We had to go to Kandy for a “bana” and an “arms giving” and since the”bana” was on Saturday night I made a plan and went on Friday night and reached Kandy at 11.45 pm and stayed at my Sister in law’s place in Katugastota .

The following day I started alone at 5.30 am as my wife and daughter was more keen on shopping at the city centre and went via Theldeniya and Digana and arrived at Deanston at around 7 am.

Sun strggling to rise	.
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Hunnasgiriya	.
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Hunnasgiriya town from above	.
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At Deanston	.

As there was heavy mist I did some walking checking for birds.

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Probably a female whistling Thrush

Later went in the vehicle towards Corbett’s gap and then turned towards Loolwatta and Meemure.Though I only did go close to the village due to time constraint, it was a very pleasing drive ,fresh air breathing down my neck and the awesome scenery opening up.

Heavy Mist Passing Deanston	Heavy mist passing Deanston
Turn off to Meemure	This realy made my day

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The only concern was the very narrow road going through the village from the turn off from Corbett’s view lodge and fortunately for me only a three wheeler came from the opposite direction and I could make room for it to pass and if a bigger vehicle came I would have had to reverse for a good kilo meter or so on a winding road.

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Grey Wagtail

Phillipine Shrike

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Red rumped Swallow

Crested Serpent Eagle

Black Bulbul

Brown Shrike

Female pied Bushchat

Lesser Yellow Nape

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It was a good day for birding as well and left Hunnasgiriya around 11.30

This was our annual trip of school friends in 2008. One of our friends who works at CEB got an appointment as an Operation Engineer at Laxapana Power Generation Complex and he invited us to come there for 2008 annual trip since there are lot of things to see which we never experienced.

He arranged accommodation and other necessary things for us.

Day 1

We started our journey on 11th December around 5.00pm from Colombo. First day our destination was Laxapana Circuit Bungalow and we reached there by 11.00 pm with several stops in between; several security checkups were there since we were entering in to a high security zone and War was at peak during that time.

By the time we reached there we were very hungry and dinner was already waiting for us.

Kalugala Junction – Turn right from A07 Avissawella - Hatton road	“Laxapana” Circuit Bungalow
Seven Virgins – View from Laxapana bungalow

Day2

Because of our great friend we got a very rare & valuable opportunity which general public will never be allowed; which is a boat ride on “Maussakele” reservoir. This is the only reservoir in Sri Lanka which is directly fed from 4 waterfalls.

Hearing the specialty of the ride, we all got up early in the morning and got ready for the journey with great enthusiasm. We left the bungalow by 6.30am right after breakfast. It is about a 40 minutes drive from Laxapana to Maussakele through a narrow road (which is very similar to Riverston road from Mathale.) The fantastic view of “SAPTHA KANYA” (Seven Virgins) mountain range will be available throughout the journey. When we were reached Maussakele boats were ready for the journey.

There were 2 boats, 1 is from CEB and other is from SL NAVY. Since it is early morning the crowd who were in 1st boat got another rare opportunity. The water was so calm and they could see a clear shadow of Sri-Pada on water.

Mirror….

“Moussakele” in the morning

Entire boat ride was about 2 hours and we could see following water falls.

• Gartmore Ella (which can be seen from fishing hut as well
• Mooray Ella
• Lower section of Mohini Ella (on your way to Nallathanniya you could see the upper section on your right hand side.)
• Another anonymous waterfall

Rare Scenery : Gartmore Ella(Left), Moray Ella(Right)

1st one : Gartmore Ella

Closest Possible - Gartmore Ella

2nd one : Mooray Ella

Mohini Ella – Upper Section

3rd one : Mohini Ella – Lower Section

4th one : Anonymous, But beautiful

Other than that we could see closer view of Sri-Pada, the Kovil which was under the water, back side of the Maskeliya town and several tea estates. If you are travelling during the rainy season you could see several temporary waterfalls on surrounding mountains.

Closer View of Sri-Pada

After having this great boat ride we went to the “Saman Devalaya” which is next to Reservoir dam.

In the evening our plan was to visit Laxapana water fall.

Between Laxapana and Maussakale there is a junction called ‘Double Cut’ where the only ‘0th’ mile post in Sri Lanka is located.

The only ‘0’th mile post at “Double Cut” Junction

“Saptha Kanya” from another angle

The view of the area is breathtaking on your way to Laxapana, and you could clearly see the rock where the most tragic plan crash occurred on Saptha Kanya mountain range.

My father has gone to visit that ‘plane crash’ when he was young and he collected those newspapers for us to read in the future, and thanks should go to him!

Where the Plane Crash happened in 1974-12-04

My Father has collected all the News papers related to this accident (Click Image to Enlarge)

In the evening we went to visit Laxapana falls.

Laxapana falls in different angles	Laxapana falls in different angles
Laxapana falls in different angles	Breathtaking…

Day 3
The plan for the next morning was to visit Aberdeen falls. But suddenly our friend told that gates of “Canion” reservoir are going to open for an urgent maintenance work which will increase the water level of Laxapana falls. We cancelled all our plans and rushed to Laxapana before the gates are opened. But unfortunately we couldn’t reach the waterfall before that, but we could see the water flowing under the bridge which is located beneath the Seven Virgins mountain range and before the Laxapana falls.

We coudnt reach Laxapana Falls before it comes

Laxapana – After opening the gates

Laxapana – After opening the gates

Then we went to the “Aberdeen” falls and on our way back we stopped at Norton bridge town where you could visit another 2 important things.

1. The D. J. Wimalasurendra power plant (gratitude to father of hydro power in Sri Lanka)
2. Tyre of the crashed plane

“Aberdeen” falls

Nature Creations

Remainders of a Sarrowfull Memory

In the evening we went to Hatton to visit another 2 important places. Those are ‘Singimale’ tunnel (559.75m) which is the longest railway tunnel in Sri Lanka. This tunnel is at 5 minutes walk from Hatton station and you need to buy “Pandam” to walk through the tunnel. Houses at both the sides of the tunnel are selling Pandam(10/= each) for pedestrians. It was a very nice experience to walk in the tunnel with dim light.

The 2nd important thing is at the other side of the tunnel which is the largest tea plant in Sri Lanka. According to the worker we met there a single worker needs 1 full day to pluck tea from the entire tree. Weight of the crop would be around 20kg – 25kg at a time. But now this tree is abandoned.

Singimale Tunnel

After visiting all these places we came back to the Moussakale bungalow. During the night we had a singing session as usual before going to sleep.

School day Friendship

Next day morning we came back home and had a nice bath at Kithulgala.

Thank You!

Day 1
We started our journey from Hikkaduwa at about 4.30pm and reached to Kaduwela at about 7.30. We spent the night at our relation’s place.

Day 2
We left Kaduwela at 4.00am and headed along the low level road reached to Avissawella about 5.00. We could see the first rays of the day at Kithulgala.

We stopped at a small restaurant near by the river and had hoppers as our breakfast.

Dawn at Kithulgala	Breakfast at Kithulgala
Early Morning at Kelani ganga	We noticed a giant moth near Kelani ganga which was attacked by a predator

We turned to B189 road from A7 at somewhere between Ginigathhena and Kithulgala. (I don’t know the exact name of the junction. A villager said that it is ‘Pitawala’. There is a police barrier here.)

