Point – FYI

Manager’s Bungalow

A Discussion

Inside the Bungalow

Old is gold

Groupie

We were welcomed by the Estate Manager and treated well. After having some friendly discussions we were directed to the Wewelthalawa and all gates were opened for us as per the instructions by the manager.

Dripping Rock

The first attraction in the route is the Dripping Rock. The name has been given to this place because of the continuous dripping of water from the rock all 365 days of the year. This is also a place of worship and visitors need to behave with respect.

Dripping rock

Bottom

Water along the rock

Feeling the water drops

Place of worship

We traveled further in the route and in few meters we saw the cable carts which were used to transport tea leaves from the estate to the Halgolla Factory. These are currently not in operation.

Cables

Not used but maintained

Beautiful path

carts

The Conservation Project

Entering Wewelthalawa

Few more Carts

No Chemical zone

Source of Olu falls/Wee oya

The Plateau

school

Fresh Tea leaves

Towards Mini World’s end

Project Details

Wawlagala

Hut in the Mini Worlds End

Wewelthalawa Mini World’s End

This is a vertical drop in the Wewelthalawa-Amanawela side. The Wawlagala and areas of Yatitanthota, Dedugala and Dolosbage can be seen from this view point.

There is a well maintained hut in this place and view point is fenced with iron cables.

The straight vertical drop is about 200meters. The Elevation from sea level is 2847fts.

hut	Hut from the view point

The view point

Wawlagala

Yatiyanthota area

Peragashandiya

Team at the Edge

Yatiyanthota

Mini Worlds End

After spending some time, we put our effort in visiting the rest of the places. The starting point of Olu falls and Bat cave is located 1km away from the Mini worlds end.

Directions

Forest path

To the cave

Olu falls – top-starting point

A cascade

To the Bat cave

bat cave

The Cave is located to the side of the Upper olu falls. We tried to capture the full view photo of waterfall. This waterfalls is around 50-100mts in height for sure. We managed to reach the waterfall from the cave

To Follow

Upper Olu falls

Trying to get full view

Back to the cave

cave	View from the cave

Upper Olu falls – 10-15 meters below from the top

Falling from the top

View of the cave from the falls

waterfall

side view

‘Upper Olu Falls’ must be listed as a waterfall in the waterfall network sites. It’s bigger than the Olu falls of Amanawela

Supporting each other

Cave- Well maintained- No Bats

Returning

On the bridge

On the bridge

Wawlagala from Upper Olu falls

Not a good place for a nap!

See the height

Wawlagala zoomed

Dolosbage side

The surroundings are very calm and only the sounds of the birds and fall of water can be heard. We had a little rest there and moved to the next destination which is SLBS tower at top mountain of Ampana forest.

Wewelthalawa

Wewelthalawa

Entry point

2nd World war Monument

In to the Ampana Forest reserve

Towards peak

SLBC tower

The board

gate	It says the procedure

At Highest elevation point of Wewelthalawa Tea Estate

Better view

the view

mountain

Towers zoomed

Designed plantation

Marshy Land

He is enjoying non-polluted things

school

water area

a stream

Looking back – the gap

To visit ITN tower we need to get permission from the Battaramulla Head office. However you can visit up to the gates. The last 1km to the mountain is worst in terms of road conditions. we parked our bikes and walked up the final part.

When returning we used Nawata road as we don’t want take risk in the seaforth road.

It was a memorable trip and We thank all the people who helped us to do this trip a success.

Thanks for reading..

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Hi there, hope you all are having a rock-n-roll time coz we really had one roller-coaster time at Moon Plains and HP recently. So I’m gonna tell you all about it. After our Leopard Sightings at Yala, we decided to go and experience some cool temperature. Well I guess we didn’t specify how cool we wanted it to be and the Mother Nature for once misunderstood our request. Hasi booked the Mahaeliya which made me jump with joy as I’d never before stayed there. All my HP encounters were based on the good, old and homely Ginihiriya Bungalow aka Anderson Lodge. I was yet to explore the other two options Mahaeliya and the Dormitory so this was not a chance I was gonna miss out unless it was life and death situation.

