This was a quick family trip done with least planning on the insistence of my M-I-L (you know how they are has to be done then and there) we had an accidental discovery with the help of a local guide.

The trip started from Colombo early around 5AM and we took the route above stopping for breakfast at the Kurunegala rest house, place was not well maintained and had lost its old splendor. Staff was friendly. Arrived in Anuradhapura around noon, was a little hard to find the place as I had not been in a’pura for a long time. Settled in and the evening was the usual pilgrimage to Sri Maha Bodhi, Ruwanweliseya etc. The food, cooked by the owner’s mom was really good and the staff was very helpful. They even cooked the kiribath for the early morning offering to the Srimahabodhi.

Saw many birds in and around the lake such as the pheasant tailed jacana, purple swamp hen, Asian paradise flycatcher, Brahmini kite, Black hooded oriole, purple heron, white throated kingfisher, blue tailed bee-eaters, golden fronted leaf birds and common moorhen to name a few.

We left after breakfast around 10 heading to the other sites Samadhi Statue, Abhayagiriya, etc.

Now here the reason to post this report, a local boy at Isurumuniya who said he was a guide convinced my sister in law that we must see a little visited archaeological site next to the car park. We reluctantly agreed and headed there with him, access to this place had been overgrown with scrub and the civil defense force staff was clearing the area as we visited. The place is “රන්මසු උයන” (Ranmasu Uyana) This had been built in the 10th century according “වෙස්සගිරිය” (vessagiriya) inscription of Mahinda IV this is the place where Prince Saliya (son of King Dutugmunu) met Asokamala. This was their royal baths with separate chambers for the royals.

A short distance away behind ponds was the real find it is a Stargate an inscription of about 3½’ x 4’ on a stone slab, apparently created by intelligent aliens and if one mastered the symbols and signs this is a kind of an entrance for time/space travel, the Wikipedia explains this as “Stargate productions center on the premise of a “Stargate”, a ring-shaped device that creates a wormhole enabling personal transportation to complementary devices located cosmic distances away.” Similar ones are found in Egypt and Peru according to Anura Milinda, our guide.

The signboard

One of the large ponds

Private pond and rest room

Rock carving of bathing elephants

The Stargate

The canter of Stargate

A conch shell on the outer rim

This is a very interesting place and is calm and quiet on the bank of the “තිසාවැව” Thisa-wewa. Ideal for meditation and Anura Milinda is quite knowledgeable having guided many visitors from all over the world, he has many theories and it is interesting to listen to him.

So next time you all are in Anuradhapura and visiting Isurumuniya, and have an extra half hour to spare stroll over to Ranmasu uyana and the Stargate, if you can’t find it call Anura Milinda on 071-702-0655. He will be happy to oblige and take you around, and explain the hydraulic workings of the Goldfish ponds and the Stargate theories.

With the preference of majority last year’s company annual office trip was planned to Trincomalee.

With that we remembered that there was a news article in Defence.lk that SL Navy has started Whale & Dolphin watching cruises in Galle and Trincomalee recently. I have been to Trincomalee in 2003 during the peace talks and went to Muttur by ferry (named Seruwila 2). It was about one hour journey across the harbor and there were many things to visit. So we decided to get this arranged.

As the organizing committee we checked the possibility of arranging a cruise tour for Whale & Dolphin watching. When we inquired from SL Navy they said cost is LKR 5000 per person then (now it has been reduced to LKR. 3500/= with the profound request from public). Then we felt that it is not affordable alike

• Per head cost is too high, and hence for a family it would be too expensive
• Not sure about the possibility of seeing Whales & Dolphins (if that happens we won’t be able to survive the criticism from other colleagues  )

But we still didn’t give up. After having several discussions with project manager whale watching project by SLN we were able to obtain appropriate deal which is affordable. It is LKR 175,000 for 150 participants.
Since this is totally a new experience for all of us we had to face several challenges to organize this.

1. Since this tour starts at 7.00am at least we need to leave from hotel by 6.30am. Therefore we had to discuss with the hotel management to arrange an early breakfast buffet (by 5.30) for all of us.
2. Making everyone to get ready (130 members) by 6.30am, because usually our night time sing along session & booze runs till 1.00am, 2.00am.
3. Since we work for a private organization the nature of doing things are different from Forces like SL Navy. So we had to adhere to their system/practice.

Though our main objective is Whale & Dolphin watching we had several other objectives also.

• Visit strategically & historically important Trincomalee harbor which is the 5th largest and finest natural harbor in the world. This is 10 times bigger than the Colombo harbor. It is a marvelous creation of nature because it is overlooked by terrace highlands and any giant ship could be hidden in the harbor if you don’t have an aerial view. (They have actually done this during the war and they showed us where they hid Jetliner during our tour.)

On 23rd morning we got up early with lots of enthusiasm and left from the hotel by 6.45 after having the breakfast. When we were reaching to the Ashroff Jetty everything was ready and A543 Cruise was waiting for us. We started our long awaiting journey by 7.15am.

A-543 was waiting for us (Click Image to Enlarge)

A-543

Map (Though it is mentioned as short cruise it took 5 hours) - Click Image to Enlarge

1st they took us on a ride around the harbor and during this tour we could see several important things like:

• Foul point lighthouse where we didn’t have control till early 2007
• Koneshwaram Kovil
• Naval dockyard
• Prima Jetty, Mitsui Jetty and some of the beautiful islands inside the harbour.

Prima flour milling complex at Prima Jetty	SLNS Sayura berthed at Naval dockyard (Click Image to Enlarge)
SLNS Samudura berthed at naval dockyard (Click Image to Enlarge)	No whales or dolphins yet…

It was just 30 minutes and we were still in the Trincomalee bay. Suddenly the Commander Kosala Wijesooriya, project manager of whale watching project announced that our ship is surrounded by dolphins. Everyone ran out to see them.

100s of dolphins have surrounded us and they were swimming with us. It was very difficult to capture their movements with a single click camera. This is where the advanced technology became more important than a good eye!

Thanks to Roshan who owned a multi click camera we could capture some of their nice movements.

It’s play time! (Click Image to Enlarge)

Click Image to Enlarge

After watching the dolphins, the captain started the journey towards the deep sea where the Blue Whales are generally sighting.

On the way we got surrounded by another crowd of dolphins and they swam with us for a longer time. It was so interesting to see them; sometimes they seem to be playing.

.	Wow… (Click Image to Enlarge)
.

We were lucky enough to see rare scenery – Flying fishes (පියාමස්සෝ in Sinhala) who come out from the sea and flying about 10m – 15m. They do this to protect from their predators as explained in a documentary program called ‘BBC Life’
Even after a few hours of journey we still didn’t see at least a single whale.

We went about 10 naval miles towards the deep sea and captain had a map with GPS locations where he had sighted whales in previous tours.

Alone in the sea…

With the sun rise and having spent several hours in sea we were a bit tired and crew onboard invited us to enjoy snack & refreshment. They had arranged us a very good snack with fresh fruit juice.

