It was around 6AM when we left Colombo with UdaWalawe national park being our destination. The crew consisted of me and my wife, along with three other close friends from our uni days. We loaded up the camping gear and other paraphernalia to the back of the pick up and I took the wheels for the first part of the journey.

The drive upto Pambahinna was rather uneventful with three stops for breakfast at Awissawella, fuel at Rathnapura and change of the spare tyre at Pelmadulla. Once we turned to the Rajawaka road from Pambahinna, things began to a great deal exciting and must say that it was one of the best drives I have ever had.

Just before the security point near the Samanala Wewa dam

We went past the Sabaragamuwa University and got through the security point near the Samanawewa Dam after providing details about us and the destination. The security officer was quite helpful and seemed happy to actually get up and do something rather than sitting all alone in his cabin on the side of this lonely road.

This road passes just below the Samanalawewa Dam and we could see the water stream coming from the leak of the dam. Also, the views of the reservoir were simply breathtaking. The road afterwards was like travelling through a jungle with thick vegetation covering both sides of the road and only the chirping of the birds accompanying the purring engine. The pictures tell the story very much better.

The Samanala Wewa reservoir	The road towards Rajawaka – a lush vegetation covers both sides of this road
A fallen tree just over the road	Some parts of the road were not tarred but in pretty good condition

We drove quite slowly and it was close to 11AM when we reached Rajawaka. Since it was too hot, we decided not to visit Kuragala, but proceed to the “Duwili Ella” instead. The road upto the waterfall from the Kalthota road turn off was of acceptable quality and can be easily tackled by any vehicle except maybe a bus because of the narrowness. There was quite a crowd at the place and it was difficult to truly enjoy the splendor of the beautiful water fall. Anyway, we caught a rare glimpse of a monkey trying to drink water from the cascading falls by clinging onto a small bush that grows on the wall of the steep rock.

The stream before taking the plunge creating the Duwili Ella

Kalthota – Duwili Ella

Kalthota – Duwili Ella

The top part of the falls – If you look carefully you can spot the monkey that came for a drink near the bush at the center of the picture

After having lunch there, we proceed towards Kalthota and then along the Weli Oya -> Hambegamuwa Road. There were many more wonderful sights along the way with the vegetation gradually becoming that of the dry zone. There were some beautiful lakes and vast paddy fields right by the road and we spent a long time in here.

Leaving the Kalthota area towards Hambegamuwa

Sceneries around Weli oya	Sceneries along the road
Old age – Near the Hambegamuwa Road	Paddy fields and mountains
The colour of green is such a soothing sight	A small lake just by the road
A giant amongst us	A tree god
Another lake just by the road	Sceneries near Hambegamuwa

It was about 4PM when we reached the main entrance on the UdaWalawe national park. Even though we had booked the “Alimankada” camping site, upon arrival we decided to try out the “Renagala” site since it was deeper inside the jungle (about 25kms from the park entrance) and was further away from civilization. The location of the site is close to 6 33N and 80 52E and right by the river. We saw plenty of peacocks, water buffalos and crocs along the way, but not many elephants. There was also a sighting of an eagle attacking a peacock right infront of our eyes. The sound of the cab may have confused the eagle as it missed its mark and the peacock escaped into the forest. Well, it must have been one hungry eagle for the night.

Searching for nectar

On the way to Renagala

The Renagala camp site at dusk – The river is to the right of the picture

The camp site is under a thick canopy of trees and we set up our two tents before having a dip in the cool waters to soothe our tired limbs. The threat of crocs was always around and we had to keep an eye open at all times while we were in the river. After a hearty meal cooked on a camp fire we relaxed ourselves into the night with the sound of the river and the rustling of the leaves as our only companions.

The next day dawned bright and we left the camp site early to catch a glimpse of the awakening wild life. We even managed to startle a couple of buffaloes who were chasing each other and they almost collided head on with the cab as we emerged around a corner. The trekker informed that this sort of behavior is quite rare for buffaloes and these two may have been in a private moment when we crashed into their path.

A herd of buffaloes arriving for their morning bath

We did not see many elephants and it seems that most of them are now roaming nearer to the park entrance and the fence close to the road since some stupid people feed them through the electric fence. We encountered only a few lone elephants and not many herds.

After giving up on elephant sightings, the trekker suggested to have some 4×4 experiences on the mud tracks that are lesser traveled by normal safari jeeps. The mud has started to get dry and water ways had just enough water to enable the pick up to wade through. Some roads were blocked by trees felled by elephants and we had to make our own road through “mana” bushes in those areas. All in all it was a different experience and all of us were quite thrilled to say the least.

Road block made by the elephants – Provide your IDs please	More obstacles ahead
Trust the wheels and hold tight	Shhh.. A lone jumbo having breakfast
The southern slopes of the central hills in the distance – The Diyawini Ella falls is also visible from here

Afterwards we went to see the feeding of the baby elephants at the “Ath Athuru Sevana” at 9AM. It was quite fascinating to watch them come in pairs and have their ration for the day from the feeders. The young ones were being naughty and tried to somehow evade the controller to get at the milk bottles more than once. There was one especially naughty one who managed to get fed three times despite the threats of the controller who kept on chasing away the little one.

We had arranged our breakfast at UdaWalawe CEB quarters and refreshed with a good meal and a bath we headed back home along the Pallebedda road and reached Colombo in the afternoon feeling very happy about our weekend.