Year and Month December, 2014 Number of Days 1 Crew 4 (between 25-30 years of age & the villager who guided us) Accommodation N/A Transport Three-wheeler up to Illubekanda school and then by foot Activities Waterfall hunting, Photography, hikking Weather Gloomy with intermittent drizzle Route Nivithigala -> Kalawana -> Pothupitiya -> Illumbekanda -> Denawaka Kanda […]

Year and Month November, 2014 Number of Days 1 Crew 2 (me and a freind) Accommodation At friend’s place in Medawachchiya Transport Motor Bike Activities Archaeology, Sight Seeing, Photography Weather Not good. Too gloomy and heavy rains in the evening Route Medawachchiya > Rathmalgahawewa > Kiralagala Tips, Notes and Special remark Accommodation options are scares […]

Kalugala is a location on the northern point of Madulsima range which consist of two peaks and out of those Kalugala no 2 is the highest. Kalugala No 1 peak belongs to Monaragala district and is the highest point of Monaragala. I have been eyeing on this for few months and out of nowhere the anticipated day arrived.

Year and Month October 2014 (7th and 8th ) Number of Days Two Crew One (Lonely Trip) Accommodation Wasantha’s Place at Pitawala (0770423717) Transport My faithful bike Activities Waterfall Hunting , Exploring the unspoiled, beautiful villages in Knuckles Weather No rain in both days (although it rained heavily in End Sep– Early Oct) Route Day […]

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.