Turning point

The road from here to Norton Bridge shapes very bad. But it spreads through very beautiful area. (Near Seven Virgins hills)

.	At the seven virgins hills near by ‘Koththellena’
Breathtaking scenery from the top of kottellena

Then we reached to the city of Norton Bridge and had a cup of tea from a small restaurant and headed towards Hatton.

In memory of Martin Air DC 8 crash

The road from Hatton to NuwaraEliya shapes very bad. (Specially the part from Kotagala to Thalawakele.) The situation became worst because of the construction of Ihala Kothmale hydro power house. The whole area was covered with the dust. We stopped few minutes at the beautiful and very famous waterfall.

Then it was the time to stop at another marvel of the nature, the St. Clair’s falls. But it looks little dirty because of the constructions of the power house.

Devon the veil of bride nature…

We tried in our best to avoid the wires but failed….

Then we headed to Nuwara Eliya and reached there about 1.30pm. We had the lunch at Sri Ambal’s vegetarian café. Then we went to the government holiday bungalow and the caretaker Thissa welcome us warmly. We went to the Gregory lake in the evening and enjoyed the activities like riding bicycles, walking etc.

Gregory lake in the evening

Gregory lake in the evening

Day 3

It was a bright morning. No rain or mist at all. We decided to leave as early in the morning to visit Horton Plains. We rode quickly to the same vegetarian café and had a heavy breakfast consisting of Thosai, Wadei, etc. Then we headed to Horton Plains via Pattipola.

Road towards Horton plains	Kande Ela reservoir
Heaven on earth at Ambewela

We stopped for a few minutes at Ambewela farm and tasted fresh yoghurt and proceed

Pattipola Railway Station	Horton Plains Location Map (Click Image to Enlarge)
Sri Padaya from Horton Plains	Breathtaking view of the plain

The plain was quite dry as there was no rain for a long time. The dust was there instead of mist.

.	A fresh water crab caught at the red bridge
.	Mini World’s End
.	.
Dwarf Bamboo bushes	Beautiful tiny flower

We roamed all over the plains leisurely. We came across an endemic lizard coming out from a bush

Endemic lizard

We were quite sorry to see that many invasive species were spread all over the plains. Gorse (Ulex europeous) shows a noteworthy growth there. We noticed that some trails were totally covered with this plant making tunnels

Ulex tunnel

Ulex europeus

We were lucky enough to see some Maha Rathmal flowers blooming around chimney pool and my wife’s vigilant eyes found a Binara flower too.

Rhodrodendron (Maha Rathmala)

Binara

We reached to the ticketing office back at about 4.30pm. We collected our helmets there. We were quite tired at the moment as we had only biscuits and tea for our lunch. So we rode directly to NuwaraEliya and had a vegetarian diet at Ambaals.

Day 4

That was the final day of our journey. We woke up early in the morning and left NuwaraEliya about 6.00am. It was extremely cold and mist in the morning. We rode along Welimada road (was under construction those days) and turn to Bogahakumbura road from Keppetipola.

Road from NuwaraEliya to Welimada

From Boralanda we headed to Haputale. It was about 7.30am when we reached to Haputale. Then we stopped at Haldummulla to by some Aligeta Pera (Avacado).

We had our breakfast at a small restaurant near by the main road.

From Balangoda we turn to Kahawatta and reached to Madampe. The road shaped little bad from Madampe to Rakwana but we were able to manage.

.	A tea break at Beragala

Road go through the heaven after Rakwana. We met hairpin bends. We stopped our bike near Rakwana Bridge and walk along the river until we met a nice place to have a bath. We met other two guys who are also traveling by a motorcycle. They have come all the way from Kelaniya. That was the 3rd day of their trip. They wished to pay a visit to Morning side. They were exploring a hermitage inside the jungle near by Rakwana in the morning. We wish them a safe journey and they wished the goodwill of us too.

Dipping in the icy cold water

It was about 12.30pm when we left Rakwana. We reached to Deniyaya about 2.00pm and had out lunch there. Then we headed to Akuressa, Yakkalamulla and Hikkaduwa. It was about 6.00pm when we come back home.

Road from Rakwana to Deniyaya

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We started journey from Gampaha at 3.30 a. m. Very less traffic on the way and we could reach Riverston at 6.45. We were the first to be there for the day.

On our way to Reversturn.	We reached Reversturn gap at 6.45 am no mist at all
Reversturn gap	View from Reversturn gap
Start climbing up to riverston tower 7.30 am. (2 km)	On the way
SLT Tower Reversturn	We had to pay much attention to kids running here and there. No wind at all

We left Reversturn around 9.30 am and this is on our way to Pitawala pathana.

This is between Reversturn and Pitawala. I don’t kanow what it is	We reached Pitawala Pathana around 10.30 am
Mini worlds end	View from Pitawala Pathana
Paddy fields at beautiful Rathninda

Manigala behind the scene. This is around 5 Km away from the Hittipola Road. The road was very bad condition and difficult manage with the car. We had to stop the car and walk last 2 km.

Thelgamu Oya at Rathnida	Weddapani Ella Rathnida (Etanwala border). Really worth coming here
Short cut to Weddapani Ella. We got our lunch here (Parcels prepared from home.)

We could reach Wasgamuwa around 3.00 pm. Unfortunately we could see only elephants, Peacocks and few other birds.

we could see only elephants, Peacocks and few other birds

Mahaweli Ganga at Wasgamuwa

Then we reach Wilgmuwa and spend night at Irrigation Department Bangalow beside the Nipon bridge

Irrigation Department Bungalow Wilgamuwa

Day 2

Sandy Mahaweli river at Wilgamuwa

Structure with Architecture – Nipon Bridge Wilgamuwa

We started journey at 7.30 ,crossed the Nipon bridge and reached Dimbulagala around 9.00 am.

Dimbulagala Rajamaha Viharaya	View from top of the Dimbulagala Rock
Timber statures in Dimbulagala temple

Then we travelled up to Madakalapuwa (Batticaloa) junction at turn right and reach Sewanapitiya. We turned left at Sewanapitiya and reached Nelumwewa hot springs at around 12.30 pm. Wells are situated inside the tank had to use boat to reach there.

Somaweera who knows a lot about the area and history of the springs	Nelum wewa hot springs. Hottest springs in Sri Lanka. Cannot bath without mixing
More information on Hot Springs of Sri Lanka	Nice summer hut constructed by Mahaweli Authority. We got our lunch there
A road to wells is under construction. I don’t know what will happen to innocent Somaweera’s job	There are lots of trees around. I don’t know why it chose to perch here?

