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Trip Reports Archive » By Length » Longer than 3 » Exploring Yala Block II

Exploring Yala Block II

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Mahirawa, Minihagalkanda, Navaladi, Pahala Poththana, Palatupana, Pilinnawa, Uda Poththana, Walaskema, Weheragodella, Yala, Yala Block 2, Longer than 3, September, Dry Zone, Sand & Beach, National Park, Birds, Wildlife, Camping, History, Adventure Drive, 2011, Natural Bath, Photograhy, Trekking

Author: mithila (23 Trips)

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Year and Month September, 2011
Number of Days 4 days (three nights)
Crew Ten adults
Accommodation Nugasewana Camp Site, Block 2, Yala National Park
Transport Yohan’s Nissan Patrol and Ajith’s Landrover
Activities Exploring places of interest in Yala block 2, Wildlife, Photography
Weather Bright, Sunny, Hot and Dry
Route Colombo-> Kottawa -> Awissawella -> Ratnapura -> Pelmadulla -> Udawalawe -> Thanamalwila -> Tissamaharamaya -> Palatupana -> Yala Block 2 and return on the same route

  • View Google Earth Trail Map (KMZ)
Tips, Notes and Special remark
  • Nugasewana Camp Site should be reserved in advance from the department of wildlife conservation
  • Visiting Miniha Gal Kanda (මිනිහාගල්කන්ද) and Pilinnawa sand dunes need prior permission from wildlife department.
  • When you go to Yala, please don’t go there to see just “Leopards, Elephants and Bears”. Yala is a beautiful park with a lots of other animals, plants, brids, and beautiful landscapes
  • Tell your jeep operator and the trekker that you want to do a relaxed drive around the park. Tell them that it is ok even if you don’t see a leopard. Don’t encourage speeding in the National park.  Just last month, a six-month old female leopard was killed by a speeding vehicle in Yala.
  • Also Read the discussion – A plea to wildlife photographers
  • Yala, particularly Block 2, is not a 4X4 adventure track as some 4X4enthusiasts seems to think. Always thread lightly and minimize the damage to nature. Use the muscle of your 4X4 only to get through difficult points that you can’t by pass.
  • Thanks Theshantha for helping us get the Patrol’s power steering hose replaced very late in the day, the day before the trip.
  • Thanks Yohan, Priyanjan, NG and Laxaman for helping me with some of the pictures

*** Special Thanks to Yohan, for organizing this trip, literally from A to Z. It was so well planned and therefore we were able see a lot with in the limited time we spent there.

***Special Thanks to Priyanjan and NG for the home work done to collect information about various points of interest and plotting all of those on Google earth which made the trip so enjoyable and educational! Not to forget the fantastic, story telling KML of the trip by Priyanjan

Author mithila
Comments Discuss this trip report, provide feedback or make suggestions at Lakdasun Forum on the thread

  • Exploring Yala Block II

Early morning on Friday we started from Colombo and headed straight to Back of Beyond – Gurugoda. We were greeted by Ajith and Anverdeen (a veteran trekker with excellent knowledge about Yala) along with Priyanjan who were waiting there to join the four day excursion to explore, particularly the block two of Yala national park. Yohan’s Nissan Patrol and Ajith’s Land Rover were quickly loaded with supplies and we left straight away to Palatupana Entrance.

At Back of Beyond - Gurugoda

At Back of Beyond - Gurugoda

Formalities at the park office did not take long. Wildlife department guide assigned to us was Premarathne. Premarathne is one of the most expreinced guides in service at the department today and he claimed that he is a descendant of Henry Engelbrecht, the first park warden of Yala. Well, he knew Yala well but largely his attitude and certain behaviors did not make us very comfortable with him.

Leaving park office we drove along the Yala main road to paranaganthota (a.k.a Parana Thotupola) where we crossed Menik River and entered Block 2. Our camp site was “Nuga Sevana”, one of the newer camp sites established on the bank of the river. It was only a couple hundred meters away from Paranaganthota (පරන ගං තොට).

