This is a less known forest reserve within less than 2km from the Kandy City and is the only forest reserve in Sri Lanka maintained by a Municipal Council (MC of Kandy).

Becoming an archaeologist had always been my dream and together with my like-minded friend Minol Peiris we contacted Dr. Nimal Perera of the Department of Archaeology to get our hands dirty on an archaeological dig. Dr. Perera encouraged us and said that he is currently heading the excavations of the Demala Maha Seya in Polonnaruwa and invited us to join.

In 1665 after the capture of the fort by the Dutch, they demolished it and built their own mighty fortress according to the prevailing architectural design known as the Star Fort (i.e. Galle Fort). Serving as the Command Center for all 3 colonial powers, the Colombo fort would have been the biggest and strongest fortification in the island.

We conquered the mountains, this time we thought of a different ENV, the beach !! Here we came across the world’s most beautiful camp site!! A double water front camp site on white sand among Mangroves !!!

The book COLLIN’S CAMPING & HIKING MANUAL was a great help to us especially because we were beginners. So now we knew how to go and what to do on a camping expedition; next was finding the location, that’s when we came across the Sri Lankan Adventurer’s hang out while surfing the net; the Lakdaun Forum. There we came across a trip report to a Mountain called Havagala which any one can climb to the summit and camp there; the stunning images quickly grabbed our mind, this is where we will go.

Colombo Fort, the beating heart and commercial Capital of Sri lanka; home to the biggest Businesses, Hotels, etc and so much lively activity that many of us do not know that Colombo has a dark dark history, filled with conspiracies, murder, plague, and death; Colombo Fort was home to the bloodiest and deadliest battlefield in the history of pre-independence Sri Lanka. This is an account of Sithavaka Rajasinghe’s 3rd and Final Siege of the Portuguese Fort of Colombo.

I had read about it, heard about it but never seen it, could not find a single picture of it but I knew it existed, an archaeological site that is less known but of high importance in the fight for survival of our country; this is non other than the Key to the Kandyan Kingdom; the Balane Fort