Nalanda Rock (Arangala) is situated at Arangala-Naula with the height of 782m. It’s distance view is shape of an ear ring (Arungala (අරුoගල) ->Arangala අරoගල) gave the name Arangala. This isolated mountain is best seen when you travel from Dambulla to Matale via A-9 road, once you reach Naula bus stand. It has three peaks which makes the shape of an ear ring.

I haven’t been doing any hiking recently and I was starting to see leeches in my dreams too and finally it seemed like my dreams were converting into a reality. Krishani called me and asked for some information of a guide in Thangappuwa to do the Kota ganga trail. I asked her whether I could join them because this hike was in my long list and my request was accepted gladly by Krishani.

We went up cautiously as Nava mama fell the last evening coming down. We also found Tony’s hat fallen in his adventurous slide downhill. The tree cover was so thick blocking the morning rays kissing the earth. We came across another small cave-like place above us but not suitable for spending the night. From here we could see the sun falling on the Gombaniya and Knuckles Mountain Range. Sudugala which is towards the Kalugala was also visible. There was a thick layer of mist coming from Gomara side over the Knuckles. Nava mama said we could get a better view from the Hunugala so we didn’t stay long.

We went up until we came to the so-called Belumgala which is located to the left side of Hunugala. After maneuvering around the rock covered with vines, we got onto the top of Belumgala which wasn’t difficult at all. However the view was only towards the east from Udawannimana via Lakegala up to Galamuduna. The sun was almost up in the sky and taking the pictures of the eastern side was not so easy as we were facing the sun. Behind us was Gombaniya looking down on us and we could only see the top of her through the trees. Here are the pictures for you till now.

It’s been two years since I first visited Meemure and ever since I’ve visited Meemure a few more times. The pinnacle of all the journeys was climbing the Lakegala last year. Every now and then I get this longing to go see Meemure and the first thing I do is call Nava Mama and ask what we could do. Well, it looks there’s enough to do in Knuckles for a lifetime. When I called this time, he suggested we do the Kalupahana area which is popularly known among the villagers as the Leech Headquarters. After a half a dozen calls, we had a workable plan and fixed the dates at the last minute as the weather was so unpredictable. Meanwhile Uncle Tony managed to get leave and join me for this exclusive journey.

I met Tony at Fort Railway Station at 1pm on a hot and humid Saturday. We got into an already crowded AC bus and found those shaky jump seats in the middle. It was really tough sitting in them but we had no choice as we needed to get to Kandy as soon as possible. We reached there just after 4.30pm and went shopping. Now don’t get alarmed coz we didn’t go hunting for clothes but for the dry rations we’d need for the 3-day camping trip. Well to be honest, I’m not an experienced camper either so we all had to think carefully as to what we were going to eat and take with us. It was essential we carried the bare minimum without overloading our backpacks which would hamper our progress during the course of the hike.

Someone asked one day what was I really liked to see. I had no hesitation answering that question. Waterfalls, I declared confidently. But, I added, I’m not that choosy when it comes to traveling. Almost everything from Waterfalls to Mountains to Archeology and Paintings is appealing to me. I’m very much a cosmopolitan traveler. When Ana said that he would be visiting Kurullangala, I readily agreed to join forces.

Kurullangala has been a very hot topic ever since it was discovered by the Swallows’ Nests Poachers. Afterwards one of the media group went and videoed the place rousing the curiosity of the nature lovers and environmentalists. As a result many people (well not as many as you think but a good number of them), including the archeological department, took the trouble to visit the place. If you still haven’t come across what Kurullangala is, lemme give you an overview.

Matale district is blessed with number of beautiful waterfalls. Waterfalls in Bambaralla and Riverstone are most popular. Following waterfalls are situated closer to Matale town, still have got less attention.

