The North – East monsoons were setting in almost after two years so it was time to hunt some cascades around Dambethenna. There was an old trip report from Priyanjan which guided me through this adventure. I took a bus from Haputhale towards Dambetenna and got off at the tea factory. From here onwards my guide was the kmz file given by Priyanjan in his trip report. Better to refer that otherwise you would not see or find these beauties.

I didn’t wanna turn around having come so close coz not being able to visit especially a waterfall going all the way is something that tastes bitter. It not only tastes bitter and it keeps nagging at me. Reluctantly, we decided to let Sheham go and Shareez and I walked up for another 1-1.5km along the road till we reached a sign board giving details about a Asupini Ella Village Project with half a dozen faces of politicians. The road forks into two here and you have to take the right turn that goes uphill.

Another 500m or so will take you to a stream that flows across the road. Pass this and you’ll come to a sharp right bend with a black wooden electricity pole on the left. On this about 6ft up is nailed a tiny board saying “To Ella” with an arrow. We were grateful for this and followed it. The path hasn’t been used recently, must be due to rain and was infested with leeches. We kept going uphill and Shareez who had had very little physical activities in this kind was ready to give up after a 1km or so.

Staying at home, doing nothing in my weekend can depress me to no end. It’ll further increase when the darn weekend falls on a weekday. There’s a limit that I can sleep so when I knew I was in for yet another useless two days of weekend, I wanted to scream my head off. Amid all the confusion I browsed Lakdasun looking for somewhere to go and I hit the jackpot after a few tries. Ritigala has always been a mystery to me as much as to anyone else. So the need to go see was like a sleeping lion in me, or rather a semi-active volcano, bubbling inside trying to burst the outer crust.

Having failed to find a mate for this hastily arranged journey, I decided to do another solo stunt. Thinking back, I’ve only done 2 solo stunts before out of all the journeys. So this came as the third and I hope it’ll be the last as travelling alone is such a bore. There’s no one to talk to and make plans, it can also be a pain having to satisfy the curious people who are only interested in getting information from me, not giving the information to me.

This was a long pending trip in my list. Initially we have planned to explore Kandy area by spending 3 days. Unfortunately it was continuous drizzling throughout the day. Hence we decided to leave Kandy on the second day to Anuradhapura. This report contain only Kandy visit.

“Elihatha” is the most prominent water fall among Sri Lankan special and charming waterfalls. This is situated at Maliboda village, Daraniyagala. This falls continuously as seven falls which is situated in “Naya Ganga”. This river is commence from samanala Adaviya and fall down combining with Seethawaka River and then joins with kalu Ganga. Samanala Adawiya is very special biodiversity zone in Sri Lanka which having most conventional species of animal, flora & fauna.

Year and Month November, 2014 Number of Days 1 Crew 2 (me and a freind) Accommodation At friend’s place in Medawachchiya Transport Motor Bike Activities Archaeology, Sight Seeing, Photography Weather Not good. Too gloomy and heavy rains in the evening Route Medawachchiya > Rathmalgahawewa > Kiralagala Tips, Notes and Special remark Accommodation options are scares […]

Kalugala is a location on the northern point of Madulsima range which consist of two peaks and out of those Kalugala no 2 is the highest. Kalugala No 1 peak belongs to Monaragala district and is the highest point of Monaragala. I have been eyeing on this for few months and out of nowhere the anticipated day arrived.

I immediately felt better and at the sight of Bambarakanda Falls, the tallest girl in SL, made my day. She had more water, at least more than my last visit, and was looking radiant in the morning. We parked the vehicle and went inside for a warm welcome by Mrs. Mayakaduwa and her daughter Erandi who served us with tea and coffee. We were staying in one of the two cottages there. The walls were built using mud and had the look of a typical rural house. It can easily accommodate 8-16 people and has 4 rooms and a large living area and a verandah as well. Two washrooms are located at the back and with hot water.

We unpacked and got everything ready while they prepared our breakfast, Rotti with a Dhal Curry and Lunu Miris. Some cowpea was also served with freshly scraped coconut and we had a bellyful breakfast and were ready to go. It was so good to see Ranjith again and together we left for our hike that turned out to be tougher than we anticipated.

The staircase of Yapahuwa is one of the most recognizable and reproduced icons of our cultural heritage. However, the actual ruins themselves are visited by only a small percentage of people visiting the cultural triangle. Sharing many similarities with the more famous Sigiriya, the mystique of Yapahuwa is enhanced by its turbulent past, majestic ruins, impressive fortifications and the vivid descriptions left by the travellers of antiquity who visited its kingdom. Its easy accessibility using public transport should make this an ideal location for a one day excursion for photography enthusiasts like me or those who are planning an educational, enjoyable and affordable day out for the whole family. Perhaps the greatest mystery in Yapahuwa is why so few Sri Lankans have actually been there to experience its splendors first hand…

Perfect weather conditions in hill country means it’s time to do some hikes. I just had to pick up two places in my list and execute. First day it was Hanthana range and few of my lakdasun friends did accompany me on that superb hike. For my next day execution Only Nishan said yes. So next day early morning both of us got in to a Padiyapelella bus and headed towards Rikillagaskada where we had our breakfast. We were going to climb a unique mountain range in the central hills. Kukulagala which overlooks Rikillagaskada town like a lonely giant.

It was one of those weekends when you have nothing to do but out of nowhere you get a chance to visit some place that is out of bounds for many thanks to one of your close friends. That’s exactly what happened when I was without a thing to do on the 18-19 Oct weekend when Ana called out of blue moon asking if I’d like to join him for a relaxing holiday at Rozella. I jumped with both the feet and we left for Rozella on the 18th morning around 4.15am.

It is November the month before the official Sri pada season and I just couldn’t resist not visiting Adams peak before the crowds took over. I and Thinu were wondering whether to go to Sinharaja or Adams peak and suddenly the weather seem to be settling off so we decided to do an off season hike. Early morning we arrived at Kuruwita where we had breakfast and took the first bus (6.10am) to Erathna and from there took a trishaw to Adawi kanda (there is a bus to Adavi kanda at 7.45am). Sharp at 7 we started the hike and off we went through the overgrown mana section. The humid environment started to cause few problems within no time but we proceeded continuously.