We had to go to Kandy for a “bana” and an “arms giving” and since the”bana” was on Saturday night I made a plan and went on Friday night and reached Kandy at 11.45 pm and stayed at my Sister in law’s place in Katugastota .

The following day I started alone at 5.30 am as my wife and daughter was more keen on shopping at the city centre and went via Theldeniya and Digana and arrived at Deanston at around 7 am.

Sun strggling to rise	.
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Hunnasgiriya	.
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Hunnasgiriya town from above	.
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At Deanston	.

As there was heavy mist I did some walking checking for birds.

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Probably a female whistling Thrush

Later went in the vehicle towards Corbett’s gap and then turned towards Loolwatta and Meemure.Though I only did go close to the village due to time constraint, it was a very pleasing drive ,fresh air breathing down my neck and the awesome scenery opening up.

Heavy Mist Passing Deanston	Heavy mist passing Deanston
Turn off to Meemure	This realy made my day

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The only concern was the very narrow road going through the village from the turn off from Corbett’s view lodge and fortunately for me only a three wheeler came from the opposite direction and I could make room for it to pass and if a bigger vehicle came I would have had to reverse for a good kilo meter or so on a winding road.

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Grey Wagtail

Phillipine Shrike

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Red rumped Swallow

Crested Serpent Eagle

Black Bulbul

Brown Shrike

Female pied Bushchat

Lesser Yellow Nape

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It was a good day for birding as well and left Hunnasgiriya around 11.30

We organized this hike as a university tradition. There were seven secret members for organizing the hike.

We started the hike at about 9 in the morning from the Faculty canteen with a guide dog “White Fang” .

towards Udaperadeniya	We walked along the Udaperadeniya road to Upper Hanthana Bungalow
Upper Hanthana Bungalow

Then we entered into Hanthana forest reserve with sudden a rain fall. We had to face a terrible leech attack at the start.

Inside the Hanthana Forest Reserve	Inside the Hanthana Forest Reserve
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Inside the Hanthana Forest Reserve	Inside the Hanthana Forest Reserve

We came to a huge area with pine trees. Then we climbed through the tea estates to a plain area of the mountain range. We had our lunch there.

Pine Trees	Pine Trees
mist around pine trees	one after one
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.	White Fang needs a rest
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through the tea estate	beautiful
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Then we walked through the highest margin of the mountain range to Bowalawatta end.We could see the whole area of Heerassagala, Bowala, Gatambe and Mahaweli river from Peradeniya to Gohagoda.

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Then we climbed down towards Hotel Amaya Hills,Bowalawatta.

We came to Bowalawatta at about 7 in the evening and then walked to the university via Rajawatta.

Early morning on Friday we started from Colombo and headed straight to Back of Beyond – Gurugoda. We were greeted by Ajith and Anverdeen (a veteran trekker with excellent knowledge about Yala) along with Priyanjan who were waiting there to join the four day excursion to explore, particularly the block two of Yala national park. Yohan’s Nissan Patrol and Ajith’s Land Rover were quickly loaded with supplies and we left straight away to Palatupana Entrance.

At Back of Beyond - Gurugoda

Formalities at the park office did not take long. Wildlife department guide assigned to us was Premarathne. Premarathne is one of the most expreinced guides in service at the department today and he claimed that he is a descendant of Henry Engelbrecht, the first park warden of Yala. Well, he knew Yala well but largely his attitude and certain behaviors did not make us very comfortable with him.

Leaving park office we drove along the Yala main road to paranaganthota (a.k.a Parana Thotupola) where we crossed Menik River and entered Block 2. Our camp site was “Nuga Sevana”, one of the newer camp sites established on the bank of the river. It was only a couple hundred meters away from Paranaganthota (පරන ගං තොට).

Location of the camp site was good, particularly because of its proximity to the river. The river was so inviting with shallow flowing water and clean sandy bottom so that we couldn’t resist a long bath under the shade of giant Kumbuk trees every day! One of the negatives of the camp site’s location was its proximity to the Paranaganthota which is the designated resting place for day visotrs to Yala Block I. On Saturday and Sunday we got disturbed by their noise occasionally. Also there are couple other camp sites on the either banks of the river in some what close proximity. If a party at any one of the camp sites does not behave well, that tend to disturb the rest of the sites. On one of the nights we could hear people singing at one of the other camp sites (most likely Kosgasmankada). Wonder why the wildlife guide who should have been with them did not stop them.

It took some time for us to setup our tents. We had quite a number of them.

Crossing Over to Block 2 at Parana Gan Thota	At Nuga Sewana Camp Site
Menik River bordering the camp site	So obviously this is what we did for hours EVERY day

After setting up tents we had lunch we brought form BOB-Gurugoda. After lunch we relaxed a bit, and set out for the first drive in block 2. Passing Yala wela (යාල වෙල), we drove up to Katupila Ara (කටුපිල ආර).

Yala Wela with Maliththan Trees scattered

Water level in Katupila ara was too high for a vehicle to cross it safely at the usual crossing point. This is a usual occurance, particulalry in the dry season, when river mouth gets blocked with sad, forcing water to build up upstream.

Katupila Ara - Water Level was high due to closed river mouth

Mangrove Roots, Katupila Ara

We had to drive couple of kms  upstream to find a suitable crossing point with less water and we did a hassle free cross over to the other side.

Having crossed Katupila Ara, we drove back along the opposite bank of it and got back on the main road. Passing vast, dry, open, sandy sections of Pilinnawa Eliya (පිළින්නාව එලිය) we drove along the main road towards Kumbukkan Oya. On our list to see were fresh water wells at Pahala Poththana (also known as the Navaladi wells in Paada Yatra) and Uda Poththana Modara (උඩ පොත්තන මෝදර) (View Google Earth Trail Map (KMZ))

As soon as we entered Block 2, we immediately noticed two remarkable differences in the animals we saw, compared to block 1. The first was the size of herds of Deer, Buffalow and Boar. Every herd we saw had many dozens of animals which was a great sight to see. The second was their unfamiliarity with vehicles. Every creature we saw would start running like mad as soon as it saw our vehicles!

We came across large groups of Deer, Buffaloes and Boar but all of them were on the run!

A Large group of Wild Boar, again running like crazy for the dear life!

Occasionally there were "Brave Hearts" as well

We drove mostly  along the main road through scrub forest typical in the area. Passing open areas at Uda Poththana (උඩ පොත්තන), we drove further down towards Pahala Poththana (පහළ පොත්තන). To reach fresh water wells, one should deviate from the main road towards right, just before entering open areas at Pahala Poththana.

We first reached the place where there are three fresh water wells together. It immediately brought back memories of Pada Yatra we did couple of months back. While on Paada Yatra we spent couple of hours resting at this very same place. The only difference this time was that the huge Dun trees in the vicinity were full of fruits!

The three Wells

Dun Trees were full of Fruits

Signs of Pada Yatra

Signs of Pada Yatra

We left the three wells and drove few hundred meters further to reach another freshwater well. We were pelasantly surprised to find another hudge Dun tree full of fruits there as well. The Dun we found were much more tastier than what we had before .

Yummmmmmy!

Leaving fresh water wells we started our journey back along the main road. It was late in the afternoon and the light was perfect for photos.

Malabar Horn Bill in Flight	Herd of Spotted deer paused their mad run briefly and posed beautifully against the light
Harsh Dry Environment was certainly not forgiving the weak	Driving on the "Death Valley" - Uda Poththana
Spikes and the Spider Web	Closed River mouths force water to accumulate upstream like this, sustaining life in a death valley even during the height of the dry season

Once we returned to Uda Poththana area, which is supposed to be an abandoned saltern, we turned left from the main road and drove towards the sea to explore the river mouth (Uda Poththana Modara – උඩ පොත්තන මෝදර) and the Estuary. (View Google Earth Trail Map (KMZ))

We parked close to the beach and explored the area. With pure white sand and calm water of the Estuary bathing in the late afternoon light, it was such a beautiful sight to see.

