We got into 14th Saturday night mail from Colombo and reached Idalgashinna station at about 4.30am with chilling cold. After inquiring about climbing pathway we headed to the mountain around 6.30am. It was a brightened day and surrounding view was beautiful. First we climbed up through the tea estate and reached the end of the tea patch where Pinus trees start. There was no foot pathway within the Pinus forest. After about fifteen minutes we reached the second highest point where it provides good view towards Koslanda, Beragala, Haldummulla and Belihuloya.

We started the journey on May 3rd around 4 AM. At around 11 AM we were able to reach Hunnasgiriya. On the way at Mawanella we had our breakfast. It took more than half an hour to reach last 8 Km since the road is in bad condition. But we are able to tackle it with high ground clearance car. We showed our pass to officer in Deanston and directly heading to campsite which is about 2 KM away with our backpacks, tents and gas-cooker.

Year and Month 2014 March 08th Number of Days One Day Trip Crew 03-Nadeera, Siraj and Myself Accommodation N/A Transport Car and Boat Activities Relaxation and Archeology Weather Excellent Route Polonnaruwa -> Dambulla -> Madatugama (මඩාටුගම) in Dambulla-Anuradhapura road (A9) ->  Jathika Namal Uyana (ජාතික නාමල් උයන) -> Back to Dambulla -> Ibbankatuwa Lake (ඉබ්බන්කටුව […]

Though I have been to Kumana twice and visited many interesting locations I did miss out on Bambaragasthalawa site. So with my wife I took off towards Kumana on a late afternoon. Our first stop was at Panama Lake. We took the road which led towards Wedagama Lake. At the border of Panama lake there was a road to the left and that ended at Panama RMV which is in ruins. The monk who was residing there was not available at that moment so we walked around a bit and returned to the lake which is famous for its bird and Croc life.

Year and Month 16 Apr, 2015 Number of Days 1 Crew Athula and Me Accommodation New Ranketha Rest, Polonnaruwa Transport By Car and on foot. Activities Archaeology, Photography, etc… Weather Excellent except for a shower between 3pm and 4pm. Nevertheless it was extremely hot with temperatures as high as 39 degrees. Route Pitakotte->Rajagiriya->Dematagoda->Katunayake (via E3)->Awariwatte->Minuwangoda->Kurunegala […]

Ever since the legendary Yal Devi was re-launched we wanted to visit the Peninsular by train but decided to wait a few months till the rush settled – especially during school holidays. Finally the dates were fixed for Friday 27th Feb – Sunday 1st March and train reservation was made. As it was not a long weekend booking both ways was not a problem.

When we visited Mannar in 2014 we took the route through Thantirimale and on our way we did note many Black archeology boards. Since we skipped on Thantirimale during that visit we thought of loitering around Oyamaduwa while the north east monsoons were ending its all island havoc. We knew that Thantirmale was a huge site with an endless rocky plateau so we left home very early and reached Thantirimale at around 6.40am.

During the last few years, majority of my excursions were around the central hills where the cool climates and breathtaking scenery of the tea country made me irresistible. Having so much left to explore in the other regions of the country, especially in the northern half, I decided to break the shackles and witness the unmatched beauty of the lagoon paradise, Jaffna peninsula. It was the first day of the “extra long” first weekend of February and at 5.30 am two of us were in the car heading towards Puttalam for a 5 day tour to Jaffna, the longest so far!

It was Vesak holidays and I wanted to visit some temples just like I did in 2013. Though I have been to Tinco as a kid I have not properly explored this region. So after some intensive planning with the aid of online and offline literature I was all set for this 2015 Vesak expedition. We knew that this was going to be a tough one especially with the extreme heat but we were up to the task. The added advantage was that every Buddhist temple was decorated for Vesak and it was easy to locate. The disadvantage was that it was too crowded since it was a long holiday.

The structure that houses the Samadhi Buddha was nearby and from the distance we could see the resemblance. There was another archeological officer mowing the courtyard with a hoe. I ran to the front of the building and stopped in midair when I saw this majestic thing. The most notable thing being the broken nose from the bridge towards the nostrils. Except that this resembled the Samadhi Buddha we know at Mahamewna Uyana. I forgot all about the warning that was given by the other officer not taking any pictures and started shooting away. The one cleaning the garden came and stood watching us but didn’t say a word. I then remembered the warning and looked at the officers sheepishly hoping they wouldn’t fly off the handle coz there were many incidents like that as well in the past. They didn’t utter a word, instead looked at me, rather us, surprisingly as if they couldn’t believe our presence.

Travelling the Delft, the largest island of Sri Lanka is dated on final day of my travel. There is a boat service which commence from “Kurikadduwan” jetty for this and our intention was to left from the first boat which started at 8.30 am. According to that three of us left from house very early and other guys join with us from Jaffna.

Year and Month 1-2 Apr 2015 Number of Days 2 Crew Only Me Accommodation Daya’s Place, Keeriyagaswewa. Transport By Train, Bus, Tuk-Tuk and on Foot Activities Archaeology, Photography, Hiking, etc… Weather Excellent. Route Day 01Nugegoda->Colombo Fort->Aukana->Res Vehera->Kekirawa>Keeriyagaswewa.  Day 02  Keeriyagaswewa->Kekirawa->Colombo. Tips, Notes and Special remark The Udaya Devi leaves Colombo Fort at 6.05am. Niroshan is […]