Just a brief word on HP, especially its buildings inside as most of you might not be aware of her past. Apart from the Farr Inn and the Anderson Lodge which were built by the English Planters during colonial era, all the other structures are results of the mega potato farm that saw HP lose most of her forest making it this grassy plain. Whether it was a good thing or a bad thing, well I’ll leave your capable thinking to decide. So these buildings had been used as storage for potatoes and fertilizers, staff quarters and other purposes. If you visit the Moon Plains where they still have a government-owned seed potato farm, you can get an idea what it must’ve been at HP before being named as a wildlife park.

So we planned alternative options to visit on the way and I was long overdue for a visit to Moon Plains and so was Hasi. We then planned to be there by 6.30am in order to get the best out of the morning rays. Hasi then came up with the idea of visiting Single Tree Hill aka One Tree Hill, the 10^th highest mountain in SL with a height of 2100m. So that sealed the first day and we decided to reach HP afterwards. On the 25^th Jun, we left home around 3am and having made excellent ground arrived at Nuwara Eliya by 6.10am.

Tour Highlights:

1. Moon Plains aka Sandathenna, Nuwara Eliya.
2. Single Tree Hill aka One Tree Hill, Nuwara Eliya.
3. Sri Swarnagiri Viharaya, Nuwara Eliya.
4. Horton Plains.
5. Rail Hike from Pattipola to Tunnel 18 and back.
6. Galwaysland National Park, Nuwara Eliya.

Day 01

Moon Plains

My first-ever Moon Plains journey kicked off with a great disappointment. We arrived at the Seed Potato Farm run by the Agricultural Department around 6.25am, just in time for the rumored opening time at 6.30am. However as we drove in (just remember you have to drive on Nuwara Eliya-Welimada Road till the end of Gregory Lake which is Magasthota aka Mahagasthota and then turn to the left. There used to be big sign posts but after the season they’ve apparently been removed or destroyed by rains and winds. On this road, it’s less than 5 min drive to the potato farm and they have ample parking to leave your vehicle.) and parked the vehicle we notice the big difference in the weather.

The winds were strong and the temperature was around 15 degrees but add around 40-50kmph wind chill too. It was as if hundreds of needles were being thrown at us at subsonic speed which pierced through the outer layers of our clothing. We soon fished out the jackets and wore them when one of the farm workers came and spoke to us saying that the ticket counter won’t be open till 7am. Golly, we had a good half hour wait and it was not a welcome idea to stay outdoors being hammered by the wind and the cold. I could’ve murdered a cup of scalding coffee but there was nowhere to have any. The worms in my empty tummy woke up and started marching up and down the intestines carrying mega size placards against keeping them without food. One placard was saying that they’d take me to the FCID and another asking for an international intervention. One last was threatening to go complain to the Worms’ Rights Commission.

I was helpless so we walked up to the ticket counter and waited in the shelter. The farm worker too came and stayed chatting to us. According to him, the ticket counter is manned by the Nuwara Eliya Municipal Council even though the Moon Plains is in the Agricultural Department area. There had been plans to build a luxury hotel with a helipad at Moon Plains but thankfully they had all changed after the elections. Even if they built a helipad, it’d have been one helluva job of landing one in the off season when the winds are so strong they can take even on a chopper.

The person said that he’d called the girl who was working at the counter (in fact there are two of them whom are both from Magasthota which is in walking distance) and she was on the way and would be here in 10 minutes. The time was 6.45am and we were hopeful to leave for this 3km journey around 7am. Oh did I tell you that you need to hire a safari-style jeep to go to the viewing point? I guess I mentioned it in the notes and very likely you’ve missed reading that part. You have to rent a Jeep from the available ones at the farm. Altogether there are 13 Jeeps operating and it wouldn’t be a big deal to find one unless you go during the peak period in Dec and Apr.