Location of the camp site was good, particularly because of its proximity to the river. The river was so inviting with shallow flowing water and clean sandy bottom so that we couldn’t resist a long bath under the shade of giant Kumbuk trees every day! One of the negatives of the camp site’s location was its proximity to the Paranaganthota which is the designated resting place for day visotrs to Yala Block I. On Saturday and Sunday we got disturbed by their noise occasionally. Also there are couple other camp sites on the either banks of the river in some what close proximity. If a party at any one of the camp sites does not behave well, that tend to disturb the rest of the sites. On one of the nights we could hear people singing at one of the other camp sites (most likely Kosgasmankada). Wonder why the wildlife guide who should have been with them did not stop them.

It took some time for us to setup our tents. We had quite a number of them.

Crossing Over to Block 2 - Yala National Park

Crossing Over to Block 2 at Parana Gan Thota

At Nuga Sewana Camp Site

At Nuga Sewana Camp Site

Menik River bordering the camp site

Menik River bordering the camp site

River Bath at Menik Ganga

So obviously this is what we did for hours EVERY day 🙂

After setting up tents we had lunch we brought form BOB-Gurugoda. After lunch we relaxed a bit, and set out for the first drive in block 2. Passing Yala wela (යාල වෙල), we drove up to Katupila Ara (කටුපිල ආර).

Yala Wela with Maliththan Trees scattered

Yala Wela with Maliththan Trees scattered

Water level in Katupila ara was too high for a vehicle to cross it safely at the usual crossing point. This is a usual occurance, particulalry in the dry season, when river mouth gets blocked with sad, forcing water to build up upstream.

Katupila Ara

Katupila Ara - Water Level was high due to closed river mouth

Mangrove Roots, Katupila Ara, Yala

Mangrove Roots, Katupila Ara

We had to drive couple of kms  upstream to find a suitable crossing point with less water and we did a hassle free cross over to the other side.

Having crossed Katupila Ara, we drove back along the opposite bank of it and got back on the main road. Passing vast, dry, open, sandy sections of Pilinnawa Eliya (පිළින්නාව එලිය) we drove along the main road towards Kumbukkan Oya. On our list to see were fresh water wells at Pahala Poththana (also known as the Navaladi wells in Paada Yatra) and Uda Poththana Modara (උඩ පොත්තන මෝදර) (View Google Earth Trail Map (KMZ))

As soon as we entered Block 2, we immediately noticed two remarkable differences in the animals we saw, compared to block 1. The first was the size of herds of Deer, Buffalow and Boar. Every herd we saw had many dozens of animals which was a great sight to see. The second was their unfamiliarity with vehicles. Every creature we saw would start running like mad as soon as it saw our vehicles!

A Large Herd of Wild Buffaloes, Block 2, Yala

We came across large groups of Deer, Buffaloes and Boar but all of them were on the run!

A Large group of Wild Boar, Block 2, Yala National Park

A Large group of Wild Boar, again running like crazy for the dear life!

Occasionally there were "Brave Hearts" as well

We drove mostly  along the main road through scrub forest typical in the area. Passing open areas at Uda Poththana (උඩ පොත්තන), we drove further down towards Pahala Poththana (පහළ පොත්තන). To reach fresh water wells, one should deviate from the main road towards right, just before entering open areas at Pahala Poththana.

We first reached the place where there are three fresh water wells together. It immediately brought back memories of Pada Yatra we did couple of months back. While on Paada Yatra we spent couple of hours resting at this very same place. The only difference this time was that the huge Dun trees in the vicinity were full of fruits!

The three Wells at Pahala Poththana, Block 2 Yala

The three Wells

Dun Trees were full of Fruits

Dun Trees were full of Fruits

Signs of Pada Yatra

Signs of Pada Yatra

Signs of Pada Yatra

Signs of Pada Yatra

We left the three wells and drove few hundred meters further to reach another freshwater well. We were pelasantly surprised to find another hudge Dun tree full of fruits there as well. The Dun we found were much more tastier than what we had before .

Dan, Yala NAtional Park

Yummmmmmy!

Leaving fresh water wells we started our journey back along the main road. It was late in the afternoon and the light was perfect for photos.

