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Trip Reports Archive » Trips Filed Under Sri Abeywickrema

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Today's Most Viewed

  1. Brandy Rock (1130m), Matale 63 views
  2. බත්තුලු ඔය දිගේ සිරිපතුලට (Battulu Oya-Paradise-Sri Pada trail) 57 views
  3. Two days in Heaven (Madulsima to Pitamaruwa) 43 views
  4. Bathalegala (Bible’s Rock) 798m 25 views
  5. Battulu oya trail to Adam’s peak 24 views
  6. Pettigala (Pethiyagala) 1500m, giant of Balangoda was conquered! 23 views
  7. Learning the Tea History at Loolkandura and Hiking Kondagala (1450 M) 20 views
  8. Chariot Path of Ravana & Sitha on top of Piduruthalagala range and James Taylor’s Loolecondera! 20 views
  9. Great Western (6th highest mountain in Sri Lanka- 2212m) Once in a life time HIKE! 20 views
  10. Gombaniya the Extreme hike (1906m) 20 views

This Week's

  1. Two days in Heaven (Madulsima to Pitamaruwa) 227 views
  2. Brandy Rock (1130m), Matale 224 views
  3. දෙහෙනකන්දෙන් සිරිපා කරුණාකර උඩමාලිබොඩෙන් බැස්සෙමු (Sri Pada from Dehenakanda to Udamaliboda)... 139 views
  4. බත්තුලු ඔය දිගේ සිරිපතුලට (Battulu Oya-Paradise-Sri Pada trail) 125 views
  5. Waterfalls of Colombo District 120 views
  6. Chariot Path of Ravana & Sitha on top of Piduruthalagala range and James Taylor’s Loolecondera! 111 views
  7. Scenic Hike to Wangedigala 110 views
  8. Scenic Peacock Hills (1518m) + Kadiyanlena & Galboda Waterfalls 109 views
  9. Bathalegala (Bible’s Rock) 798m 95 views
  10. Sensational Mandaram Nuwara – Tour de Waterfalls 15… 90 views

This Month's

  1. Two days in Heaven (Madulsima to Pitamaruwa) 984 views
  2. Chariot Path of Ravana & Sitha on top of Piduruthalagala range and James Taylor’s Loolecondera! 483 views
  3. දෙහෙනකන්දෙන් සිරිපා කරුණාකර උඩමාලිබොඩෙන් බැස්සෙමු (Sri Pada from Dehenakanda to Udamaliboda)... 474 views
  4. සබරගමුවේ ආදරවන්තයන්ගේ කන්ද (Paraviyangala) 456 views
  5. Scenic Peacock Hills (1518m) + Kadiyanlena & Galboda Waterfalls 421 views
  6. Knuckles Duwili Eli through Walpolamulla – The Most Wanted trip of the year 415 views
  7. Waterfalls of Colombo District 383 views
  8. Scenic Hike to Wangedigala 354 views
  9. Bathalegala (Bible’s Rock) 798m 353 views
  10. ගලේ බණ්ඩාර දෙවියන්ගේ අඩවියේ පිහිටි රාවණා රජු මල දවස රජුට ජනතාව ගරු බුහුමන් දැක් වූ ස්තානය (යහන්ගල/Yahangala 1220m)... 316 views

All-Time

  1. Camping trip to Meemure – One of the best trips ever!!! 29,235 views
  2. Two days in Heaven (Madulsima to Pitamaruwa) 24,426 views
  3. Bathalegala (Bible’s Rock) 798m 22,445 views
  4. Waterfalls of Colombo District 20,358 views
  5. Chariot Path of Ravana & Sitha on top of Piduruthalagala range and James Taylor’s Loolecondera! 18,858 views
  6. සබරගමුවේ ආදරවන්තයන්ගේ කන්ද (Paraviyangala) 15,508 views
  7. Rarely visited places in Trincomalee 15,285 views
  8. ගලේ බණ්ඩාර දෙවියන්ගේ අඩවියේ පිහිටි රාවණා රජු මල දවස රජුට ජනතාව ගරු බුහුමන් දැක් වූ ස්තානය (යහන්ගල/Yahangala 1220m)... 15,079 views
  9. Trip to Mahiyanganaya and Badulla visiting 5 reservoirs, 5 temples and 5 waterfalls 14,514 views
  10. Great Western (6th highest mountain in Sri Lanka- 2212m) Once in a life time HIKE! 14,497 views

Glimpse of Sinharaja from Kudawa – Pic Journey 12

Hi folks, I hope you enjoyed the first-ever trip report in Lakdasun on Runakanda, a part of Sinharaja. Afterwards I was craving to pay a visit once again to Sinharaja despite my being there from all 4 entrances before.

