We departed from Colombo early morning and reached Beragala around 9am. When we got down at Beragala there was a bus waiting for Wellawaya. Latter part of A4 road from Beragala to Wellawaya was not in good condition. From Koslanda we got a trishaw to first visit at Meeriyabadda (මීරියබැද්ද) Land slide site and then Diyaluma waterfall.

Ana booked Fishing Hut, an isolated log-cabin-type place at the border of the Peak Wilderness with Baththulu Oya flowing right next. It’s like a paradise on earth surrounded by the lush greenery rain forest, set at the edge of a tea patch belonging to Moray Estate bordered by one side by the virgin flow of Baththulu Oya with an amazing view of the Sacred Mountain in the distance. Having been used by the English during the colonial era for trout fishing gave it the name Fishing Hut. The trout and fishing all have now become a part of the history but the isolated and peaceful environment is a stress buster for the workaholic. I’d wanted to visit the place so much after all the good things I’d come across about it. So finally being able to go and stay there for a couple of days was yet another dream come true for me. Additionally,climbing the Sri Pada through a trail not attempted before was a gem of an opportunity. I wasn’t gonna miss it for the world.

Would you believe if I said there is a rain forest in the dry mountain zones of eastern Sri lanka??? Yes there are two large patches of forest with plenty of “Hora” trees bordering “Kiri oya” (tributary of Kumbukkan oya) which is enclosed by two mountain ranges. It’s located in the Valley of Udakiruwa in Lunugala. Since I heard about this place for the first time from a friend I wanted to go there and finally I did manage to pay a visit recently.

Kurundu Oya Ella has been a very difficult customer all this time evading from our view every time we tried to get close to her. I don’t have to tell you how frustrated I felt missing her very narrowly about 3 times before. She proved to be a tough cookie and I intended to go see her even if it was the last thing I’d do. While the time passed and opportunities lost, I had kinda taken a backward approach mainly because of visiting a bunch of them during the heavy rains appealed more to my waterfall hungry mind.

Mysteries are to be solved and this time we made sure to put an end to this long lasting mystery. Galagama falls which is very well marked on many maps is a glamorous beauty hidden in the wilderness. It all started many years back when a discussion was started in our forum regarding this mysterious fall. Few years back when Lahiru and I decided to reveal this mystery we ended up with a failure.

Hanthana (හන්තාන) is one of famous mountain ranges in Sri Lanka. It is located in central hills closer to the second largest city of Sri Lanka-Kandy. Hanthana provides a good view of surrounding areas. This range has seven prominent peaks out of them Ura Ketu Gala (ඌරා කෙටූ ගල) is the highest. A lot of University students have visited at Hanthana in their under graduate life as it is a common batch trip. But most of them go only to a part of Hanthana range.

he region Kala Wewa is renowned for the tank bearing its name, the Avukana Buddha and the ancient temples of Ras Vehera and Vijithapura. Its grandeur, historical significance and spiritual importance continues to attract thousands of pilgrims and visitors each year. And the temple of Avukana is said to be the place to witness one of the most spectacular sunrises in the island.

Now that I’ve taken it off my chest, let’s see what was in store for me upon arriving in Kumbalwela where the Ella-Wellawaya Road begins. It had gone 8am, much later than I’d planned but there was hardly anything I could do about the crawling bus, when we reached Kumbalwela and waited for a bus to get us to Ella. The under construction road was full of dust and waiting proved to be a huge challenge but after it felt like an eternity, there was a bus and we got in quickly.

My efforts to catch up on sleep became futile so had a tough time waiting till we reached Belihul Oya for breakfast. Pan Cake just out of the oven washed down with ginger-flavored plain tea brought the active adventurer in me. From there the journey became more pleasant. The Walawe Valley stretched into miles with vivid colors. Finally around 8.30am, we reached Kumbalwela and got off the bus. Then it was another sometime before a bus arrived for us to get to Ella.

A much awaited trip! Me and my good old hiking buddy Murtaza (matz), with whom I went to Great Western a couple of years back, were eagerly looking forward for this hike since a long time. But since the both of us were not able to find time this topic was dragging on and on endlessly until the last weekend, Sunday the 15th of Feb.

Would you believe that if I said there is a mini Horton plains in the peak wilderness. Yes that’s true this beautiful savanna plain first came to my notice during an Adams peak hike in 2009 and after seen it for the second time in 2013 I started gathering information about this mysterious plains. Once there was a newspaper article but without any pictures of the plains and reading it urged me to explore this unseen territory some day in my life. It is said a Bison like buffalo called “Gawara” once lived here long ago and hence the name Gwarawila was given. It is also said that once the Haldumulla route to Adams peak fell across this plains of Gawarawila too.

The smartly dressed engine driver reminded me of a senior air force officer. Their uniforms were that good. Climbing up the steps into the engine at Nanu Oya was like a dream. Thinking back, I was as if sleep walking into it. Inside, the space was fully occupied by the two comfortable seats for the engine driver and his assistant, pilot and copilot in aviation terms. Behind them in the middle were two fire extinguishers. They could move about along the narrow path behind the seating. The engine compartment was the bulk of the sky blue enclosed wagon with no access whatsoever for others including them. If there was, I wasn’t gonna push my luck that far. The full length dashboard has various control panels including the touch LCD screen of the computer making it easy for the operators. The German and Canadian engines are more towards manual operations whereas this Chinese is largely computer-controlled.

If the desire of cossing Sri Lankan 6th highest mountain is born in my heart very earlier, it spent a long time to materialize it. The main reason for that is the vary weather condition of there. However I found a guide by didn’t leaving the try & contact with him. As a result of that finally Morgan responded me which I expected for long time & then prepared to crossign.