Sky, Sand, Water and exposed Corals - Uda Poththana Modara

Magical setup at Uda Poththana Modera kept photographers busy!

Lonely "Krishan Putha" at Uda Poththana Modara; most likely brought here by the Tsunami

We tried to locate “earthened wells” some of the previous travellers had described at Uda Poththana but we couldn’t locate any signs of them. Both Anverdeen and Premarathne were of the opinion that those must have been washed away by the Tsunami as they had been located very close to water.

The day was coming to an end. We started our journey back to the camp site. On our way back we saw fresh paw marks of a leopard on the jeep track but were not luky to see it.

Fresh Paw Marks on the Jeep Track

Heading back to Camp Site

Day 2

We left the camp site early morning on Saturday. The Plan was to explore Pilinnawa sand dunes and “Miniha gal Kanda (මිනිහාගල්කන්ද)”.

We crossed Katupila Ara and reached Pilinnawa Eliya driving along the main road. Then we turned right towards the sea and drove until we reached Agara Ara (ආගර ආර). Turning left at Aragara Ara, we continued to drive along the bank of the Ara until we found a point where we could safely cross over to the other side (just like Katupila Ara, water level was high in Agara Ara too; both share the same river mouth). Once we crossed the Ara we tackled some steep climb up to the sand dune and parked right at the base of it. (View Google Earth Trail Map (KMZ))

Parked at the Sand Dune at Pilinnawa

The sea is right there on the other side

It was very early in the morning (just past 6.00 a.m.). Sun had just started to emerged from the sea (Yes, we were in the east coast!). We climbed up the sand dune and reached the undisturbed, beautiful beach on the other side. To reach Miniha Gal Kanda we had to walk 2.1km along the beach. We thoroughly enjoyed this early morninng walk on the beatiful, undisturbed, remote beach. On our right had side it was the Indian Ocean meeting the horizon and on our left was the tall sand dune with perfect patterns created by wind, complimented by dune vegetation.

Sand Dunes complimented by dune vegetation

Rising Sun and the Ocean

The Walk; looking for the "lonely man in the beach"

Patterns on Sand and the colorful rock formations

Closer look at the patterns

……and the man came to our sight!

The rock was certainly resembling a man looking towards the vast ocean in a relaxed posture with his hands on the hips. “Miniha Gal Kanda” is said to be an ancient Coral reef which had been elevated from water a long time back and since then had been eroded by the wind and water to create some unique shapes like this “lonely man”. It is constantly changing, as per Anverdeen, who has seen the lonely man for more than half a century now,the man used to be even more prominent before.

The Lonely Man by the Sea - Miniha Gal Kanda

This is what the man is made of - A coral reef elevated from the sea many million years ago

The area immediately around the man was a fascinating geological formation. Continuous erosion of lose rock have created massive, roughly semi-circular craters with vertical walls. The rock wall was a live demonstration of what lies underneath, a perfect cross section with clearly segregated layers of earth in different colours. Travelers who visited the area before had called these gigantic craters “Amphitheaters” and they had described three of them.

One of the Gigantic Amphitheaters

Vertical Rock wall with layers of earth in different colours

We spent some times exploring the “Amphitheaters”. The rocks were so fragile and would trun in to powder with the ligthest pressure applied. Again Anverdeen recalled that the rock walls had changed drastically over the past few decades due to continuous erosion.

Travel literature describes three Amphitheaters along the coast. Even though we thought we saw all three,  Priyanjan’s studies of Google earth images afterwards suggests that we may have seen only the first one, or the first and the second. Certainly future visits are on plans to Verify

From the base of the Amphitheater

More like Martian Land than Earth

We also found evidence supporting the elevated coral reef theory. Hard shells of sea creatures could be seen trapped in lose rock. They appeared to be in some stage of fossilization.

Lose rocks that formed Amphitheaters

Evidence of early day sea life - Are these shells in some stage of Fossilization?

The sun was rising and the whole area was starting to heat up. Since we had a 2km walk back along the beach, we started our walk back by 8.15 a.m.

Light was getting Harsh

But photo opportunities were not all exhausted

A long the beach we walked back to where we started. Rather than walking back to the vehicles, we decided to continue the walk along the beach to reach the place where the Estuary opens up to the sea. We were also looking for an archaeological site where some stone pillars are said to be there. Again Anverdeen and Premarathna were able to show us the stone pillars scattered in the scrubs.

Pilinnawa Modara (Pellussa Modara) - Where water form Menik Ganga, Katupila Ara and Agara ara meets the sea

Two of the Stone Pillars. We saw couple more standing in the scrub forest close to the Modara

Estuary at Pilinnawa

Estuary at Pilinnawa - from another view point

We then returned to our vehicles. Getting them out of the dunes was not that straight forward!

Sand Dune 4X4 Action

Getting the Land Rover out of it was not that Straightforward

We drove back along the same track we came, crossed Agara Ara and approached the Estuary from the side of it. We found a large tree under which we settled down for breakfast.

Egg + Some sort of sauce + cheese sandwhich - Near Pillinnawa moya

After breakfast we returned to the main road and again continued along it towards Kumbukkan Oya. The plan this time was to explore “Mahirawa – මහිරාව” where a camp site from the hunting days with a waterhole that persists through the dry season were supposed to exist.

Passing Uda Poththana and Pahala Pothathana, we drove up to Ethiliwela Eliya (ඇතිලිවෙල එලිය).

At Pahala Poththana we drove passing the lonely Dan tree, known as “Boer’s Tree” which is said to be where Henry Engelbrecht (The first Park warden of Yala National park during the colonial era) used to camp. (View  Google Earth Trail Map (KMZ) )

"Boer's Tree" at Pahala Poththana where Henry Engelbrecht said to have camped.

Ethiliwela Eliya is another open, dry stretch of land around an Estuary (The water ways that feed this estuary are Athurumithuru Ara – අතුරුමිතුරු ආර and Nabadagas Ara – නාබඩගස් ආර).  Again we turned right towards the sea and drove around Ethiliwela Kalapuwa (Lagoon) in an attempt to reach Mahirawa beach. Again, water bodies were pretty full and we could not approach the sea. We parked beneath a large Dun (දං) tree, again full of fruits, and decided to have lunch there.

The five Dead Bodies! (and the authorities discussing how to dispose them)- After Lunch at Mahirawa

We did not particularly attempt to locate the fresh water hole or the camp site. Water levels was restrictive and we had no specific clues to look for on the ground. Anverdeen and Premarathne were also not too sure about the exact location of the campsite/water hole.

After some rest at Mahirawa, we headed towards “Walas Kema – වලස් කෙම”, another camping location said to have been frequented by the hunters in early 1900 when Yala was a game reserve.

At Walaskema we found a large rock scattered with several water holes (Kemas), most of them had water even in this height of the dry season. View from  top of Walaskema was nice too. Also there were signs of steps cut in the rock surface leading to one of the water holes. May be work of hunters or can this also be an archelogocal site?

Walaskema - Three of the water holes in the rock bed	View from the top - Walaskema
.	Clean Bones of a beast, according to Anverdeen and Premarathne it is not uncommon for animals to fall in to these waterholes or get ambushed by a waiting leopard in their desperate search for water in dry season

On our return journey to the camp site we explored the large earth mound right by the jeep track, close to Katupila Ara, known as “Weheragodella – වෙහෙරගොඩැල්ල”. The inch maps shows a Dagaba in ruins here but we couldn’t locate any signs of it. The soil and the rokcs appeared to be different in color and heavier than ususal. The surrounding and the rocks reminded us of a large meteorite impact site.

