The first time I saw this majestic twin peak range was in 2009 and soon after seen it I attempted twice and ended up with failures. I have never failed twice but as one says failures show you the path to success. Let me start with a statement I did many years back “”***I will attempt to finish what i started, Imagination can take you to extremes sometimes ”” (check the last sentence). After five years of thriving the day I looked forward came. Gommolli has two peaks one been Gommolli peak (2034m) and the other was Balathoduwa (2012m).

Year and Month 2014 September 05th and 06th Number of Days 02 Crew 02 Uddika and Myself Accommodation Theldeniya Guest House 081-234916 Transport By train By motor bike Activities Archeology, Photography and Just traveling Weather Excellent Route Colombo -> Kandy -> Hasalaka (හසලක) -> Minipe(මිනිපේ) -> Rantambe (රන්ටැබේ) -> Randenigala (රන්දෙනිගල) -> Kandy -> Colombo […]

Year and Month September, 2014 Number of Days 1 Crew 2 (between 25-30 years of age) Accommodation Not applicable Transport Car up to Athweltota then by bike until end of road, rest by foot….. Activities Waterfall hunting, Hiking, Photography Weather Excellent Route Nivithigala -> Kalawana -> Morapitiya -> Maha Ella -> Yaka Bedhi Ella -> […]

Wilshire is the mountain stands behind famous Aluwihare temple in Matale. It is also called Aluwihare Kanda (අලුවිහාරේ කන්ද) and Etigala (ඇටිගල). This mountain is nicely popped up at Asgiriya side (not in Matale town side) as a peak. Then it’s two peaks are prominent in that side.

We haven’t been to this heavenly area for a long time and one visit long ago was on our way to Wasgamuwa and the other was a day trip when the kids were very young. Since we had only one night to spare, this was the best destination to end the school vacation in style and to recharge our batteries before going in for the third school term.

Year and Month 25th March – 02nd April 2014 Number of Days 9 days Crew Mainly 3 later 5-6, Me and my friends Amila, Thanrnga, Sandagiri, Darshana & our driver Ashoka Accommodation Our rest house at Trincomalee Transport Train, by Van Activities Mainly on duty and exploring the beauty at leisure. Weather Sunny and very […]

Sun was opening his doors to the world sending the early rays across the world when the whistle blew, green LED torches flashed from the back and front and the train left for her long arduous journey. The things got nastier at Ragama, Gampaha, Veyangoda and Polgahawela as many people tried to get in pushing and squeezing. Those who chewing beetle leaves and aricanut were forced to go deeper into the carriages making it impossible to spit out of the train, and Tony joked they must’ve had to swallow the lot as a result.

Eventually after it felt like being in a sea of people, we reached Kadugannawa and got off with a sigh of relief and went in search of a place to have a hearty breakfast before starting. This is when we met two of Lakdasun Members, Amran and Parsi who were leading a bunch of their office colleagues on a hike to Bathalegala. It brought back the happy memories of Our Bathalegala Journey. After a bellyful meal, we started our journey from Kadugannawa towards Rambukkana and you’re gonna read that here on.

Sailing in yacht was once a fantasy but out of nowhere I got a wonderful opportunity which I couldn’t resist. The Dolphin season at Trincomalee was coming to an end so the whale watching luxury yacht was migrating towards Mirissa. Amila called me and gave me the news but I had to take 3 days of leave in middle of the week and getting to Trincomallee or Passikudha was not feasible. I didn’t want to let this opportunity fly by so I decided to join them from Arugam bay.

Year and Month 8th– 11th September 2014 Number of Days 2 Crew 4 Accommodation L.L.T Safari Inn- 0779478036 Transport By a car up to Safari Inn and safari jeep inside the park Activities Wildlife, Photography Weather Sunny Route Colombo -> Negombo -> Puttalam -> Wilpattu Tips, Notes and Special remark Sad to see plenty of […]

The famous scenic hike from Kalupahana to Ohiya was one I wanted to do for a while and as usual this was decided within few hours. On the previous day we hiked Gommolliya and were spending the night at Bambarakanda rest relaxing and watching the football world cup. Since our Sunday plan was to return back to our homes we decided to alter it and do this hike. Bambarakanda rest which is managed by Mrs. Mayakaduwa is located 4km’s from Kalupahana so we had 20 more Km’s to get to Ohiya.

So thanks to them all, the fee was paid and the wheelchair was ready to be taken but how we were to take it from Colombo all the way to Kohonawala was the million dollar question. As it was custom built so that it could handle the rugged and uneven terrain of Kohonawala, the wheelchair was, compared to an ordinary one, larger and heavier making it impossible to transport by bus. We didn’t wanna send it by train either in case it got damaged in the process as there were many cables and handles that might not survive a train journey amid many other goods to Badulla. Dismantling it was out of the question as we had no technical knowledge about many screws and bolts attached to it so had to take the full packaged assembled as it was.

Again it was Ana who came to our rescue offering his SUV to take the wheelchair to Kohonawala. So we set the dates for 22-23 Aug but due to the busy schedule NG was unable to join us but Athula and I joined Ana for the Journey. Ana had gone and picked up the wheelchair from the manufacturer at Borella in advance which took the whole back space of the vehicle and we left around 3.00am on 22 August while the rains were hitting us from all around.

I was shocked to see the present situation of Nature Resort and adjoining nature park. It is truly an Abandoned Paradise. Nature Resort which is managed by Poonagala Estate needs a concentrated face lift to make it presentable to an average eco traveler. Adjoining nature part (A reserve) is overgrown with high grass and foot paths are difficult to follow. This means only one thing. People are not frequenting the Paradise. This is as bad as overcrowding a place of beauty.