I immediately felt better and at the sight of Bambarakanda Falls, the tallest girl in SL, made my day. She had more water, at least more than my last visit, and was looking radiant in the morning. We parked the vehicle and went inside for a warm welcome by Mrs. Mayakaduwa and her daughter Erandi who served us with tea and coffee. We were staying in one of the two cottages there. The walls were built using mud and had the look of a typical rural house. It can easily accommodate 8-16 people and has 4 rooms and a large living area and a verandah as well. Two washrooms are located at the back and with hot water.

We unpacked and got everything ready while they prepared our breakfast, Rotti with a Dhal Curry and Lunu Miris. Some cowpea was also served with freshly scraped coconut and we had a bellyful breakfast and were ready to go. It was so good to see Ranjith again and together we left for our hike that turned out to be tougher than we anticipated.

This is not really a trip. It’s just one site. But thought of writing it up as it is one of those ‘hidden gems’ …and I have partiality towards it as I had been searching for it for awhile. Yes, one of those! And since it was not in Ashan’s zone he could not oblige has he so often does 🙂
First saw it as a small photograph titled ‘Nagathambarani, Tiriyaya’ in the book ‘Eloquence in Stone’ . ( Ashan renamed this book “gal potha” due to its size and contents!). This is the same book that gave us the clue to finding Budupatuna.

The staircase of Yapahuwa is one of the most recognizable and reproduced icons of our cultural heritage. However, the actual ruins themselves are visited by only a small percentage of people visiting the cultural triangle. Sharing many similarities with the more famous Sigiriya, the mystique of Yapahuwa is enhanced by its turbulent past, majestic ruins, impressive fortifications and the vivid descriptions left by the travellers of antiquity who visited its kingdom. Its easy accessibility using public transport should make this an ideal location for a one day excursion for photography enthusiasts like me or those who are planning an educational, enjoyable and affordable day out for the whole family. Perhaps the greatest mystery in Yapahuwa is why so few Sri Lankans have actually been there to experience its splendors first hand…

I took the 138 bus from Colombo at 6 a.m & reached homagama at around 7.30 a.m. Lahiru was waiting at Homagama town till I come. After having breakfast we started the journey from homagama station around 8.00 a.m. Though this was the very first rail hike in our life, we determined to do whatever it takes to make it a success.

Perfect weather conditions in hill country means it’s time to do some hikes. I just had to pick up two places in my list and execute. First day it was Hanthana range and few of my lakdasun friends did accompany me on that superb hike. For my next day execution Only Nishan said yes. So next day early morning both of us got in to a Padiyapelella bus and headed towards Rikillagaskada where we had our breakfast. We were going to climb a unique mountain range in the central hills. Kukulagala which overlooks Rikillagaskada town like a lonely giant.

It was one of those weekends when you have nothing to do but out of nowhere you get a chance to visit some place that is out of bounds for many thanks to one of your close friends. That’s exactly what happened when I was without a thing to do on the 18-19 Oct weekend when Ana called out of blue moon asking if I’d like to join him for a relaxing holiday at Rozella. I jumped with both the feet and we left for Rozella on the 18th morning around 4.15am.

Year and Month November 2014 Number of Days 1 Crew 8 (between 29-49 years of age) Accommodation N/A Transport Double cab, three wheeler rest by foot Activities Waterfall hunting, Photography, Weather Sunshine in the morning & heaving down pouring in the afternoon. Route Nivithigala -> Ratnapura -> Awissawella -> Ginigathhena -> Nawalapitiya -> Thalawakele -> […]

In 1665 after the capture of the fort by the Dutch, they demolished it and built their own mighty fortress according to the prevailing architectural design known as the Star Fort (i.e. Galle Fort). Serving as the Command Center for all 3 colonial powers, the Colombo fort would have been the biggest and strongest fortification in the island.

It is November the month before the official Sri pada season and I just couldn’t resist not visiting Adams peak before the crowds took over. I and Thinu were wondering whether to go to Sinharaja or Adams peak and suddenly the weather seem to be settling off so we decided to do an off season hike. Early morning we arrived at Kuruwita where we had breakfast and took the first bus (6.10am) to Erathna and from there took a trishaw to Adawi kanda (there is a bus to Adavi kanda at 7.45am). Sharp at 7 we started the hike and off we went through the overgrown mana section. The humid environment started to cause few problems within no time but we proceeded continuously.

Year and Month October, 2014 Number of Days 1 Crew 8 (between 25-45 years of age) Accommodation Not applicable Transport 4wd Micro cab and by foot from Wathurawa Activities Water Fall hunting, Photography, off-road driving, official duty Weather Gloomy to light rain… Route Nivithigala -> Karawita -> Kalawana -> Wathurawa -> Panahatagala return on the […]

We turned left from the junction just before Paththini Devalaya and Bo tree on Panadura road coming from Ratnapura close to 38km post. We then crossed the wooden bridge over the Kalu River leading to Dumbara estate. Dumbara estate lies along the border between Ratnapura and Kalutara.

his is a special report on hot water springs of Sri lanka. This was a very tempting topic which made it so irresistible that I ended up visiting almost all of these remarkable sites in a short period. The hot lakdasun forum post was indeed my greatest guide on this venture. I would be adding few details on some hot water springs I visited during the past few years for the sake of completeness. Here are the documented hot water springs in Sri lanka.