Weheragodella as seen from the main road	Climbing up
View from the top	Unusually heavy, colored Rocks - Can this be a Meteorite impact site

Leaving Weheragodella we came back to the camp site along the usual track. A gentle giant proved that our decision not to cross Katupila Ara at the usual crossing point was a very rational one!

Crossing the road between the two Jeeps

Getting in to Katupila Ara

Crossing over to the other side - as you can see there was enough water to submerge this giant so a vehicle crossing the Ara at this point is impossible

Day 3

We had explored most of the key places in the block 2 during past two days. Several other places we wanted to see were lying in areas not open to visitors (inside the strict nature reserve) and we did not want to break any rules. Also the drives in block 2 did not give us opportunities to observe wildlife. Therefore we decided to dedicate the third day to explore block 1.

An elephant feasting early morning at Buthawa lake

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Driving by the Elephant Rock also know as Akasa Chaithya - You can see ruins of two Dagabos at the top of this rock

An egret

A common Kingfisher

Early Morning at Parana Gan Thota

As we return to the camp site after the morning drive, we were called up on to help a jeep stuck in Katupila Ara.  Some 4X4 craze had foolishly attempted to cross the Ara from the wrong point. They had no guide with them and had not got proper permission to enter block 2 even! Apparently he drove the jeep in to the water with women and kids on board just of the fun of it and and ended up like this!

Stupid and Irresponsible are the most suitable words to describe the situation

We Pulled it out. Since the vehicle could not be started, they had to tow it out of the park with the help of the other vehicle which accompanied them

After breakfast Anverdeen shared some of his experience with us. It was very interesting to listen to him. We were particularly interested to find about  ”Ali manthara – අලි මංතර” from Anverdeen. Our conclusion on  අලි මංතර was that it is the aggressive and dominant behavior demonstrated by the person who chants the Mantra that deter the elephant, not the Mantra it self!

How about some sweets after breakfast - we had a load of sweets

Anverdeen Relating a Story

Around 3.00 p.m. we again headed towards Block 1 in anticipation of seeing more wildlife. It certainly was a good start with a peacock in full display.

Beautiful Display

The next sighting was this bear. It was feasting on Maliththan seeds and we watched it in close range for a quite long time

Bear feasting on "Maliththan" seeds

Closer look

Leaving the bear we drove towards Darshana wewa (Modaraagala Digana Wewa). On our way, we came across a family of yellow wattled lapwings. Two parent birds and their three little chicks. As soon as the parent’s saw us approaching, they forced the little ones under their wings. One of the chicks however kept coming out despite the parent bird’s desperate attempts to keep it under the cover.

Mother's protection - One chick is already hidden (you can only see its legs) and another one is hurrying in!

One brave chick kept coming out despite its mothers desperate attempt to keep it under the cover

By the time we reached Darshana Wewa it was late in the after noon. We drove along the earth bund enjoying the tranquility.The place looked very calm and quite with only some birds and couple of crocs in the vicinity.

Crocodiles at Darshana Wewa

1...2...3....

The silence did not last for long. A herd of elephants (with young) got in to water form the opposite bank of the lake. They walked right in to the middle of the lake and started drinking and bathing. It was such a lovely sight to see . The herd would keep the little ones right in the middle of the pack and would chase away anything that came close to the herd, including birds and even Crocs, quite aggressively.

The herd walking in to water with Young in the Middle

Enjoying the cool dip - All what the Croc could do was to watch

Drinking.....

After some time, the herd decided to get out of water. Again, chasing anything and everything that came in their way, the whole group came out of the lake.

Walking out of water

" Being BIG means a lot" - this young calf learnt it first hand (it was just a mock charge and there were no casualties!)

The herd then started spreading sand/dust all over them and we decided to leave them alone.

With the last rays of  sun hiding behind the tree line, we returned to the camp site with exciting memories of the day.

Sun Setting behind the tree line over a lake

Day 4

It was the final day!

We decided to do a one last round in Block 1. The very first destination of the morning was “Padikema – පඩි කෙම” rock to see whether the famous “Rukvila” cubs are around. Sure enough, they were there.

Wake up brother

Jumping out of the bed!

The play continued at the base of the rock

Siblings In Actions!

.	Walking against the Light

It was such an amazing sight to see!

The place started to become congested with more and more jeeps gathering there to see the cubs. Therefore we decided to leave them and explore more of the park.

Seen on the opposite side of "Padikema" rock	Flowers seen close to Patanangala beach
Buthawa Lake	More early morning activity

The last treat of the trip was again a herd of elephants. This time, they were busy playing on a newly built bund of a tank (breaking a good part of it in the process!)

Pushing and Pulling	A closeup
Colorful Dust Bath	.
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Well it was time to say goodbye to all the wonderful things at Yala. We left the paradise behind and faced the relaity of having to go to the office and start work on the following day

We started at 5 am and reached Sinharaja via Mathugama/ Kalawana (Kudawa Entrance) at 7am. Unfortunately we had to park the vehicle 1 km before the ticket office at the regional forest office as a bridge was under construction.The climb to the park entrance was steep and by 7.30 we were inside with the tracker Somapala( 045 7210845)

May be Brown Shrike (migrant)

Green pit Viper

We came across the 1st bird flock around 8 though there were only about 6 species consisting of Orange billed Babler, Crested Drongo, Malabar Trogan, White faced Starling, Laughing Thrush and Schimeter Babler.

Malabar Trogan	Greenish Wabler (migrant)
Dark fronted Babler	Brown Breasted Flycatcher (migrant)
Orange billed Babler	White faced Starling
Female Jungle Fowl	Yellow fronted Barbet

It was a perfect day with the Sun up and was a very good session for photography.The best thing was finding a Frogmouth couple inside the shrub.I hope that some of the Birding members might enjoy looking at the photos.

Blue Magpie	.
Frogmouth	.
Sri Lanka Laughing THRUSH	Crested Drongo
Asian Paradise Flycatcher	Schiemiter Babler
Black Headed Bulbul	Kunakatuwa (a Pit Viper)

Giant Squirell

Nelu flower blossoming every 4 years

Back at the Entrance

While returning from Sinharaja yesterday, from Mathugama we turned towards the highway and after checking the credentials of my friend who carried a special pass we were allowed to proceed. We started at 3.15pm and by 4.45 we were back at Kottawa exit.

There were some work been carried out to finish before the opening on the 27th and the different colours of the carpet due to re-doing at places were seen but it was a good experience but it will be a different ball game when the full vehicular flow starts. The noteworthy concern was the number of dogs staying near the middle fence but hope that the necessary action will be taken to sort this out.

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This is my second trip report (I never thought I’d finish even one). We had our plans to go on a trip by our study group at the university which never came true until this December.

The trip wasn’t planned extensively but was well executed at the end. The trains were booked from the Fort railway station just that morning. Third class sleeper-rest was our choice (quite economical) and due to the fact that it was a Monday evening of a non-vacation time we were able to book the train on the same day. We were able to get contact details of a cab to do the day traveling in Nuwara-Eliya. Pello Resort was booked by one of our group mates.

We got to Fort by bus around 7.00 p.m. by bus with all our packs ready. Train was due to leave Colombo at 8.00 p.m. We got on to our relevant seats and got ready for the journey. Train left on time to my surprise. We had good time in the train singing, reciting jokes etc. Tried our best not to disturb the fellow passengers who were a minority (13 to 8).

Music in the train

We got some things ready to eat bread, seeni-sambol, salmon and had it around 10.00 p.m. The train was heading slowly but seemlesly to our destination.

Dinner in the train

Then it was time for some jokes from the past, things went out of hand sometimes. Then people wanted some nap. Some never slept though. When we were up again around 2-3 in the morning it was Hatton and we knew it was only few stations from there. Then people started seeing a UFO outside the train (I never believed). It was 4.30 a.m. When we reached Nanu-oya (We were planning to get there 1 hour early). I was chilling to the maximum around that time. Our transport had arrived 1 hour early to the station and he was waiting eagerly

Nanu-Oya station

We got to Pello Resort by 5.00 a.m. and we washed ourselves and got ready for the day-off. It was still chilling and was a wonderful experience.