We bought good dry fish from Ottamawadi , on the way to Passikudah. We reached Passikudha around 3.30 pm

Crowded Passikudha beach	He likes and wants to swim. But………
Coconut Cultivation Board Circuit Bungalow No. 2

Coconut Cultivation Board Circuit Bungalow No. 2. Where we spend second day night. I learn about this place from Lakdasun

Day 3

Start journey around 7.30 am. We drove northward along A15 road. Road is superb rarely find a vehicle

A bridge under construction	Fuel station Vakarai
A15 Road

We turned left just after Verugal and drive towards Lankapatuna. Road condition is very good. We visited Pashana Pabbatha Viharaya on the way. It had been used as “Koti Handa” transmission station past

Pashana Pabbatha Viharaya and Koti-handa transmission tower

Top of the rock at Pashana Pabbatha Viharaya

We could reach Lankapatuna around 10.30 am. We had to use free boat service operated by RDA to reach temple.

We had to use free boat service operated by RDA to reach temple

Broken bridge at Lankapatuna

View of beautiful beach at Lankapatuna

Then we came back to A15 road and drive towards trinco and turn left before serunuwara to reach Seruwawila temple. A culvert is under construction and we had to use a by road which was in very bad condition

We could reach Seruwawila temple around 2.30 pm	Ruins at Seruwavilla
Ancient pond at Seruwavilla

We started our long return journey from Seruwavilla around 4.00 pm. We used Serunuwara – Kanthale Road and spend around ½ hour on Kanthale tank bund

We spent around ½ hour on Kanthale tank bund

We reached Gampaha around 9.00 pm we had travelled 780km.

Lakdasun was a great help to organize the trip and thanks all Lakdasun members

We decided to go on our 5th trip of this year (my 7th of this year during December. Since some of us (including me) had not visited Reversturn earlier, it was chosen as our destination. But unfortunately with tons of work at the office we could not book the forest department facility or any other guest house timely. Then Lakdasun came to our help, to find a contact of someone from that area and we were able to arrange a village house for our stay.

On the Friday eve, after office we started our journey from Battaramulla, typically very punctually, 2 hours behind our schedule. We stayed at a private place in Kandy on that night. Next day we wanted to leave Kandy as early as possible and again as usual we were way behind our schedule.

After having breakfast from a friend’s place in Rattota, we headed towards Riverston. Our first stop was at the small yet scenic “Bambarakiri Ella” falls. It is just a few hundred meters walk from the main road to the water fall.

සුන්දර බඹරකිරි ඇල්ල...

It looked like the Bambarakiri Ella is used for a mini hydro power project. A small cement dam and some pipes were seen on top of the water fall.

Bambarakiri Ella	Suspension bridge over the Bambarakiri Ella…
Seen at the Bambarakiri Ella and was so shy. Captured after much time…

After spending some time there we hit the road again. As our van’s engine groaning and showing its tiredness time to time wrestling with the steep climb, we witnessed the climate change and the change of the nature. With our GPS readings were changing rapidly from 700m to over 1200m within a few kilometers, the eye-catching, stunning views were unveiled.

A government owned tea estate on the way

It was almost noon when we arrived at the junction towards the Reversturn peak.

We started climbing the Reversturnalong the tarred road and were frequently disturbed by the drunkards climbing down singing and shouting. All the way from the bottom we could hear some drunkards shouting from the top of the mountain. But middle of all these disturbances, Mother Nature did not forget to bless us with perfect weather and to mesmerize us with her stunning beauty.

On the way to the peak… this is why knuckles range is also called “බට දඬු කන්ද....”

රාවණා රජුගේ දේහය තැන්පත් කොට ඇතැයි ජනප්රsවාදයේ කියවෙන “ලකේගල”

Panoramic view on the way…

Road to the Heaven….?

Finally we arrived at the VHF tower and decided not to climb the other peak as we were getting hungry and the foot path to that mountain was full of drunkards. Then suddenly a heavy mist came from nowhere and within few minutes surrounded us.

VHF Transmission Center

The Nature decided to cover its face not letting the mindless people seeing it….

Panoramic view from the top (Click Image to Enlarge)

As we started to climb down, we saw a small cement steps down the mountain slope leading into the jungle. One of our team said it is a shortcut to the junction where we started our climb, but goes through the forest and might be infected with leeches. Since we enjoyed the common road on the way up, we, except for four people, decided to try this route volunteering to offer the lunch for the leeches. We headed down the slope and soon entered the thick undergrowth.

Seeking an adventure

Soon the jungle started to test us offering the best possible resistance. The undergrowth was so thick and leeches were enjoying the feast. With the steep descend it was even harder to control our feet. Sometimes we had to walk crouching and for a few hundred meters we had to totally sit on the jungle floor and move. Finally we came out of the jungle after about 30 minutes of battle with the nature, sweating, tired and legs covered with the blood suckers

Just before we were buried in the thick undergrowth… After this all I could do was worrying about my camera and trying to protect it….

After the adventure we headed toward the Ilukkumbura village and met the person we contacted, Wasantha. He was one of the most innocent, humble and nice men I’ve ever met. As our stomachs were tumbling with hunger and tiredness, we enjoyed the delicious meal (ගමේ කෑම) Wasantha had prepared for us.

It was almost 5pm when we headed towards the village house Wasantha had arranged for us in Puwakpitiya village, Very close to the Sera Ella. We were told that there will be no electricity and other comforts which we really did not bother. But when we arrived there, which was owned by Wasantha’s relative, we were a bit puzzled because it was not an empty house. The owners of the house were also there, which was not a problem for us, but we thought our visit would be a trouble for them. But we were surprised by the way those villagers welcomed, treated and helped us. It was clear that they were not doing this for money, but just to help us. We made the arrangements for our dinner and went to the “Puwakpitiya Oya” flows close to the house and had the cool dip in the dark.

We started preparing our dinner, the BBQ under the moonlight, soon realized that we forgot it was the lunar eclipse day. We were so blessed to see the whole eclipse, with some disturbances from dark clouds time to time

The moon was covering with the earth’s shadow.	සඳ රාහු ගිලගෙන….
Coming out of the shadow…	Coming out of the shadow…
Our campfire continued…	Starting the BBQ

We went to sleep around 11pm on the mats (පැදුරු) Wasantha provided us

Our third day started with some doubts about our schedule. Our plan was to climb Manigala and have a nice cool dip in the “Thelgamuwa Oya” and leave after the lunch. But we missed two of our visits on the previous day, the Sera Ella and the Pitawala Pathana due to our late start. So we had to cover those places too. Huge black clouds also were gathering and that discouraged us on the Manigala plan. Then we decided to omit Manigala from the schedule.
After the breakfast we left the village house that sheltered us and those generous villagers. Sera Ella falls was very close to that place.

Climbing down to see the water fall along the cement steps…

Halfway down the way, there was a huge rock over the steps, which seemed to be part the same rock that forms the water fall.

.	No it’s not raining. It’s just the water leaking from the rock surface….

The last part of the journey under the rock was wetting us with the water leaking from the rock. We had to cover our cameras to protect from it.
Few yards down we saw the stream flowing and as we came to the end of the path we were speechless with what we saw. It was one of the most beautiful sights we’d ever seen. Sera Ella was on the full flow due to the rain it had got during past few weeks. One of my friends expressed the beauty of Sera Ella as “මචං මේක නම් හරියට ජේම්ස් බොන්ඩ් ෆිල්ම් එකක ලොකේශන් එකක් වගේ…”.