• It costs Rs. 2000/- for the Jeep. I know it’s a steep price compared other wildlife parks but the sceneries are very rewarding and you won’t regret it if you go in the right time. Of course you gotta be mighty lucky too for those perfect views.
• There is space for up to 8 people (might be a tight fit depending on the size of the folks and so long as all of them are not Harinda-sized) and the Jeeps are very much like those Safari ones available at National Parks.
• The distance is about 2-3km from the farm to the observation point. It takes about 10 mins to drive there.
• You’re allowed up to 1hr (not strictly applied in less crowded days) stay at the observation point excluding the driving time to and from.
• You are not allowed to go into the farm by any other vehicle including your personal one. If you wonder why coz it’s allowed in other National Parks too, it is mainly to avoid viruses and bacteria harming the potato crops. We were told by that farm worker their crops are increasingly getting caught to various diseases since the Moon Plains was opened for public. Therefore don’t be too surprised if they closed it altogether as the Agricultural Department and the Head of See Potato Farm are vehemently against this.
• In addition to the Jeep fare, you have to buy tickets which are sold Rs. 50/- each.

We waited and waited and the time went past 7am, then 7.15am and the farm worker kept calling the girl and she said the same thing that she was on the way and would be there in no time. The same farm worker told us that in the past these working girls at the ticket counters were paid a commission on the daily income and they used to come to work earlier than the opening times. However for some god-forbidden reason, they’d been made permanent recently. Since then the downfall has started as they come late and don’t have the same enthusiasm they used to portrait because they’re paid for no matter people visited or not.

It’s just pathetic the way they offer their services to the general public even after charging exorbitant prices. The girl finally appeared just after 8am and didn’t even have the courtesy to offer apologies for being late. Instead she told the farm worker who we were talking to that she had no transport to come. Well, it was her problem, and of course has nothing to do with the visitors who travel many miles since early in the morning to witness the beauty of the Mother Nature. Instead we’re stuck between careless and irresponsible people.

Even the farm worker said that they get a lot of complaints on these people especially pertaining to the opening hours but they’re helpless to do anything as it’s out of their control. Even the Jeep drivers are very cross how this ticket counter is being operated and openly castigated them with us. So this appeal is for the Municipal Council of Nuwara Eliya. Please make sure these people do their jobs properly without harassing the visitors who pay large sums. Further these people ruin the image of our country as there are many foreigners who visit Moon Plains.

Ok, enough of bashing these inefficient people who don’t seem to learn. Let’s go and see some gorgeous views at least they’d cool down our blood and soothe our hearts and minds. Oh, almost forgot to tell you. Do you know that you can see 8 of the highest mountains in Sri Lanka from Moon Plains? Of course the weather has to be perfect without any mist. They’re in the top 15 list in terms of height.

Namely they are, Piduruthalagala, Kirigalpoththa, Thotupola, Kikiliyamana, One Tree Hill aka Single Tree Hill, Great Western, Haggala and Namunukula. They even have put up arrows with the mountain names so that it’d be easier for you to spot them.

This is closer to the Moon Plains and one of the remaining sign boards

On the way

Can see the clouds gathering above Welimada Plains

Haggala covered with a white veil

Closer look and see the ploughed terrain for potatoes

That’s towards Badulla and the range you can see in the distance is Namunukula

Haggala still very shy

Towards Badulla

Slowly lifting her veil

Towards GW, Single Tree and Kikiliyamana

She’s sexy

Couldn’t get enough of her

On our way back

Endless views

Piduruthalagala zoomed after a very narrow clearing of the clouds

Single Tree Hill / One Tree Hill

Ok, and I hope you guys enjoyed those breath-taking views which I managed to capture on my lens with the greatest difficulty due to the extremely violent winds gushing through the plains at ferocious pace. I’d never before experienced so strong winds and thinking about the hurricanes which can touch 100+ miles sent chills down my spine.

Just imagine those who have to undergo such natural disasters. Gosh, what a lucky country we have in terms of those. Unfortunately our folks take it for granted and don’t give the due respect to this lucky paradise. Do care for this country coz she’s kept us safe all these years from the worst of natural disasters and continues to do so despite our wicked and heartless acts towards her.