Pello Resort near Gregory Lake, Nuwara-Eliya

From the balcony of Pello Resort

Breakfast due at 7.30 a.m. and we had a walk in the Gregory lake for site-seeing.

Pony by the lake	Our Pro
This is what he was aiming at	Sun rising on to the Gregory Lake
Birdy by the roadside	He too was busy
Good project	Not very far from the lake
Bell was ringing (In the tummy)

Tea was ready. A hot tea would be second only to water. Then we spent some time inside the resort singing until breakfast. Breakfast was ready by 8.00 p.m. We were surprised by the arrangement. Well above what we expected and the food was awesome too (Special thanks to the cook).

Indian cuisine

It was time (actually way out of schedule) to start to Piduruthalagala mount top. The area is controlled by the army and arrangements have to be made beforehand to get to the mount top. The journey was through the Galwaysland National Park. It’s a bird park but we never so any birds.

MaXXXX Jeep	Galwaysland National Park
Galwaysland National Park

Then it was just five kms to Piduruthalagala, of course a 15 minute drive thanks to the good roads. Maha-rath-mal was a frequent flower we saw by the road. It was so misty and cold on the way. We comfortably passed through the army posts due to the pre arrangement. It was chilling on the mount top (stayed alive due to the jersey). Yes! We reached the top of the highest peak of Sri Lanka (I felt like Sir Edmund Hillary – not seriously), but it was a land mark I wished I visited for a long time. Special thanks to the soldiers who showed us the way.

Road to Piduruthalagala	Road to Piduruthalagala
Stone marking of the mount top	Our group
Nuwara-Eliya from the mount top – It was misty and we never saw anything	Nuwara-Eliya from the mount top - It was misty and we never so anything

We were not allowed to take much pictures due to the security reasons and we paid due respect to that decision. There were many antennas and the Rupavahini Co-operation antenna was one of them.

Our next destination was the Lover leap Falls which was on our way back to Thalawakele. What a beautiful waterfall. It looked like man made at first sight. It was a 300-400m walk in a high steep road to get to the base of the waterfall.

On the way to the Lovers Leap Falls – Flowers by the road	On the way to the Lovers Leap Falls
On the way to the Lovers Leap Falls – Flowers by the road

A Swedish family was enjoying the beauty of the waterfall. We were mesmerized. This is a good time to go on a waterfall hunt.

Lovers Leap Falls	Lovers leap falls
From the base of the waterfall Nuwara-Eliya town was clearly visible

The time was 11.30 a.m. when we go to the waterfall. Spent some time there and came back quickly as time was passing by. Then it was a long 1-1 ½ hour journey to Thalawakele. The tea estates by the side were so beautiful.

Tea

Tea

Our next destination was the Devon’s falls. It was almost 1.00 p.m. by then and was clearly short of time but we never worried because there was no strict schedule (it was anyway a getaway)

Devon Falls

Time spent by the Devon’s Falls

Then we went to the world’s largest tea museum (source- our friendly driver) The Mlesna tea castle. There was a huge sculpture of James Taylor, some historic pictures of tea in Sri Lanka and lots of kinds of tea. There was a Restaurant run by the same company but we resisted our temptation due to the high price tag

Tea Castle	Tea Castle
James Taylor

Time was 2.00 p.m. and everybody was hungry by that time but we couldn’t find a good shop to have lunch. Most shops did not have finished serving by that time.Our next destination was the

It was so beautiful and the rain did not stop us from going close to the falls. The purple flower tree close the falls drew our attention.

St. Clair’s Falls

St. Clair’s Falls

Then it was clearly the time for lunch and In-between snacks were un-compensatory. We found a descent place Just after Thlawakele and they offered fried rice for a reasonable price. Food was good but the service was pretty bad. We had no other option but to stick to that place because Nuwara-Eliya was 1 hour drive away. Had to stay for half an hour for the food.

It was almost 4.00. p.m. when we finished our lunch and we knew that it was the end of our journey. All other plans had to be cancelled and we directly came to the Nuwara-Eliya town. It was 5.30 p.m. Did some shopping in Nuwara-Eliya town (mainly fresh fruits to take back home) by then and we got to a pastry shop to grab some stuff to eat on the way as well as to have a hot cup of tea.

When we went to the bus stop the last bus starting from Nuwara-Eliya to Colombo was been parked in the stands. We quickly got on to it and reserved our seats. Bus started to Colombo around 6.30 p.m. It was a new CTB bus and the seats were like made out of rocks. It was a very uncomfortable journey back in the first 100 km where there were huge turns. Oh yes bus stopped for tea and some of us had hot coffee.

We got to Pettah by 12.00 p.m. Then it was three-wheelers that helped us get back to our destination.

This is one of the best quick getaways I’ve experienced. Nuwara-Eliya is a town that is always to be enjoyed.

Thank you for the photos by Madura and Jalitha. These are some other beautiful pics taken in our journey

Beauty	Beauty
Beauty

I was away from Sinharaja for too long…….  It had been more than a year since the previous visit. Its a place which you can’t stay away from for long so I had to some how squeeze a two day trip in July. It  was going to be Thihela’s first visit to Sinharaja as well.

We left Moratuwa around 8.00 in the morning.  With no stops, we straigt away drove to the Blue magpie lodge. We reached there just passed noon.

This was my first visit to the Bluemagpie lodge. The lodge was located bordering a paddy field and a tea field. In front of the lodge, across a narrow concrete village road, was a crystal clear stream which was so inviting for a dip.

Shallow pool was so inviting

View Upstream from where we were bathing

rest of the day was dedicated for relaxation (a.k.a sleeping ). The lodge was well maintained and had all basic facilities required for a comfortable stay. The staff was friendly and very helpful. All in all it was a pleasant experience at the Blue magpie lodge.

After a good night sleep, we woke up to a beautiful morning.

Early Morning at Blue Magpie Lodge

Dining area overlooking paddy fields

After breakfast we thought of doing a short walk inside the forest.

The forest department ticket office has now been relocated further towards the protected area entrance on the Jeep track. The road up to the new ticket office is well paved. There is a parking area in front of the office as well. This new setup effectively reduces the length of the walk to the entrance of the forest from 2.5km to 1.5km.  The jeep track is now closed for vehicles and therefore you have to use the alternative jeep tack through the village (check trail map) if you want to drive up to the forest entrance (4WD only)

After completing the formalities we were greeted by our guide “Ajith”. Since we had the little one with us, we decided to drive up to the forest entrance.

By the time we entered the forest it was around 9.00 a.m. It was way past the prime bird watching window. It wasn’t meant to be a bird watching walk anyway.

We started walking leasurely towards the research center along the jeep track. Thihela was throughly enjoying his first walk in the rainforest. A lot of things facinated him on the way but what really caught his eyes was the little pool with a large shool of fish, on the side of the road.

Lush Green

Walking in a new world!

Fascinated by the large school of fish in the road side pool

The forest was full of may other fascinating creatures such as this Caterpillar swinging in the cool breeze

Even though we were not particuallry behind birds, we were pelasantly surprised when we came across a fairly large feeding flock where we were able to observe species such as Red Faced Malkoha, Malabar Trogon and couple other regular endemic species of bablers along with other regular feeding flock species.

We leisurrly reached the summer hut at the second Mulawella entrace at which point Ajith told us that there was a pair of frogmouth roosting in a tree fern and went to see whether they are still their. After some searching in the forest he came back with the good news. He had located them!