මනස්කාන්ත සේර ඇල්ල...

Majestic… Isn’t it….?

We were told that it is possible to go inside the cave of the waterfall and there was a stair way to enter the cave.

Into the cave….

Sera Ella, the side view…

It was the first time I’ve been behind a waterfall and it was magnificent. It was rare location for a photo session and we took the advantage of it.

View from behind the water curtain….

Inside the cave behind the waterfall

Panoramic View of Sera Ella

After the Sera Ella we went to the “Thelgamuwa Oya” for the cool dip and found it was very crowded close to the bridge. The water level also was low close to the bridge.

Water level was low near the bridge…

So we decided to walk up a bit to find a peaceful place for a nice bath. On the way we found a huge rock pool below the famous flat rock, which had a plenty of water, but were very distracted with what we saw. A group had camped on top of the flat rock. They were behaving in a very unacceptable manner, so we decided to walk up more. Their camp had littered the surroundings very much. A lot of cigarette filters, empty bottles, polythene and a smashed bottle were seen scattered around.

We went up a bit more and found good place with the water up to the chest height and had a nice swim and a freezing dip. But unfortunately it was raining time to time, so our cameras remained inside.

After the bath we had a nice lunch and said good bye to Wasantha and left the village.

Our last stop was at Pitawala Pathana. There also we found very distracted with drunkards behaving like animals.

Entrance to the Pitawala Pathana…

At Pitawala Pathana

පිටවල පතන... (Click image to enlarge)

Mini World’s End at Pitawala pathana

Paddy Fields below the mini world’s end zoomed…

Panoramic view from the mini world’s end…

Since it was getting late we hit the road towards Colombo. As we were climbing towards the Reversturnfrom Pitawala, the whole area was covered with a thick mist. The road was barely visible.

The Road was barely visible…

Misty road behind us….

We were safely back in Colombo around 10 pm after another enjoyable trip admiring the beauty of Mother Sri Lanka.

We organized this trip during our university vacation.

We started our journey from Kandy to Matale by morning 7:10 train and arrived Matale at 8:30 a.m.

Katugastota Bridge

All the crew members gathered at Matale town. After buying some necessary food items at Matale we hired a van to go to Riversturn.

Our Team

On the way to Riversturn we visited Bambarakiri Ella which was located about 1-2 km from Rattota. It was a short and easy path about 100m to the falls from the main road.

towards Bambarakiri Ella	Hanging Bridge
Hanging Bridge	Kuda Bambarakiri Ella
Maha Bambarakiri Ella

Then we continued our journey towards Riversturn through the tea estates, mountain range and mist.

On the way to Riversturn

Tea Estate

There is a radio transmission tower at the summit of Riversturn.

Riversturn	Riversturn
Mist	Mist
On the way to the summit	.
.	.
Summit	Freeeeee

We had our lunch at Pitawala patana, then we walked along the pathana towards mini-worlds end.

.	Pitawala Pathana
Mini-worlds End

We arrived Telgamu oya wana niwahana at about 4 p.m. We introduced ourselves to cook and helped him to arrange the place.

At Ilukkumbura	Wana Niwahana
Wana Niwahana

Then we took a bath and spent unforgettable night with ghost stories, fearful sounds of wild animals and delicious dinner.

Telgamu Oya	Relax
Dinner Time	Ghost Stories
Good Night

Next day we had our break first and start our trial to Manigala. It was a dry season for Ilukkumbura area. We spent our evening at Telgamu oya and returned by a hired van.

Good Morning	.
.	.
.	Early morning at Thelgamu Oya
.	Our break first
Manigala Nature trail Head	Manigala trail
Manigala trail	Manigala trail
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.	.
.	.
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Trip Video at http://tripwow.tripadvisor.com/tripwow/ta-0215-5522-92f2

We began our journey from Kohuwala at 8am on Friday morning. After brief stopovers at Ratnapura and Balangoda to purchase some items we reached Bambarakanda Eco Resort.

Bambarakanda Eco Resort is run by Mrs Sera Mayakaduwa and her nephew Parashara. It’s a perfect place to get away from the hustle and bustle of day to day life in the city. While the facilities are very basic, the “back to nature” concept is very appealing. Waking up early morning to the sounds of birds and seeing the waters of Bambarakanda falls cascading down in all its glory is an unforgettable experience. The wonderful hospitality shown to us and the delicious food made us wish we could stay a few more days at Bambarakanda Eco Resort.

Bambarakanda Eco Resort with Bambarakanda falls in the background

Having stretched our legs a bit after the long journey and having had our lunch, we set off for our first hike.

The first hike of the day was to Lanka Ella falls. While at first we were contemplating skipping this, Mrs. Mayakaduwa strongly recommended that we do this hike and it’s a decision that we did not regret. The hike at first began through a pine forest and this was the trickiest part since the ground was very slippery.

The trail leading through the pine forest

Thereafter we hiked through a grassy mountain and then reached a forest patch before emerging near the base of the waterfall.

Walking through the grassy area

Walking through the grassy area

Lanka Ella falls was quite breathtaking. A sheet of water cascading down into a pool that is shaped like Sri Lanka. The pool is said to be extremely deep and legend has it that a portion of King Walagamba’s treasure can be found at the bottom. We were warned not to even think of swimming in that pool since quite a few people had drowned there.

Lanka Ella falls

Lanka Ella falls

Our next hike was to the top of Bambarakanda falls. The last portion of the hike was once again through the pine forest with sheer drops on both sides. This part of the hike was tackled with extreme caution, one slip and the consequences could be disastrous. Most of us took off our shoes/slippers and did this part barefoot which helped. However the leaches enjoyed it too

The trail to the top of Bambarakanda with sheer drops on both sides

Just before reaching the top of Bambarakanda falls we reached a rocky outcrop which allowed us a virtual 300 degree view of the surrounding. Again we were extremely cautious when venturing out on this outcrop since there were sheer precipices on three sides.

300 degree view from a rocky outcrop

Finally we reached the top of Bambarakanda waterfall. There was another smaller waterfall cascading down into a pool at the summit. The flow from this pool then headed off into sheer space and as it began its descent formed the start of the Bambarakanda waterfall. It felt great to stand at the top of Sri Lanka’s highest waterfall and to enjoy the spectacular views all around.

Small waterfall at the top of Bambarakanda falls	Bambarakanda Eco Resort seen from the top of Bambarakanda falls
The start of Sri Lanka’s highest waterfall

Since dusk was fast approaching, we began our descent back towards the resort. On our way back we stopped over at the base of Bambarakanda falls and three brave souls decided to brave the freezing water and have a bath. It was pitch dark once they were done, but luckily we had all brought torches and didn’t have much difficulty in finding our way back to the resort.

Pool at the base of Bambarakanda falls (taken during a previous trip)

As day two dawned, we prepared for our main hike. The intention was to walk along the road from Bambarakanda Eco Resort all the way up to the Ohiya – Pattipola highway. Depending on energy levels, we would then do the Worlds End hike as well. The driver of our hired van was given instructions to pick us up near the worlds end ticket office. The poor guy had to travel over 50 Kms by vehicle while we had a mere 13 KMs to hike (or so we thought ).