Suddenly there was another announcement from captain “there are 3 whales close to us”

We all ran out again. We could see 2 of them at a distance of 50m – 100m. They were there for about 10, 15 minutes. But we couldn’t take a good picture. We could see the Blue Whales “blow” (the large spray) several times at a distance.

But we couldn’t get closer to them. According to the captain some odd days they cannot approach them closely due to some reasons (weather and sea conditions, whale habitats etc.)He was also stressed that passengers should also got to have enough luck to see those giants at close proximity.

Impatient to see Blue Whales…they are close by…	Too late…
The only photograph we could capture – The Blue Whale	View from bridge of the ship
.	Bridge of the ship
.Koneshwaram Kovil from Sea	One of the natural hiding places for ships in Trinco Harbour

After a successful journey of 5 hours we came back to the Ashroff Jetty. It was a great/different experience altogether and everyone was overjoyed.

Green Ocean – which was used to transport injured in the rescue missions during the last phase of the war

Buses were waiting for us just after the cruise

In the evening we had another life time worth experience. It was snorkeling near the Pigeon Island.

Till I complete that report enjoy reading this.

Visiting ritigala has been on the cards for a long time now and the closest I got was a planned trip last August but had to cancel it at the last moment due to unavoidable circumstances. Yapahuwa too has been lingering in my mind for some time but never materialized.

Due to the above reasons my initial idea was to do a 2 day trip but for that too work commitments got in the way and on the ‘thaipongal’ weekend on Saturday I hastily decided to do a one day trip the next day(Sunday) to visit the above places which I’ve never been to.

Having left Delgoda at 4am my first stop was at Dambadeniya to pick my 2 cousins.

The road condition from Kadahapola to Wariyapola was not in a good state and my target of being at Yapahuwa at about 6.30am was delayed by a bit.

Twilight past Katupotha…

Sun rise

Sun rise over the stream at Ella dewalaya..

We reached Yapahuwa by about 7.15am.

Yapahuwa

Quote from Amazing Lanka
The Yapahuwa rock and its surrounding area became the capital of the island for a short time in the 13th century. It is known that King Buvanaikabahu 1 (1273-1284) made this rock, rising loftily out of the outskirts of Kurunegala his capital. There is no mention of anything about Yapahuwa beyond 13th century in Sri Lankan historical sources.

The outer rampart	.
.	.
.	.
.

Views from the top of Yapahuwa (Click Image to Enlarge)

Views from the top of Yapahuwa

After breakfast at Ambanpola we proceeded towards Galgamuwa hoping to visit Haththikuchchi viharaya as initially planned but we missed the turnoff and when asking for directions, got to know that the road leading to the viharaya was closed for repairs. The alternate route was a “parangiya kotte giya” one going around the rajanganaya wewa so we decided to visit ritigala and then go to pidurangala.

The progress from Galgamuwa onwards was slow as the road was being repaired.

Business as usual for others..

.

Ritigala

Quote from Amazing Lanka
Historically, this has been called as Arittha Pabbatha (the mountain of Aritta) which can be translated as ‘Dreadful Rock’ or ‘Safety Rock’ or even ‘Riti trees’ growing upon it. Around 3rd Century BC, Aritta , who was the Chief Minister of King Devanampiyatissa, who later was ordained as the First Sri Lankan Monk and became an Arahath, spent his monastic life at Ritigala.

There are many monastic ruins of stones, terrace ways, circular terraces, a stone bridge, and remains of a giant stone banked pond built across a water stream.

Ritigala from a distance	.
“banda pokuna”	“Banda pokuna”
.	.
.	.
.	.
Sakman maluwa	.
.	.
Bhavana kuti

Our next destination was Pidurangala

Pidurangala

Quote from Amazing Lanka

This 13 acre extended monastery Complex illustrates religious attitude of king kashyapa (477-495 A:D) who built world renowned Sigiriya Rock Fortress during his reign. Pidurangala ancient monastery which is located adjacent to the Sigiriya rock is believed to be the Royal Temple where the king Kashyapa worshipped. According to legend when kashyapa arrive Sigiriya rock to built his rock fortress capital, the caves around here was occupied by Buddhist monks who observe meditation. The king shifted that “Sigiriya monastery complex” to Pidurangala. As the legend goes referring the meaning for “Pidurangala” as “offered+monastery+rock”. But some inscriptions says pidurangala was also a monastery beyond Kashyapa period.

According to historical chronicles, Pidurangala has been existed as a well civilized, ancient place. All these details have been well confirmed by Brahmin inscriptions, rock inscriptions on the rock shelters. More over these bear witness that this viharaya was built according to the panchavasa concept and about 500 monks resided in a pirivena (educational institute of Buddhist monks) in ancient era. Panchavasa concept is “Bodhigaraya” (boo tree chamber), “Image house”,” Chapter house”, “Dagoba”, and meditation chamber. That all has been been discovered and now restored. All area have been well surrounded by brick rampart.

Bodhigaraya	.
.	Pohoya geya
Pilima geya	.
.	Steps Leading to the Top
.

A panoramic view from the top of Pidurangala

Sigiriya from Pidurangala

Sun set

Sigiriya at sunset as seen from pidurangala

By about 7pm we were back on the road heading home after a very satisfying journey.

We chose Madu-Mannar as the destination for our year-end office trip after reading a number of trip reports on Lakdasun. We started form the suburbs of Colombo at about 12.30 in the night/morning as we had only two days to explore all interesting places that had been discussed in those reports. The crew was forty and we travelled in a 55-seater Ashok Leyland bus. As we started early, we reached Medawachchiya Rest House by 5.30 am and refreshed ourselves with a cup of tea. (Prior arrangements made to have tea so early!)

Dawn was breaking in as we turned off from A9 towards Madu along A14 and the misty surroundings made us feel as if we were travelling through the hills in up country.

Misty fields along A 14 towards Madu

Misty fields along A 14 towards Madu

The drive towards Madu was effortless and the road condition was superb. The only disappointment in the trip was we could not make the detour to Thanthirimale (only 8km from the main road). Actually it was not in our agenda and we saw the sign board far too late. But it would have been a wonderful experience to visit the temple at 7 in the morning!

We found an ideal place to have breakfast with the advice of Army personnel at a checkpoint. We turned towards left at Madu Police Road and after 2-3 Km came to a irrigation project called “Periyamurippu”. We had a relaxed breakfast (brought from home) and enjoyed going over a suspension bridge built recently.

Periyamurippu Irrigation Project

Periyamurippu Irrigation Project (Click Image to Enlarge)	Periyamurippu Irrigation Project
The river below	The Suspension Bridge

After breakfast we proceeded towards Madu and the road was in great shape all the way up to Madu. By 8.30 we were in Madu and we spent nearly three hours enjoying the surroundings.

Madu Shrine at a distance

Inside the Shrine

We left Madu around 11a.m and proceed towards Murunkan. We stooped at the Giant Tank for a short break but could not witness any bird activity as it was almost noon. The “Jana Awanhala” operated by the Army has also closed down its operations.

Our next stop was Thirukketiswaram Kovil, a famous Hindu Kovil, which was only a few kilometers away from the main road. It was the time of the Pooja and we all took part (none being Hundu). At the end of it tasted the “Muruthan bath” – which was delicious- as well.

