o I decided to do a bit more comprehensive Jaffna tour and a trip to the Delft Island which is the biggest of island of Sri Lanka.
So I checked the bus services available and Thinakaran Express of Lake House came highly recommended and it really was great. I booked the tickets for that and for the return journey, the train from Vavuniya at 3.10pm.

As I have visited Horton plains from Ohiya, Pattipola and Bogawanthalawa routes, this time wanted to do it from Non parieal route. Previous day night we stayed at Belihuloya and arranged a three-wheeler to Ihalagalagama where trail starts.

Bibila is a town located at an altitude of 240 meters bordering the mountains of Badulla district. It is one of the richest towns in terms of nature and heritage of Monaragala district. First of all let me start from a waterfall called Nayakadura ella which is located 50 meters upstream from the second bridge one meets after Alawaththagoda on A5.

Ohiya is a rural village and one of the most scenic and coolest places in Sri Lanka. Normal temperature is less than 12 Celsius. It’s a lonely and sleepy town. The entire town consists of two boutiques and the railway station only. Nearest town by road is Boralanda (10 KM). Nearest Petrol shed is Welimada (22 KM).

My objective of this trip was to visit at historical and pre historical places in Kalthota area. As our schedule was so tight we stayed previous day night at Belihuloya. The owner of Sun hill Holiday resort was kind and helpful. (I contacted this place from info-lanka website). After having our breakfast, started the journey towards Pamabahinna.

Ok this time it was an area I have not traveled around much and this stretch which extends from Iginiyagala to Bibila is also known as one of the most scenic rides by many. My intentions were mainly on hunting historically important locations. So on a random day I headed towards Rathmalgahaella with one of my staff member from the area.

Night of 7th April 2012. I was waiting for the Poththuvil bus at Kaduwela junction. The bus was expected in Kaduwela at 9.45p.m. The bus arrived on time. Since we had spoken to the bus crew in advance they had seats reserved for me and Priyanjan. With extra loud music on, the bus sped along deserted roads at night.

We wanted to leave as early as possible but we also wanted to make sure that we see the sunrise from the eastern most point. With what we experienced in the previous day we were determined to ride as much as possible before noon. So we loaded everything in bicycles first and then went to the beach to see the sunrise.

It dawned to the second day of our cycle tour across the country. By 6.00 a.m. we were on the road leaving Uhana, heading towards Polwatta Junction. The Himidurawa road to Polwatta was great cycling route with lots of scenery and diversity.

Dawn of our third day of the tour was a very colorful one. As usual we were on the road by 6.00 a.m. We had to track back about 1km from the temple to find the gravel road through Nilgala forest towards Komana.

The night under stars in Maduruoya National Park was incident free. The first task of the day following morning was to pay an early morning visit to the Ulhitiya reservoir to see the Sunrise. It was just few hundred meters away from the wildlife office. We came back to the main irrigation canal and took the gravel road that ran parallel to the canal.

After a good night sleep we woke up to witness a beautiful morning in the middle of Knuckles range. Plan for the day was to cross over to the A9 highway at Naula, riding through some remote roads winding through knuckles range. As usual the departure time was 6.00 a.m. We thanked ශාන්ත අය්යා for the great help and hospitality and wished them all a happy new year. Then we started our journey towards Puwakpitiya from Illukkumbura via the Sera Ella road.