While the original plan was for the six of us to do the hike on our own, we had an unexpected companion join us. Duke – one of the dogs resident at Bambarakanda Eco Resort decided to accompany us as our guide (even though we later found that he had not done this trail before ).

A short distance after leaving the resort, the concrete road gave way to a rubble path with patches of tar here and there providing evidence that in days gone by this was a better maintained road.

Concrete road gives way to a rubble path

Bambarakanda falls seen from the road to Ohiya

A couple of KMs later we realized that this hike was going to be a lot more testing than expected. The road kept continuously ascending and the next way point in the Lakdasun trail guide never seemed to materialize . After about 1.5 hours, we reached the area known as the V-Cut – A passage through the mountain that is considered a holy place by some. A small altar was visible in the middle of the passage.

The V-cut

Altar in the middle of the V-cut

The V-cut seemed to be a passage marking two different worlds. The hike upto the V-cut was a twisting road through mountains with breathtaking scenery looking upon the Bambarakanda waterfall and the surrounding areas below. Soon after passing the V-cut, the scenery changed to an estate setting with mountains towering high above us.

Change of scenery after the V-cut

A short while after passing the V-Cut, we arrived at a place where a stream flowed across the road. This stream is what feeds the Bambarakanda waterfall.

Duke inspects the stream across the road

After taking a short break for breakfast, we continued with our hike towards Devil’s staircase. The road now traversed through the estate and line houses continuing its steady ascent towards Ohiya.

Breathtaking scenery all along the trail	Breathtaking scenery all along the trail
Breathtaking scenery all along the trail	Breathtaking scenery all along the trail
The top of Lanka Ella falls visible from the trail	One of the many mini-waterfalls we passed on the way

The more we climbed our energy levels kept dropping. However, we were in no hurry and took our time enjoying the scenery and taking as many breaks as needed. The key was that no one was in any mood to give up and resolved to complete the hike no matter whether we reached our destination at 2pm or 2am the next day.

After another couple of hours, we reached another passage through the mountain similar to the V-cut. This marked the start of the Devil’s Staircase. The Devil’s staircase was a concreted stretch of the road with very steep hairpin bends descending sharply. When viewed from a mountain opposite, this stretch of the road looks like a series of massive stairs – hence the name Devil’s staircase.

The start of Devil’s Staircase

Devil’s Staircase

After passing Devil’s staircase, the path was fairly level with a mild descent. A short distance before the turn off towards Worlds End we met Raju, a local guide who was recommended by Mrs. Mayakaduwa. Raju then accompanied us for the rest of the journey and helped cut short the journey by guiding us via shortcuts through estate paths.

A few minutes after meeting Raju we reached a fork in the road. The descending road lead to Ohiya which was approximately 9 KMs away. The other road was a sharp ascend up to the Ohiya – Pattipola highway which was our route. Our energy levels were now so low that we had to take short breaks at almost every turn in the road. So near and yet so far was the phrase that came to mind. Less than 3 KMs to go… but boy wasn’t that tough.

One of the many shortcuts we took towards the end of the trail	The final 3 KMs
The final 3 KMs	The final 3 KMs
The final 3 KMs

Having had a short break for lunch en route we finally reached the Ohiya – Pattipola highway around 3pm that afternoon. Here we had an amazing piece of luck. We had asked the driver of our van to meet us at the World End ticket counter which was a further 1.5 KMs away, however just as we emerged out into the road our van passed by and we were able to stop it.

All of us thankfully filed into the van. Duke who accompanied us all the way also decided to take the easy option of taking the van back home rather than walking all the way back.

Five of our team then went on to do the Worlds End trek while I remained in the van resting my poor feet and keeping Duke company.

Day three was a quiet day assigned for rest and recovery. After breakfast, we headed back home stopping en-route at Eheliyagoda for a river bath and lunch arranged by one of our group.

This is my second trip report (I never thought I’d finish even one). We had our plans to go on a trip by our study group at the university which never came true until this December.

The trip wasn’t planned extensively but was well executed at the end. The trains were booked from the Fort railway station just that morning. Third class sleeper-rest was our choice (quite economical) and due to the fact that it was a Monday evening of a non-vacation time we were able to book the train on the same day. We were able to get contact details of a cab to do the day traveling in Nuwara-Eliya. Pello Resort was booked by one of our group mates.

We got to Fort by bus around 7.00 p.m. by bus with all our packs ready. Train was due to leave Colombo at 8.00 p.m. We got on to our relevant seats and got ready for the journey. Train left on time to my surprise. We had good time in the train singing, reciting jokes etc. Tried our best not to disturb the fellow passengers who were a minority (13 to 8).

Music in the train

We got some things ready to eat bread, seeni-sambol, salmon and had it around 10.00 p.m. The train was heading slowly but seemlesly to our destination.

Dinner in the train

Then it was time for some jokes from the past, things went out of hand sometimes. Then people wanted some nap. Some never slept though. When we were up again around 2-3 in the morning it was Hatton and we knew it was only few stations from there. Then people started seeing a UFO outside the train (I never believed). It was 4.30 a.m. When we reached Nanu-oya (We were planning to get there 1 hour early). I was chilling to the maximum around that time. Our transport had arrived 1 hour early to the station and he was waiting eagerly

Nanu-Oya station

We got to Pello Resort by 5.00 a.m. and we washed ourselves and got ready for the day-off. It was still chilling and was a wonderful experience.

Pello Resort near Gregory Lake, Nuwara-Eliya

From the balcony of Pello Resort

Breakfast due at 7.30 a.m. and we had a walk in the Gregory lake for site-seeing.

Pony by the lake	Our Pro
This is what he was aiming at	Sun rising on to the Gregory Lake
Birdy by the roadside	He too was busy
Good project	Not very far from the lake
Bell was ringing (In the tummy)

Tea was ready. A hot tea would be second only to water. Then we spent some time inside the resort singing until breakfast. Breakfast was ready by 8.00 p.m. We were surprised by the arrangement. Well above what we expected and the food was awesome too (Special thanks to the cook).

Indian cuisine

It was time (actually way out of schedule) to start to Piduruthalagala mount top. The area is controlled by the army and arrangements have to be made beforehand to get to the mount top. The journey was through the Galwaysland National Park. It’s a bird park but we never so any birds.

MaXXXX Jeep	Galwaysland National Park
Galwaysland National Park

Then it was just five kms to Piduruthalagala, of course a 15 minute drive thanks to the good roads. Maha-rath-mal was a frequent flower we saw by the road. It was so misty and cold on the way. We comfortably passed through the army posts due to the pre arrangement. It was chilling on the mount top (stayed alive due to the jersey). Yes! We reached the top of the highest peak of Sri Lanka (I felt like Sir Edmund Hillary – not seriously), but it was a land mark I wished I visited for a long time. Special thanks to the soldiers who showed us the way.

Road to Piduruthalagala	Road to Piduruthalagala
Stone marking of the mount top	Our group
Nuwara-Eliya from the mount top – It was misty and we never saw anything	Nuwara-Eliya from the mount top - It was misty and we never so anything

We were not allowed to take much pictures due to the security reasons and we paid due respect to that decision. There were many antennas and the Rupavahini Co-operation antenna was one of them.