The turn off from A14 towards Kovil

Thirukketiswaram Kovil

It was almost 1p.m. when we left the Kovil and we had lunch under a shady tree and proceeded towards Mannar.

Mannar Causeway and Lagoon

Mannar Causeway and Lagoon

The first attraction in Mannar was the donkeys loafing all over the town.

donkeys loafing all over the town

The huge Biobab tree nearby was the next stop

Since our crowd was large accommodation was arranged in two different places; Golden Guest Inn, Mannar and Four Tees Rest, Thodaweli (7km on Talaimanar Road). Golden Guest is a large house in the heart of the town converted into an inn. It has eight clean rooms with attached bathrooms and three have AC facilities. (Tel. 023 – 2250494) FourTees Rest (discussed many times in this forum) is away from the hustle and bustle of the town and has five large rooms in its old wing and five more double rooms in the new wing which was nearing completion when we visited early De cember. (Tel: 023-3230008)It has a spacious garden full of mango trees and the rooms are clean and well maintained. There are two ruined buildings opposite Four Tees Rest – remnants of the old Thodaweli Railway Station.

Remnants of Thodaweli Railway Station

Remnants of Thodaweli Railway Station

One of the new occupants of the station!

After a refreshing cup of tea we headed towards a nearby beach for an evening sea bath. It was a deserted beach with a few fishermen preparing their gear for the evening catch. The water was calm with hardly any waves but the Navy personnel nearby advised us not to go far. We had a dip in the warm waters till sun went down and it was so refreshing after a long day!

The deserted beach

We had a delicious dinner of string hoppers, prawn curry, parripu and sambol at Four Tees and were fortunate to witness the full lunar eclipse in the clear Mannar sky. We ended the long but very fulfilling first day of our trip with that reward.

Day 2

We planned to visit Adams Bridge and had to leave the Inn by 6 in the morning. We had only a cup of tea and Mr. Lawrance at Four Tees was kind enough to prepare sandwiches to be had on the way. We were in Talaimannar by 6.30 and it was a bright sunny morning. The early rays touching the golden beach made a lovely sight.

First sunbeams kissing the beach!	First sunbeams kissing the beach!
Eligibility for Sand Tour	Tours to Adam's Bridge (Click image to Enlarge)

The boats waiting on the golden beach

They had three boats which could accommodate 22 including children. (8+8+6). Since there were 40 in our crew half the crowd had to wait until the first group returned. The first group was given life jackets and instructions by the Navy on what and what not to. The ticket to the sand dunes – they are called Dancing Islands – as they are known to shift their position a bit – costs Rs.600/= per head and that includes a picnic snack and a bottle of water to be had on the way. Each boat was given a lifesaver in addition to the Navy person who operated it. So safety was ensured.

Boats ready to leave the shore

Young travelers eagerly waiting with picnic bags!

The one hour long boat ride was most enjoyable in the morning golden sun. There were many larks and seagulls around and we saw fish jumping on the waves. Our three boats were accompanied by a special life saving boat so there was hardly anything to worry – even if the boat topples there were many to save you!!

Urumalai Beach fading away

Enjoying the boat ride

The lifesaving boat accompanying our three boats

We landed on the second sand dune and spent a wonderful half-an-hour there. It had shallow pools everywhere and we saw some eggs may be laid by the sea-gulls. A different kind of grass and some flowering plants were the only vegetation on the island. It was a unique experience.

Breathtaking scenery on the Dancing Islands	Breathtaking scenery on the Dancing Islands
Breathtaking scenery on the Dancing Islands	Breathtaking scenery on the Dancing Islands
Patterns of nature	Patterns of nature

A young traveler on a lonely planet!

Mount Everest on the lonely planet

Crossing Nanthikadal???	Young explorers!
Life on the island	Life on the island
Heaven on earth…..	.

As we were about bid good bye to the miracle island our second group arrived. Luck was on our side that day. A bigger boat had come there as a ‘test ride’ and the rest of our crew had been brought in that boat. That saved us nearly three hours. Had not been for the unexpected the big boat, the second group would still be on the shore waiting for our return to get into a boat!

The rest of the crew arriving in a larger boat

The rest of the crew arriving in a larger boat

Thanks to the Navy all forty of us were safely back on the shore by 10 O’clock – before the harsh Talaimannar sun could show its full force.

After that most enjoyable boat trip we headed back to Four Tess, refreshed ourselves and bid good bye to Mr.Lawrance thanking him for making our stay comfortable.

We collected lunch packets from Choice Restaurant in the town. (023-2223261) Since we had given the order in advance the packets were ready for us. Must commend the food at Choice – it was delicious.

We returned on A 14 and turned towards Silavathura from Murunkan and up to Silavathura the road was in good shape. From Silavathura we turned to the right and headed towards Arrippu. It was a gravel road in bad shape running along the beach. We visited Doric House and had our lunch there.

Doric House at Arippu	The ruins
Our bus from Doric House	Doric Tower

After lunch we proceeded towards Vilpattu. We were concerned about the road condition via Vilpattu and made inquiries at a number of check points and at the Silavathura Police station. As we were given the green light we proceeded. After travelling along the gravel road full of pot holes for nearly two hours we reached the Marichchukaddi Check Point. It was past four and the response at the checkpoint reg. road condition was not positive at all. They warned us that it had rained inside the jungle and a number of vehicles got stuck in mud. But it was too late to turn back and our two experienced drivers were ready to take the challenge and we decided to proceed. We were passionate to pass through the jungle. The army at the check point warned us that we had to cross nearly 40 km of thick jungle and that we will be cut off from all communication – no phone signals inside the jungle. We understood the gravity but had no option but to proceed. I feel the Silavathura Police Station should be more aware of the road condition and this advice should be available at that point so that a traveler could go back to Murunkan and proceed via Anuradhapura without exposing himself to greater risks. Turning back at Marichchukaddi is a total waste.

Although Mannar did not receive rain during that weekend Vilpattu jungle had received rain. It was not raining when we proceeded but the muddy road witnessed previous rains. The road condition was getting worse from each step and it was becoming slippery. Although we had two very experienced drivers they had to try very hard to keep the bus on the road. We all were praying that the road condition would improve but our prayers were never answered. All we could see was the muddy road lying ahead looking more like a swamp.

The muddy road ahead….	Its 5 in the evening and we are still crawling through the mud….
Mud….mud….and more mud…More like a swamp than a road	Navigating through the slippery road…..

Although our drivers did their best and navigated through the mud bath we got stuck thrice and each time it took nearly ½ hour to 45 minutes to pull the bus out of mud – it being a giant 55 seater Ashok Leyland. It was getting dark and we were still in the middle of thick jungle without any modes of communication with the outside word. We were beginning to question the decision we took, but it was too late.

