This mighty rock was noticed when I was at Menikdena. It was situated closer to Kandalama Lake. I definitely knew it can be a good view point of Kandalama lake and surrounding area. Later I came across the archeology site called Kaludiya Pokuna (This is not the famous Kaludiya Pokuna at Mihinthale) also situated at base of the Erawulagala Mountain.

This was a journey I did more than a year ago and my focus was on some places close to Mahiyangana and Bibile – Medagama. On an overcast day I took a bus towards Padiyathalawa from Bibile and again took a bus towards Mahiyanganaya. Just before Wewatta temple there was a road to the left with Uva province tourism notice board directing towards Murungagala Archaeology site.

It was one of those random weekends and I didn’t have any scheduled places to visit so I headed towards Badarawela. It was almost 1pm when I got down at Halpe and my first place of interest was Gangarama temple. Though the Uva tourist board had put up a notice board, this temple didn’t have any historical importance. Next target was Yahalamaditta temple.

I was able to visit at following places at Welimada in two days. Bomburu Ella and climbing to top of Bomburu Falls, Ravan Falls, Sthreepura cave expedition, Mana Falls, Ganethanna RMV, Ulugala RMV, Keppetipola fort, Diwrumpola Temple. Famous Bogoda wooden Bridge (බෝගොඩ ලී පාලම) and Boralanda government farm (බොරලන්ද ගොවිපල) are also closer to Welimada. I couldn’t go there.

The book COLLIN’S CAMPING & HIKING MANUAL was a great help to us especially because we were beginners. So now we knew how to go and what to do on a camping expedition; next was finding the location, that’s when we came across the Sri Lankan Adventurer’s hang out while surfing the net; the Lakdaun Forum. There we came across a trip report to a Mountain called Havagala which any one can climb to the summit and camp there; the stunning images quickly grabbed our mind, this is where we will go.

This was our second visit to Kumana National Park. From the first visit back in 2012, I fell in love with the magnificent and unspoiled wilderness of Kumana. It truly deviates from overcrowded Yala NP and has an amazing calm and relaxing environment. We had to plan well in advance based on the experiences from our first visit (Will also upload that trip on a later day). All the bookings for camp sites and jeeps were made at least a month earlier.

I have noted two big isolated mountains closer to Galewela town during my routine travel from Polonnaruwa. Later I knew one of them as Menikdena. Map reading told it can be easily approached from A9 road. Then I got to know Menikdena archeology site and arboretum are also situated closer to Menikdena Mountain.

This was a once in a life time trip and I wanted it to be a spectacular one. When one is in a romantic mood its always best to stay close to mother nature and far away from the busy world. This is what we did in our little paradise nation within 10 days. So let the pictures say our story. Our first and second day of relaxation was at Back of beyond Kahandamodara. This was absolutely the paradise we searched for. Two days of perfect harmony with many activities to pass ones time like boat rides in lagoons, cycling and etc. Thanks Yohan for building such a lovely place. The staff was simply the best; you don’t get good guys like them at 5 start hotels.

Rambukoluwa is a traditional village at Knuckles forest reserve. This might be a vanishing village in near future as they have planned to build a reservoir by crossing Kalu Ganga. Though Rambukoluwa is not covered by this reservoir, villagers are asked to leave the village.

A mid-week holiday tempted me to explore somewhere close to Monaragala and Wadina hela of Wellawaya which was on top of my list was my target. Within a day I found two colleagues working in the same province willing to join me on this venture but we couldn’t find a guide in time. So we decided to get to the village and find someone on the next day. This peak is one of those prominent peaks marked on each road map and it has a superb 360 view. The best thing is this 560m mountain gives one of the best views towards the south and south east slopes of the central hills.

Taking time off to relax saw us heading deep down south a few weeks ago. Our destination was Sella Kataragama where SLAF has chalets for its officers. Travelling was easy as we took E1 to Matara. The drive was a breeze! A short stop at Devundra was all what we needed.

Few weeks back, I saw a clip of the cave on Sirasa news, which looked like Nil Diya Pokuna. Worried about the excessive exposure it could get, I sat in front of the TV, waiting for the story. Thank god! It’s not Nil Diya Pokuna but Sthreepura. Immediately, I called my partner in crime. (You can watch the short clip here )