Our next destination was the Lover leap Falls which was on our way back to Thalawakele. What a beautiful waterfall. It looked like man made at first sight. It was a 300-400m walk in a high steep road to get to the base of the waterfall.

On the way to the Lovers Leap Falls – Flowers by the road	On the way to the Lovers Leap Falls
On the way to the Lovers Leap Falls – Flowers by the road

A Swedish family was enjoying the beauty of the waterfall. We were mesmerized. This is a good time to go on a waterfall hunt.

Lovers Leap Falls	Lovers leap falls
From the base of the waterfall Nuwara-Eliya town was clearly visible

The time was 11.30 a.m. when we go to the waterfall. Spent some time there and came back quickly as time was passing by. Then it was a long 1-1 ½ hour journey to Thalawakele. The tea estates by the side were so beautiful.

Tea

Tea

Our next destination was the Devon’s falls. It was almost 1.00 p.m. by then and was clearly short of time but we never worried because there was no strict schedule (it was anyway a getaway)

Devon Falls

Time spent by the Devon’s Falls

Then we went to the world’s largest tea museum (source- our friendly driver) The Mlesna tea castle. There was a huge sculpture of James Taylor, some historic pictures of tea in Sri Lanka and lots of kinds of tea. There was a Restaurant run by the same company but we resisted our temptation due to the high price tag

Tea Castle	Tea Castle
James Taylor

Time was 2.00 p.m. and everybody was hungry by that time but we couldn’t find a good shop to have lunch. Most shops did not have finished serving by that time.Our next destination was the

It was so beautiful and the rain did not stop us from going close to the falls. The purple flower tree close the falls drew our attention.

St. Clair’s Falls

St. Clair’s Falls

Then it was clearly the time for lunch and In-between snacks were un-compensatory. We found a descent place Just after Thlawakele and they offered fried rice for a reasonable price. Food was good but the service was pretty bad. We had no other option but to stick to that place because Nuwara-Eliya was 1 hour drive away. Had to stay for half an hour for the food.

It was almost 4.00. p.m. when we finished our lunch and we knew that it was the end of our journey. All other plans had to be cancelled and we directly came to the Nuwara-Eliya town. It was 5.30 p.m. Did some shopping in Nuwara-Eliya town (mainly fresh fruits to take back home) by then and we got to a pastry shop to grab some stuff to eat on the way as well as to have a hot cup of tea.

When we went to the bus stop the last bus starting from Nuwara-Eliya to Colombo was been parked in the stands. We quickly got on to it and reserved our seats. Bus started to Colombo around 6.30 p.m. It was a new CTB bus and the seats were like made out of rocks. It was a very uncomfortable journey back in the first 100 km where there were huge turns. Oh yes bus stopped for tea and some of us had hot coffee.

We got to Pettah by 12.00 p.m. Then it was three-wheelers that helped us get back to our destination.

This is one of the best quick getaways I’ve experienced. Nuwara-Eliya is a town that is always to be enjoyed.

Thank you for the photos by Madura and Jalitha. These are some other beautiful pics taken in our journey

Beauty	Beauty
Beauty

This was one of the best hikes we experienced so far and on the other hand a good example on how the travelers will have to survive the consequences caused by unavoidable delays.

I have done the same hike in 2002 with my school friends and this is after 6 years of that.

We were planning to start our trip at 12.00Noon from Colombo. Due to some unavoidable situations it was delayed for 2 hours and finally we left Colombo by 2.00PM. We took the low-level road and unfortunately there was heavy traffic at Orugodawaththa since construction of the flyover was taking place and we had to wait almost 1 hour there. After so many delays we were able to come to Rathnapura by 6.30 PM and still had a lot of things to be bought from Cargills. By the time we started the journey again we knew that we won’t have time to cook our dinner and decided to buy dinner from Balangoda town.

We turned left from A4, Colombo – Badulla road to Hirikatuoya camp site somewhere around 162km post (1.5km – 2km after the Belihuloya Rest house) and from there we had another 5.7 km to our 1st day destination. But the time was 10.30PM.
After several obstacles we were able to reach our day 1 destination by 11.00 PM. By that time the care taker has gone home assuming that we would not arrive on that night.

.	From A4 road to camp site 5.7 KM

‘Hirikatuoya’ Camp Site

Scenery…

Next day morning our plan was to get the breakfast & lunch prepared with the help of the care taker. Since he was not there we had to go to the main road to buy food for both breakfast & lunch. Group of people went back to main road (A4) while others were getting ready for the great hike. Bad luck was at its worst for us during the trip. When we were coming back the wooden bridge between camp site and main road was repairing by estate workers and we had to wait there another 1 hour till they give us a temporary solution to pass it.

The Wooden Bridge, we were given a temporary solution	‘Hirikatuoya’, from misty mountains…
Marvelous creation of nature	Scenery on the way to Non Pareil tea factory

Finally we came back to camp site with necessary food items for the hike. Then all of us got in to the van and went up to the Non Pareil estate Tea factory. From camp site to tea factory was another 9km and view of the surroundings was fantastic.

Beyond this place vehicles are not allowed (with prior approval you can go if you have a 4X4 vehicle) and therefore we started our hike (We told driver to go to ‘Maha Eliya’ bungalow via Ohiya). From the tea factory it is 15km to World’s End. We started our hike at 11.30AM. Fortunately we met an estate worker and he said “මහත්තයා short cut වලින් ගියොත් 7km, මම පාර පෙන්නන්නන්.” But we didn’t believe him because reducing 8kms was not seemed to be possible.

Non Pareil tea factory, where we started our hike. From here 15km to World’s End	.
Breathtaking…	Little Break

After several hours we were able to reach Bekar’s bend and view from there is marvelous. In a clear day you can see up to the Southern coastal line.

The famous Bekar’s bend - Click Image to Enlarge

Clear view of Samanalawewa

At the ‘Nagrak’ we had our lunch. From ‘Nagrak’ there is another route to Bogawanthalawa side.

Where we had lunch

Breathtaking…

After having little rest at ‘Nagrak’ we started our journey and came to the upper end of the Non Pareil Estate.

“Garden of the God”, View from the garden of manager’s bungalow at upper end of Non Pareil Estate	Bloomed for Sun
Bloomed for Sun

From here the jungle is thick, and another 3km to go.

In thick jungle…

Above all…

After 5 hours of journey we were able to come to our destination. Estate worker was correct. We were able to reduced 8km using shortcuts.

Breathtaking…	Hills and Clouds
Climax….	The way behind. Non Pareil tea factory where we started our hike marked in red circle. Finally travel distance is 6.99km, walking time 2h & 24mins, Waiting time 2h & 44mins
We made it…

Have a safe and enjoyable trip!!!

Learn what happened the day before. Read the report – The lost aim at Namunukula

Before the Sun wake up, we were busy in examination on 1:50,000 maps, to ascertain how & why we loss our goal during the last exploration. After such a hard trekking (not less than 13+3 =16km on foot) in the previous day, the crew was still aggressive to re-do the hike & not known the meaning of giving up.