Stuck in mud….. and trying to pull it out

Stuck in mud….. and trying to pull it out

The sun went down and we had nearly 20 more kilometers to cross. The drivers had taken the challenge well and were doing all they could to avoid getting stuck another time. As the sun went down their task became more and more difficult and we all were praying for safety.
It was pitch dark when the bus got stuck the last time and it was too dangerous to get out as we were in the thick jungle. But a few got off with torches in their hands. It was past 7.30 and all our phones were dead. To our great relief we saw a light ahead and saw some people walking towards us. It was a troop of army personnel doing their routine patrol and they were travelling in a “unicorn”. They were from the Illavankulam Check Point. They were god sent saviors and with great effort they helped us out of the mud. We were told that Illavankulam was about a 45-minute drive. That was a great relief and we proceeded in the dark. The road condition improved thereafter but we had to cross one last barrier – a narrow causeway over Kala Oya – over which water was running about 1 foot high. It was so narrow that we all feared for safety. But our experienced driver was able to navigate through that last barrier successfully and we all cheered with relief when we reached the Check Point.

It was past nine when we reached Puttalam and we stopped at a Appa Kade and had our dinner. It was past midnight when we came to our destination – completing two full days of fun and excitement. It was a miracle that we did not have to spend the night in the middle of the Vilpattu jungle. May be we were blessed as we worshiped Madu as well as the Thirukkethiswaram Kovil on our way!

The wild explorers!

From the very first day I heard about the centuries old tradition of Pada Yatra  and the opprtunity it provide to walk across Yala and Kumana, I wanted to do this walk. Eventhough Pada Yatra is mainly a religious and cultural event, my main interest was getting close to the wilderness of Kumana and Yala, to walk the terrain that one could only traverse in a 4WD otherwise.

As with many other excursions, this was limited to a dream due to logistical reasons and lack of infirmation to properly plan it out. Eventhough Pada Yatra had been taking place for centuries, there was very little information available to the general public. Communities who take part in this major cultural & religious event relay on experience and information passed down from one generation to another. As a result there is very little written on it.

Once again Lakdasun made it happen!

In 2010 couple of Lakdasun members lead by Priyanjan participated in Pada Yatra. As usual the resulting discussions in the forum provided every little bit of information one would need regarding the cultural event as well as the walk. In 2011 Priyanjan planned his North to South excursion along the full Pada Yatra route all the way from Jaffna. I couldn’t have got a better opprtunity to do this walk than joining Priyanjan at Okanda to do the last stretch!

After a month of walking from Jaffna, Priyanjan was supposed to start the last stretch from Okanda (Kumana) on 24th of June.  Therefore I left home on the 23rd night and caught the night bus to Pottuvil from Colombo. A group of five other Lakdasun members lead by Chaturanga also joined me. After a long journey through the night, we were at Pottuvil by 5.45 in the morning on the 24th.

Thanks to Theshantha ( and Lakdasun again!) we had a truck waiting for us at Pottuvil to take us to Okanda. The early morning drive to Okanda from Pottuvil passing Panama was fantastic!

At Pottuvil 5.45 in the morning. A truck was waiting there to take us to Okanda

Towards Panama on Brand new Tarmac

Sun rise over a lake close to Panama

Golden Goose! - A black winged Stilt

Early morning at Panama Wewa - Daily routine has already started

Dirt Road to Okanda from Panama

We met Priyanjan at Kumana entrance. First thing we did was to take a close look at what was in backpacks and to reduce as much weight as possible! We had approximately 80km to walk from Okanda, mostly through dry, harsh environment of Kumana and Yala (particularly block II) so every additional gram of wieght mattered.

It was the first few days of Pada Yatra so not many pilgrims had entered the park. We were given a number tag at the park entrance for tracking purposes.

After re-pack and a quick breakfast we started walking at around 8.00 a.m.

The surrounding was so was nice and beautiful. Sky was deep blue and the trail was sandy and white. Our first planned stop was at “Bagura”. Enjoying the beauty of kumana we steadily walked towards the destination.

Kumana National Park Entrance at Okanda

The sky was deep blue and the trail was sandy and white

As the sun rose, the surrounding began to heat up. Gradually the walk became tiring. Soft sand of the jeep track which looked so beautiful a hour or so ago was creating drag on every step we took. We realized the gravity of task ahead of us with in the first two hours of the walk. Within the first couple of hours, one realizes the value of leaving as much things as possible and carrying as much water as possible. Lukily we were well informed and reasonably prepared. With couple of short breaks we reached Bagura a little past noon.

Beauty of Kumana - walking across this landscape was a wonderful experience	Weaver bird nests
Dead and Dry!	Light became harsh and the walk became tough
Passing the giant hearth	Towards Bagura

9km out of 80km done! and more importantly that 9km did set the right expectations on what the most of the remaining 71km was going to be like!

In the burning heat,  shade of trees at Bagura was heavenly. We had some sweek cakes for lunch and relaxed for couple of hours. Bagura is a designated rest area for Pilgrims and there is a fresh water well at Bagura.

Bagura Oya and the Wooden Bridge

A well earned rest at Bagura

Bagura Kalapuwa - In the rainy season this will turn in to a sea

Blessings for safe passage

We fetched water from the well, purified it with Alum and Chlorine, filled the water bottles  and set out despite the heat.  We did not forget to make some Jeevani solution as well. The next target was to reach Madame Thota (මඩමෙ තොට), Kumbukkan Oya at the border of Kumana before the night fall.

There was almost 12km to reach Kumbukkan Oya, the designated night halting place. Apart from the last 1km or so before the river which was well shaded, the rest of the trail was similar to what we tackled up to Bagura; sandy, dry and hot!

From Bagura we walked passed the site of Thunmulla wildlife department bungalow and several  open areas and water holes such as Kotalindawala, Andaraka Kalapuwa and Yakala Kalapuwa (Open the trail map in Google Earth, Priyanjan has added images of all these places in GE)

By the time we reached Kumana Villuwa it was late after noon. Kumana villuwa was a sight to see in that beautiful light. The beauty of Kumana villuwa along with our almost worn out legs compelled us to spend about 15 minutes there.

Most Pilgrims don't seem to find the walk as difficult as we did. Is it faith, practice, preparation or simply having the right expectations	Did I say it was dry?
Sand Dunes. The sea is just on the other side	An occasional onlooker
වීර	Passing Yakala Kalapuwa (යාකල කලපුව)
Towards Kumana Villuwa	Kumana Villuwa - the Oasis in the middle of Kumana
Kumana Villuwa and Coconut trees marking the now abandoned kumana village	We spent some time here enjoying the tranquility and beauty of kumana villuwa

Walk from Kumana villuwa to Madame Thota in the banks of Kumbukkan oya was not that difficult. Of course my legs did not want to walk any more from Kumana villuwa so I was literally dragging my feet

Approaching Madame Thota (මඩමෙ තොට) at Kumbukkan Oya

Kuda Kabiliththa Devalaya

We settled down in the bank of the river to spend the night.

Day 2

Early morning on the following day we started our walk by crossing Kumbukkan Oya to enter Yala Block II. Next major milesotone was Menik Ganga at the opposite border of block 2 which was 30km from where we were. Pilgrims would generally spend two days walking this distance with a night park at Navaladi/Pahala Poththana fresh water wells (a.k.a Pahala Poththana camp site).