We were really happy to see the pair peacefully perched on a tree fern. Eventhough the location and light was not ideal to take pictures, I managed to take couple of “Average shots”

Pair of Frogmounth

Location and Light condition was not ideal but manageable

A closer frame with a long zoom Point and shoot

We spent a considerable time observing and photographing these rare Owls and came back to the summer hut to find another beautiful visitor at close range.

It was a flock of Blue Magpies. There were couple of individuals hanging in and around the summer hut. They appeared to be very comfortable with us and I could get as close as couple of feet from them.

Eye Catching Blue Magpie at Close range

Another one

They appeared to be very comfortable with People. So much so that one of them would even perch on a pillar of one of the concrete benches where we were seated!

The blue magpies were there for the entire duration of our stay at the summer hut. It appeared that they gather there when ever a group comes there to rest. These were clear signs of people feeding these birds there. In my opinion it is a bad trend which I have not previously observed in Sinharaja (Even though feeding wild animals have become serious concerns elsewhere for an example people feeding wild elephants at Udawalawa, See discussions Begging Elephants at Udawalawa and Elephant Beggars….)

We left the blue magpies and started walking back to the entrance. Up on our arrival at the gate guard brought us news of a GreenPit viper at a closeby location. It was easy to locate it with the information privided by the guard and the conditions were good of some macro shots.

The last photo opportunity of the day was a good one

green pitviper - a more serious look!

After a satisfying couple hour walk, we thanked our guide Ajith, particularly for his enthusiasm to show us most of the forest and locating some “not so easy to spot” species on his own initiative. We got back in to the double cab and drove back to the Blue Magpie Lodge.

after another cool bath in the river, we had lunch and drove back home. It was a short but an eventful two days at Sinharaja.

This is my first trip report (Always wanted but never completed). We were on our family trip to Gal Oya Reservoir on the summer vacation (so cold) in September 2011. The interest to go on camping was drawn by my recent trips. We couldn’t get ready extensively (as we would do with my Uni mates) but adequate planning was done by my mother and me.

We planned the trip initially to the August school vacation but due to the National Elephant Senses which was on the way we had to reschedule the trip to September. All were enthusiastic on the trip and final number on for the trip was 10 with 3 teenagers, 2 youths and 5 adults. The campsite was booked in advanced and officers were helpful to provide us a campsite despite their strike. Cab service van was booked which was familiar due to the past experiences with the driver/owner of that van.

Kottawa- Kandy- Mahiyanganaya- Inginiyagala (Click Image to Enlarge)

Inginiyagala- Monaragala- Ratnapura- Kottawa (Click Image to Enlarge)

Splendid view of the temple of Tooth Relic and ‘Nuwara Wewa’

We started around 12.00 a.m. from Kottawa and last man was picked up from Borella. Driver was in no hurry and took his own time throughout the journey. We passed Kandy around 4.00 a.m. Cold weather made us stop near Digana for a tea break at 5.00 p.m. We passed one of the Fundamental Benchmarks of Sri Lanka (British survey point which is the center point of Sri Lanka) and the morning sun was rising and the view from the edge of the hill country was worthwhile of spending some time.

Fundamental Bench mark (Center of Sri Lanka)	board nearby (Click Image to Enlarge)
Road from Hunnasgiriya to Haslaka – Just before the great 18 Bends (දහ අට වංගුව	At the edge of the upcountry, golden sun is rising beneath the silver lake

All roads from Digana to Haslaka were under construction and even the road at the 18 bends was even widened.

Is this the 1st or the 18th bend? You need not reverse and take the bends anymore

We passed Hasalaka (Hometown of the war hero Gamini) and Reached Mahiyanganaya by 7.00 a.m. Passed the ‘Mahaweli River’ (longest river of Sri Lanka) and for our interest there was virtually no moving water in the river (it did not prevent people from enjoying a bath from the river). Whole Mahiyanganaya was getting ready for the ‘Binara Perahera’ (festival of September moon) and was busy and crowded (no traffic though ). Worshipped the temple of Mahiyanganaya but the temple area was pretty messy.

A salute to the great war hero Hasalaka Gamini	Mahaweli River – surviving the drought
Budun wedi Mahiyanganaya – The Mahiyanganaya Temple once even visited by Gouthama Buddha according to the legends

We had our breakfast by a man made waterway. ‘Seenisambal’ (Fried onion) and bread was great for the occasion

Lake, Van, Bread and our Friends and Family

From Mahiyanganaya we went to Bibile planning to go to Inginiyagala through Namal Oya Road. Our Driver was not that happy saying the road is pretty old and not good for the journey. With our persuasion he agreed to go. Around 10.30 a.m. we stopped for tea in Bibile and there was a warning that there is 7km of ‘Wedda territory’ (native peoples land) which we never understood until we reached that area. Road was not repaire for some time and was bad as anticipated.

Road to Inginiyagala trough Buttala from Bibile

We were passing the ‘නිල්ගල ඖෂධ වනය’ (Nilgala medicine forest) and there was more than a million butterflies mainly of two types(I’m not a specialist in wild life and I could only say one was predominantly Yellow and the other was brown). Butterflies were dead on the roadside

Nilgala Reservoir – Part of Gal Oya

A gang of Butterflies

We passed a Police post and our driver said that this route was used as the main route to Ampara in the war period. Rathugala would be a not nice to remember but an unforgettable experience of our trip. There was this wedda children by the road and two of them offered ‘Mora’ (a local fruit) and said one pack was 50 rupees. We did not want to buy Mora but we gave some money to both and started off. Only few hundred meters from their there were another bunch. They did not have anything to sell but asked for money or food. Then only we saw that it was continuous and there were more and more gangs of Wedda children ahead. When we said we don’t have anything to offer the wedda children started to put their hand in and tried to grab our stuff. We got pretty scared and one wedda child was hanging by the front passenger door (Where I was) and he did not let go. After a struggle with that child we started off and did not stop on any request. It was a pretty freighting experience.

Karandugala Police post – Used in the war time

We passed Namal Oya and the reservoir around 11.30 a.m. it was relieving as we knew that we are close to our destination.

Namal Oya

We reached Inginiyagala Wild Life parl office before 12.00 p.m. and the staff was welcoming. We did our payments for the booking of the campsite and other charges. We were asked to go to the Kossapola park office and we were told that a guide will join our journey from there.

Gal Oya, Inginiyagala Park office – Wild Life

Gal Oya, Inginiyagala Park office – Wild Life

We passed the Inginiyagala power plant and entered the Gal Oya resovoir. The sub office was 7km from Inginiyagala and was not so difficult to identify the route.

Inginiyagala power plant	Galoya Valley National Park
On the way to the campsite from the entrance

We met our guide and filled up the water bottles. Though it was said the water comes through a pumped well the water was not that pure. It was another 9km to the camp site. Our Guide Susantha ayya only had time to say that elephants drop down trees to the road we witnessed it. Had to spend almost 5 to 10 minutes to clear the road for 5 grown adult males.

Kossapola campsite office	.
Clearing the road to make way for the van	Termite mounds (වේ හුඹස්) were abundant on the way to the campsite

As we reached the campsite around 1.00 p.m. it was breathtaking to see a herd of 21 elephants near the campsite. The area was good for camping with a bit of slope towards the tank which prevented water collecting under a tent. There was a toilet without a door (a roofing sheet was close by to manually move and close the opening of the toilet. There was a concrete table and bench which were good as we could do the cooking on top of it. There was also a cloths line and a plenty of firewood around.

Breathtaking view of the herd of elephants with cubs having a mud bath	A toilet which was usable
Campsite ground

Then we got the chance to see elephants from close range. Guide Susantha took me pretty close to the herd and I was able to take some good pictures (with a Sony 14MP camera with 5x zoom – it was the best I could do).

