Gombaniya is a mountain range and is located on the western border of Knuckles conservation its vegetation is almost similar to Horton plains because of its high altitude. The mountain could be reached from Rathnatenna (Alakolle estate) or Nelummale watta (Kabaragala side). The shorter but complex route is Rathnatenna side.

This was a journey I did more than a year ago and my focus was on some places close to Mahiyangana and Bibile – Medagama. On an overcast day I took a bus towards Padiyathalawa from Bibile and again took a bus towards Mahiyanganaya. Just before Wewatta temple there was a road to the left with Uva province tourism notice board directing towards Murungagala Archaeology site.

It was one of those random weekends and I didn’t have any scheduled places to visit so I headed towards Badarawela. It was almost 1pm when I got down at Halpe and my first place of interest was Gangarama temple. Though the Uva tourist board had put up a notice board, this temple didn’t have any historical importance. Next target was Yahalamaditta temple.

This was a once in a life time trip and I wanted it to be a spectacular one. When one is in a romantic mood its always best to stay close to mother nature and far away from the busy world. This is what we did in our little paradise nation within 10 days. So let the pictures say our story. Our first and second day of relaxation was at Back of beyond Kahandamodara. This was absolutely the paradise we searched for. Two days of perfect harmony with many activities to pass ones time like boat rides in lagoons, cycling and etc. Thanks Yohan for building such a lovely place. The staff was simply the best; you don’t get good guys like them at 5 start hotels.

A mid-week holiday tempted me to explore somewhere close to Monaragala and Wadina hela of Wellawaya which was on top of my list was my target. Within a day I found two colleagues working in the same province willing to join me on this venture but we couldn’t find a guide in time. So we decided to get to the village and find someone on the next day. This peak is one of those prominent peaks marked on each road map and it has a superb 360 view. The best thing is this 560m mountain gives one of the best views towards the south and south east slopes of the central hills.

Every university has its favourite destination and this time I picked one of those places for a change. Been a Colombo Uni guy our favourite destination was the western coastal line other universities like Peradeniya has Hanthana range, Uva Wellassa has Namunukula & Sabaragamuwa has Adara kanda. As usual I searched for literature on the web but found nothing convincing about “adara kanda” though there were many images of Sabaragamuwa university students hiking in hundreds. So the best way to get more info is to explore it ourselves.

Ritigala the giant of ancient capital Anuradhapura stands tall with an altitude of 766m and is the best view point of north central Sri Lanka. Ritigala is an important asset to us in terms of history, folklore and bio diversity. It is the birth place of Malwatu oya and during the North – East monsoons it receives heavy showers more than any other place in the region. Most of the time there is a veil of mist covering its summit.

After a tiring hike to Hunnasgiriya peak with my friend Niroshan, we reached Kandy where I decided to stay the night at and complete a long awaited rail hike from Kadugannawa to Rambukkana. So next day early morning I took a bus and proceeded towards Kadugannawa where I had some breakfast before stepping on to the railway track. After snapping a Udarata menike train which was halted at Kadugannawa I started marching downwards towards Balana. The first landmark I came across was 64 ¾ mile post which is the highest point of Kandy – Colombo railway line which most of the people are not aware about. From here onwards the rail line deviates away from the main road. Tunnel 11 is the first tunnel one would come across after Galboda station where tunnel 12 could be found (when coming from Badulla side).

Hmmm! Thought of doing a report after a while and this is one report I couldn’t finish off last year! Im really happy my second home is not in an urbanized area like Colombo and there are plenty of places to hang around whenever I visit there. Chilaw area (Pitigal korale) is known to have 999 lakes which belong to god “Thaniwelle” and few of them are known for their bird life. I will be posting few snaps taken at those locations and if I haven’t mention the name of any bird that’s because I don’t know it or can’t recall the name.

It was late 2009 and we were returning back from Bambarakanda while the bus stopped at Balangoda I noted a huge rock which looked like Kunudiyaparwataya and wanted to climb it on the very next weekend. This mountain prompted me to make a forum post on Lakdasun for the first time (at that time I had a forum account but hadn’t done any posting). Guess who gave me words of wisdom it was Priyanjan and he gave me all the details I wanted but I never had the opportunity to complete this hike. This year the ongoing mini drought around Rathnapura area prompted me to complete my dream.

It all started after seen an article on Lakdasun shared by Sheham about a worlds end in Seetha eliya. On that article it seemed like the mayor wanted to give the place bit of publicity and attract many visitors too. I wanted to visit it as soon as possible before the place lost its natural beauty thanks to our irresponsible public. Lahiru gave his confirmation few days prior and Amila was on the pending side until the very last moment. On a clear Saturday we got together at Colombo at around 10am(which was a very unusual time for us) and took a bus towards Nuwara eliya. At around 3.30pm we reached our destination where we immediately had lunch and packed some for dinner too. After collecting some more resources we took a bus towards Magasthota and got off at the end of Gregory lake from there we hired a trishaw which took us towards the potato farm where there was a locked gate.

It’s very unusual of me to visit the peak wilderness twice within one year but 2013 was a special one. Suddenly out of nowhere the idea popped out and I called my better half and agreed her to join me this time and as usual few lakdasun members answered my calls. I was so happy because Kasun and Sri were joining us, so we won’t feel lonely with their company. I have been through both Rathnapura and Hatton trails but I have not ascended from Rathnapura and after almost 5 years the trail was said to be totally different than the one I knew previously.