However our plan was to try and do this stretch in a single day and earn a full rest day at Menik Ganga. It was a demanding task. To accomplish our objective, we had to reach Navaladi wells before noon so that we can rest their during the mid day and do the second stretch in the afternoon when heat subside. There is 14km from Kumbukkan Oya to Navaladi wells and further 16km from there to Menik Ganga.

Crossing Kumbukkan Oya was a breeze since the river mouth had been cleared the day before and the water level was very low. We were told that the water level had been at chest height few hours before we arrived at Kumbukkan oya the day before .

The first 6km from Kumbukkan oya was mostly through open areas and scrubs. It really helped that we staretd early. By 9 a.m. the heat was so high that we could feel the rising heat from the ground hitting the face!

Crossing Kumbukkan Oya - Time 5.45 a.m.	Walking through scrubs towards open areas
Sunrise over tree tops	Vast open areas of Yala Block II - The trick is to cover as much as possible before it heats up!
Two Long Shadows - 6.30 in the morning at Ettarakke Eliya	Passing Karambe Aru

By the time we reached Karambe Aru it was 7.00 in the morning. We took some rest there particulalry to make sure that I get my feet properly dressed with plasters to avoid water blisters.  Continuous walking in heat is a perfect formula to get water blisters all over your feet. Even though I was wearing a light pair of sandles which I had used for some time, there were certain points which showed vulnerability. The best way to deal with blisters is to avoid them. To avoid them one should carefully dress vulnerable points with layers of platers and maintain the plaster cover. It was particularly difficult to maintain plasters in this stretch since there were couple of water crossings.

Also thanks to Priyanjan I was able to change my foot ware couple of times. That too helped a lot particularly the seasoned sandles Priyanjan had worn from Trinco downwards were very useful.

Passing Karambe Aru we reached vast open areas of Uda Gajaba eliya. Time was 8.00 in the morning but the heat of the sun was already high in the open muddy bare lands of Gajaba Eliya.

Muddy	...and dry in some sections
Stretches with Thorny bushes needed some additional care when walking	කෝප්‍රල් කටු - The needles resemble the insignia of Corporal and hence the name

Passing open areas of Gajaba Eliya, we entered more scrubby forest. While the presence of large trees occasionally provided the much needed shelter from the simmering heat, underfoot conditions became more difficult with long stretches of deep,hot,soft sand.

Entering the scrub forest

Hot, deep, soft sand which covered considerably long stretches did not help at all!

We battled through the scrubs, dragged down by the sand for about 4km and reached open areas of Etheliwela Kalapuwa. Time was quarter past nine but the dry open stretch looked and felt like a desert!

Dry open stretch of Etheliwela Eliya looked and felt like a desert

Left Behind

After Etheliwela Eliya it was again a brief scrub forest and then we were in Pahala Poththana where we had to cross some what deep water to avoid a long walk around the water body. Crossing over and a brief walk took us to Navaladi/Pahala Poththana rest area.

Water Crossing at Pahala Poththana

After the water crossing - Those layers and layers of plasters did the job very well. I finished the walk with no water blisters

It was just 10.30 in the morning but heat was already unbearable. We settled down under a huge Dun tree to spend time until the heat subsides in the afternoon.

We boiled some water and purified some more with Alum and Chlorine. Chaturanga and his colleagues had come prepared for some serious cooking so a heavy lunch was ready in no time!

Cooking Rice and Boiling Water	Lunch!
Place of God	Three Fresh water wells at Navaladi

We left Pahala Poththana around 2.30p.m. Heat was still high but at least it was on the declining trend! There was 16km to reach Menik Ganga from where we were.

From Pahala Poththana, after a brief walk in a forest patch, we reached Uda Poththana, another vast open area. We had to cross some water again and re-dress my feet with plasters!

Back on Track after more than 4 hour break at Navaladi/Pahala Poththana Wells. Occasional large trees like this provide much needed shade for short breaks	Time was 3.00 p.m. We were approaching Uda Poththana Open area
Water Crossing at Uda Poththana Lawaya	Uda Poththana

After Uda Poththana, it was a long walk through the forest. Heat was low now and walk through the forest was slightly easier.

Long walk through the scrub forest

We stopped every hour or so to take a short rest

End of another day at Yala

By the time we came out of the forest in to the open areas of Pilinnawa Eliya, it was late in the afternoon. Light was fast diminishing and we saw few groups of Pilgrims who had decided to spend the night at Pilinnawa Eliya without proceeding to Menik Ganga due to night fall.

We were however determined to reach Menik Ganga. It was about 5km to Menik ganga from Pilinnawa. We continued our walk along the jeep track in the dark with the help of head lamps.

We almost missed Katupila Ara crossing point where the Pada Yatra route takes a short cut through Yala Wela and deviate from the jeep track. Lukily, there were couple of army personnel setting up a water point for Pilgrims who showed us the right way. They had also marked the path through Yala Wela which helped us reach Menik Ganga without further trouble.

At Menik Ganga we reached an Army point where they had setup a “Dan sala” to offer plain tea to Pilgrims. We decided to spend the night there.

Walk in the dark with aid of head lamps	Signs showing us the way through Yala Wela
At the bank of Menik Ganga - We decided to spend the night here	Fire!

Day 3

The following day was the well earned rest day for us. We woke up early in the morning. Guys who chose to sleep outside have had a time with mosquitoes while Priyanjan and I slept in the small tent we brought.

On the first light of the day we packed up and moved little further upstream on Menik Ganga bank to find a place where we could dip in water for the whole day! Roughly a kilometer along the river from the point we reached Menik Ganga towards Warahana was a designated camping ground during Pada Yatra so we had plenty of choice in terms of camping locations.

Good Morning!	Little tent saved us from Mosquitoes
Beautiful Mekin Ganga beside the location we chose to move our camp to	This is where we spent most of the day three - Enjoying the well earned rest day in the river

About 1km along the river from the point we reached Menik Ganga towards warahana is designated camping ground during Pada Yatra

Place of God - Some groups may spend couple of days here after the long walk, some walking all the way from Jaffna. If you are interested in the culture aspect of Pada Yatra plan to spend some time here with the pilgrims.

Our Camping Location of the Third day - Just couple hundrad meters away from where we spend the second night

Cooking! - Even though Priyanjan and I had planned for zero cooking Chaturanga and the team were well prepared for it!

Day 4

Fourth day walk was by far the easiest out of all five days we walked. We only had to cover 8km, all of which along the jeep track through well shaded Riverine forest. It was a piece of cake compared to the terrain we tackled before!

Well shaded track to Warahana	While walking towards Warahana we did not forget to reach the river from time to time and enjoy the serene beauty of it
Reflection!	A tarantula we came across - It was hunting termites when we found it

By 10 a.m. we were at Warahana. Chaturanga and the team decided to continue to Kataragama on the same day while the two of us, the old folk, decieded to spend the rest of the day again in the river!

We set up our tent at a nice location in the river bank and spent the rest of the day in water watching  fishing action of a white bellied sea eagle. It was so peaceful and refreshing. We were also lucky to receive some tasty ආමි බත් ගෙඩි for lunch and dinner from the Warahana camp !