Herd of elephants in close range	Solitary cub
Closer shot	Mother elephant and the cub

Watching elephants didn’t last more than 2 hours. We made too much noice and elephants head back in to the bushes. Some in our group were pretty scared of having an elephant herd so close and the retrieval of the herd in to the jungle was blessing to them.

Daytime view of the lake and the surrounding jungle was even worth it to camp at Kossapola. When we started to cook the wind started to blow everything off. The gas burner started to go off every minute due to the wind and we had to find an alternative place to do the cooking. Luckily Susantha ayya found a place nearby on a rock. It was difficult for the females to reach there and males had to do most of the cooking on the first day.

View of Gal Oya from the campsite – Splendid isn’t it?

Alternative place to do the cooking

We had lunch and went out for bird watching and had a wash in the lake. Water in the lake wasn’t so good due to the drought in that area and it was muddy. But it never kept us from enjoying a swim in the lake.

Birds in the dawn by the lake	Birds in the dawn by the lake
Enjoying a swim in the lake

We had the tents ready by evening and then came a heavy rain which was rather anticipated by all of us. We went to our tents and one of our crew members started to collect firewood and kept under shelter (something to be appreciated). Rain settled within 2 hours but our driver panicked and wanted to head back because the clay road would be slippery if the rain lasted like that overnight and he won’t be able to drive out of the jungle. After our persuasion he agreed to stay.

Why need an umbrella when there is 2 camps to share

Evening came so early but the change in the sky was something you would not forget for life.

Below: view above the tank in two hour intervals… (2, 4, 6 and 8 p.m.)

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Then it was night and a campfire was essential. This was the first time I experienced a real campfire done by an expert. A large trunk of a fallen tree was used as the base, then came the small sticks and branches on top of it, two polythene bags was the fuel that was only needed, a campfire was ready thanks to Susantha ayya

Setting up campfire	Setting up campfire
campfire

Two campfires were lit on both sides of the campsite and we were getting ready for the night. We had our pre-prepared dinner had a chat around the campfire. Though we felt pretty safe under the trees, for our surprise a large branch from a tree fell on to the camp site where we were having our dinner. No one was injured luckily. Everybody was scared whether animals would come to the camping area in the night after seeing the herd of elephant in the day time. The fully charged emergency lamp as well as the fully working (but very difficult to switch on ) torches were a blessing.

We were tired after the long journey and went to bed around 8 o’clock. It was neither cold nor hot inside our tents. Packing up some pillows and a ground cloth is invaluable though it is an extra weight. We planned to maintain the campfire in a shift but it was mainly two of the adults who did that job until 4.00 a.m. in the morning. I also joined the crew around 3.00 a.m. and the fire was kept until morning. For my surprise the whole trunk was in ashes by 3 o’clock. Morning was so beautiful

Panoramic view of the lake in the morning

Panoramic view of the lake in the camp site

Breakfast was prepared early and was taken warmly. We always had to eat more than what we eat back at home to fulfill the hunger. Then came bird watching by the lake and thanks to the Nikon Actionx binoculars we were able to identify a large amount of birds (my best experience in wild – I’m an amateur )

Best place to see most of the birds around	.
Bird watching in the morning	Bird watching in the morning

After some rest and tea we started to trek in the shoreline.

Animal dung of an unknown (by me) animal	Mating butterflies
‘හතු පිපිලා’ Mushrooms on an elephant dung	On the trekking pathway

We had another bath in the lake (with some swimming practices). We had our lunch and started back to Colombo around 1.00 p.m.

Large tree by the side of the road

We passed Siyambalanduwa and Mahiyanganayaand came through Wellawaya to Beragala and then to Balangoda.

Filling place in Siyambalaanduwa.	Work by the White – more than 100 years old
Work by the White – more than 100 years old

Diyaluma waterfall was on our way and we enjoyed time by the waterfall.

Waterfall was fascinating but water level was so low

Diyaluma waterfall (Click Image to Enlarge)

We came to Ratnapura around 9.00 p.m. and took the Panadura road. As it was the full moon of September the ‘Perahera festival of ‘Saman Devalaya’ was going on. We experienced some amount of traffic and a dely not less than 20 minutes.

‘Perahera festival of ‘Saman Devalaya’

‘Perahara’ festival in ‘Saman Devalaya’

We came home by 1.00 a.m. and that was it. Although we faced some rough time, Trip to Gal Oya is one of my best trips.

We began a long and wonderful journey on the morning of 13th July 2011 around 5 a.m. after I completed packing and loading all items which were arranged at my home, the previous evening. The van went about picking the rest of the members and finally, we were on the A5 route passing Victoria and Randenigala reservoirs in the early hours of a warm day.

Breakfast was at a boutique at Keerthibandara-Pura. The journey resumed and finally we reached Bibile around 12.00 noon. We bought a few essential items like bread, lunch packets to be had at the office premises at Nilgala and some sweets at a supermarket at Bibile. It was a hot afternoon, we were sweating and in need of a bath!

Outskirts of Nilgala Beat Office

Nilgala forest reserve, where an abundance of medicinal plants are to be found. It is said to be a forest that was used by King Buddhadasa in the 7th century BC

Lunch time came at the office premises (Nilgala), and everyone just started munching eagerly. After our lunch, we set off to the Kahathaaththahela rock where we saw ruins of an ancient temple complex.

We set up camp at Mahadorowwa that evening and completed setting up tents and cooking early, to spend more time in the stream. Feeling wonderfully fresh, dinner was enjoyed by all and then it was time to turn in for the night.

Completing work in setting up tents

The following morning, after breakfast, we set off to have a look at the Nilgala Anicut, and had hopes of sighting the three toed kingfisher. We were not fortunate enough to spot the bird. The anicut and the water that flowed beyond proved to be a haven to many in the group who just sank into the sand and water.

lovely display of buttress roots of a ‘Kumbuk Tree’ next to the Nilgala Anicut.

On the way back to the camp, a nuthatch was spotted

That evening surroundings were spellbinding that being a poya day. The moonlight and the gushing water made everyone relaxed.

15th morning while a group went birding; the rest of them cooked breakfast. Then it was time to move on to Galoya side of the national park to camp out at Kossapola.

The newly shaped up road, leading to the Kossapola campsite.	The campsite overlooking Senanayake Samudraya
Setting up tents for the night	A campfire
The campsite bathed with the evening sunlight	Reflection of setting rays of the sun on the waters of a magnificent lake

We set up camp, cooked during the two days, went on a boat ride and watched gentle giants staring back at us and an assortment of birds in Bird Island chirping and screaming at us for disturbing their roosting time! One morning some early birds in our group were fortunate enough to see a lone elephant swimming across the lake to get to the other side. The sunsets were appealing; the quiet evenings were only disturbed by varied bird calls.

The final day dawned, bags were packed and loaded, and with heavy sighs, we set off to the city once again. A visit to Deegawapi temple complex was made by afternoon, and then we were on our way to Kandy.

It was indeed a memorable journey.

Sunset from Kossapola campsite

The sight of waders on a morning from the campsite

A view of the lake, and a fisherman with his catch

Elephants in the distance

A pelican glides quietly

Since we have not been to down south for a while thought to organize family trip to Kataragama and then to Yala national park. We took following root starting from Matugama and crew was 3 adults and my son who is just 3 years old and we were traveling by car.

1st Day – 18th July 2011

We took Galle road and we depart from home early morning 5.30 AM since we are planning to visit Weherahena and Wawrukannala temples in Matara as part of this trip. Took our breakfast at Koggala beach and drive towards Matara and arrived at weherahena around 9 AM. Since this is a week day (Monday) there were only few visitors to the temple and we had good chance to observe the Lord Buddha statue (It says tallest statue in Sri Lanka but not sure since Kandewihara Lord Buddha statue might be taller than that) and also Umang wihara (tunnel) art works as well.

