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Four day journey to upcountry, explore nature & Heritage from Badulla to Haputale. |
Few of my friends decided to go on a trip to Badulla by train, in December 2008. We had to travel by the night mail train because we were not enough lucky to reserve tickets for an early one. We got into the train at Veyangoda station at about 9.15 pm on 19/12/2008.
It was 6.00 am the following day when we reached Pattipola which was the most elevated railway station from the sea level, in Sri Lanka.
Hidden beauties at the Valley of Ritigaha Oya, Dedugala |
There was nearly 45 minutes drive from Ruwanwella to Bulathkohupitiya. Bulathkohupitiya was a small town at an elevation of 130 ft from MSL, located in between Kegalle & Karawanella. This colonial type town was margined by a stream known as Ritigaha-oya, a tributary of Kelani River. It was started from the ranges of Dolosbage, located within a distance of 20 km from Bulathkohupitiya. On the other hand, the elevation rose dramatically from 140ft to 3000ft within a distance nearly 14km.
Sri Pada via Udamaliboda trail, Deraniyagala |
I & four of my friends went to Sri Pad via Udamaliboda trail on 13th of last December. Sri Pada season was started on 1st of December and we wonted go there before it gets crowded. On 12th we travelled to Anghettipola where one of my friends live which is 6 Km away from Daraniyagale. We stayed there whole day and also visited to Saman devalaya at Daraniyagala which is a tradition followed by the Sri Pada pilgrims. Next day we took a bus to Udamaliboda around 6.30 p.m. from Moda palama which is 1 km away from the place we stayed towards Daraniyagala.
One week Deep South: Yala and around |
This trip report does not cover any really new sites…thought of writing it up to share some pictures and also as a thank you for all the information provided for this trip by Lakdasun. Its quite amazing how places we go so often can still turn up enjoyable surprises, and its also very nice to be able to visit areas which we did in our childhood but then were not so accessible till recently. The sea in the Yala area is not so safe, but the beach is really worth exploring. And if you know your zoology? Biology? It’s a tremendous advantage!
Road Trip to Mahiyanganaya, Wasgamuwa and Dambana |
Drove from Colombo to Kandy, took the scenic route along Raja Mawatha, past Victoria, Randenigala and Rantambe reservoirs and along the Minipe canal to Mahiyanganaya. It was almost dark when leaving Mahiyanganaya after visiting the temple. From there to Rathkinda, we took a long route for the fear that the causeway at Ulhitiya might be flooded.
A truth seeking voyage to Labunoruwa Monnestry, Ritigala forest |
On the 24th of December three of us got up early morning & went to Galle railway station at 0645 am to catch “Ruhunu Kumari.At about 0900am we reached to Colombo & got a bus to Galenbindunaweva from Colombo central bus stand. After completing a six hours travel we reached to Muriyakadawala at about 0300pm.Then asked the route to the Labunoruwa monastery from a villager. He was more polite & showed us the path. We had to travel about 03km to reach the entrance of the forest
Jaffna / Chavekacheri Travelogue |
We booked the Luxury AC bus in advance and it starts near Isipathana College and costs 4000 Rupees Return. (Believe me it’s worth every cent we paid)
We went there by 9.30PM although bus starts at 10PM they checked IDs and then we packed our bags in to bags compartment in the bus. Bus left around 11PM. The bus is super luxury with reclining seats and headrest. But the bus has seal type windows.
Nelumwewa hot water springs – Polonnaruwa |
The Nelumwewa hot spring has the highest recorded temperature among the hot springs in Sri Lanka. The temperature is 62 C and the main difference from the other hot springs is that it is located inside a “wewa”. The place can be approached within one hour from Polonnaruwa town. There is no point of going from Colombo just only to see the hot springs, but it can be included in your trip to Polonnaruwa sacred city or in a trip to the eastern coast (Pasikuda) through Polonnaruwa.
In search of waterfalls in the Dambetenna & Upper Koslanda areas |
As it is the rainy season, I decided to go in search of a couple of waterfalls listed in the book titled ‘A Guide To Waterfalls Of Sri Lanka’ by Dr.Eberhard Kautzsch. Lemasthota Oya Ella (in the Dambetenna area) and Monarakanda Oya Ella (in the upper Koslanda area) were what I was going to look for. These waterfalls are two lesser known and seldom visited.
Ah! I had a little ulterior motive too. That was to try to approach some other waterfalls of which their existence is almost unknown to us, the general public, including most of the residents of the area.
Nawalapitiya from Yatiyanthota via Seeforth, Nagastenna, Rambukpitiya |
We left Malabe at 8.00 a.m. The destination for the first day was “Olu Ella inn” which is located 15.5km from Yatiyanthota town on the Yatiyanthota – Seeforth road. At around 9.30 in the morning we were stopped by the stunning scenery of the Kelani River at the Karawanella bridge on the A7.
After spending about half an hour on the bridge, enjoying the scenery we continued our drive along the A7 towards Yatiyanthota.
