We all get these impulsive thoughts of doing things out of blue moon every now and then. Something like that happened when we visited Eli Hatha deep inside the Sri Pada Forest Reserve off Uda Maliboda in the first week of February. That journey, one of the dreams of Hari, turned out to be a great success, probably the best ever. During this journey I kept thinking of visiting the Most Sacred Mountain, Sri Pada via Uda Maliboda trail, one of the six known paths to the summit.

I was longing for it by the time we returned from Eli Hatha and didn’t wanna do anything else but that. So when I presented the thought to Dodam, my mate for the Beloved Lakegala, he seconded it with no second thoughts. So we fixed it for the 15 & 16 Feb. Thanks to Hari, I got the contact number of Yasawardhane mama, a real nature-loving gentleman who is very friendly, humble and helpful. When I called him to check the status of weather conditions and the trail, he gladly offered to help us. I, being the cautious type, asked if he could find a guide for us at least till we reach the Kuruwita trail but he said that there was no way we could go wrong yet promised to get someone at least for a part of the journey.

hough I have heard of the waterfall and its magnificent play ground it was only very recently that I was able to visit the vicinity by myself.
The waterfall, located alongside the A4 road passing Belihul Oya is a beauty! Not just for the majestic flow of water it brings down on you but also for its tempting rock formation that gives you the much anticipated chills.

Lahiru joined me at Fort railway station around 7.15 p.m. on Friday evening and waited till Badulla bound night mail train arrives to the flat foam. Soon after the train came around 7.30 p.m. we got in and were able to grab 2 seats. Being at the railway station in advance allowed us not to experience the difficulty of going standing specially in the night for long time. The train left Colombo at 8.15 p.m. and reached Haputale around 6.00 in the morning. After having a rest for a few minutes, we headed towards Ohiya.

Although I reached to SriPada in many times by various ways, I was eagerly waiting to reach there by using “Dehenakanda way” for a long time. When I said my idea to my friend of Lakmal who lives in Rathnapura, he also wasn’t walk to Sri Pada on this way. However we selected a date after the exam for this journey & get aware the crew.

Another Random weekend and nowhere to go suddenly decided to visit Meegahakivula but in my wish list there were only two places. Early morning I reached Loggal oya to witness a lovely sun rise and from there I proceeded towards 16th mile post of Meegahakivula road and took the left hand turn towards Arawa.

We departed from Colombo early morning and reached Beragala around 9am. When we got down at Beragala there was a bus waiting for Wellawaya. Latter part of A4 road from Beragala to Wellawaya was not in good condition. From Koslanda we got a trishaw to first visit at Meeriyabadda (මීරියබැද්ද) Land slide site and then Diyaluma waterfall.

Andiri Lena believes that this belongs to king Wlagamba, since he lived in forest for hideouts. Balangoda Buddhist monk stated that is there is a huge cave behind Pettigala Mountain. And the entrance is at Opanayake. He said he has gone to this cave 15 years back. Also told inside this is very huge as BMICH and its true. I started to search this cave, but couldn’t get any information. Finally after a 1-1/2 of searching, I found a blog (written by Sulakkhana Chamara), where he has gone to this cave in 2013. Now the planning begins; with Nishani, my office mate with the help of her cousin Pradeep. I contacted Pradeep and he gave us a great help of arranging the trip. On the 28 Feb 2015, we started the exploration.

Year and Month January 2015 ( 18,19,20) Number of Days Three days Crew 02( Me and My Friend Madhawa ) Accommodation Nawarathne Mama’s Place 0813 804191 Transport Colombo to Kandy By Train Kandy to Hunnasgiriya by Bus Hunnasgiriya to Meemure by Three Wheeler Meemure to Narangamuwa – walking Narangamuwa to Pallegama by Three wheeler Palegama […]

Ana booked Fishing Hut, an isolated log-cabin-type place at the border of the Peak Wilderness with Baththulu Oya flowing right next. It’s like a paradise on earth surrounded by the lush greenery rain forest, set at the edge of a tea patch belonging to Moray Estate bordered by one side by the virgin flow of Baththulu Oya with an amazing view of the Sacred Mountain in the distance. Having been used by the English during the colonial era for trout fishing gave it the name Fishing Hut. The trout and fishing all have now become a part of the history but the isolated and peaceful environment is a stress buster for the workaholic. I’d wanted to visit the place so much after all the good things I’d come across about it. So finally being able to go and stay there for a couple of days was yet another dream come true for me. Additionally,climbing the Sri Pada through a trail not attempted before was a gem of an opportunity. I wasn’t gonna miss it for the world.

Would you believe if I said there is a rain forest in the dry mountain zones of eastern Sri lanka??? Yes there are two large patches of forest with plenty of “Hora” trees bordering “Kiri oya” (tributary of Kumbukkan oya) which is enclosed by two mountain ranges. It’s located in the Valley of Udakiruwa in Lunugala. Since I heard about this place for the first time from a friend I wanted to go there and finally I did manage to pay a visit recently.

Year and Month July 2014 Number of Days 2 Days Crew 3 – My Self, Thivanka, Buddhika & from Seetha Gangula onwards 6 Upul, Prageeth, Udayanath Accommodation Heramitipana Ambalama (Gal Wangediya) Transport Bus, Trishaw, Foot Activities Pilgrimage / Hiking / Photography / Adventure Weather Day 1 – Heavy showers Day 2 – Gloomy Route Colombo […]

Kurundu Oya Ella has been a very difficult customer all this time evading from our view every time we tried to get close to her. I don’t have to tell you how frustrated I felt missing her very narrowly about 3 times before. She proved to be a tough cookie and I intended to go see her even if it was the last thing I’d do. While the time passed and opportunities lost, I had kinda taken a backward approach mainly because of visiting a bunch of them during the heavy rains appealed more to my waterfall hungry mind.