Malabar Horn Bill - Block 2 Yala

Malabar Horn Bill in Flight

Herd of Spotted deer

Herd of Spotted deer paused their mad run briefly and posed beautifully against the light

Dead Buffalo

Harsh Dry Environment was certainly not forgiving the weak

Driving on the "Death Valley"

Driving on the "Death Valley" - Uda Poththana

Spikes and the Spider Web

Spikes and the Spider Web

Closed River mouths force water to accumulate upstream like this

Closed River mouths force water to accumulate upstream like this, sustaining life in a death valley even during the height of the dry season

Once we returned to Uda Poththana area, which is supposed to be an abandoned saltern, we turned left from the main road and drove towards the sea to explore the river mouth (Uda Poththana Modara – උඩ පොත්තන මෝදර) and the Estuary. (View Google Earth Trail Map (KMZ))

We parked close to the beach and explored the area. With pure white sand and calm water of the Estuary bathing in the late afternoon light, it was such a beautiful sight to see.

Sky, Sand, Water and exposed Corals - Uda Poththana Modara, Block 2, Yala

Sky, Sand, Water and exposed Corals - Uda Poththana Modara

Busy Photographers

Magical setup at Uda Poththana Modera kept photographers busy!

Krishan Putha at Uda Poththana Modara

Lonely "Krishan Putha" at Uda Poththana Modara; most likely brought here by the Tsunami

We tried to locate “earthened wells” some of the previous travellers had described at Uda Poththana but we couldn’t locate any signs of them. Both Anverdeen and Premarathne were of the opinion that those must have been washed away by the Tsunami as they had been located very close to water.

The day was coming to an end. We started our journey back to the camp site. On our way back we saw fresh paw marks of a leopard on the jeep track but were not luky to see it.

Fresh Paw Marks on the Jeep Track. Block 2, Yala

Fresh Paw Marks on the Jeep Track

Heading back to Camp Site

Heading back to Camp Site

Day 2

We left the camp site early morning on Saturday. The Plan was to explore Pilinnawa sand dunes and “Miniha gal Kanda (මිනිහාගල්කන්ද)”.

We crossed Katupila Ara and reached Pilinnawa Eliya driving along the main road. Then we turned right towards the sea and drove until we reached Agara Ara (ආගර ආර). Turning left at Aragara Ara, we continued to drive along the bank of the Ara until we found a point where we could safely cross over to the other side (just like Katupila Ara, water level was high in Agara Ara too; both share the same river mouth). Once we crossed the Ara we tackled some steep climb up to the sand dune and parked right at the base of it. (View Google Earth Trail Map (KMZ))

Parked at the Sand Dune, Pilinnawa, Block 2, Yala

Parked at the Sand Dune at Pilinnawa

The sea is right there on the other side

The sea is right there on the other side

It was very early in the morning (just past 6.00 a.m.). Sun had just started to emerged from the sea (Yes, we were in the east coast!). We climbed up the sand dune and reached the undisturbed, beautiful beach on the other side. To reach Miniha Gal Kanda we had to walk 2.1km along the beach. We thoroughly enjoyed this early morninng walk on the beatiful, undisturbed, remote beach. On our right had side it was the Indian Ocean meeting the horizon and on our left was the tall sand dune with perfect patterns created by wind, complimented by dune vegetation.

Sand Dunes, Pilinnawa, Block 2, Yala

Sand Dunes complimented by dune vegetation

Rising Sun and the Ocean,Pilinnawa Beach, Block 2, Yala

Rising Sun and the Ocean

Walking; looking for the "man in the beach"

The Walk; looking for the "lonely man in the beach"

Patterns on Sand and the colorful rock formations

Patterns on Sand and the colorful rock formations

Closer look at the patterns

Closer look at the patterns

……and the man came to our sight!

The rock was certainly resembling a man looking towards the vast ocean in a relaxed posture with his hands on the hips. “Miniha Gal Kanda” is said to be an ancient Coral reef which had been elevated from water a long time back and since then had been eroded by the wind and water to create some unique shapes like this “lonely man”. It is constantly changing, as per Anverdeen, who has seen the lonely man for more than half a century now,the man used to be even more prominent before.