Looooong dip for the second consecutive day	The sea eagle which entertained us for hours with acrobatic fishing
Our tent at Warahana - again in the bank of Menik Ganga	ආමි බත් ගෙඩිය
The veteran - Collapsible bucket which helped us in water purification throughout the journey

Day 5

On the fifth and the final day we queued up early with Pilgrims and waited until the gate was open for us to cross Warahana bridge and enter block 3 of Yala. The gate is only open from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. It is not allowed to stay over night beyond Warahana until you move out of the national park via the Katagamuwa entrance.

Total distance to Kataragama is roughly 20km from Warahana.

From Warahan to Katagamuwa Entrance it was around 7km. All of that was  a walk along the jeep track through scrub forest typical in Yala block 1 & 3.

Waiting for the Gate to open	Crossing over to Yala Block 3 - Warahana Bridge
Directions	Blossoms
Sithulpawwa	Dead and Decaying

Walking out of Yala - Katagamuwa

At Katagamuwa Entrance - Yala National Park

Leaving Yala, we continued our walk along the gravel roads through Katagamuwa Sanctuary on Sithulpawwa road towards Kochchipatana (7km from Katagamuwa). Kochchipatana is the night halting place for the pilgrims who generally spread the walk from Warahana to Kataragama across two days.

It was 10 in the morning by the time we reached Kochchipatana. None of the pilgrim seemed to have arrived by that time. Preperations were underway to welcome the first large groups of pilgrims. There was a kovil at Kochchipatana.

Sithulpawwa Road through Katagamuwa Sanctuary	Katagamuwa Sanctuary (Click Image to Enlarge)
Signs of Civilization close to Kochchipatana	Kovil at Kochchipatana

Passing Kochchipatana we entered tarred road towards Kataragama. With a stop at a small “kade” to have some short eats and a drink, we arrived at Kataragama Devalaya by 12.30 p.m. Preperations for the annual festival and Perehara was at full swing. We ended our walk there visualizing what it will look like in the coming days when thousands of Pilgrims, who come walking in Pada Yatra and some others who chose to use more modern and easier modes all to get here for the Perehera!

From Gravel road to tarred roads	Where we stopped for some short eats and a drink
80km Vs 800km - I must do the 800km walk before I die!	Approaching Kataragama Sacred city
At the destination - Kataragama Devalaya	Preparations for the festival

For some time now, I was waiting for an opportunity to do hot air ballooning. I once inquired from Kandalama hotel but it was an expensive affair at the list price of LKR 18,000 per person and it could only be done during the NE monsoon season (apparently November to April is when the wind conditions are suitable for balooning in Sigiriya/Kandalama area).

This year annual office trip was planned to Sigiriya in November. Luckily it was the season for ballooning.  When I mentioned the possibility of hot air ballooning to the trip organizers they managed to negotiate a bulk discount of 50% with one of the operator called Air Magic. It was still expensive but we thought “worth doing” at LKR 9000 per person!

The first day of the trip was literally spent on the raod! It was around 2.00 p.m. by the time we reached Hotel Sigiriya.

Since we had about 15 people who opted to go Ballooning, the operator planned two flights on the two consecutive mornings. I was in the first group to go on the very next morning.

We were supposed to meet the operator in Dambulla town at 5.00 a.m. (Yes, you read it right it is 5 in the morning!). They sent Van to pick us up from the Hotel and we were at the Kandalama Tank by 5.30 a.m. Dawn at Kandalama tank was a sight to see!

Early Morning - Kandalama Tank (5.45 a.m)

Daily Routines start Early

By that time we reached the location  the crew had arrived in a truck with the balloon in the trailer. Setting up started in no time.

The Balloon and the crew came in this truck with the trailer	Laying the balloon on the ground and attaching it to the basket
Pumping cold air to inflate it using two large fans	Pilot checking things out (particulalry the control lines) before burners are fired for hot air
Burners are ON and hot air gushing in to the balloon	The gentle giant rising with the Kandalama Lake in the back drop

Time was 6.25 in the morning when the balloon fully rose up and the pilot said “Get in; we are about to go”. We had been told how to climb in to the basket and where each one of us should stand in it well in advance. So in a matter of seconds all eight of us were in side, pilot released the anchor cable and we gradually started to climb up.

Balloon fully inflated, burners at full throttle - We are ready to be air borne

Rising over the Kandalama Tank - It was 6.30 a.m.

There was a second balloon which took off few minutes after us from a nearby location. Apparently there are two operators currently operating in Sri Lanka. We were with Air Magic and the other out fit is operating from the Kandalama Hotel.

After we took off, we steadily climbed up about 100m from the ground. The scenary around was heavenly. All we could see was the Kandalama Lake in a veil of mist on one side and tree tops reaching out of a sea of mist on the other side.

The second Balloon took off few minutes later	Kandalama Lake in a Veil of mist on one side
Tree tops reaching out from a sea of mist on the other side	Sigiriya and Pidurangala

The pilot told us that once in air its all up to the wind to decide where we go! He had very little control over the direction of the flight. All he could do it to control the altitude. Pumping hot air (burner at high throttle) would gradually elevate us and if he keep the burners low, air inside the balloon will cool down and we would gradually descend. apparently the direction of wind at different elevations can be drastically different. He was trying hard to make sure that we float away from the lake and not towards it! So it was a series of gentle ups and downs. Sometimes moving up as much as 200m and some time touching the tree tops and occasionally climbing down as low as couple of feet off the ground.

Minutes later, first rays of the sun started to break out from the Kandalama lake side. The whole scenary on that side started to change and came to life by the minute while the side opposite to the lake was still burried in the mist.

scenary on the side of Kandalama lake started to come to life with the first rays of the day breaking through the mist

Sun rays braking through the veil of mist

Breathtaking!

While the side of the lake gradually came to life, the opposite side continued to be burried in the sea of mist

The side opposite to the lake continued to be buried is mist

The golden temple of Dambulla

It was great to have some company!

Wow!

For the next 30 minutes or so, we continued to drift toward Habarana over diverse landscapes passing paddy fields and other crops with people occasionally stopping by to wave at us. We climbed up and climed down many times, almost hitting the ground at certain points.

Over Paddy Fields	..and the mist had not given up completely
Well above the ground sometimes	All most touching ground at some other times
Flying over farm Lands	..and paddy fields which looked more like a geometrical drawing
Life as usual below us	Occasionally stopping to wave at us
Over plots of Banana	papaya
Coconut	and colorful land prepared for cultivation
Balloon and the Burners	Gas Tanks and the Control Lines
Pilot Busy at Work	Pilot's Dashboard was very simple
He had an altimeter	Something to find out wind direction and a GPS in his watch
We were up again	..and down in the next moment

We had been flying for about 45 minutes and it was time to land. First of all, the Pilot had to find a suitable place for landing. It should be clear of electrical lines, should be dry, flat and has enough space to deflate the giant balloon, clear of any crops and have some road access so that the truck and the trailer can approach to recover the balloon and the basket. And remember, the pilot had little control over were he was going!

Obviously it took several attempts and about 20 minutes to complete the landing process. Finally when we landed, we learnt that we were in Pelwehera CIC farm! The Balloon’s buddy too landed somewhere close by few minutes before us.