So our next destination is somewhere I’d no idea of going any time soon but Hasi’s revolutionary thinking paved the way for it and what an achievement it turned out to be at the end. If you read those mountains visible from Moon Plains, you must’ve seen the One Tree Hill aka Single Tree Hill. I wonder why it is called One Tree or Single Tree. Don’t think it was because it had only one tree or there was an unmarried tree there. She’s the 10^th Highest in SL with a height of 2100m. But we need some breakfast to calm down the protest of the worms in our tummies. They’re on the verge of going on strike so we’ll get something in us first.

This is how you can reach the summit. Oh I forgot, you can’t reach the summit coz as of most of our mountains, she too has had to sacrifice her beauty for the telecommunications in this country by allowing for many tall towers to be built. So you can get as far as the gate of the towers’ premises and then luckily can walk across the range which is about 600-800m and emerge from the other side. If you wish, you may even get down to the town via those hotels built up the hill in front of Race Course.

Take the Single Tree Road which can be found as soon as you turn towards Nuwara Eliya when coming from Nanu Oya about 75m from the turn off. There’s a shop called Imaduwa Hotel and the road is just before that. This will also lead to the Sri Swarnagiri Viharaya and you can even leave the vehicle at the temple and walk towards the summit which we did as it’d give you more chances of getting those panoramic views of the surrounding including Gregory Lake, Piduruthalagala Range, Race Course and Haggala too.

We got the permission from the temple and left the car there and started to walk towards the summit. You don’t need any permission to go up there and foreigners seem to go there more often than Sri Lankans. It’s about 1-1.5km to the temple from the main road and you have to walk another 1-1.5km to the summit. Ok, I’ll let you enjoy the pictures on our walk up to the summit first. It’d be better than me trying to explain all that.

The sign near the Imaduwa Hotel to the Single Tree Road

Our target

Here comes the views

Race Course

Gregory Lake

People enjoying at the Race Course

Closer look

Me and Haggala

Cultivations

One of the many towers

Zoomed in

The temple we passed and parked

The road we took is below

He was dead, probably overrun by a vehicle

Through the tea estate

Piduruthalagala Range covered in mist

Nuwara Eliya Temple

Gravel Road

Gregory Lake and beyond her is probably the Namunukula Range

On the sandstones

Some more close together

Haggala with jutting out shapes

Boats at Gregory Lake

Just before the telecom complex

Almost there

Halt!

So how did you like our walk? Do you think it’s worth making that effort? Well if you are that lazy, you can drive up to the point but don’t recommend doing so in a car. However, it’d be tricky for you to park and then turn around so it’s best you stop at the temple and go for a walkie and trust me, you won’t be disappointed whether you have a camera or not.

When you’re at the gate, please look to the left and you’ll find a footpath that goes downhill. It’d lead to another tower complex which harbors Dialog Tower. Just before you get there, you’ll see the footpath extending further towards the forest. We were hesitant to take it but the caretaker at the Dialog Tower informed us that it was the path they take to go to their houses and for supplies as it’s closer. So we took his advice and got to the path. It was a nice walk among the forest patch and we soon arrived at the other end of the mountain which leads to a tea patch and then down below towards hotels and other houses. If you wish, you can get down from here but as our vehicle was at the temple, we decided to walk back. Here are the rest of the pictures of our Single Tree Journey.

Raddella Side and beyond is GW

Huge dishes

These colors are simply mind-blowing

Just behind the Dialog Tower

Painter’s School is in the distance and the entrance to Piduruthalagala is just behind among the trees

Play area or farmland?

Wearing goggles

Here comes the mist

At the other end and see all the match-box like buildings

Mist heading towards Gregory Lake

Not an inch of the ground is spared

Oh hello!

Perfect camouflage

The temple where we stopped at

Majestic

Ok, let’s go in for a proper look

Tiny tomatoes

Haggala one last look

Not Scotland folks

We then visited the Sri Swarnagiri Temple. It’s still under construction and the views from its premises are simply breath-taking too. The Pagoda looks unbelievably beautiful and the majestic and mysterious Haggala can also be seen from here. Here are those pictures.