The Lonely Man by the Sea, Miniha Gal Kanda, Block 2, Yala

The Lonely Man by the Sea - Miniha Gal Kanda

Elevated Coral Reef

This is what the man is made of - A coral reef elevated from the sea many million years ago

The area immediately around the man was a fascinating geological formation. Continuous erosion of lose rock have created massive, roughly semi-circular craters with vertical walls. The rock wall was a live demonstration of what lies underneath, a perfect cross section with clearly segregated layers of earth in different colours. Travelers who visited the area before had called these gigantic craters “Amphitheaters” and they had described three of them.

Gian craters - Amphitheaters, Miniha Gal Kanda

One of the Gigantic Amphitheaters

Vertical Rock wall

Vertical Rock wall with layers of earth in different colours

We spent some times exploring the “Amphitheaters”. The rocks were so fragile and would trun in to powder with the ligthest pressure applied. Again Anverdeen recalled that the rock walls had changed drastically over the past few decades due to continuous erosion.

Travel literature describes three Amphitheaters along the coast. Even though we thought we saw all three,  Priyanjan’s studies of Google earth images afterwards suggests that we may have seen only the first one, or the first and the second. Certainly future visits are on plans to Verify 🙂

From the base of the Amphitheater

From the base of the Amphitheater

More like Martian Land than Earth

More like Martian Land than Earth

We also found evidence supporting the elevated coral reef theory. Hard shells of sea creatures could be seen trapped in lose rock. They appeared to be in some stage of fossilization.

Lose rocks that formed Amphitheaters

Lose rocks that formed Amphitheaters

Evidence of early day sea life, Miniha Gal Kanda, Block 2, Yala

Evidence of early day sea life - Are these shells in some stage of Fossilization?

The sun was rising and the whole area was starting to heat up. Since we had a 2km walk back along the beach, we started our walk back by 8.15 a.m.

Light was getting Harsh

Light was getting Harsh

But photo opportunities were not all exhausted

But photo opportunities were not all exhausted

A long the beach we walked back to where we started. Rather than walking back to the vehicles, we decided to continue the walk along the beach to reach the place where the Estuary opens up to the sea. We were also looking for an archaeological site where some stone pillars are said to be there. Again Anverdeen and Premarathna were able to show us the stone pillars scattered in the scrubs.

Pilinnawa Modara (Pellussa Modara)

Pilinnawa Modara (Pellussa Modara) - Where water form Menik Ganga, Katupila Ara and Agara ara meets the sea

Stone Pillars - Pilinnawa Modara, block 2 Yala

Two of the Stone Pillars. We saw couple more standing in the scrub forest close to the Modara

Estuary at Pilinnawa

Estuary at Pilinnawa

Estuary at Pilinnawa

Estuary at Pilinnawa - from another view point

We then returned to our vehicles. Getting them out of the dunes was not that straight forward!

Sand Dune 4X4 Action

Sand Dune 4X4 Action

Getting the Land Rover out of it was not that Straightforward

Getting the Land Rover out of it was not that Straightforward

We drove back along the same track we came, crossed Agara Ara and approached the Estuary from the side of it. We found a large tree under which we settled down for breakfast.

Egg + Some sort of sauce + cheese sandwhich - Near Pillinnawa moya

After breakfast we returned to the main road and again continued along it towards Kumbukkan Oya. The plan this time was to explore “Mahirawa – මහිරාව” where a camp site from the hunting days with a waterhole that persists through the dry season were supposed to exist.

Passing Uda Poththana and Pahala Pothathana, we drove up to Ethiliwela Eliya (ඇතිලිවෙල එලිය).

At Pahala Poththana we drove passing the lonely Dan tree, known as “Boer’s Tree” which is said to be where Henry Engelbrecht (The first Park warden of Yala National park during the colonial era) used to camp. (View  Google Earth Trail Map (KMZ) )

"Boer's Tree" where Henry Engelbrecht used to camp, Pahala Poththana, Block 2 Yala

"Boer's Tree" at Pahala Poththana where Henry Engelbrecht said to have camped.

