We had breakfast and traveled back on the Thanamalwila road until we arrived at Buduruwagala junction (5Km from Wellawaya) from here it was 4Km towards Buduruwagala. We had to walk all the way because there weren’t any three-wheelers, but we never regretted. The walk was wonderful because we were able to enjoy the breath taking view of Buduruwagala Lake at sun rise. After about 1Km from the lake we reached Buduruwagala which was a very peaceful place in the dense forest.

Galboda waterfall is situated within one hour walking distance from the railway station. It is 30 meters in height, beautiful, virgin & ever young due to the high rainfall received to the catchments area through out the year.( the closest town is Watawala, where received the highest annual rainfall out of the country ). Therefore, not like other waterfalls, travelers are advised to visit Galboda waterfall in August, the dry season. Because the natural water pool is suit & safe for bath in dry seasons

We leave early in the morning from Colombo by car at around 6AM. Our destination for the first day was Haldummulla. On the way we went to Kiridi Ella at Palmadulla. But the waterfall is totally dry because of lack of rain.
Also on the way we saw the Surathalee ella at Halpe. There was some water in it. Because of this we have given up going to Bambarakanda falls.

Actually this was an official journey to Mahiyanganaya but we planned it out to perfection. We took the 11.45pm bus to Mahiyanganya (the bus was packed @10.45pm) and the journey was a long one and we never regretted the night journey because the road trough Hunnasgiriya was heavily under construction these days. After the bus tackled the 17 hair pin bends, it was time for us to get down at Gurulupotha. The time was 5.30a.m so we decided to have breakfast at a nearby Tea shop and started our journey towards the Seetha Kotuwa ruins at Gurulupotha (the path starts near to the Rest house).

We reached Medawachchiya by 4.00 am. From Medawachchiya to Vavunia, the road condition is not good mainly due to construction work. The stretch is only 26 km but it took nearly 1 ½ hours as the traffic is heavy and our car could not proceed at the same phase with majority of busses which came from all parts of the country. We reached Vavuniya by 5.30 am and proceeded straight to Omantai Army Check Point.By that time, dawn was arriving and we were surrounded by lot of vehicles going towards the same destination.

There were few places that I have visited previously that I thought of visiting again. It was a bit of a different journey for me(out of the routine) compared to my previous once! I really wanted to see the sun rise at Maligatenna but I got a bit late, nevertheless I reached there at around 7am and climbed up until I came to the Meda Maluwa & set my self off to the top of Maligatenna. The scenery was awesome as always. As I know this is the highest place in Gampaha District and one can enjoy the breath taking view of Siyane Korale from top of it!

In the morning we got into a Hatton bus at around 9AM and reached Ginigathhena around 11:30AM. From there we haired a van to Koththellana. We had our lunch and started to climb from Koththellana area. First you have to go through tea plantation and then pine trees. After that there’s no clear path, you have to go by making a path trough the bushes. And that is the difficult part since the way is very steep. Some times you need ropes to climb. But on the way we saw some elephant dung.

This trip report does not cover any really new sites…thought of writing it up to share some pictures and also as a thank you for all the information provided for this trip by Lakdasun. Its quite amazing how places we go so often can still turn up enjoyable surprises, and its also very nice to be able to visit areas which we did in our childhood but then were not so accessible till recently. The sea in the Yala area is not so safe, but the beach is really worth exploring. And if you know your zoology? Biology? It’s a tremendous advantage!

Drove from Colombo to Kandy, took the scenic route along Raja Mawatha, past Victoria, Randenigala and Rantambe reservoirs and along the Minipe canal to Mahiyanganaya. It was almost dark when leaving Mahiyanganaya after visiting the temple. From there to Rathkinda, we took a long route for the fear that the causeway at Ulhitiya might be flooded.

Last week end, my self and Chamara (member) spent an evening at the rampart, Galle. We thought it is better to add some pictures from this historical fortress, a world heritage.

While at the top of the fort we saw a ship coming in to the Galle harbor. So the next day we manage to have a visit to the harbor. There we could experience how a ship brought in to the jetty.

Started from Gampaha @ 4.30am in order to reach bandarawela before dusk knowing we had a long day before us. Was past kandy by 6.30am and padiyapelella by about 9am(road conditions were really bad). After getting directions from plenty of people, 1 person mentioned the above route (special remarks) which we decided to take. From padiyapelella took a road that led us to mathurata plantation tea estates to get to kurundu oya falls

The best time to visit these parks is during the drought season during July to September but usually yala is closed for visitors during the month of September so I thought of doing this trip on late August but then again when I checked with my contacts @ yala I came to know that this time the park will remain open so shifted my plans to September where the affects of the drought is much more severe so our chances of sighting leopards is @ high.