I wanted to do something new so decided to go through Google maps and thought of heading towards Bogawanthalawa on a Saturday morning with Chamara. First day we had a failed attempt on Kotagala mountain which we only managed 60%. So after a tiring attempt we decided to call it a day and we lodged at Bogawanthalawa.

As soon as you hear the name Sri Pada, there’s this calm and soothing sensation which goes through your system as if a nice cool flow of water through a parched throat. That mountain is so special even her namesake alone is enough to make us feel reinvigorated. I don’t think there exists any such mountain in the whole wide world that has been worshipped and visited as much as this despite her location in a tiny out of the way island in the Indian Ocean with nothing below it until the frozen Antarctic Glaciers. This is very special and it further proves by it being chosen to leave the footprint of one of the most respected and enlightened philosopher that walked on this earth some 2600 years ago, Gautama Buddha.

Since then, this has been worshipped by millions of devotees every year between Dec (Unduwap Poya) and May (Vesak Poya). However the situation has become a bit alarming due to the unprecedented crowds that gather to visit and worship the sacred footprint every year. If you were following the media (and supposing they were reporting the truth), there were reports of some 800,000 people visiting on long weekends and somewhere in April that figure rose to some 1.5 million. There were so many who were planning to go from Hatton but due to the large number of people ultimately ended up climbing from Kuruwita. Just imagine the plight of those people who were only prepared for an easy ride of 4-5km yet were forced to do 12+km. Most of them had been in tears by the time they had reached Galwangediya.

Diyaluma (220m) is the second highest waterfall in Sri Lanka and its situated at Beragala-Wellawaya road. Turn right from the Beragala junction and proceed about 23km to the waterfall.

Little Adam’s peak is the having the shape of Giant “Maha gigi damba” of Holy Sri Pada. This mountain is a very beautiful and a small mountain in Ella which having a great tourist attraction.

There had been some discussions with Ashan, me and Nishan to do a Mega journey starting from Bambarella and reach KMP at Kalupahana then climb Thunhisgala and descend to Pallegama by exploring Duwili eli. Although I had been to Duwili Eli once from Etanwala, Thunhisgala was a dream for me. Ashan and Amila went for a two day hike to Thunhisgala but I couldn’t join them as I couldn’t take leave from my work place. So I missed their journey.

It was a 3 day holiday and I really wanted to go somewhere. So I decided to hike few Rocky Mountains around Kurunegala. After many years I got a chance to get Anupama involved and Chamara also joined in. we left early to reach Mallawapitiya at around 7.30am where we had breakfast. From Mallawapitiya we took the Indulgodakanda road and on our way we saw a jackal caught in a trap near a road side forest patch.

Dolukanda (600m) is an isolated mountain situated at Kurunegala district. This is kind of a famous place for one day visit. Our objective of the trip was to find out camping opportunities on top of Dolukanda.

I’ve been more than lucky enough to visit Knuckles from most of the above mentioned paths. However only this time I managed to visit it from Naula-Elahera-Pallegama end coz other times it’d been either Hunnasgiriya or Matale-Rattota access routes. Just be warned about the Naula-Elahera road as it’s not in good condition mainly due to the Moragahakanda Project and the many Sand Lorries which come from Manampitiya and Bakamuna areas. The road is still under construction so it’s best if you avoid it for some time. However if you have a high clearance vehicle, this can still be done but with a great difficulty and more time.

We stay 2 day’s in Mathale & next day morning we went to our next destination – Mawanella. On the way we visited Dalada Maligawa , Kadugannawa Railway Museum , Dowson Tower & Kadugannawa Mawela Viharaya.

We stay at relatives house in Kaikawala. Next day morning we went to Riverston. We took bus to Raththota & from there we took a three wheel. First we went to Riverston & next to Sera Ella.

This is the highest fall in Sri Lanka and it is about 263m. This is the place that I personally liked to visit always. Actually I was there for 8 times from 2011 to now

Kabragala is a mountain in the Dolaosbage mountain range. It has the highest summit point in the range. Hiking Kabaragala became one of my ‘must do’ hike after seeing the Nadegura Documentary and Ashan’s Report. We planned several times and couldn’t do the hike due to bad weather.