I didn’t wanna turn around having come so close coz not being able to visit especially a waterfall going all the way is something that tastes bitter. It not only tastes bitter and it keeps nagging at me. Reluctantly, we decided to let Sheham go and Shareez and I walked up for another 1-1.5km along the road till we reached a sign board giving details about a Asupini Ella Village Project with half a dozen faces of politicians. The road forks into two here and you have to take the right turn that goes uphill.

Another 500m or so will take you to a stream that flows across the road. Pass this and you’ll come to a sharp right bend with a black wooden electricity pole on the left. On this about 6ft up is nailed a tiny board saying “To Ella” with an arrow. We were grateful for this and followed it. The path hasn’t been used recently, must be due to rain and was infested with leeches. We kept going uphill and Shareez who had had very little physical activities in this kind was ready to give up after a 1km or so.

If we decided to go Meemure from Bambarella across Kalupahana but we had to change that. Because we hadn’t clear information about that way. So we chose Knuckles way across Alugallena way. Dear brother Niroshan helped so much to reach this target to me. We were ready to this journey without any guide, but we had great information & guidance from Niroshan.

Sun was opening his doors to the world sending the early rays across the world when the whistle blew, green LED torches flashed from the back and front and the train left for her long arduous journey. The things got nastier at Ragama, Gampaha, Veyangoda and Polgahawela as many people tried to get in pushing and squeezing. Those who chewing beetle leaves and aricanut were forced to go deeper into the carriages making it impossible to spit out of the train, and Tony joked they must’ve had to swallow the lot as a result.

Eventually after it felt like being in a sea of people, we reached Kadugannawa and got off with a sigh of relief and went in search of a place to have a hearty breakfast before starting. This is when we met two of Lakdasun Members, Amran and Parsi who were leading a bunch of their office colleagues on a hike to Bathalegala. It brought back the happy memories of Our Bathalegala Journey. After a bellyful meal, we started our journey from Kadugannawa towards Rambukkana and you’re gonna read that here on.

I was able to visit at following places at Welimada in two days. Bomburu Ella and climbing to top of Bomburu Falls, Ravan Falls, Sthreepura cave expedition, Mana Falls, Ganethanna RMV, Ulugala RMV, Keppetipola fort, Diwrumpola Temple. Famous Bogoda wooden Bridge (බෝගොඩ ලී පාලම) and Boralanda government farm (බොරලන්ද ගොවිපල) are also closer to Welimada. I couldn’t go there.

Rambukoluwa is a traditional village at Knuckles forest reserve. This might be a vanishing village in near future as they have planned to build a reservoir by crossing Kalu Ganga. Though Rambukoluwa is not covered by this reservoir, villagers are asked to leave the village.

We took a Welimada-Bogahakumbura bus (alternatively you can take a Welimada-Boralanda bus which will take you to the turn off towards Alawathugoda) and got off at Bogahakumbura town and hired a tuk-tuk to reach the destination which was about 3-4km away. Surprisingly enough most of the people knew about the waterfall even though it’s not a prominent one. The road is under construction and in a somewhat bad condition.

We reached the Alawathugoda village passing the Community Hall where we had to walk as the road had been concreted and left to rest. It was a good 600-800m walk which took its toll on Podi who kept panting all the way. Unfortunately there was very little water and it made us feel very down. Well, you can’t always be lucky and see them in full flow I guess.

Few weeks back, I saw a clip of the cave on Sirasa news, which looked like Nil Diya Pokuna. Worried about the excessive exposure it could get, I sat in front of the TV, waiting for the story. Thank god! It’s not Nil Diya Pokuna but Sthreepura. Immediately, I called my partner in crime. (You can watch the short clip here )

Just after Hari’s Doowili Eli Hike, I received a call asking if I’d like to join him for a leisure journey as he felt he deserved a break after the mighty hike. I too didn’t mind one so long as it met my expectations. Fortunately, Hari managed to convince Sanketha too to join and we decided to go to Elpitiya where one of the least heard and explored Andahelena Falls is located.

He’d come across Malaka’s Trip Report about this waterfall and the nearby Monastery, Diwankaralena and we thought it’d be a good opportunity for us to visit them at a snail’s speed. He set the date for 15 May and it turned out I will of course not have a break as Tony and I were to visit waterfalls in Ratnapura and Deraniyagala on 13 and 14 May.

We set off around 6.30am on the 15th May in Sanketha’s car and I was grateful for that coz 550+km on two consecutive days sitting on the back of Tony’s old bike had taken its toll on me.

After our Hunt on 01 May, I was yearning to do more of them as the season is ideal for it. However, there was this nagging feeling in the back of my mind about visiting Batadomba Lena as well for the past year or so. My visits to Beli Lena, Pahiyangala and Alawala Pre-Historic caves stimulated this idea more and more so decided to get two birds with one stone.

Tony managed to get permission from his Royal Highness and joined me for the 2nd leg of Tour de Waterfalls with his ever so trusted bike which is as old as him. We met around 4.30am and hit the High Level Road and were on our way merrily. However come Godagama and Tony suddenly braked hard to avoid a ghost Tuk-tuk which drove across with no lights whatsoever. The result was the headlamp of our bike came off and was hanging from the wires as a result of the brake. Just imagine how old is the bike and Tony himself. I was worried right throughout that Tony might fall apart just like the bike.

This time we select the second youngest Knuckles mountain range. The way Theldeniya, Rangala, Thangappuwa across Kandy is used as entrance for that. Thangappuwa is a small colony who lived in estate laborers. 50 families are lived in this village. Plucking tea leaves, growing vegetables, plucking cardamom and in addition to that guiding for tourists are the ways of living in the people who lived there.

This was an adventure I always wanted to do, from the moment I saw the documentary in youtube back in 2012. However, due to the lack of experience in outdoor activities, I had to drop the idea. Then in February, I got to know that Thinuwan had been there. I suddenly got an adrenaline rush and determined to explore the underground lake. By this time, I’ve already done several hikes, and was confident about my fitness level.

It was on Tue 18 Feb when Hari called out of blue moon and asked if I could join them for a waterfall hike on 22-23 Feb. It is one of my favorite ones but due to not being able to take leave, I had to give up that idea. Gala Balana Kanda had always lurked in my mind and I wondered “What about climbing that on 22?”. I just didn’t wanna do it alone and then came Hasitha into the pic. He’s been calling me numerous times showing his interest to join with us for a trip and this looked like the best opening for a new partnership.

So I called him and suggested my plan, he hadn’t been to Berandi Kovil, Sithawaka Palace and Tomb of King Rajasinghe. It was perfect coz I knew we’d have enough time to cover them yet again as they are all very close to the main roads and won’t take an hour to do all three. I was anyway so sad about not being able to join Hari and the gang for the hike.