Ambalam Hopping – Sri Pada Off Season (Hatton-Palabaddala)…

After a snail-like journey, we reached Maskeliya and bought a couple of essential things like instant noodles. We were planning to take a tuk-tuk from here but our luck held coz there was a Nallathanniya bus leaving at 10am. So having breathed a sigh of relief we got into the bus and settled. The sun was back and my hopes soared like an eagle. However as we got closer to Nallathanniya aka Dalhousie (remember it’s Dalhousie not Delhouse or Delhousie), those hopes came down and down like a deflated balloon.

It was very gloomy and there were a couple of passing showers as well. “This is going to be one heck of a hike” I told Atha and we both regretted not having brought the umbrellas. Well we shouldn’t have worried coz the usage of umbrella becomes next to zero after Geththampana due to the open area and strong winds. We had our long overdue coffee from the shop just before the bridge. Already there was a group of people getting ready to climb for a Pooja and we started our hike around 11am, after 8.5hr journey, well literally.

Glimpse of Runakanda – Pic Journey 11…

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.

Fiery Gusts, Shrouding Mist & Freezing Cold – Nuwara Eliya & HP…

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 10th highest mountain in SL with a height of 2100m. So that sealed the first day and we decided to reach HP afterwards. On the 25th Jun, we left home around 3am and having made excellent ground arrived at Nuwara Eliya by 6.10am.

Conservation Project No. 4: Leading by Example – Namunukula…

So this was a learning curve for Ana and his team when they explored possible materials for marking the path to the summit of Namunukula (NMK). We discarded the idea of Polythene and Laminated Sheets as they too would ultimately add to this ever-growing collection of waste which the Mother Nature can’t digest. We discarded the idea of using those aerosol cans for paint the rocks to mark the path too. As it’d ruin the beauty of the nature and those toxic ingredients in them might harm the tiny species. After a lot of deliberation, we decided on wood. Yeah, the best option given the circumstances as it is environmentally-friendly, long-lasting and easy to find. To make it blend with the environment (not to camouflage, mind you), Ana had them painted in green.

To make it more useful, he added some environmental messages on to them with a picture of an eagle with piercing eyes to inform that we’re watching your dirty work if you happen to litter, poison or harm the Mother Nature. So he got together with one of his longtime friends, Stefan (the fella who conquered Kurullangala with us), Deepani (another environmental enthusiast cum veterinary) and his one of daughters for this venture. Sadly I’d made prior arrangements with Hasi for another journey, not a conservation project, thus missing this journey.

Living the Wildest Dream of My Life at Yala National Park – Pictorial Story 3…

Year and Month 11-12 Jun, 2016 Number of Days 2 Crew Hasi, His Wife, Gayan, His Wife and Me Accommodation Heenwewa Bungalow Transport By Car & Safari Jeep. Activities Safari, Photography, Sightseeing, Wildlife, etc… Weather Excellent. Route Colombo->Kottawa->Matara along Highway->Tissa->Yala and return on the same route. Tips, Notes and Special remark Remember first and foremost […]

Conservation Project No. 3: Conquering & Cleansing – Ella Rock & Namunukula…

Ella Rock is more popular among foreigners than locals, I can safely say. Almost all the foreigners who visit Sri Lanka go to Ella (they pronounce it as Ela rather than Ella with double Ls). It’s said that Ella is among the three mostly visited places in Sri Lanka by the foreigners after Dalada Maligawa and Pinnawala. Climbing Ella Rock was (before our journey) said to be a relatively easier task and there was no guide needed. So we too decided to attempt it without a guide. I don’t usually like to do any hike without a guide as the pros always outweigh the cons of having a guide even though we have to pay him some money. I believe it is money well-spent as those people who guide us will learn to protect those environmental treasures instead of trying to make easy money by destroying them.

Now to find the correct trail to the Ella Rock. Please follow this and you’re not going to miss your way. Walk past Kital Ella Station (when coming from Ella) and continue for about 300m until you find a road to your left hand side. It’s not quite prominent when coming along the railway line so keep an eye out for it. It’s just a gravel (rather earth) road and take it and after a 50-100 meters it’ll cross the stream that feeds the Ravana Ella (not the Bambaragama Ella found on Ella-Wellawaya Road) with a concrete bridge. You can of course see the Ravana Ella when coming from Ella towards Kital Ella. Now just follow this road all the way to the summit. Fairly straight forward, isn’t it? It’s about 2-3km moderate hike to the Ella Rock.

