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.

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.

I woke up and lowered the blanket covering me and a rain of needles hit my exposed skin. Oh dear, I’m in HP, it suddenly dawned on me. There was a light moving out of the room and it made me feel jittery. Getting out of the bed and landing my feet on the ground sent another dose of needles up my body. It was so cold (probably around 10-degrees) and I followed the light out of the room to find Ana already up and getting ready to make some coffee. The time had just gone 4.30am and I was shivering when I entered the kitchen. There wasn’t any sign of the bungalow keepers (they can’t have ever had their guests waking up at 4.30am) and I waited with my feet up for a steaming cup of coffee.

Atha and Prasa were still sound asleep and I went back to wake them up. It was very cold and we sipped at our scalding coffee hugging ourselves so tight. The caretakers got a shock when they appeared around 5.30am to see us up and about. I guess this was a great shock for them and they got very busy making our breakfast while we washed in the freezing water and got ready to leave while the sun was beginning his painting class towards the east.

The best season to climb Kiribathgala is in the month of February… Usually villagers reserve February 4th to climb this mountain… And one can get the added advantage of proper footpath during February,(but still needed a local person) But I could not wait and decided to do it in month of October and waited till the morning showers were over. We were hoping to climb down before the evening showers….

If we decided to go Meemure from Bambarella across Kalupahana but we had to change that. Because we hadn’t clear information about that way. So we chose Knuckles way across Alugallena way. Dear brother Niroshan helped so much to reach this target to me. We were ready to this journey without any guide, but we had great information & guidance from Niroshan.

We took the E01 from Kottawa and were doing 100kmph while the sun as usual started his morning painting rituals. Just like waterfalls, sunrise and sunset are two other things that I never seem to get tired of, no matter how many times I witness it. It’s a whole lot different each and every time, trust me on that. The white cotton wool like clouds reflected the morning rays while sun appeared over rubber plantations and tiny hills to our left. Hasi had been busy in the weekend watching waterfalls as he’d been to 11 of them in and around Bulathkohupitiya, the day before. I wish I could have joined him for that too even though I have been to them before.

Year and Month April, 2014 Number of Days 1 Crew 5 (between 24-27 years of age) Accommodation Nuwara Eliya Town Transport Van Activities Wildlife, Photography, Hiking, climbing Weather Excellent Route Kandy -> Nuwara Eliya -> Horton Plains and return on the same route. Tips, Notes and Special remark Planning in advance will save you lot […]