 

Ethiliwela Eliya is another open, dry stretch of land around an Estuary (The water ways that feed this estuary are Athurumithuru Ara – අතුරුමිතුරු ආර and Nabadagas Ara – නාබඩගස් ආර).  Again we turned right towards the sea and drove around Ethiliwela Kalapuwa (Lagoon) in an attempt to reach Mahirawa beach. Again, water bodies were pretty full and we could not approach the sea. We parked beneath a large Dun (දං) tree, again full of fruits, and decided to have lunch there.

The five Dead Bodies

The five Dead Bodies! (and the authorities discussing how to dispose them)- After Lunch at Mahirawa

We did not particularly attempt to locate the fresh water hole or the camp site. Water levels was restrictive and we had no specific clues to look for on the ground. Anverdeen and Premarathne were also not too sure about the exact location of the campsite/water hole.

After some rest at Mahirawa, we headed towards “Walas Kema – වලස් කෙම”, another camping location said to have been frequented by the hunters in early 1900 when Yala was a game reserve.

At Walaskema we found a large rock scattered with several water holes (Kemas), most of them had water even in this height of the dry season. View from  top of Walaskema was nice too. Also there were signs of steps cut in the rock surface leading to one of the water holes. May be work of hunters or can this also be an archelogocal site?

Walaskema, block 2, Yala

Walaskema - Three of the water holes in the rock bed

View from the top - Walaskema, Block 2 Yala

View from the top - Walaskema

.

Clean Bones of a beast

Clean Bones of a beast, according to Anverdeen and Premarathne it is not uncommon for animals to fall in to these waterholes or get ambushed by a waiting leopard in their desperate search for water in dry season

On our return journey to the camp site we explored the large earth mound right by the jeep track, close to Katupila Ara, known as “Weheragodella – වෙහෙරගොඩැල්ල”. The inch maps shows a Dagaba in ruins here but we couldn’t locate any signs of it. The soil and the rokcs appeared to be different in color and heavier than ususal. The surrounding and the rocks reminded us of a large meteorite impact site.

Weheragodella - Block 2, Yala

Weheragodella as seen from the main road

Climbing up Weheragodella

Climbing up

View from the top - Weheragodella

View from the top

Unusual Rocks at Weheragodella

Unusually heavy, colored Rocks - Can this be a Meteorite impact site

Leaving Weheragodella we came back to the camp site along the usual track. A gentle giant proved that our decision not to cross Katupila Ara at the usual crossing point was a very rational one!

Crossing the road between the two Jeeps

Crossing the road between the two Jeeps

Getting in to the Katupila Ara

Getting in to Katupila Ara

Crossing over to the other side

Crossing over to the other side - as you can see there was enough water to submerge this giant so a vehicle crossing the Ara at this point is impossible

Day 3

We had explored most of the key places in the block 2 during past two days. Several other places we wanted to see were lying in areas not open to visitors (inside the strict nature reserve) and we did not want to break any rules. Also the drives in block 2 did not give us opportunities to observe wildlife. Therefore we decided to dedicate the third day to explore block 1.

An elephant feasting on grass early morning at Buthawa lake

An elephant feasting early morning at Buthawa lake

.

Driving by the Elephant Rock also know as Akasa Chaithya

Driving by the Elephant Rock also know as Akasa Chaithya - You can see ruins of two Dagabos at the top of this rock

An egret

An egret

A common Kingfisher

A common Kingfisher

Early Morning at Parana Gan Thota

Early Morning at Parana Gan Thota

As we return to the camp site after the morning drive, we were called up on to help a jeep stuck in Katupila Ara.  Some 4X4 craze had foolishly attempted to cross the Ara from the wrong point. They had no guide with them and had not got proper permission to enter block 2 even! Apparently he drove the jeep in to the water with women and kids on board just of the fun of it and and ended up like this!

Stupid and Irresponsible

Stupid and Irresponsible are the most suitable words to describe the situation

We Pulled it out

We Pulled it out. Since the vehicle could not be started, they had to tow it out of the park with the help of the other vehicle which accompanied them

After breakfast Anverdeen shared some of his experience with us. It was very interesting to listen to him. We were particularly interested to find about  “Ali manthara – අලි මංතර” from Anverdeen. Our conclusion on  අලි මංතර was that it is the aggressive and dominant behavior demonstrated by the person who chants the Mantra that deter the elephant, not the Mantra it self!