Depicting the Parileyya Wanaya in Lord Buddha’s Life where a monkey serves some honey

Up to the main complex

Just an amazing sight

Looks simply grand

Architecture too is simply nice and more like Thai or Burmese

Wish it was a clear blue sky

Other buildings

See very much like a Thai Temple

Final glance before we went

Ok guys, time we went to HP coz it’s getting late and we need to get there soon coz the weather is looking very bad too with grim clouds threatening us with heavy downpours and the winds too trying to chase us back to Colombo.

HP

We arrived at the HP around 3pm but already it looked as if it was early evening. The mist covered the ground while charcoal grey clouds looked down on us from above menacingly. We reached Maha Eliya in no time and found the winds so strong and the mist so thick. There was nothing to do but snuggle into our rooms and stay away from the biting cold.

You must be ready for these merciless winds and cold if you are travelling in the off season to HP, like from May till Nov. otherwise it’d be a very painful experience. We were to climb the KGP on the following day but I knew as soon as we entered into HP, it’d be a no show. We however took a drive towards the Ginihiriya Bungalow but the twilight conditions wouldn’t allow any grand pictures. However there were many herds of Sambar grazing on the lush green grass despite the foul weather.

Our bungalow keeper, Wijerathna was a very gentle and supportive soul, very much like Abeysinghe at Ginihiriya. He said that the number of leopards at HP has increased coz the sightings have become more frequent. If you go into the bungalow, you’d see two framed pictures of beautiful looking leopards taken on 21 Mar 2016 by some photographer whose name I can’t recall unfortunately. Wijerathna says he very often sees the crossing the open grass fields in front of the bungalow so if you wanna have a better chance of seeing a leopard, stay at Mahaeliya.

However in terms of the bungalow, I would still prefer the Ginihiriya. Naturally Ginihiriya has to be better as it was the home for a planter called Anderson. All the other buildings inside HP belong to the potato farm and are not built for comfort and visitors. According to Wijerathna most of the buildings house only one or two wildlife officers as there is more accommodation for them than the number of people. I wonder why they don’t utilize at least couple of more bungalows for visitors as the demand is always very high. Well it’s something for the powers that be to decide.

We had coffee many times and then had a very delicious pasta dinner. The wind kept howling threatening to shred the bungalow into ribbons. The cold was getting bitter as the night came on. Nevertheless we kept flashing our torches onto the front lawn searching for a stray leopard but the mist kept it covered most of the time. So, we gonna get some sleep and you folks enjoy these pictures. Tomorrow, we’ll be getting up around 6.30am to see how the weather behaves coz we don’t wanna go see KGP in this foul weather. Fingers crossed!

Oh hello!

Curious

Bit controversial at first glance

All glaring at us

Isolated road goes all the way to the sky

Lush green grasslands

They were in abundance

Giving the tongue

Plenty to graze around so don’t offer tidbits

On a brisk run

Cutie, ain’t he?

Another little one

They too were in full bloom

Come to inspect the grounds

Telling Hasi something

Very beautiful

Herd in the distance

All got together probably due to an emergency signal

Well, here you are

From the Ohiya Road

Towards Ginihiriya we went

More beautiful views

Some more

Just a touch of sunlight brightening up the colors

Let’s call it a day

Good morning folks and as predicted the winds and mist were relentless as they kept us awake most of the night, well not all of us. The cold was so intense and going to the washroom was simply not a very pleasing thought. Coming to contact with water was nerve-racking. We got up and there went our plans for KGP and decided to instead take a drive towards Ohiya just to kill time and discuss our options for the day. The breakfast was nice and warm so while we go for a ride and have the cabinet meeting, you folks go through these pics. Hopefully we’ll come up with something worthwhile doing.

As we came out of the bungalow, there was this nice and hefty Sambar that had come to welcome us. He was the leader of the herd and had a nice little photo-shoot with us.

Good morning!

Seems a bit scratchy