We left delgoda at 5.30am and was experiencing rain for the next 1 ½ hours till we reached our first attraction of the day at Ampagala, Bulathkohupitiya being Suramba/Punahela ella. After waiting for about 10 minutes till the rain subsided we decided to get a closer look at the falls

As this trip was arranged in a hurry there were only 3 of us committed. From the information we got from some of our friends, and Lakdasun we knew that transportation from Hunnasgiriya to Meemure is the critical part of our journey. The only transportation was two vans leaving from Hunnasgiriya between 1.30-2.00 pm. So we had to plan our trip to match with that. Two of us arrived to Kandy at 10.15 am and the other joined there. We did some last minute shopping to buy some stuff like noodles, Siddhalepa’s, and left Kandy at 11.00 am in a Mahiyanganaya bus

Let me start by giving a small introduction of the relevant area which I travelled on this journey. Wadinagala which is 2400ft in height was our main target and it has been on my mind for few months, it is located within the Gal Oya national park bordering Jayanthi wewa and the area is over populated by wild elephants. This peak is known to be one of the mountains which lord Budhdha considered before choosing Sri Pada.

The drive to Waulpane was quite effortless. But the last 1KM or so was bit difficult. After stopping the van at end of the road (still you need to walk about 600m to the caves ) which was an very interesting journey. You need to find a giud to got to this otherwise if your not familiar with the place it’ll be difficult (negotiable the amount before you hire a guide) normally Rs.300-500

After mountain climbing around Ella on the previous day I was clueless what to do on day 2 and 3 because my previous agenda was not feasible at this point. After discussing with my friend Priyanjan I decided to go to Hadapanagala Lake and end my day. That was the fixed plan for the day even when I left his premises. It was around 11am when I got in to a bus towards Wellawaya and the bus conductor came close to me to issue a ticket and suddenly a question popped out. “කන්දෙ විහාරෙ ගාවට යන්නෙ කොහොමද?”

Ella is one of the famous tourist destinations in Sri Lanka and well known among tourist as a hiking destination. Ella rock and Little Adams peak are among those famous viewpoints. Since it was a nice sunny day with a clear sky I decided to hike around Ella. My first destination was the famous Ella rock which is about 1350m in height. After arriving at around 8am to Ella I started to walk along the railway track (which is prohibited by law) towards Kithal Ella station.

“Dethanagala” is a mountain of two peaks which is similar to breast of a woman. This mountain can be nicely captured from the Balangoda town and you can reach it by Balangoda-Bagawanthalawa road. It is in the boundary of Rathnapura-Nuweraeliya district and close to Horton plains.

It was May 1st so we 3 decided to do our own parade (:-)) in a unique way and our destination was the summit of Namunukula. The area has had few showers during the past couple of days but nevertheless we decided to go ahead. Been a popular hiking destination there were many routes that on can select if you are planning to do this hike. Most people told us to start from 5th mile post or 7th or 10th but thanks to Dinesh’s advice we stuck to the route starting from 3rd mile post on Badulla-Passara rd.

Westminister Abbey is an awkward name seen on each and every map of Sri Lanka. So I did a Google search when I was schooling few years (15 years) back to find out that this was an ancient place in SL called Govinda Hela. So I had done my reading and planned to go there someday but never thought I would do this on that particular day.

Athwelthota is a well-known place for naturalist simply because many endemic species being found in this immensely bio diverse area. My visit was mainly to hunt few waterfalls which belong to Kaluthara district. I previously visited the same location in January 2012 but the water levels were so low due to the drought at that time. There have been few on and off showers around the island and that was enough to motivate me to re visit the area.

Everything was set for the journey and we took off from Moratuwa around 6 p.m., after a full day work at office. The idea was to travel somewhere close to Kalupahana and start journey in the next day early morning as we needed a full day to cover both off-road driving and hiking. We reserved ‘The Jungle Rest’ (just 500m away from the Belihuloya Rest House) which was situated away from the road as the name implies. The place was quite ok and affordable.

Year and Month February 2012 Number of Days Two Crew 3 (between 23-30 years of age – office colleagues ) Accommodation Camping Transport Public Transport Bus, Train and Three wheeler Activities Photography, rock climbing, Hiking, Camping Weather Excellent Route Colombo -> Mawanella -> Kadugannawa -> Poththapitiya and return on the same route. Tips, Notes and […]