The Long-Awaited Breakthrough at Kumana National Park – Pictorial Story 2…

I hope you liked the new version of report which I’ve introduced which sort of told you the story of our wildlife, especially the plight of them in Wilpattu thanks to a Government Minister who’d taken the law into his hands destroying many acres of precious lands belonging to the buffer zone of Wilpattu by giving it to his supporters. It’s just pathetic the way things happen even though the Ministry of Environment is under the President himself. We also saw how they started building Mini Hydro Power Plants at Handagiriya destroying many more cascades very recently. It’s just so saddening to see the people who’ve been elected to safeguard these things help destroy them for monetary benefits. I hope they will soon see the erroneous ways they’ve been handling our natural resources and get back on track to protect them. However the million dollar question is, “Will it be too late?”.

So, just like that journey, I’m going to plunge straight into business and leave the fairy tale stuff aside. I’m sure the story of the wildlife in Kumana, the farthest away from Colombo, is much more interesting than my vivid imagination. However, just a bit of foreplay wouldn’t be too much to bear I suppose. Well, the newest of our crazes has become the wildlife, probably due to the less appealing states of my beloved waterfalls. Thankfully Hasi too shares the same taste and ever since Wilpattu, we’ve started to manic chase of our wildlife.

When Cockroaches are Killing Butterflies – Sri Pada (Via Palabaddala Trail)…

As soon as you hear the name Sri Pada, there’s this calm and soothing sensation which goes through your system as if a nice cool flow of water through a parched throat. That mountain is so special even her namesake alone is enough to make us feel reinvigorated. I don’t think there exists any such mountain in the whole wide world that has been worshipped and visited as much as this despite her location in a tiny out of the way island in the Indian Ocean with nothing below it until the frozen Antarctic Glaciers. This is very special and it further proves by it being chosen to leave the footprint of one of the most respected and enlightened philosopher that walked on this earth some 2600 years ago, Gautama Buddha.

Since then, this has been worshipped by millions of devotees every year between Dec (Unduwap Poya) and May (Vesak Poya). However the situation has become a bit alarming due to the unprecedented crowds that gather to visit and worship the sacred footprint every year. If you were following the media (and supposing they were reporting the truth), there were reports of some 800,000 people visiting on long weekends and somewhere in April that figure rose to some 1.5 million. There were so many who were planning to go from Hatton but due to the large number of people ultimately ended up climbing from Kuruwita. Just imagine the plight of those people who were only prepared for an easy ride of 4-5km yet were forced to do 12+km. Most of them had been in tears by the time they had reached Galwangediya.

The Unquenchable Desire – In & Around Ilukkumbura…

I’ve been more than lucky enough to visit Knuckles from most of the above mentioned paths. However only this time I managed to visit it from Naula-Elahera-Pallegama end coz other times it’d been either Hunnasgiriya or Matale-Rattota access routes. Just be warned about the Naula-Elahera road as it’s not in good condition mainly due to the Moragahakanda Project and the many Sand Lorries which come from Manampitiya and Bakamuna areas. The road is still under construction so it’s best if you avoid it for some time. However if you have a high clearance vehicle, this can still be done but with a great difficulty and more time.

Mountains are Conquered by Climbing not by Dreaming – Alagalla…

Year and Month 11-12 Feb, 2016 Number of Days 2 Crew Hari & Me Accommodation Camping Transport By train, on foot and bus. Activities Hiking, Camping, Photography, Sightseeing etc… Weather Excellent but extremely hot Route Colombo Fort->Pilimathalawa->Poththapitiya->Alagalla->Alagalla Rock Temple->Gangoda->Rambukkana->Colombo Fort. Tips, Notes and Special remark Plan your journey properly such as the dates, times, crew […]

Seeking the Holy Grail of Wilpattu National Park – Pictorial Story 1…

Year and Month 23-24 Jan 2016 Number of Days 2 Crew Hasitha, Gayan and Me + Wildlife Tracker and Our Jeep Driver Senevi Accommodation Manawila Wildlife Bungalow Transport By Car and Jeep Activities Wildlife, Photography, Relaxing, etc… Weather Excellent but some showers in the afternoon on the first day. Route Colombo->Puttalam->Saliyawewa->Wilpattu National Park and back […]

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