Hanthana (හන්තාන) is one of famous mountain ranges in Sri Lanka. It is located in central hills closer to the second largest city of Sri Lanka-Kandy. Hanthana provides a good view of surrounding areas. This range has seven prominent peaks out of them Ura Ketu Gala (ඌරා කෙටූ ගල) is the highest. A lot of University students have visited at Hanthana in their under graduate life as it is a common batch trip. But most of them go only to a part of Hanthana range.

he region Kala Wewa is renowned for the tank bearing its name, the Avukana Buddha and the ancient temples of Ras Vehera and Vijithapura. Its grandeur, historical significance and spiritual importance continues to attract thousands of pilgrims and visitors each year. And the temple of Avukana is said to be the place to witness one of the most spectacular sunrises in the island.

Now that I’ve taken it off my chest, let’s see what was in store for me upon arriving in Kumbalwela where the Ella-Wellawaya Road begins. It had gone 8am, much later than I’d planned but there was hardly anything I could do about the crawling bus, when we reached Kumbalwela and waited for a bus to get us to Ella. The under construction road was full of dust and waiting proved to be a huge challenge but after it felt like an eternity, there was a bus and we got in quickly.

My efforts to catch up on sleep became futile so had a tough time waiting till we reached Belihul Oya for breakfast. Pan Cake just out of the oven washed down with ginger-flavored plain tea brought the active adventurer in me. From there the journey became more pleasant. The Walawe Valley stretched into miles with vivid colors. Finally around 8.30am, we reached Kumbalwela and got off the bus. Then it was another sometime before a bus arrived for us to get to Ella.

A much awaited trip! Me and my good old hiking buddy Murtaza (matz), with whom I went to Great Western a couple of years back, were eagerly looking forward for this hike since a long time. But since the both of us were not able to find time this topic was dragging on and on endlessly until the last weekend, Sunday the 15th of Feb.

The smartly dressed engine driver reminded me of a senior air force officer. Their uniforms were that good. Climbing up the steps into the engine at Nanu Oya was like a dream. Thinking back, I was as if sleep walking into it. Inside, the space was fully occupied by the two comfortable seats for the engine driver and his assistant, pilot and copilot in aviation terms. Behind them in the middle were two fire extinguishers. They could move about along the narrow path behind the seating. The engine compartment was the bulk of the sky blue enclosed wagon with no access whatsoever for others including them. If there was, I wasn’t gonna push my luck that far. The full length dashboard has various control panels including the touch LCD screen of the computer making it easy for the operators. The German and Canadian engines are more towards manual operations whereas this Chinese is largely computer-controlled.

If the desire of cossing Sri Lankan 6th highest mountain is born in my heart very earlier, it spent a long time to materialize it. The main reason for that is the vary weather condition of there. However I found a guide by didn’t leaving the try & contact with him. As a result of that finally Morgan responded me which I expected for long time & then prepared to crossign.

So this was my second visit (previous visit) to Jaffna this year and I would re visit this lovely land at any given time because there is so much to see. This time my main objectives were to visit two populated islands in Jaffna and also to show around my wife the beauty I experienced during my previous visits. On the way to Jaffna we did stop at Iranamadu to have some tea. We reached Jaffna at around 9am and refreshed ourselves before exploring the peninsula.

I wanted to start my trip calendar of 2015 with some fresh waterfalls hunting following heavy rains of end of 2014. My first visit to Bambarakanda happened in 2010 and this is after 5 years. Bambarakanda area doesn’t have much rain during last two weeks. But feeding lands of these waterfalls-Hortain plains had such heavy rain. Therefore waterfalls showed their full phase in our visit.

After the journey to Mandaram Nuwara and then to Victoria & Randenigala, I was feeling lonely and jittery. I’m sure Hariya would have thought differently but couldn’t ignore the proverb, “make hay while sun shines”. Watching TV was an agony, and news only managed to rouse the adventurer in me showing all the overflowing reservoirs, tanks and waterfalls. When they showed St. Claire in full flow, my heart not only missed just one beat, but quite a few. How wonderful even to see her come alive on TV. I was craving for the big moment. The news once again showed that the spills of wretched Upper Kotmale Reservoir were open so I could wait no longer. The next morning I called Morgan, and found out St. Claire was really blooming.

Year and Month February, 2014 Number of Days Three Day Trip Crew 5 (between 25-30 years of age) Accommodation Short stay at Samanalee shop near Gangulathenna. Short stay at Chooti mama’s shop near Ehala kanuwa (Rathnapura path) Camping near the waterfall in Hapugasthenna trail Transport Bus, Dimo batta and of course on foot Activities Pilgrimage, Sceneries, […]

I have heard that Jaffna is like paradise especially after the monsoons so I wanted to witness it myself. Since I have visited all of those main attractions around Jaffna I was more focused on some mysterious caves plus bird life. (By the way I did visit Jaffna on the next weekend too will update you guys on that expedition in my next travel log) We had many plans during this weekend but the bad weather made us differ the plans. We were left stranded and no other option other than heading towards Jaffna where Amila’s hotel is been currently completed.

Mostly used road is the one along A26 up to Medamahanuwara then turn into the Medamahanuwara-Adikarigama (B493) that runs through the Victoria dam. However we were skeptical about this due to landslides and resorted to the former choice. We finalized the journey around 8.30pm and decided to leave at 5am. Hasi’s wife and one of his friends, Gayan, too joined for the trip making it a full package for his car. We were excited and looking forward to the sight of the biggest dam in Sri Lanka.

Spills of Victoria are something you don’t get to see every now and then so this was going to be something unique and grand.