It was nearly a year and a half since we (Ashan, Amila, Hari and me) went on a bike tour covering Yatiyanthota-Seepoth and Parussella-Dedugala roads and saw many waterfalls. There were more than a dozen of them at the time making me think that the waterfalls headquarters were here. What’s more, there’s no need to go for treacherous hikes searching for these beauties as they’re more or less located either by the roadside or with a short hike.

So you’re blessed to go see more than a dozen of gorgeous falls within less than 12 hours that is something you won’t get anywhere else. So, having done it once didn’t stop me from getting back again. The intermittent rains made the thought more appealing and I managed to find Atha to accompany me after a numerous put-offs.

It was the period of heavy monsoons and we managed to find few days which was perfect to travel. On day one Kasun & I got together and headed towards Balangoda to try and do a complete copycat of Niroshans trip. After having breakfast from Balangoda we took the road towards Kalthota and at Tenjentenna took the carpet road to the right to reach Kuragala.

When Hariya called asking if we could go see Doovili Ella in Kalthota, I couldn’t have been happier. It brought back the sweet memories of our old gang doing a tour in and around Kalthota. Kalthota Doovili Ella is one of the most beautiful of all I’ve seen to date. She has this unique way of falling down very much similar to a pyramid. The whole Walawe River squeezed through that tiny opening with so much pressure creating millions of water drops scattering the entire area.

Even the base pool is nice and surrounded by some gorgeous rock formations. So thinking of the prospects of seeing her once again made my heart beat ever-so-faster. So we set our plans for the 6 Dec despite all the weather forecasts predicting heavy rains. As Hari hadn’t been to Kirindi Ella or Doovili Ella before, we decided to visit them plus another two, Kuda Ella and the evading Diyawini Ella that we missed due to lack of time even after going all the way to her.

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.

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.

his is a special report on hot water springs of Sri lanka. This was a very tempting topic which made it so irresistible that I ended up visiting almost all of these remarkable sites in a short period. The hot lakdasun forum post was indeed my greatest guide on this venture. I would be adding few details on some hot water springs I visited during the past few years for the sake of completeness. Here are the documented hot water springs in Sri lanka.

I woke up and lowered the blanket covering me and a rain of needles hit my exposed skin. Oh dear, I’m in HP, it suddenly dawned on me. There was a light moving out of the room and it made me feel jittery. Getting out of the bed and landing my feet on the ground sent another dose of needles up my body. It was so cold (probably around 10-degrees) and I followed the light out of the room to find Ana already up and getting ready to make some coffee. The time had just gone 4.30am and I was shivering when I entered the kitchen. There wasn’t any sign of the bungalow keepers (they can’t have ever had their guests waking up at 4.30am) and I waited with my feet up for a steaming cup of coffee.

Atha and Prasa were still sound asleep and I went back to wake them up. It was very cold and we sipped at our scalding coffee hugging ourselves so tight. The caretakers got a shock when they appeared around 5.30am to see us up and about. I guess this was a great shock for them and they got very busy making our breakfast while we washed in the freezing water and got ready to leave while the sun was beginning his painting class towards the east.

However Ana had booked the Ginihiriya Bungalow aka Anderson Lodge by mistake as we were originally planning to stay at Maha Eliya Bungalow. Looking back, I feel that mistake too was a god send as Ginihiriya is located in a very secluded place along Ohiya Road, about 5km before the Farr Inn. I’m sure you know that more than 80% of the tourists use the Pattipola Entrance when visiting the HP. Only a very few people use the Ohiya Entrance. As a result, Ginihiriya is not disturbed by the continuous stream of travelers and vehicles. Ginihiriya is built in such a place where it is not even visible from the road giving you all the privacy you want. A perfect place for a bungalow.

We took the E01 from Kottawa and were doing 100kmph while the sun as usual started his morning painting rituals. Just like waterfalls, sunrise and sunset are two other things that I never seem to get tired of, no matter how many times I witness it. It’s a whole lot different each and every time, trust me on that. The white cotton wool like clouds reflected the morning rays while sun appeared over rubber plantations and tiny hills to our left. Hasi had been busy in the weekend watching waterfalls as he’d been to 11 of them in and around Bulathkohupitiya, the day before. I wish I could have joined him for that too even though I have been to them before.

The more I see the more I wanna see and be with them. Visiting them again and again, I figured that I gotta do something special about them, the result being the birth of Tour de Waterfalls, my own and unique version of a guide to these wonderful creations of the Mother Nature.

The monsoon season over the last two years has been so vary and erratic causing so many discomforts to the farmers and the agricultural industry sky-rocketing the prices of food products. The draught has caused further damage depriving the people and animals of many districts. As usual the general public came to their rescue sending much needed water and dry food rations for their fellow countrymen regardless of their race or religion. Well, the draught was good for the bottled water companies, multiplying their revenues but at the same time adding an unbearable amount of plastic into the environment. Most of those (especially 500ml, 1litre and 1.5litre bottles) plastic will find their way into our forests, tanks and rivers polluting them heavily. These tiny bottles will have very little use after the draught is over.

I’ve a penchant for being with them as long as possible, simply looking at them can make my all sorrows, no matter how terrible they are, vanish into thin air. I’ve already a collection of more than 100 waterfalls in my Facebook page and I hope to visit as many as possible before they disappear from the face of earth thanks to ignorant, careless and heartless activities by many idiots.

I got a sudden craving to go see some of these beauties in and around the Sacred Mountain, Sri Pada and Atha too decided to jump in and this was a very last minute journey making only the two of us this time. We left around 4.00am on a rainy dawn and reached Kalugala Junction while the sun was battling an unwinnable fight against menacingly thick and grey clouds. The Kelani River that runs parallel to A7 was not so rich making us anxious to the water levels of the falls. We were nonetheless fully committed to the mission by then to turn around.

We haven’t been to this heavenly area for a long time and one visit long ago was on our way to Wasgamuwa and the other was a day trip when the kids were very young. Since we had only one night to spare, this was the best destination to end the school vacation in style and to recharge our batteries before going in for the third school term.