Having an idea on the road (Jeep track) network at the tea estates in and around Namunukula range, we decided to follow the path of the previous day as much as possible with our jeep & reach the village where we suspended our exploration last day.

Namunukula range

Since we wanted to verify what happened in the previous day, we decided to follow the estate road started from the 5th Mile post. Otherwise the route started from 3rd Miles post was much shorter to reach the Glane Alphine Estate, where the shortest trail to the highest peak of Namunukula was started.

On our way to upper division of Wewassa Plantation

It was only needed 15 minutes to reach the three way junction where a Hindu shrine was located. On the other hand it was few meters below the 9th peak of Namunukula. If we walked, it would only take 30 to 45 minutes to reach there from A5 road at 5th Mile post. But unfortunately we spent more than 2.5 hours with much of our energy to reach there, even having a lift of a kilometer by a tractor. That was more than enough us to understand what happened last day. We realized that the guide we hired last day had a hidden agenda.

the Hindu shrine

What he practiced was taking us through a long & long way until we loose our energy and make ourselves to give-up the hike in the middle. If we decided to abundant the journey, he could return home early with full fee. Whole the day of ours could be spoiled by that idiot. But the woodpecker had hit on a wrong tree at that time; none of the crew was known the meaning of give-up. As a result, neither party could achieve their targets completely.

Scenery of Badulla town – on our way descending to the Glane Alphine Estate

From the said junction where the Hindu shrine was located, we took the right path which was heading 3rd Mile Post. The road was narrow & descending to the base of the range. We felt that we were moving around Namunukula, at the level of her base. Having descending nearly 4km, we reached a 3way junction from where the road from 3rd Mile Post connected. We turned left & reached the tea factory at Glane Alphine Estate.

The tea factory of Glane Alphine Estate.

From the factory onwards, again we moved towards spring-valley with a descending. Having traveling nearly 4km, we reached a 3 way junction & turned left the uphill path to reach the Deyanegalla Division where the highest peak of Namunukula was located.

velvety tea lands of Glane Alphine Estate

velvety tea lands managed by Balangoda Plantation Ltd

Passing velvety tea lands which provide the finest Ceylon tea for the world market, we reached the Tamil-village where we climbed down for water last day. Two Tamil villagers voluntarily agreed to guide us & we started climbing the giant for the second time. It took only 20 minutes to reach the edge of the forest patch where we gave-up the exploration last day. In the next 15 minutes, we reached a semi-opened area. Then we noticed another hilltop was existed with 100ft in distance. Though our guides discouraged us because of wild buffaloes, few of us visited there for a GPS way point

It took only 20 minutes to reach the edge of the forest patch

With a minor descending, the trail was turned in to dramatic ascend. In the next 15 minutes, we reached a Y-junction. Both trails of the same were heading the summit of the highest peak. We took the shortest but dramatic one laid along the backbone of the range

Trail

Having a short break

From there onwards, the environment began to change in each step. Pigmy trees, ferns & feathers like old man’s beard provided evidences for an upcountry wet (cloud) forest

Evidences for an upcountry wet (cloud) forest

It was an unbelievable fact that the summit of the highest peak of Namunukula was a plane of few acres. The vegetation was mainly consisted with pigmy trees of “Ashoka” (මහ රත්මල් Rododendron zeylanica). Earth was unbelievably white and might be foamed with quartz. It was seemed to be a popular camping site and a little water was available in the abundant well located in the middle of the plane.

At the summit of Namunukula	seemed to be a popular camping site
a little water was available in the abandoned well

There were several view points. We were lucky to be there with no mist. Having visiting each, we enjoyed the panoramic view for hundreds of kilometers. View point for North was located in nearly 200m distance from the summit. It was special that the place was considered a holy place by Tamil villagers and a shrine made with few boulders was there. Our jeep parked at the heart of the village could also be observed from there

A shrine at the summit	මහ බෝවිටියා Osbeckia parvifolia
Asoka (මහ රත් මල් ) Rododendron zeylanica

Spending few minutes more, we decided to climb down through the long path. In the next 30 minutes, we were able to get out from the wood & reached the tea estate to feel the civilization. In the next 15 minutes, we reached back to the place where we parked our jeep

View of the North

Having saying good bye to the villagers there, we left for Spring Valley. Passing a series of narrow & steep estate road segments; we reached the same junction where we got in to the main road of Badulla-Spring valley last night. Spring Valley was a tiny village town surrounded by healthy tea lands. Having a little refreshment at a café, we decided to visit Black-pool the most attractive location at Spring Valley.

Unfortunately this vehicle was not available there, last evening	The crew
the place where we parked our jeep

To reach there we had to move nearly a kilometer towards “May-Malar Estate” and turned a by road at our left and continued until we find a bridge with wooden sleepers. Parking the jeep at the premises of Devalaya located at a bank of the stream, we started trekking for 300m along a trail.

Spring Valley

The black pool could be introduced as an eye-catching creation of the nature. The pool was nearly 50 x 25 ft. in size. A tiny waterfall was located at the far end of the same. Blackish water was given evidence for how deep it was. But the other end was shallow and sandy bottomed, where we had a cool dip

bridge with wooden sleepers	Towards black pool
Black pool

All of us were got up while the sun emitted his first rays to Passara. We were willing to explore Namunukula – the giant raised to catch the sky in front of us.

Existence of nine peaks was caused to name the range as Namunu- Kula. It was the 12th highest mountain in SL. The highest peak out of 9 was climbed by many hikers each year; but from Spring Valley side which was considered as the formal path. Our ambition was to explore the whole 9 peaks from Passara side which was not popular trail and even done by nobody in popular travel forums.

Namunukula range wrapped with mist

Since we were gone misunderstand with false information, no local guide was arranged for the hike. The false information received last night was that existence of a clear trail to the top; starting with a stepped path from the main road. As a result we got mad when we met the canteen keeper at our breakfast. (We already got to know him through a personal contact). He explained us the necessity of an experienced local guide for a safe & successful hike at Namunukula from Passsara side.

Uva Management Training Institute@ Passara

Namunukula - the giant raised to catch the sky in front of us

So we gave a try to hire an experienced guide, but failed. Some had engaged with other works & some refused saying not sufficient time remained to complete the journey before the dusk. As per them, the hike should be started at the dawn. But finally a recondite character was agreed to guide us. As per him, he had been to the hilltop more than 12 times. We were much happy, but it was too late when we realized the hidden agenda of the guide.

URY tea factory met on our walk of 3km along the main road

It was almost 9.00 am when we left from the institute. The guide took us along the main road towards Badulla for more than 3 km which was a significant descending. Further; he asked us to empty our excess water bottles so that to reduce the weight & could fill them up from water sources available on our way to the summit.

Our walk of 3km along the main road

Since the group of hikers was a strange site to the villagers, some of them were daring enough to ask where we were going. Since they were answered that we were heading Namunukula, they impressed two things. One was the shorter route was started from 5th mile post (the Institution we started the journey was located at the 6th Miles post) and the other was that we were too late to complete the journey. But our guide was taking us to the 4th mile post, as a deaf.