Over the Pelwehera CIC Farm	Finally found a place to land
Our buddy was on the ground before us	We had quite a number of CIC employees watching us landing in the middle of their farm with no prior notice!
Touched down and some from the audience volunteered to help us position in on the ground	All good. We have finally landed!
The giant gradually collapsing	Half way down
Horizontally on the graound	Relaxed Pilot
Ready to be loaded in to the truck	The recovery team had arrived!

Elevation Profile of the flight route - Lots of "Ups and Downs" (Click Image to Enlarge)

While the crew was busy loading the ballooon in to the truck. We had some drinks with the pilot and more imporatntly received our Air Magic Certificate!

Celebrating the successful flight!

Air Magic Certified!

The van which picked us up from the hotel in the morning came to the landing site to pick us up and we were back in Hotel Sigiriya by 8.45 a.m.

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

.

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.

This trip was done some time back in 2009, but still I cherish the memorable experience of this fantastic place. The other reason which prompted me to write this report is to clear the erroneous doubts among the members of this forum about the ‘bookings getting cancelled’.

You can reserve this place in advance but they accept money and confirm your reservation only two weeks before the arrival date. Once you pay, your booking is confirmed and there is very rare chance of getting it cancelled.

We started from Gampaha and came to Galewela through Kurunegala/Dambulla road and turned left at Galewela junction and drove another 20 Km to reach this magnificent place.

This is an extremely isolated place, surrounded by huge Kala wewa and blessed with the cool and continuous breeze throughout the day. I have stayed in many government circuit bungalows but I have no hesitation in ranking this place as one of the best. This place is very well maintained. Rooms, bathrooms and the garden are kept spotless. There are five A/C rooms with attached bathrooms, with H/C water. Meals are provided at a very nominal rate. Entire house is Rs 7500/= for one day. If you wish you can book even one room for Rs 1500/=. You can reserve this place from Mahaweli Authority Head office at Colombo. Tele 0112687491-5. Call Miss. Suba on 4th floor. I spoke to her recently and she said ‘Bookings getting cancelled’ is a false rumor. She is handling this subject for the past one year and there wasn’t a single cancellation so far.

This bungalow was built for a British Governor and then it was renovated for Queen Elizabath who came to Sri Lanka in 1981. Originally, it was a three roomed bungalow and in 2001 the VIP lounge with another two rooms were built in same premises.

Front view of the bungalow

Newly built VIP lounge

This magnificent tank Kalawewa which is the best engineered irrigation scheme of the ancient world and having a circumference of 40 miles, was built by king Dathusena who ruled the country from 455 AD to 473 AD. He built 18 irrigation tanks and also the Yoda Ela (Jaya ganga), a canal which carry water from Kalawewa to Tisawewa.

King Dathusena’s son Kassapa (who built Seegirya) rebelled against his father and jailed him to grab the throne. Kassapa believed that his father had vast amount of hidden treasures and threatened him to show them. Then Dathusena had taken Kassapa to Kalawewa and showed the water in it and said ‘This is the only treasure I earned so far’. Kassapa got annoyed with this and killed his father by plastering him to the bund of Kalawewa.

According to some inscriptions seen around the bunglow, Kalawewa had been renovated twice in A.D.1887 and A.D.1939, during the period of D.S.Senanayaka as Minister of Agriculture.

Renovated in A.D. 1887	Renovated in A.D. 1939
Giant Kalawewa seen from the bungalow	Footsteps from the bungalow to Kalawewa

This is an excellent bathing place and you can walk more than 200 meters deep into the Kalawewa safely. The cool dip in kalawewa went on for more than three hours.

Whole Kalawewa was ours’

After getting soaked for more than three hours we had a late lunch around 3 pm. Then we had a walk around Kalawewa and noticed most parts of the kalawewa were dried off, as there was no rain for few months

Dried off and the Water levels were low	Lonely
Gift of nature, on the bund of Kalawewa	One of the spillway of Kalawewa

In the evening we went to Anuradhapura and it was an one hour(60 KM) drive from this place through Kekirawa. As it was late in the evening we visited very few places. When we came back to the bungalow it was around 9.00 pm. Then we all sat down outside the bungalow for a sing song which kept all of us alive until the dinner is ready.

Ruwanweli Seya	Sri Maha Bodiya
Lowa Maha Paya	Sing song under moon light

Next day we visited Avukana statue which is only ten minutes drive from this place. This colossal standing Budda statue with a height of 46 feet is located at the west of Kalawewa and carved out of a single rock, is another wonderful work of king Dathusena. This statue was carved in such a way that early rays of the rising sun hit the top of the statue and it looks though the statue was eating the first rays of the rising sun. Hence it was named ‘Avukana’ as ‘Avu’ means ‘awwa’ (Sun rays) and ‘Kana’ means eating. Therefore the best time of the day to view this statue is dawn. This statue is a magnificent creation of the master sculptor named ‘Barana’. But some folklore says the sculptor is unknown. The robe worn tightly with neat pleats and clearly outlining the shape of the body was gracefully carved from a rough coarse rock. This merely explains the excellence of the Sri Lankan craftsmanship. This is one of the best handcrafts of ancient Sri Lankan artists.

While we were at Avukana statue, all of a sudden an unexpected flock of white storks invaded the place and intensified the serenity of the statue.

A flock of white storks invaded Unexpectedly

The robe worn tightly with neat pleats and clearly outlining the shape of the body

From Avukana we headed towards ‘Resvehera’ (also call Sesuruwa) through Galnewa, a less known historic rock temple, which is about 20 KM away from this place. First part of the road from Galnewa was narrow but fine with huge trees and faddy fields on both sides of the road. Last few kilo meters were gravel and dusty, but can manage even with a law clearance vehicle.
This temple which is situated in a sanctuary in North Western province with an extent of 1468 acres, was built during the reign of King Devanam Piyatissa in 237 BC. Ancient rock inscriptions found in this place prove that there were 99 rock caves and 365 buddhist monks had lived in it.

There are two Budda statues, one was standing and the other reclining. The standing statue with a height of 42 feet is similar to that of Avukana but does not have the same finish. The workmanship looks inferior and it appears that it was left in an unfinished state of sculpturing for some unknown reason. The reclining statue with a length of 39 feet is found inside a cave. This is the only reclining Budda statue in a rock temple where pilgrims could walk right round it.

Standing statue, workmanship looks inferior

An ancient bed found inside a cave

The reclining statue with a length of 39 feet is inside a cave

The Bo tree which is a sapling that was brought from Jaya Siri Maha Bodi is spreading its branches around and standing majestically in front of the shrine cave. This Bo tree is protected by a three meter tall 4 layers of tightly packed stones.

Bo tree is spreading its branches around and standing majestically	‘Makara thorana’ (Dragon’s painting) of the Image house
Shrine cave	Chief priest Rev Nugegoda Vajiratissa Thero

Rev. Vajiratissa Thero, is supporting the poor villagers of the area and requests pilgrims to help with donations especially for school children with books, pencils etc.

