While our journey from Kandy to Nuwaraeliya via Ragala road, we turned right to the Mandaramnuwara road as a villager said that this route might be easy for us since we are at heavy rain in the evening.

I started my trip on 4th July night. I got the Kataragama bus & it leaves at 10.00 p.m. I reached to Kataragama around 4.00 a.m. First I went to Keri Vehera & Kataragama Devalaya. After that I came to Tissamaramaya Temple.

On July 9th morning we started our journey around 5.00 a.m. We stopped our relative’s houses in Thulhiriya & Inamaluwa for breakfast & tea. We took our lunch roadside place after passing Hingurakgoda. We reached to temple around 2.30 p.m. After taking little rest we attend to Evening “Gilanpasa Poojawa”.

Hawagala/Hagala is mountain of 1400m height situated closer to Colombo-Badulla road at Belihuloya area. This is my attempt to climb the mountain within a day.

Kawudagala/Small quoin is a rock situated at Polonnaruwa-Welikanda area. It has good archaeological value.

So this was a learning curve for Ana and his team when they explored possible materials for marking the path to the summit of Namunukula (NMK). We discarded the idea of Polythene and Laminated Sheets as they too would ultimately add to this ever-growing collection of waste which the Mother Nature can’t digest. We discarded the idea of using those aerosol cans for paint the rocks to mark the path too. As it’d ruin the beauty of the nature and those toxic ingredients in them might harm the tiny species. After a lot of deliberation, we decided on wood. Yeah, the best option given the circumstances as it is environmentally-friendly, long-lasting and easy to find. To make it blend with the environment (not to camouflage, mind you), Ana had them painted in green.

To make it more useful, he added some environmental messages on to them with a picture of an eagle with piercing eyes to inform that we’re watching your dirty work if you happen to litter, poison or harm the Mother Nature. So he got together with one of his longtime friends, Stefan (the fella who conquered Kurullangala with us), Deepani (another environmental enthusiast cum veterinary) and his one of daughters for this venture. Sadly I’d made prior arrangements with Hasi for another journey, not a conservation project, thus missing this journey.

After tackling Bopaththalawa in the morning we decided to head towards the elusive Dell Mountain. I saw this mountain for the first time when I was hiking Great western 6 years back and ever since that I have been staring at it on my successful attempts to Adams peak.

We were planning to use a car and a van for the trip, but when I contacted Ashan, he discouraged the car. So we exchanged the car to a cab.
The van was from a cab service and naturally came late. The cab went early and reached Fishing Hut by mid day enabling my sons and grandsons to have a dip in Battulu Oya before lunch.

I didn’t able to go for camping or hike since my last camping trip in HP because of bad weather. Then the rain season stopped in Badulla area. So I planned to visit Namunukula and camp there. I waited for this hike for long time. On the 1st day morning my brother and I went haputhale station and took night mail train to badulla.

Year and Month 11-12 Jun, 2016 Number of Days 2 Crew Hasi, His Wife, Gayan, His Wife and Me Accommodation Heenwewa Bungalow Transport By Car & Safari Jeep. Activities Safari, Photography, Sightseeing, Wildlife, etc… Weather Excellent. Route Colombo->Kottawa->Matara along Highway->Tissa->Yala and return on the same route. Tips, Notes and Special remark Remember first and foremost […]

Ella Rock is more popular among foreigners than locals, I can safely say. Almost all the foreigners who visit Sri Lanka go to Ella (they pronounce it as Ela rather than Ella with double Ls). It’s said that Ella is among the three mostly visited places in Sri Lanka by the foreigners after Dalada Maligawa and Pinnawala. Climbing Ella Rock was (before our journey) said to be a relatively easier task and there was no guide needed. So we too decided to attempt it without a guide. I don’t usually like to do any hike without a guide as the pros always outweigh the cons of having a guide even though we have to pay him some money. I believe it is money well-spent as those people who guide us will learn to protect those environmental treasures instead of trying to make easy money by destroying them.

Now to find the correct trail to the Ella Rock. Please follow this and you’re not going to miss your way. Walk past Kital Ella Station (when coming from Ella) and continue for about 300m until you find a road to your left hand side. It’s not quite prominent when coming along the railway line so keep an eye out for it. It’s just a gravel (rather earth) road and take it and after a 50-100 meters it’ll cross the stream that feeds the Ravana Ella (not the Bambaragama Ella found on Ella-Wellawaya Road) with a concrete bridge. You can of course see the Ravana Ella when coming from Ella towards Kital Ella. Now just follow this road all the way to the summit. Fairly straight forward, isn’t it? It’s about 2-3km moderate hike to the Ella Rock.

Hot air ballooning is not very much familiar in Sri Lanka as it costs high. But this activity is very popular among tourists. Because there are many foreigners directly come to have this facility since it is low cost as per their budget.