We started around 4.30 am from Kolonnawa, had our Breakfast closer to Deraniyagala. We had bought all our requirements on the previous day so we did not have any problems in the morning. We were at the Dik elikanda Primary School junction by 9.am; We got down from there and asked our Driver to meet us at Nallathanni following morning. We were at the Trail head by 10am..

Visiting ritigala has been on the cards for a long time now and the closest I got was a planned trip last August but had to cancel it at the last moment due to unavoidable circumstances. Yapahuwa too has been lingering in my mind for some time but never materialized. Due to the above reasons my initial idea was to do a 2 day trip but for that too work commitments got in the way and on the ‘thaipongal’ weekend on Saturday I hastily decided to do a one day trip the next day(Sunday) to visit the above places which I’ve never been to.

We had to go to Kandy for a “bana” and an “arms giving” and since the”bana” was on Saturday night I made a plan and went on Friday night and reached Kandy at 11.45 pm and stayed at my Sister in law’s place in Katugastota . The following day I started alone at 5.30 am as my wife and daughter was more keen on shopping at the city centre and went via Theldeniya and Digana and arrived at Deanston at around 7 am.

I have a dream to visit Uda-Maliboda, ඇලි හත (Seven Waterfalls) for quite a long time. Finally with some of my friends we decided to do it in beginning of the year 2012. Our objective is to visit all the seven waterfalls without a guide and also explore the area. In the early morning at 5.00 AM we started the journey from Kiribathgoda by hired van. At around 9.30 AM we reached Uda-Maliboda. From there we had our breakfast and started the hike near the Naya Ganga.

When the Sun emitted his first rays of the day; it was captivated scenery of a group of elders in white; walking along the narrow road lay on the dame of a village tank. It was the first full moon day of the year (Duruthu poya day). Those devotees were moving towards the village temple located at the far end of the reservoir. Kathnoruwa, the village I had been; was another live example for the ancient concept of Wewayi-Dagabayi Gamayi-Pansalayi (the relationship between tank, pagoda, village (people) & the temple)

As per the legend, Panduwasnuwara was formally known as “Upathissa Pura”. When the King Panduwasdew came to the throne & made his capital there, this was renamed as Panduwasnuwara. The king Panduwasdw was a nephew of the King Wijaya & been the second king in our Rajawaliya. And he was the grand father of the King Pandukabhaya, the first Sri Lankan King. When the King Pandukabhaya won the throne, he made Anuradhapura as his capital & forgot his birth place which was not given shelter for him even for a day from his childhood. As a result Panduwasnuwara, the capital for 51 years of the country was neglected for 100 years.

During the leisure time I’ve spent @ my parent’s place, I’ve planned to visit the 126Km long Colombo Matara Southern Highway (HW), which is still under constructions and almost 99% completed in Galle Akmeemena area. This (HW) allows Sri Lankans to travel between the two towns in less than 1,1/2 hours journey. That is half the present travel time along the age-old narrow coastal road. Same day in the evening around 17:00hrs had a 2 hours visit to the Gall Dutch Fort/ Rampart to enjoy some play time with my 2+ years daughter & photography

This was something we wanted to do properly. Because every time we pass Ramboda area we never stop and enjoy these beauties properly so I and my friend decided to do the walk from Pussellawa to Palagolla. In-between we used public transport at some occasions.

Ella has always been a fascinating place for me and it is no wonder that we decided to go there again for the third time in 18 months to have a nice and quiet getaway with the family. We booked the Grand Ella Motel (GEM) which is operated by the Ceylon Hotel Corporation well in advance as Ella becomes a popular spot for tourists during the winter season.

e were planning to do this trail for some time but we had to postpone it several times because of the continuous rain. Finally we thought of doing this on 1st of January as it’s a nice way to start the New Year. We took the Podi Menike night mail train from Colombo Fort on 31st night and reached Ohiya on the following morning. We started our hike from Ohiya at 6.30 am. And soon we witnessed some breathtaking views when the sun light came though the forests as beams. It’s really difficult to describe the beauty of these wonderful scenes.

We planned this trip to visited Victoria, Randenigala, Loggal Oya and Sorabora Wewa dams, Mahiyanganaya, Nagadeepa, Muthiyangana, Bogoda and Buduruwagala temples, and Dunhinda, Rawana Ella, Diyaluma, Bambarakanda and Kirindi Ella waterfalls. We started form Kandana at about 4.30 in the morning. The crew was three in a car. I was driving the car. We took about 25lts of water with all other belongings

Before 6.00 am we left Gampaha. Hemantha, coming from Ehetuwewa, a small town at the northern boundary of the Kurunegala Distict, had asked to join with us at Ibbagamuwa junction. However we had to wait more than 1 hour for Hemantha. So we had time enough to have a visit & rest at the famous Bathalegoda tank. On our way we met the young wild elephant who used to rob foods form vehicles passing through, at the Habarana jungle.