Koggala beach – Galle road

Weherahena Raja maha viharaya – Matara

Next destination was Wawrukanala temple at Dikwela and it was nice to see great Load Buddha statue and also the famous tunnel paintings and Sculptures to represent Yama Raja and Apaya (under word). It is sad to say that most of the paintings are ruined and damaged by visitors

Wewurukannala Raja maha Viharaya – Dikwella (Matara)	Yama raja statue at Wewurukannala raja maha viharaya
Ancient clock at Wewurukannala raja maha viharaya

Road condition from Tangalle to Ambalantota was in excellent condition and drive speed was almost between 90 to 100 Km/h and at last got caught to Police for crossing single line Had to pay the price (Rs. 550 penalty) and such a time wastage

There was so many massive construction work going on at Hambantota – Weerawila area due to 2018 Commonwealth Games preparations (Not sure whether 2018 games will be given to Sri Lanka or Gold Coast – Australia). Here roads are extremely wide and in top condition and you are welcome drive at top speed.

salterns (ලුණු ලේවාය) at Hambantota	Wind mills to produce electricity at Hambantota
Beauty of mother nature – Weerawila

We arrived Tissamaharama around 1.00 PM and we took our lunch close to Tissamaharama tank. This is a nice place to relax and perfect place for Bird watching in the Tissamaharama tank. If you have a Binocular you can easily observe so many water birds and also if you have time you can take a boat ride around the lake for Rs. 500

Tissamaharama tank – best place for Birth watching

You can have a boat ride in Tissamaharama tank

After the lunch we rushed to Kataragama and drive towards Katagamuwa to visit Sithulpawwa temple. Road was in gravel condition and dusty but there were only few potholes and we drove almost 50 KM/h speed across the Kataragama protected wild life sanctuary towards Katagamuwa entrance point of Yala. Middle of the way we observed few birds including
Blue-faced Malkoha

Katagamuwa entrance point to Yala was still closed for visitors and totally governed by the SL Army. We heard that they are going to open Katagamuwa entrance to Yala on 30th July 2011. We took permission from Army personal to drive towards Sithulpawwa and it is 18 KM from Kataragama to Sithulpawwa and it took about 1/2 hour drive to reach there.

Sithulpawwa was nice place to overview Yala national park in birds eye and temple and facilities were well maintained. At sithulpawwa we saw Tusk elephant which had got used to visit temple area to eat garbage thrown by visitors. There were large group of wild monkeys (25 to 50) at temple premises where we parked our vehicle and while we were out they took vehicle under their custody and we had to fight back to drive them away.

Kataragama dewalaya - Kataragama	Kiri-wehera chaithyaya – Kataragama
Tusk elephant at Sithulpawwa raja maha viharaya	“Leave me alone” – Deer at Sithulpawwa raja maha viharaya
Man made pond at rock mountain at Sithulpawwa Raja maha viharaya	Ancient විහාර ගෙය at Sithulpawwa temple
Yala national park from Sithulpawwa mountain	කුට්ටම් පොකුණ (Twin Ponds) at Sithulpawwa Temple
Small වැව (tank) at Sithulpawwa	කුඩා සිතුල්පව්ව
Sithulpawwa chaithyaya

Our next destination was Yoda kandiya (close to Kirinda) and there was 35 KM gravel road from Sithulpawa to Yoda kandiya but we heard road condition was not good and therefore we came back to Kataragama and visited Kiri wehera raja maha vihara Temple and then to Kataragama Dewalaya. Due to dry weather water level in Manik ganga was very low.

We drive back to Tissamaharama and drive to Yoda kandiya situated 6 KM from Tissamaharama towards Kirinda. We stay night at Duminda rest house at Yoda kandiya own by Harsha. He was very friendly and helpful to arrange Safari jeep for us to visit Yala next day. Duminda rest house was privately owned small guest house having 3 rooms with attached bath rooms with basic facilities. Room was clean and furnished with 2 double beds. It cost Rs 1000/= for 1 night (room only) and it is well worth to its price. If anyone interested to stay here and arrange Safari jeeps to visit Yala you may call Harsha’s mobile – 0726645587

2nd day – 19th July 2011

Next day we gotup early morning (4 am) and prepared to visit Yala, and our Safari Jeep – Land rover owned by Priyantha came to the guest house around 5 AM early morning. Road condition from Yala junction to Palatupana entrance (12 KM) was in bad condition. We took tickets from the office and there was a museum and an information center at ticketing office providing details regarding the Yala wild life sanctuary. We took tickets for 4 people and for the Guide / Trekker (Priyantha) cost almost Rs. 900/=

Our guide Priyantha told us that there was no raining for almost 2 and 1/2 months and due to that reason Yala was very dry and dusty. We had to wear handkerchief across the nose and mouth (මුඛවාඩම්) to protect from dust when driving through gravel roads inside Yala. Since it was early morning we had a good chance to observe so many birds including following.

1. GREY HERON (Alu Koka)
2. BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON (Re-koka)
3. BLACK-NECKED STORK (Ali-manava)
4. PAINTED STORK (Latuvekiya)
5. BLACK-HEADED IBIS (Hisakalu Deketta)
6. ASIAN OPENBILL(Asiya Vivaratuduva)
7. PIED KINGFISHER (Gomara-pilihuduva)
8. COMMON KINGFISHER (Mal Pilihuduva)
9. SRI LANKA JUNGLEFOWL (Sri Lanka Vali Kukula)
10. INDIAN PEAFOWL (Monara)
11. MALABAR PIED HORNBILL (Poru-kedetta)
12. GREEN BEE-EATER (Punchi Binguharaya)
13. GREEN IMPERIAL PIGEON (Nila Mahagoya)
14. COMMON WOODSHRIKE (Podu Vana-seratitta)
15. ASIAN PARADISE-FLYCATCHER (Asiya Rehenmara)

Also we observe following animals while driving though Yala Park

1. wild rabbit
2. Wild fox
3. wild boar
4. wild buffalo
5. Deer and Gona
6. Crocodile
7. Civet cat (Urulewa)
8. Sri Lankan Leopard

Priyantha’s Land-rower safari jeep	Museum and information center at Yala entrace / ticketing center
Yala entrance	Skeleton (head) of a dead elephant
Off-road experience	Green bee eater
Very rare incident – Peacock (Monara) fully extending feathers	Wild Buffalo – other names “Kula” / “gawara”
his deer wounded by vehicle accident and unable to walk. Our guide tring to help	Wild rabbit – “හාවා”
Wild fox – "හිවලා" / "නරියා"	වළි කුකුලා - Jungle Fowl
Small deer	Female peacock with kids
Water birds	Manik ganga
Giant kumbuk tree at Manik ganga	Nature’s beauty at Manik ganga
Another view from the middle of Manik ganga	Closer view of deer
Flock of wild pigs drinking water	Wild Buffalo enjoying the water bathing
Wild pigs enjoying mud bathing

We are so much lucky to observe 2 Leopards in a tree top. Since it was far away from the Jeep we had to use Binoculars to observe them (too bad it was out of my camera zoom range ) Also we had to face unexpected incident close to Manik ganga block inside Yala. We were at Manik ganga river taking some photographs and suddenly a troop of monkeys were making distress calls (indicating near by danger) and our Trekker / Guide asked us to immediately get in to Jeep since a Leopard was some where close to us. Calls of Monkeys were heard very closely, I guess almost within 100 meters range. We rushed in to Jeep and Priyantha asked Jeep driver to go through the road towards where we heard Monkeys shouting. Just after 50 meters from Manik ganga our Tracker Priyantha found very fresh foot prints of passing by Leopard in the sand. We stay for a while anticipating to see a sight but unfortunately we missed the chance. I took a photograph of the foot print (see the photographs) to memorize this incident.

Very fresh foot print of Leopard – “දිවියා”

After spending almost 4 hours we were so much tired and lucky we had some sandwiches we took with us and we departed from Yala around 10.30 AM and drove towards Kirinda temple.

