It has been a long journey since I joined Lakdasun in 2009 actually it added some spice in to my life and enforced my passion for traveling. Now it’s almost four years since I have transformed in to an ideal traveler. The knowledge the experience I gained from Lakdasun is immense and that per se was enough for me to do 100 write-ups voluntarily for the betterment of future travelers of our pearl island. I still remember the day Mithila asked me to write a trip report on Adams peak which was the second trip report on this forum and since then I have been writing continuously(except 2011 latter half) on Lakdasun

Sri Pada(ශ්රීd පාද) /Adam’s peak one of my favorites places in Sri Lanka. After having seven visits to Sri Pada I wanted to do it in a combination of trails during off season. I selected Kuruwita-Erathna trail for climbing up and Rajamale-Sandagalathanna (සදගල තැන්න) route for getting down.

Having stocked our larder with rice and curry and noodles, we reached at the Ambewela at moderate 8.45am and got the permission from the SM to park our car and leave it there. He was very willingly agreed and the Colombo-bound Podi Menike was arriving at the station and then sat waiting for the signal to run along.

Having stored water bottles, meal packs, portable cooker of Prasa and other essential items into our back packs, we left Ambewela towards Nanu Oya through the lush green patches of Ambewela farm.

The idea of seeking knuckles like a beautiful dream of a seeker is born in my heart before long time ago. The end of my interest is run out of this journey with beautiful memories. I give my special thank to “Lakdasun” because of the help for materialize my dream.

e started form Galle at about 10.00 in the morning. It was just about a 50 km drive and we arrived there before noon. The main things to notice are the large Buddha statue and the old tunnel system in the temple.

It was long ago I did a rail hike that was in February. So with the upcoming long weekend and been clueless, I decided to do a 3 day rail hike which I had to fast track to two days because Kasun invited me for another trip. Doing 65 Km’s for two days is more like a rail run but guess what I didn’t miss a thing. Walking speed was around 4.2Km’s/hour and I have never walked on a road even that fast. As most of you’ll know this stretch is not known for any special locations or scenery but I found out that there was lot to offer. My main focus was on flowers, may be wild or grown at stations as garden flowers, so please forgive me for adding many images of these beauties.

“Apparently there are 30 different kinds of Nelu and 24 of which are endemic to Sri Lanka”

We jumped out and headed towards the summit of Thotupola with an elevation about 200ft over 2km stretch. It was a sight to treasure for the rest of our lives. We were simply speechless and kept walking through dense forest patches till we reached a bit open area and the sight was simply outstanding. So many mountains were visible and Adam’s Peak was standing tall and majestic in the horizon with her distinct shape. Kirigalpoththa and the undocumented Agra-Bopath were standing next to each other.

This was one of the dream hikes we always wanted to try since we first heard about this trail. Main purposes of this trip was to see the beauty of our mother land, see and be amazed about how they built such a marvelous rail road 150 years ago. Five of us started the journey from Colombo fort and took the night mail (8 pm from Colombo fort) to Pattipola (4.10 am to Pattipola). The train was fully packed as it was a Friday night and we had to take the space near lavatory and footboard as usual.

We continued passing Hanguranketha in our quest to visit some little known waterfalls we got to know thanks to Niroshan. But our journey was badly affected first by our delayed start and then by the terrible road condition past Hanguranketha. The road is under construction and is in a terrible state.

Going Green, Organic Farming, Eco Living, Environmentally Friendly, etc. are few of the major topics in the modern day world. Every man and his dog are concerned about living a healthy life and consuming organic foods. Media along with environmental organizations are out in full force trying to promote these kinds of things whenever possible.

The sun was out and it was around 6.45am when we set off and I heard a dog shouting from the top of his voice to find out it was actually a puppy tied into a pole. He was making a big fuss wanting to be free and run about, looking very sad. I felt very sorry for the fellow but there was nothing I could do for him. The surrounding was lush green as the railway track lies through the Horton Plains.

We came through Southern Highway and turned from Baddegama out. Then we came to Neluwa through Nagoda, Udugama, Hiniduma and Thawalama. From Neluwa you have to drive another16 KM on an extremely narrow road, through Kosmulla.