Next day on our way back we stepped into Vijithapura Raja Maha Viharaya another historic place which is just fifteen minutes drive from this circuit bungalow towards Kekirawa.
The final battle between King Dutugemunu and king Elara had taken place here. Vijithapura was a highly fortified stronghold of king Elara.
King Dutugemunu who was ascended to the throne after the death of his father king Kawantissa (King of Ruhuna) had arrived with his army from down south. On the way they have captured number of forts and cities that were under King Elara. Finally they attacked this stronghold Vijithapura with the help of his ten champions (ten giant warriors) and the royal elephant Kandula and became the king of Anuradhapura, bringing the entire country under his rule.

Although there is no much historic evidence, the temple is littered with old ruins. The most interesting out of these is the ‘Kadu Ge Gala’ (කඩු ගෑ ගල), a granite stone used by Dutugemunu’s soldiers to sharpen their swords. This stone shows that it had been used heavily.

Kadu Ge Gala (කඩු ගෑ ගල)

Image house of Vijithapura

From Vijithapura we drove back home on the same route

Thank You for reading this report.

When the Sun emitted his first rays of the day; it was captivated scenery of a group of elders in white; walking along the narrow road lay on the dame of a village tank. It was the first full moon day of the year (Duruthu poya day). Those devotees were moving towards the village temple located at the far end of the reservoir. Kathnoruwa, the village I had been; was another live example for the ancient concept of Wewayi-Dagabayi Gamayi-Pansalayi (the relationship between tank, pagoda, village (people) & the temple).

The village tank at Kathnoruwa was the last reservoir fed by the Mahaweli multipurpose project. As a result of that, it was always having sufficient water, which made the economy of the farmers much better than the same ones in nearby villages. The electric fence built against wild elephants was also played a vital role for the same.

a group of elders in white; walking along the narrow road	The village tank at Kathnoruwa
Good morning….	Life is simple

By this morning; Chamila (my wife) and I had become special guests of Hemantha, one of my University mate living at Kathnoruwa. Having a cool dip at the village tank before the brake-fast, we decided to explore the area. First travel location of the day was Sasseruwa. It was a historic Buddhist temple located less than 10km from Kathnoruwa. Though the gravel road got muddy due to the rain received few days back, the poor van was capable enough to manage the same without harm.

“Vie bissa” (වී බිස්ස ) seen at Kathnoruwa

On our way to Sesseruwa

Sasseruwa was famous due to existence of a giant statue of Lord Buddha. It was carved with a natural rock; very similar to the statue of Aukana. Further, it was believed that both were built in same period with same techniques. Comparing with Aukana, the statue at Sesseruwa was less finished in crafting while not having a “Siraspatha”. Folk says both statues were built by the Guru (master) & the Golaya (student) as a part of a competition. At the end of the day, less skilled disciple was lose and not able to complete the carving before his master who did the statue at Aukana.

The Giant statue of Lord Buddha at Sesseruwa

Few caves out of them were converted to houses of images in Kandy era

In addition to that magnificent statue, there were 99 drip-ledged caves used by monks for meditation. Few caves out of them were converted to houses of images in Kandy era. It was believed that a holy snake (Cobra) was there for protecting the houses of images.

Inside of a house of statues built in Kandy era	Living place of the holy snake (Cobra) ?
Pagoda at Sasseruwa

We visited Hasthi-kuchchi at Giribawa as our second travel location of the day. It was a pleasure that the archeological site had been much developed than my previous visit made in 20 years ago. The total complex was managed by the Dept. of Archeology. As per the officers of the same, this complex was believed as the real place where the King Sirisangabo’s sacrifice of life was occurred. But since they were not yet able to prove it with strong evidence such as an inscription, they have not officially published the same.

Entrance of the archeological site

As per them; existence of a huge rock appeared as a sleeping elephant had been caused to name the place as “Hasthi-Kuchchi”. Further; a number of inscriptions were also found on it.

There were many ponds built throughout the complex in various eras, facilitating Bhikkhu (monks). Therefore archeologists believed that Hasthikuchchi had been a leading temple/institution of the country in Kings Era.

Scientific clarification on Hasthi-Kuchchi

The huge rock appeared as a sleeping elephant

And also it was identified that Hasthi-Kuchchi had been located closed to a leading ancient route; most probably started from Anuradhapura. The rocky trap visible in a distance provided good evidence for that.

The rocky trap visible in a distance

At the Bodhigaraya builing, there was a special structure made with bricks which had many signs to represent a torso. Archeologists believed the statue as a tomb of a Bodhi-Sathwa. However that was located few meters away from where the fallen torso would be found if the King Sangabo sacrificed his life at the cave believed to be used by him.

Ruins of the “Bodhigharaya” building	The special structure made with bricks which had many signs to represent a torso
The cave (see above) believed where the king had meditated	The cave

Having observing the house of statue done in Kandy era, we proceeded further. The paths of meditation made with granite were still in good condition.

Paths & bridges made with granite

Having climbing few more steps, we reached the cave believed to be used by the King Sirisangaboo. According to the legends, the cave used by the king had a pond which would not be exposed to sun & moon. Proving the same, there was a pond under the shade of the cave which was believed to be 60ft in depth.

the rocky plane at the eastern side of the cave where a priest can meditate in the evening times

You can easily observe the Ruwanwali Seya (Locate the white dot)

And also folk says the King used to meditate in the evening times looking at the Swarnamali Chayithya at Anuradhapura. You can easily observe the Ruwanwali pagoda from the eastern opening of this cave and you can meditate there only in the evening time, otherwise you will be beaten by morning sunrays.

Pond which would not be exposed to sun & moon

On the other hand, the western opening would be used by the priest for meditation in the morning times. Since it was faced to the ancient road, the passenger would able to see the priest accidentally when he was getting ready to have his lunch.

the western shade believed to be used by the priest for meditation in the morning times

Further, folk says that the passenger had reached there from Anuradhapura. He had travelled the whole distance on foot since that morning. Originally this place is located nearly 14 miles from Anuradhapura and that is realistic.

Though there are much minor evidences, why our archeologists not yet able to discover a major evidence (such as a rock inscription) to prove this place as the real Attanagalla where the King Sirisangabo’s sacrifice of life is occurred? The answer is clear. Archeologists believe it is happened due to a political reason. When the King Gothabhaya visited the site and discovered the torso, he might pay his full respect & ordered to convert the site to a temple to memorize his brother. That was politics. Since making a memorial temple would help to retard increasing trends against the new King. But he would not want to be guilty among his citizens, for the death of his Bodhisathwa brother. Therefore he might not put any inscription or strong evidence at the site so that let Sinhala people to forget it even from the history.

The huge tank at Siyambalangamuwa

Our last travel location of the day was the huge tank at Siyambalangamuwa. It was much popular due to the death of the Siyambalangamuwa tusker (We paid our visit in January 2011. That unfortunate incident was occurred few weeks later). The tank had a huge rocky plane which was ideal for camping. You can drive a vehicle up to the rocky plane, where would not meet any molestation but an electric fence against wild elephants.

The huge tank at Siyambalangamuwa

The tank had a huge rocky plane which was ideal for camping

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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Trip Video at http://tripwow.tripadvisor.com/tripwow/ta-0215-5522-92f2