Kirinda temple and chaithya	Kirinda beach
විහාර මහා දේවි (Vihara maha devi) – statue at Kirinda

After that we drive back to Tissamaharama and took Pannegamuwa road towards Wellawaya road. However road was closed due to construction work and there was an alternative narrow road (recently concreted) that joined the middle of walawaya road. I am totally disappointed since I was planing to spend couple of hours at Weerawila tank and Pannegamuwa tank for Bird watching.

Yoda kandiya tank (between Tissamaharama and Kirinda)

Tissamaharama chaithya

Road condition from Tanamalwila to Udawalawe was perfect and we drove our car almost 100 KM/h. Close to Udawalawe we saw more than 5 elephants waiting near the electric fence until someone offer them food. I stop the car and took some photographs as well. There were some small shops close by and I asked whether those elephants come everyday and their response was people throwing fruits (pooja wati) close to fence and due to that reason elephants used to come and eat them.

Just after drive over the Udawalawe dam (View of Udawalawe tank and surrounding from the dam was fantastic), We went to Udawalawe – ඇත් අතුරු සෙවන : The elephant transit Home and we were happy to see baby elephants feeding with milk and enjoyed their freedom after that. While we were there one of the Safari Jeep fellows asked us to visit Udawalawe for Rs 2500 (I am not sure if this the correct cost for a Jeep safari in Udawalawe ?) but we refused since we are totally tired after Yala trip.

Elephant near electric fence at Udawalawe	Udawalawe tank
Baby elephants at “ඇත් අතුරු සෙවන” – Udawalawe	Baby elephant enjoy freedom after milk feeding

We drove across Godakawela towards Palmadula and took shortcut to Niwithigala from Kahawata that leads to nice road across beautiful tea plantations in Rathnapura district. After reaching niwitigala we took road towards Kalawana and then to Baduraliya. We came across Athwaltota and nice to drive across this road and we almost feel like we are going across Sinharaja rain forest

After Baduraliya we drive to Matugama and and finaly we are back home.

We started at 4 a.m to go to Udawalawe park to make it a day trip on a week day which was a mercantile holiday.

After reaching Ratnapura at 5.45, we briefly stopped at Sumana saman devalaya and offered our prayers though the devalaya was closed at that time.

We stopped afterwards by wayside and had breakfast that we brought with us. After stopping and refreshing ourselves at Silver inn at kahawatta we set off and reached Udawalawe at 8.15 one hour late than we expected to be .

After deliberating ,we decided to hire a TATA 2 wheel pick up that could accomadate up to 12-13 people (2500/= for 3 hours) which we thought was a good rate as we did not want to expose the vehicles to extreme conditions for 2-3 hours.
One family of 2 however decided to go in their pick up as he had an allergic condition due to dust etc.

The run in the open cab was a super experience as you could see in all directions up to a good distance and can see animals easily. Though it was very dry the surface of the roads were in bad shape and as a result the double cab got it’s side bars damaged.Though it was quite hot we managed to see quite a number of Elephants including a baby tusker and some birds as well.

A herd of elephant gracing	A tortoise sunbathing
A ruffous winged Bushlark	A malabar pied Hornbill
Crested serpant Eagle	The double cab getting rough treatment
at close range
Measuring the distance to the animal
Eurasian Thicknee	A herd with young
A herd with young

The highlight was getting stuck in the mud trying to get close to a herd of elephants. We had to push many times and finaly made it.

We came out of the park at 12.00pm and took the road just opposite the park and went for about 3 km and came across a small tributary of a lake that we found some time back to bathe.The water was flowing, clean and cold . We were in the water for more than one hour and it was very refreshing too.

Pushing ...	Crested Hawk Eagle
Indian Roller	The place we bathed

We had a good lunch at “ bath gedera” in the heart of Udawalawe town and started the return journey at 4pm.After stopping for the evening pooojawa at the Saman devalaya at ratnapura , we reached Colombo at 9.30pm.

Coupling up with relaxation and bird watching (My hobby being bird watching), we decided to go to Nuwara Eliya on a Saturday after deciding on Thursday. Being a long weekend it was very difficult to book a place and after calling lot of places we managed to get a room at Hotel Midkey ( Room only for 3000/=) 052 2222709 and started at 10am.

We had a good lunch at Sisira’s river lounge at Kithulgala(036 2287793 went via Ginigathhena to Hatton). The road from hatton to Nuwara Eliya was horrible specially due to the ongoing work on upper Kotmale project and took nearly 2 hours.

Devon falls Thalawakele	Beautiful Mlesna tea cente
St Clair's falls Thalawakele

We spent about an hour at Hakgala gardens and I managed to take photos of dusky blue flycatcher and sri lanka white eye.

Sri Lanka white eye

Dusky blue flycatcher

We did some shopping in the town and went to the guest house around 7 pm. The room and the toilet was ok with hot water but as no were no heaters it was very cold towards the morning.

We started at 5.15 to go to Hortain Plains and went passing Ambewela farm which was very picturesque with super grass land and scenery and arrived at the entrence by around 6 though the sun came up by 5.40. As the day was cold my wife and daughter opted to stay in the vehicle and I set off looking for birds and photographed yellow bulbul, bright green warbler, great tit, pied bush chat. Saw some majestic looking Sambur as well.

Picturesque Ambewala farm	Siripada seen from Hortan Plains
Tamed Sambhur on the way	Bright Green Warbler
Fully Grown Sambhur	Pied Bush chat
Horton Plains

Came to Nuwara Eliya town and went to Galways forest which is on Welimada road few kilometers from Victoria park. Though we went in at around 11 this man made forest in the middle of the town is a bird’s paradise. Due to high canopy as the sunlight does not show much even at that time it was full with some uncommon birds such as Velvet fronted Nuthatch, Grey cannery flycatcher, Bar tailed Flycatcher,Yello Bulbul , Great Tit etc.

Galways Forest - Nuwara Eliya (Click image to enlarge)	Great Tit
Grey Cannery Flycatcher	Yello Eared Bulbul
Velvet fronted Nuthatch	Bar tailed flycatcher
A stuffed barking deer	an injured barking deer at Galways sanctuary
An injured Shikra

We had lunch at Hotel tea factory afterwards and left for Colombo reaching at7.30pm.It was a good outing and a great one for bird watching.

Hotel tea factory

Midkey gust - where we stayed the night

We planned this trip to visit Yala and Bundala National Parks. On our way back home we also visited Hummanaya Blow Hole.

Day 1

We started our journey at about 9.30 pm by taking a Kataragama bus from Colombo. Chamika, Miniruwan, Aravinda and Supun joined with me. We got off the bus from Tissa at about 4.30 am. Lokayya (safari jeep) came to pick us from there to the rest house. After a short breakfast we headed towards the Yala entrance. We entered the park at about 6.00 am. Four or five other jeeps also entered the park with us

Yala Entrance

Lokayya our jeep driver was a very experienced parson in the park. He was very urge to show us various kinds of animals, he didn’t hesitate to reverse the jeep several times to show us a rare animal or a bird.

	Lokayya didn’t hesitate to reverse the jeep to show us this baby crocodile
Butawa Wewa	Ranawara
Painted Stroke
Patanangala Beach

We came back to the rest house for the lunch and headed to Bundala National Park after a short break. Bundala is a bird paradise, and there were also a large number of crocodiles. We entered the park at about 3.00 pm. We were the only group in the park at that time, may be because it is not very popular compared to Yala. But the sceneries were very spectacular and it was also an unforgettable experience. I recommend every one come to Yala should also visit Bundala.

We headed back home next day morning after an unforgettable journey. We also visited Hummanaya blow hole on our way back to home. Special thanks to Lokayya for his invaluable support throughout the journey.

Hummanaya blow hole