Waterfalls have always been my great passion and will always be. It’s such pleasure to go see them flowing down in their pristine white veils looking like angels descended straight from heaven. However it’s so painful and depressing to witness the tragic situation enveloping these gorgeous virgins by the vicious, greedy and ignorant people in our country.

The future of them looks so uncertain and I wonder how many of them will still be standing in a few years. So my aim to go see as many of these beauties has to be intensified especially in the monsoon season. I was glad when Hasitha called asking what my plans were for Poson. Tony and I celebrated Vesak skirting around Deraniyagala and the prospects of doing something similar on Poson lifted my spirits tenfold. I suggested we visit Bambarella following Niroshana’s footsteps. Even though Hasi had been there before, he still wanted to do it once again as there had been very little water at the time due to the drought.

eading Sri’s report made a few of us think of getting the wheel chair that was needed by the little boy in Kohonawala. With Sri’s help we made contact with the Hamuduruwo to get a bit more information. During the conversation he spoke of many older people who had bad eye sight but were unable not get spectacles. So could we arrange for something to be done about it?

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.

The five-day holiday following Vesak Poya was a long awaited event in the calendar and we planned to venture into an area that we have never explored – Namunukula and Ella. Ella of course we have passed many times en route from Wellawaya, but Namunukula was a totally new destination.

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 reading several posts in Lakdasun we decided to do this hike. But holidays were just passing and finally we decided to make this on a weekend. So we took the Ratnapura bus from Mawanella early morning. But when we reached Bus stand they said as it was a holiday the bus will not run. So we got into a Colombo bus and get down from Kegalla.

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.

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.

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, […]

We stopped to take a few pics of the morning sky painted with gorgeous colors. The shadows of trees added to the beauty with the contours of the mountains in the distance. I wouldn’t have minded walking along this road at this time as it felt heavenly. However, time was a luxury we couldn’t afford at the time as we had planned something unprecedented even in Nava Mama’s standards. KCC at Deanston was still in darkness and no sign of activity there. It’d’ve been grand if we could be at the mini world’s end when the sun is rising. We could’ve got a super panoramic view towards Ududumbara, Hasalaka and Mahiyanganaya. I had to restrain myself so hard not to venture into the trail without this early and there was no way to get permission.

Passing Loolwatte tea shop made me crave for yet another coffee but we simply wanted to get to Meemure as soon as we could and start on our first hike. We stopped nonetheless at Corbet’s Gap for a few pics of the mountains which were rising majestically to a clear blue sky. From then on, it was a downhill journey along a circular road that entwines the mountains like a giant snake. It’d already gone by 6.30am and we hurried. There were a few places where the road was terrible but we had a somewhat higher ground clearance enabling us to pass without incident. Reaching Kaikawala concrete bridge, we saw a monk who’s going collecting his meals (Pindawatha Wadinawa). He simply stepped out of the road, without even looking back and kept looking downwards till we passed.

There are a few monks who stay meditating in this part of SL as it’s so beautiful and calm. We even came across one such place deep inside the jungle on our way back from Gala Muduna later in the day. Closer to Nava mama’s house, we got the first glimpse of the gorgeous Lakegala. Whoa, what a beauty she is despite being continuously harassed by unforgiving sunlight and intermittent rains.

I started around 5.30 am on Poya day with my wife and younger son and reached Eheliyagoda and turned left along Dehiowita road and reached Eheliyagoda Rubber estate where you can see Bisodola Ella. Then we came back to A4 and turned left before Kuruvita junction to reach Bopath Ella.