After reading few Lakdasun trip reports we were tempted to go on this hike. We knew it’s hard but going to be a lifetime experience. I was checking the weather situation frequently with Wasantha(Pitawala) and finally decided it’s going to be 5th to 7th June 🙂 Duwili Eli can be reached through few roads. The routes I heard are Rambukoluwa, Walpolamulla, Ranamure, Meemure and Bambarella.

Knuckles range is the all rounder in Nature sites. Why I am telling this because of its vast variation in climates, flora, fauna, geography etc…..Also there are hundreds of trails which can be categorized from easy to strenuous. Dangerous Lakagala, Tough Duwili Eli at Kalupahana, Strenuous Knuckles peaks, Moderate Manigala and easy Deanston are some examples….So you can satisfy any of your friends or loved ones at knuckles. Irrespective of their age, fitness level or other parameters ,Knuckles consist of one or more suitable trails for any of them. That’s why I called it as “THE ALL ROUNDER “

Few years back after the war there were some terrifying incidents in the East especially about vandalism of Archaeology sites by local ethnic population. One of those sites was Sagama Pagoda that was bulldozed and destroyed which lit up a big ethnic issue at that time. I thought it would be nice if I could visit this area and try to explore these sites to give the needed awareness. As always the Book of Ellawala Medananda thero was my guide. So me and my wife left towards Pottuvil early as possible to have some breakfast before initiating a hectic adventure.

Year and Month Jun, 2015 Number of Days 2 Crew Ana, Atha, Prasa, D and Me Accommodation Bambarakanda Rest Transport By Train, on foot and by Van Activities Hiking, Photography, Relaxing, etc… Weather Excellent (Gloomy towards the evening) Route Colombo->Ohiya by Night Mail. Ohiya->Bambarakanda on foot. Bambarakanda->Ohiya by Van. Ohiya->Colombo by Train. Tips, Notes and […]

The bus ride as usual is no worse than a roller coaster. I can still remember my first experience in the Jaffna-Kurikkattuvan bus when I visited Jaffna in 2013. These drivers don’t believe in driving slowly and they keep their foot firmly planted on the accelerator. No stopping or slowing down but keep going at the speed of wind. Fortunately the road from Jaffna to Kayts is under construction and most of it is finished. However it got really interesting when we turned towards Velanai and from there to Kurikkattuvan. The road is not in good shape especially the long Pungudutivu causeway. There are so many pot holes but the driver tried to go above them rather than slow down and take it easy.

The result was that we didn’t have our bottoms on the seat for second or two at a time. The bus would fall into a pit and down goes the seat leaving the bottoms hanging in mid-air. Then the bottom starts its downward journey but by then the fallen bus had started its upward journey thanks to the shock absorbers. This meant the bottoms going down would meet the seats coming up and have this collision. I just gave you the description of a fraction of a second process. This kept going on and on until I couldn’t feel my buttocks anymore. I kept touching them after getting down to make sure I had them still on me.

Hi everyone here I am once again with another fairy tale. Hope you enjoyed the last one when we looked around the heart of colorful Jaffna wandering along the bicycles infested streets. This time I’m taking you towards more rural areas with many more things to see. My friends and I have visited most of these places before and I guess you must have read some of their narrations. However I’m gonna bring them all back and hope you will find something better. Now you must be wondering where we are going. We’ll cover the northern part of Sri Lanka from Mathagal (Dambakola Patuna) to Manalkadu. There are many interesting places to visit and hope you will like what you see. It took me one full day and two half days to cover all of these but I’m hoping you would be able to visit them in less time after reading this.

I used all sorts of transport options from a tuk-tuk, a bicycle, public transport (bus and train) and a motorbike ride from a friend of mine. If you have your own vehicle, it’d so much easier to get around but how long it takes is purely up to you. A little bit of Tamil will certainly help but you can get by so long as you can act well and show them what you want with your face and arms. Ok, if you are ready, let’s see where we are going, shall we? I’m gonna put them in the order I visited but you could plan the best course of route after reading through. By the way, at the end, remind me to tell you what I have missed seeing as well so that you could add them also to your list.