I wanted to start my trip calendar of 2015 with some fresh waterfalls hunting following heavy rains of end of 2014. My first visit to Bambarakanda happened in 2010 and this is after 5 years. Bambarakanda area doesn’t have much rain during last two weeks. But feeding lands of these waterfalls-Hortain plains had such heavy rain. Therefore waterfalls showed their full phase in our visit.

After the journey to Mandaram Nuwara and then to Victoria & Randenigala, I was feeling lonely and jittery. I’m sure Hariya would have thought differently but couldn’t ignore the proverb, “make hay while sun shines”. Watching TV was an agony, and news only managed to rouse the adventurer in me showing all the overflowing reservoirs, tanks and waterfalls. When they showed St. Claire in full flow, my heart not only missed just one beat, but quite a few. How wonderful even to see her come alive on TV. I was craving for the big moment. The news once again showed that the spills of wretched Upper Kotmale Reservoir were open so I could wait no longer. The next morning I called Morgan, and found out St. Claire was really blooming.

Year and Month February, 2014 Number of Days Three Day Trip Crew 5 (between 25-30 years of age) Accommodation Short stay at Samanalee shop near Gangulathenna. Short stay at Chooti mama’s shop near Ehala kanuwa (Rathnapura path) Camping near the waterfall in Hapugasthenna trail Transport Bus, Dimo batta and of course on foot Activities Pilgrimage, Sceneries, […]

Mostly used road is the one along A26 up to Medamahanuwara then turn into the Medamahanuwara-Adikarigama (B493) that runs through the Victoria dam. However we were skeptical about this due to landslides and resorted to the former choice. We finalized the journey around 8.30pm and decided to leave at 5am. Hasi’s wife and one of his friends, Gayan, too joined for the trip making it a full package for his car. We were excited and looking forward to the sight of the biggest dam in Sri Lanka.

Spills of Victoria are something you don’t get to see every now and then so this was going to be something unique and grand.

We walked close to 3km when out of nowhere came to see this gorgeous twin falls falling amid thick jungle. The real Kolapathana Ella is the one to the right, the one to the left is a seasonal cascade yet bigger and higher. This was something I won’t ever forget. The two white lines drawn amid the dark green background with touches of white was a painting that can only be drawn by the capable hands of the Mother Nature. The mist had covered the falls nearly completely when we arrived but I started singing “Mist, mist, go away – Come again another day” and as if on cue, the rain eased and the mist lifted calmly over the Piduruthalagala showing her prominent rocky slope. The radar site is located almost on the middle of the summit making it impossible to see from here and this angle. Sumanarathna mama too joined us now and Hariya went down to the base of the falls with him and Kiri while I stayed up and took hundreds of pictures.

It was the end of North – East monsoons and the sun was shining on mother Lanka. Since this was the ideal period to do a hike around Nuwara eliya, we decided to attempt to conquer the 9th highest peak called Mahakudagala which was once a part of Piduruthalagala reserve. Kamalawarna decided to join me with all of his lenses on this hike and I was happy to find a companion at the last minute. We reached Nuwara eliya around 7am and took the Udupussellawa road. Just before Brookside we took the high forest road until we reached Mahakudugala factory. While we were finding a place to climb up we came across Gopal who volunteered to show us the path.

However it didn’t appeal to Hari and we made plans hastily for Mandaram Nuwara. There was very little information about this mysterious place and we had to make do with what little was available. Credit must go to Hariya for planning the whole thing and we deliberated long and hard how to get there in the first place. Not having anyone else, it had to be just the two of us. Going by bike had to be ditched at the eleventh hour due to the rains and earth slips. So finally we decided to take the road via Kandy by bus. Getting Hariya up was as easy as lifting an elephant out of a well in an abandoned paddy field. Finally I picked him close to 5am on the christmas day, while most of the country was still under the wraps trying to get some warmth from the partial wintry chill. We went to the bus stand in Pettah while the rain kept its pace. There was an A/C bus that left for Kandy at 5.30am.

After completing the check list took some valuable time of us. As we were too late, we took 2 three wheelers to go Pilimathalawa. We reached there at around 2:15pm. We bought some required item from the town and waited for the Poththapitiya bus. It took a long time to get a bus and we decided to got to the destination by three wheelers. (500/- per three wheeler). We reached the Poththapitiya town by 3.30pm

Hanthana Mountain range is made up with various mountain peaks and it is a popular destination among the mountain hikers in Sri Lanka, especially among the university students as well as foreigners. This hike was a sudden decision of us since we felt the months of heavy rains just over. We were thinking where to go, then without wasting days we decided to explore Hanthana.

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.

This is an unknown hidden beauty found in Doloswala Kanda area few meters from foot path to Pitakele from Doloswala Kanda….. It is roughly 30 feets in height and has three main sections. Amount of water is less now a day as there is a diversion for mini hydro plant. The name “Kamani” which some people in Doloswala unheard of given after a 16 year old girl committed suicide by jumping from the top of the fall few years back.

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.