Ambokka which is an isolated mountain situated at the border of Kurunegala-Matale districts. (Border of Wayamba-Central provinces). It is also called Kondagala කොන්ඩගල (looks like a bunch of hair) and Salagama Kanda (සැලගම කන්ද). Special feature of this mountain is, most of the time peak is wrapped by the mist. No other peaks in this area are covered by the mist like this.

Ritigala the giant of ancient capital Anuradhapura stands tall with an altitude of 766m and is the best view point of north central Sri Lanka. Ritigala is an important asset to us in terms of history, folklore and bio diversity. It is the birth place of Malwatu oya and during the North – East monsoons it receives heavy showers more than any other place in the region. Most of the time there is a veil of mist covering its summit.

Just after Hari’s Doowili Eli Hike, I received a call asking if I’d like to join him for a leisure journey as he felt he deserved a break after the mighty hike. I too didn’t mind one so long as it met my expectations. Fortunately, Hari managed to convince Sanketha too to join and we decided to go to Elpitiya where one of the least heard and explored Andahelena Falls is located.

He’d come across Malaka’s Trip Report about this waterfall and the nearby Monastery, Diwankaralena and we thought it’d be a good opportunity for us to visit them at a snail’s speed. He set the date for 15 May and it turned out I will of course not have a break as Tony and I were to visit waterfalls in Ratnapura and Deraniyagala on 13 and 14 May.

We set off around 6.30am on the 15th May in Sanketha’s car and I was grateful for that coz 550+km on two consecutive days sitting on the back of Tony’s old bike had taken its toll on me.

After two very successful Waterfall Hunts, I decided to do a 3rd on 14 May (Vesak Full Moon Poya Day) immediately after the 2nd on 13 May. Vesak Poya brought back some very sweet memories of our Bathalegala Hike first-ever as a team.

Fortunately Tony too was on leave and after a exhausting but exhilarating journey around Kuruwita, Siripagama and Wewelwatte we decided to shift our focus to yet another waterfall mine, Deraniyagala. The foundation was laid thanks yet again to Ashan when he did a marathon of waterfall hunting a few months back which resulted in his record 100th post.

After our Hunt on 01 May, I was yearning to do more of them as the season is ideal for it. However, there was this nagging feeling in the back of my mind about visiting Batadomba Lena as well for the past year or so. My visits to Beli Lena, Pahiyangala and Alawala Pre-Historic caves stimulated this idea more and more so decided to get two birds with one stone.

Tony managed to get permission from his Royal Highness and joined me for the 2nd leg of Tour de Waterfalls with his ever so trusted bike which is as old as him. We met around 4.30am and hit the High Level Road and were on our way merrily. However come Godagama and Tony suddenly braked hard to avoid a ghost Tuk-tuk which drove across with no lights whatsoever. The result was the headlamp of our bike came off and was hanging from the wires as a result of the brake. Just imagine how old is the bike and Tony himself. I was worried right throughout that Tony might fall apart just like the bike.

The 1 May that has a very dramatic history behind was about to be celebrated yet again by all the laborers and working people around the world. Unfortunately in SL, it’s nothing but political drama being played on vividly decorated stages by bringing hundreds and thousands of people to Colombo from all around the corner using our public transport buses depriving the needy to go anywhere on that day.

We decided to celebrate this historical day with the beloved Mother Nature by visiting the Best Creation of her, the majestic Waterfalls. While the Sri Pada season is about to wind down and the South-West monsoon rains are beginning to hit the parched and cracked earth bringing that freshly earth smell with it. Trees were beginning to dress nicely and Hasitha out of nowhere suggested we do a waterfall hunt on A4.

This time we select the second youngest Knuckles mountain range. The way Theldeniya, Rangala, Thangappuwa across Kandy is used as entrance for that. Thangappuwa is a small colony who lived in estate laborers. 50 families are lived in this village. Plucking tea leaves, growing vegetables, plucking cardamom and in addition to that guiding for tourists are the ways of living in the people who lived there.

Around 4.30pm, the clouds arrived thick and fast and we heard the distance rumble of thunder making us run all the way back to Nava mama’s house. If I had any hope of doing Lakegala, this nearly made it the last nail of the coffin. Having come back and lying in one of the mattresses cursing the rain and thunder with all the bad words I could think wasn’t gonna help my cause but I kept at it. The sky split into many pieces with lightning and I decided to call it quits.

Around 8.00pm, everything settled down and thunder and rain vanished without a trace of them being just a short while ago and my hopes soared into the sky. I went and asked Nava mama, “Mama, shall we go no matter what happens? To hell with this rain and thundering.” He must’ve sensed my state and very reluctantly agreed. I came and broke the news to Dodam and asked if he’d wanna join the hike regardless of what happens and he jumped in. That settled everything in under 5mins and we were ready to go.

Colombo Fort, the beating heart and commercial Capital of Sri lanka; home to the biggest Businesses, Hotels, etc and so much lively activity that many of us do not know that Colombo has a dark dark history, filled with conspiracies, murder, plague, and death; Colombo Fort was home to the bloodiest and deadliest battlefield in the history of pre-independence Sri Lanka. This is an account of Sithavaka Rajasinghe’s 3rd and Final Siege of the Portuguese Fort of Colombo.

Sometime ago while traveling on Ampara – Siyambalanduwa road I saw a giant box shaped rock and got to know the name “Govindahela”. I was fascinated to climb it but had literally no information about it. Later found an article on Lakdasun forum written by a foreign lady who climbed the rock. But that article was not very encouraging as her experience turned out to be a very tough and difficult one. A couple of years later suddenly there came a report on the forum by – of course – Ahsan, who had climbed it, alone, with not much hassle and once again I started living in my dream.

Year and Month March, 2014 (30th) Number of Days One Day Trip Crew 2 (between 24-25 years of age), Me and my friend Accommodation N/A Transport From Polgahawela to Ohiya by night mail train, From Ohiya to Kalupahana on foot, Came back from Kalupahana across Rathnapura & Kegalle by bus. Activities Hiking & Trekking, Photography, […]

After a tiring hike to Hunnasgiriya peak with my friend Niroshan, we reached Kandy where I decided to stay the night at and complete a long awaited rail hike from Kadugannawa to Rambukkana. So next day early morning I took a bus and proceeded towards Kadugannawa where I had some breakfast before stepping on to the railway track. After snapping a Udarata menike train which was halted at Kadugannawa I started marching downwards towards Balana. The first landmark I came across was 64 ¾ mile post which is the highest point of Kandy – Colombo railway line which most of the people are not aware about. From here onwards the rail line deviates away from the main road. Tunnel 11 is the first tunnel one would come across after Galboda station where tunnel 12 could be found (when coming from Badulla side).