How about some sweets after breakfast - we had a load of them :-)

How about some sweets after breakfast - we had a load of sweets 🙂

Anverdeen Relating a Story

Anverdeen Relating a Story

Around 3.00 p.m. we again headed towards Block 1 in anticipation of seeing more wildlife. It certainly was a good start with a peacock in full display.

Beautiful Display

Beautiful Display

The next sighting was this bear. It was feasting on Maliththan seeds and we watched it in close range for a quite long time

Bear feasting on "Maliththan" seeds

Bear feasting on "Maliththan" seeds

Closer look

Closer look

Leaving the bear we drove towards Darshana wewa (Modaraagala Digana Wewa). On our way, we came across a family of yellow wattled lapwings. Two parent birds and their three little chicks. As soon as the parent’s saw us approaching, they forced the little ones under their wings. One of the chicks however kept coming out despite the parent bird’s desperate attempts to keep it under the cover.

Mother Lapwing Protecting the young

Mother's protection - One chick is already hidden (you can only see its legs) and another one is hurrying in!

Lapwing Protecting the young

One brave chick kept coming out despite its mothers desperate attempt to keep it under the cover

By the time we reached Darshana Wewa it was late in the after noon. We drove along the earth bund enjoying the tranquility.The place looked very calm and quite with only some birds and couple of crocs in the vicinity.

Crocodiles - Darshana Wewa, Yala

Crocodiles at Darshana Wewa

Egret, Yala

1...2...3....

The silence did not last for long. A herd of elephants (with young) got in to water form the opposite bank of the lake. They walked right in to the middle of the lake and started drinking and bathing. It was such a lovely sight to see . The herd would keep the little ones right in the middle of the pack and would chase away anything that came close to the herd, including birds and even Crocs, quite aggressively.

Herd of Elephants, Yala

The herd walking in to water with Young in the Middle

Herd of Elephants bathing Yala

Enjoying the cool dip - All what the Croc could do was to watch

Elephants Drinking Yala

Drinking.....

After some time, the herd decided to get out of water. Again, chasing anything and everything that came in their way, the whole group came out of the lake.

Herd of Elephants walking out of water, Yala

Walking out of water

Herd of wild elephants chasing a calf, Yala

" Being BIG means a lot" - this young calf learnt it first hand (it was just a mock charge and there were no casualties!)

The herd then started spreading sand/dust all over them and we decided to leave them alone.

With the last rays of  sun hiding behind the tree line, we returned to the camp site with exciting memories of the day.

Setting Sun, Yala

Sun Setting behind the tree line over a lake

Day 4

It was the final day!

We decided to do a one last round in Block 1. The very first destination of the morning was “Padikema – පඩි කෙම” rock to see whether the famous “Rukvila” cubs are around. Sure enough, they were there.

Leopard Cubs (Rukvila Cubs) Yala

Wake up brother

Leopard Cubs at Play, Yala

Jumping out of the bed!

Leopard cubs, Yala

The play continued at the base of the rock

Leopard Cubs in Action, Yala

Siblings In Actions!

.

Leopard, Yala

Walking against the Light

It was such an amazing sight to see!

The place started to become congested with more and more jeeps gathering there to see the cubs. Therefore we decided to leave them and explore more of the park.

Peacock , Yala

Seen on the opposite side of "Padikema" rock

Flowers, Yala

Flowers seen close to Patanangala beach

Buthawa Lake

Buthawa Lake

Gray Langur Yala

More early morning activity

The last treat of the trip was again a herd of elephants. This time, they were busy playing on a newly built bund of a tank (breaking a good part of it in the process!)

 

Elephants at Play Yala

Pushing and Pulling

elephants Playing, Yala

A closeup

Elephants at Play, Yala

Colorful Dust Bath

Elephants at Play, Yala

.

.

Well it was time to say goodbye to all the wonderful things at Yala. We left the paradise behind and faced the relaity of having to go to the office and start work on the following day 🙁

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