Sri Pada Season is begun. Buddhist pilgrims and pilgrims of other religions come in millions to worship the sacred foot print. People who want to climb the summit within a shorter period without much difficulty choose the Hatton Nallathani Route. Because of that Hatton route get crowded most of the time. People who wanted to climb in less crowded trail which is much closer to nature; choose comparably difficult Eratna or Ratnapura trails .

We woke up around 5am after a deep sleep and straight away went out looking for the rising sun through the mountains. The pointed shaped rock is not in fact Lakegala, but called Thunnisgala. No wonder people say that there are 7 people alike in the world and it seems it goes to the nature too, especially for mountains and waterfalls. The cloud cover was a worrying factor and sun had no chance of penetrating this thick layer. Ranjith and Wasantha arrived with coffee and it warmed our bodies. We decided to go as early as possible coz wanted to see as many things as possible. The breakfast was extra-large Rotti with Luny Miris and Chicken Curry. We ate and was on our way merrily. This area is a cluster of few villages; they are Pitawala, Atanwala, Rathkinda & Mahala Kotuwa. It’s however very hard to distinguish one from the other as there are no marked boundaries.

It’s been during one of those adventures Tony came up with the notion to explore things in and around Gampaha, the Siyane Korale. He’s closed to the area and knows most of it like the back of his hand. To make things interesting he’s also come across a paper article about some mysterious caves located close to Asgiriya, Gampaha. Probably you will hear more about them one day, fingers crossed.

It’s very unusual of me to visit the peak wilderness twice within one year but 2013 was a special one. Suddenly out of nowhere the idea popped out and I called my better half and agreed her to join me this time and as usual few lakdasun members answered my calls. I was so happy because Kasun and Sri were joining us, so we won’t feel lonely with their company. I have been through both Rathnapura and Hatton trails but I have not ascended from Rathnapura and after almost 5 years the trail was said to be totally different than the one I knew previously.

I’ve seen mist before but lemme tell you that I’ve never seen something like this. The world around us was nothing but grey white and the odd black shadows of all kinds of trees were barely visible. We were practically crawling at a snail’s speed and it was no better than feeling your way in the dark. However we were intrigued by what we saw.

Eventually Tony had to get a torch and lower the shutter and aim at the edge of the road so that we wouldn’t fall into a drain. However lowering the glass made our hair stand on its ends and froze our exposed skin.

Kukuluwa Temple is situated on top of Nirieli Kanda නිරිඇලි කන්ද (1500feet) in Rathnapura District at Ayagama (අයගම) area. There are three pathways to reach this temple; two of them are foot pathways. Even along other road also needs a good four wheel vehicle to reach the temple. Climbing to this temple is a nice experience and it reminds me the Kuruwita trail of Sri Pada. There for I decided to share my experience with others.

It’s such an amazing sight to watch them and one would never get tired of watching, no matter how many times they come across, this wonderful creature. It’s even more wonderful when you get to see them in their natural habitat such as the wild life parks and forests. Lately, I was itching to go see as many of them as possible and when Sheham came up with the idea of visiting Maduru Oya I kept jumping up and down till I was exhausted.

After a long journey we were finally almost on top. We reached an opening about 100ft below the summit where it gave a 180-degree panoramic view. This is where you can get the best view more than even the summit coz the summit point is covered to a certain extent by trees. We rested our tortured legs and had our energy bars and drinks giving us a boost for the rest of the day. I took hundreds of pics and managed to get Tony to do a short documentary too.

Waterfalls of southern border of Sinharaja rain forest and Neluwa can be classified as follows Waterfalls in Neluwa (4) – Thapolena Ella 1, Thapolena Ella 2, Neluwa/Kosmulla Duwili Ella, Thambalagama Duwili Falls, Waterfalls in Warukandeniya (3) – Aliboda Falls, Ratawal dola Ella (? Beraliyadola Ella), Beraliya Galanda Ella, Waterfalls in Lankagama (6) – Classic five waterfalls and Hathbinna Ella, Waterfalls in Pitadeniya (3)-Malmora Ella, Pathan Oya Ella/Wathugala Ella and Kakuna Ella.

We reached the Pahiyangala Temple around 6.30am and it was a fine morning with lots of cloud cover and sun fighting to pierce through them to lighten the world. We climbed the steps to the cave complex. Though there were only about 100 or so steps to climb, it was still a bit hard to swallow in the morning and we were panting by the time we arrived at the mouth of the place.

It had the typical ancient look about it but when I looked around, I was aghast. There were so many writings along the rocky wall. Now don’t get excited coz they’re nothing to do with the ancient value of the place but the stupid works by the idiotic tourists (no doubt locals). What a waste! It was so frustrating to see how much they have wretched this place. Having boiled our blood in the morning wasn’t going to help our cause so I tried to keep my cool and see around for some interesting captures. Covered in a hall like complex lies a giant Buddha Statue. It was so huge and looking very serene and all my worries and uneasiness vanished into thin air. To make it better, there was this small monk clearing the dead flowers on the stand in front and I took a nice pic of him standing in front of Lord Buddha.

I have to do a confession before writing this trip report. This trip was arranged by Sri with Some other lakdasun members on 23rd Saturday using Sri’s old Strategy, Face book conversations. I had notified my absence In advance as I had to report duty on Saturday. But I was free on 22nd Friday. Due to various reasons most of the other members also confirmed their absence expect the little boy Tony. So that trip was postponed.

I have been closely following the topic “Nelu” since it first started appearing in the forum late October and with every report and every photograph the desire to see Nelu was becoming too irresistible. Moreover, the fact that the next sighting of Nelu will be in 2025 made this trip a “must do now”. Do not know where we would be in 2025 – grave yard/ hospital bed etc…etc??