Just after the 141/4th culvert of A5 hi-way, (commonly known as 4th mile post) we found a trail head

Just after the 141/4th culvert of A5 hi-way, (commonly known as 4th mile post) we found a trail head. The trail was a high ascend & burnt a significant amount of our energy within the first 500 meters. Passing some barriers such as slippery rocks at almost dried water ways and walking along an edge of a moderate cliff in a forest-like non cultivated area; we came in to a gravel road (estate road). The bendy road was leading to the upper divisions of the tea Estate. We used rock paved drains at the tea estate as short cuts and proceeded without grumble. Having climbing nearly an hour, we reached a 3 way junction at the estate road. The uphill was towards the upper division of Wewassa plantation, where we should proceed. But the guide was kept silent on the destination of the downhill road when we inquired.

The trail was a high ascend & burnt a significant amount of our energy within the first 500 meters

Then a tractor of the estate was arrived & since it was driven uphill for collecting tea leaves, we were given a lift for nearly a kilometer with narrow, steep & bendy estate road.

Capturing

Ascending

After having another half a kilometer climb, we reached another three way junction; located at a gap. There was a Hindu shrine. From that point also, we took the road lead to uphill. (Actually the other route was also descending towards 3rd Mile post)

Continue	There was a Hindu shrine
We took the road lead to uphill. (Actually the other route was also descending towards 3rd Mile post)

There was an important thing even our guide did not mentioned us. That was the last (the 9th) peak of the range was just few meters above the said junction. Providing evidence for the same; we could observe the Uva Management Training Institute through the gap of 9th and 8th peaks; within the first 100m uphill from the said junction.

we could observe the Uva Management Training Institute through the gap of 9th and 8th peaks

Green

Again and again using rock paved drains at the tea estate as short-cuts; we reached the upper most part of the tea estate while our water bottles were getting empty. Even a thin water source could fulfill our requirement since we were armed with water purification tablets. But no water could find yet. May be; due to the dry weather condition applied for the area those days.

Heaven ?

Wow

How ever we entered in to the forest patch which covered the upper most parts of the mountain, with half a liter of water for all. We had to limit consuming water to a dirnk for each, in a nominated moment/round.

We entered in to the forest patch

We were moving through a thick bamboo forest

At first we entered in to mixed forest. The trail became steeper & hard in each step. In the next moment we were moving through a thick bamboo forest. The trail was disappeared and we stick in dead ends several times. Our guide was also confused and as the first time we were distrusted on the knowledge of the guide. We were loss our way in the thick jungle so that one could not see the sky, and wander for nearly 45 minutes until get in to a proper trail.

We lost our way

The trail led to the summit of 7th peak which was full of dung of deadly wild buffalos.
We were much tired, hungry & thirsty; badly wanted water. But there were no sign of a water source. So we proceed further towards the 6th.

the summit of 6th peak

At the 6th, we got the same result and no water. We had no option unless proceeding forward. This time the trail was laid along the margin/ perimeter of a tea plantation at the opposite side of the range we started our journey that day.

This time the trail was laid along the margin/ perimeter of a tea plantation

Though our aim was to explore the whole 9 peaks, we had to re-consider the same with the limited time available, when we reached the 5th peak. Since we were not armed with suitable light sources, it was impossible to return through the thick forest patches in the night.

We reached the 5th peak

We decided to give-up the exploration for the day.

We had no water and still moved forward with the hope of water source. Since we had water purification tablets, even a little source could fulfill our requirement. After the 5th peak we observed some signs of civilization in the base of the valley. There were some shelters with a Kovil. That was a good sign indeed. With the lost confidence on our guide; we decided to give-up the exploration for the day. We climbed down searching for water.

There were some shelters with a Kovil

signs of civilization

When we climb down to the village, we could observe a tiny waterfall in the other bank of the deep valley. At the first sight we realized that she would break all the records if she gained a bit more in volume. Even in such a drought, she was smiling with the evening sun. That little beauty was known as “Nilini Fall” & left a little delectation to the disappointed hearts.

Nade-gura	That little beauty was known as “Nilini Fall” & left a little delectation to the disappointed hearts
We had climbed down to the opposite side of the range

We had climbed down to the opposite side of the range. Our guide was also confused on directions & he was busy in verifying the same with Tamil villagers. With a trail of 5km showed by villagers, we climbed down to a bus driven road. It was the main road from Badulla to Spring-valley. When we were waiting for a bus, we were given a lift by a truck of the Telicom project. Afterwards having walking another kilometer more, we reached Badulla-Passara main road and got in to a bus for Passara. It was almost 9.00pm when we reached our hostel. We had walked nearly 13 km in a hard Terrain while the total journey was 30 km. for the day.

To see what happened the following day: Read the report - Achievement of the Hang on target at Namunukula

With a trail of another 5km showed by villagers, we climbed down to a bus driven road

Last sunrays to Spring valley

We started the journey later than we expected, around 7 am from Battaramulla. After having breakfast we went straight to Belihuloya where we had planned to have a bath and lunch. But there was not enough water to have a dip and we found lunch was bit pricy than we expected. So we decided to go ahead. Finally we stopped near the double bridge before Kalupahana junction. It also did not have a lot of water but it had few rock pools where we could manage to have a dip. There were two small shops on either ends of the bridge. We had lunch from one of them named “Double Bridge Hotel”. Surprise, the food was very tasty and very cheap. Though the place was a small, the lady and guy (should be her brother or brother in law) were clean, pleasant and polite. They served 5 curries and fried fish with “wadei”. Food was very tasty and it cost just 110 rupees per head.

The Double Bridge Hotel

Our next stop was the Adisham Bungalow.

Adisham Bungalow	Adisham Bungalow
Adisham Bungalow

After spending some time at the Adisham we hit the road again towards Ohiya. Road was not in the best condition, so it took us some time. After the Ohiya Railway station the road condition was good and started to be scenic. It was around 5.30 pm when we reached the turnoff to the Hill Safari’s gravel road. We were mesmerized by the stunning view and simply forgot to proceed towards the Hill safari.

We were mesmerized by the stunning view	We were mesmerized by the stunning view
We were mesmerized by the stunning view

When we realized we have a difficult road ahead it was already dark. Our vehicle was wider than an ordinary van, so it was not easy to get it from two hairpin bends in the dark.

We preferred walking admiring the nature…

Our vehicle down the estate road…(අපේ පාන් වෑන් එක .... )

Hill Safari was a good place, the cook was OK but not the best. All 3 bathrooms had hot water, 1 of them was working well, 2nd one took much time to heat the water and the last one which was instant heater, hardly heated water. However we liked the place pretty much.

Next day morning was a bright and very cold one. The splendorous view from the bungalow towards the Walawe Valley was stunning.

මනස්කාන්ත වලවේ නිම්නය...	.
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Hill Safari eco Lodge

After walking around the Udaweriya estate admiring the nature we left the place and headed towards the Horton Plains. Road was steep but was in good condition without pot holes.

Then we had a walk through the Horton Plains to the World’s end and Baker’s Fall before heading Colombo via Nuwara Eliya

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World's End	.
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