Mahakudugala is one of a peaks comes in Rawana legend. It says King Rawana’s body was hidden here 5000 years ago.
This is considered as the eleventh highest peak of Sri Lanka with 2096m height situated in Nuwara Eliya district.

Bisogala (823m) is a mountain range of different peaks situated in Kurunegala district closer to Mawathagama. Famous Ridee Wiharaya and Rambadagalla Buddha statue are situated at the base of this mountain range. It stands as the highest peak of Kurunegala district.

Elgin falls is a 25m waterfall located in Ambewela. Agra oya starts from Black pool and creates three waterfalls. Waterfall is visible to the Badulla railway track.

In 2015 I shifted to Chilaw from Monaragala and I was seeking for places to travel. When I was in Uva I was fond of hiking along the railways and ended up doing rail hikes covering Badulla to Nawalapitiya by foot. So I was wondering what this coastal line would provide me with.

Ella Rock is more popular among foreigners than locals, I can safely say. Almost all the foreigners who visit Sri Lanka go to Ella (they pronounce it as Ela rather than Ella with double Ls). It’s said that Ella is among the three mostly visited places in Sri Lanka by the foreigners after Dalada Maligawa and Pinnawala. Climbing Ella Rock was (before our journey) said to be a relatively easier task and there was no guide needed. So we too decided to attempt it without a guide. I don’t usually like to do any hike without a guide as the pros always outweigh the cons of having a guide even though we have to pay him some money. I believe it is money well-spent as those people who guide us will learn to protect those environmental treasures instead of trying to make easy money by destroying them.

Now to find the correct trail to the Ella Rock. Please follow this and you’re not going to miss your way. Walk past Kital Ella Station (when coming from Ella) and continue for about 300m until you find a road to your left hand side. It’s not quite prominent when coming along the railway line so keep an eye out for it. It’s just a gravel (rather earth) road and take it and after a 50-100 meters it’ll cross the stream that feeds the Ravana Ella (not the Bambaragama Ella found on Ella-Wellawaya Road) with a concrete bridge. You can of course see the Ravana Ella when coming from Ella towards Kital Ella. Now just follow this road all the way to the summit. Fairly straight forward, isn’t it? It’s about 2-3km moderate hike to the Ella Rock.

Objectives of this trip were to visit at famous view points of Haputhale and Koslanda and camping at Pilkington point of Punagala. I have been at Pilkington point and Millennium point 7 years ago but it was a gloomy day.

Year and Month May, 2016 Number of Days 3 Days Crew 6 Accommodation Wildlife Department Bungalow – Heenwewa, Yala NP Transport Hired Jeep  / Jeep Activities Safari / Photography / Wild Life Weather Excellent Route Kottawa -> Southern Expressway -> Matara -> Thissamaharama -> Palatupana -> Kottawa Tips, Notes and Special remark It’s better to […]

Dolukanda (600m) is an isolated mountain situated at Kurunegala district. This is kind of a famous place for one day visit. Our objective of the trip was to find out camping opportunities on top of Dolukanda.

Thoranakotha is a mountain situated at back drop of Ayagama town. It is about 860 m in height and can be climbed from Thoranagoda village.

Becoming an archaeologist had always been my dream and together with my like-minded friend Minol Peiris we contacted Dr. Nimal Perera of the Department of Archaeology to get our hands dirty on an archaeological dig. Dr. Perera encouraged us and said that he is currently heading the excavations of the Demala Maha Seya in Polonnaruwa and invited us to join.

The historical legend of Sri Lanka starts from Vijaya, who was the eldest son of King Sinhabahu and queen Sinhasivali of Lata deshaya of India (Identified as present Rarh region of West Bengal) who landed at Thambapanni in 543BC with 700 followers. He became the ruler of the country starting the genealogy of kings of Sri Lanka. His administration was from Thambapanni, the area where he landed.

Matale district is blessed with number of beautiful waterfalls. Waterfalls in Bambaralla and Riverstone are most popular. Following waterfalls are situated closer to Matale town, still have got less attention.