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Trip Reports Archive » By Length » One Day » මොණර-ගල පාමුල සැගවුණු වෙල්ලස්සේ දළදා මාලිගාව(Monaragala 520m)

මොණර-ගල පාමුල සැගවුණු වෙල්ලස්සේ දළදා මාලිගාව(Monaragala 520m)

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Mayuragiri Viharaya, Monaragala, One Day, July, Dry Zone, Mountains, Culture, History, Hiking, 2012, Photograhy

Author: Ashan (216 Trips)

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Year and Month July, 2012
Number of Days One Day
Crew 1
Accommodation N/A
Transport By Foot
Activities Scenery and Archeology
Weather Overcast conditions
Route Obbegoda -> 254Km post of Monaragala – Potuvil road -> Obbegoda
Tips, Notes and Special remark
  • Wear attire as to cover your hands and legs to avoid torn scratches
  • It’s better if you can carry a stock of water (1L per person) and food like biscuits and etc.
  • Start the climb as early as you can
  • Do not carry Plastic items (Minimize), Make sure you bring back everything you took.
  • Beware of trap guns
  • Keep silent there are wasp nests
  • Ask directions from the priest
  • Go on a poya day if you want to climb with villagers
Related Resources
  • Trip Report: Heritage of Uva – Wellassa (වෙල’ලස’සෙ’ දායාදය)
  • Discussion: Mauragiri Viharaya – Monaragala
Author Ashan
Comments Discuss this trip report, provide feedback or make suggestions at Lakdasun Forum on the thread

  • මොණර-ගල පාමුල සැගවුණු වෙල්ලස්සේ දළදා මාලිගාව(Monaragala 520m)
The map

The map – Click Map to Enlarge

I have been living around Moneragala for few months and it seems I’m surrounded by heritage and nature. There is a place called Mayuragiri Raja Maha viharaya 2Km’s close to my quarters which I thought I have visited in 2009 but after seen NG’s post I understood that I have visited the Mayuragiri hermitage but not the temple. So on a peaceful day I decided to walk towards this temple. To reach this temple which is situated at the base of the scenic Monara-gala, one needs to climb up 750m from the starting point which is located between 254 & 255Km post of Monaragala-Potuvil road.

Actually I visited this place few weeks back and explored the whole cave complex as possible. This time my visit was focused purely on climbing up the “Balum Gala” which is known as the Monaragala rock.

Guide

Guide

close up

close up

the Monaragala Rock

the Monaragala Rock

From the main road it is a steep ascend trough the forest patch of Maragalakanda forest reserve. Just before reaching the temple premises you will find some steps carved on the rock and there will be a pre Brahmin inscription on it (there are 6 more inscriptions found in the premises). After you reach the premises you will find the “awasa geya” which has a site map, which is a really helpful guide for anyone. After meeting the head priest and getting permission, we were given the keys to the two caved image houses.

the site map

the site map

First one was called “Mayuragiri cave” which is the largest cave in the premises. It is huge and resembles the cave of Dambulla and has many paintings and statues (with years it has been repeatedly destroyed by treasure hunters). The most fascinating finding was the huge Egyptian like painting on the roof before entering the cave. There were few more caves in the vicinity too (all together there are 70 odd caves).

Mayuragiri cave

Mayuragiri cave

Tranlation

Tranlation – Click Image to Enlarge

the lion

the lion

 the entrance

the entrance

egyptian

egyptian

Broken

Broken

more statues

more statues

roof paintings

roof paintings

the Budhdha statue

the Budhdha statue

more paintings

more paintings

gods

gods

patterns

patterns

a cave

a cave

We returned back to the “awasa geya” and proceeded on the opposite direction and guess what we found. There were remnants of a “dalada mandiraya”. It is said that the tooth relic was hidden 75 years in this temple premises and adjoining the “maligawa” there were some monoliths of the “Natha Devalaya”. After passing the “maligawa” we preceded until we reached “Amaragiri viharaya” which was destroyed by treasure hunters too. There is a 5Km tunnel which begins near this cave which will take you to Viharamulla temple as said by the head priest and locals. After passing this cave you will reach to a site where you can see two sthupas and if you explore further you can find a “gal Anda” in a cave.

steps

steps

Moon stone

Moon stone

Dalada maligawa

Dalada maligawa

Natha devalaya

Natha devalaya

Amaragiri Viharaya

Amaragiri Viharaya

close up

close up

 where's the head

where’s the head

inside the cave

inside the cave

what remains

what remains

Lord Kataragama's statue destroyed

Lord Kataragama’s statue destroyed

an inscription near the cave

an inscription near the cave

Tunnel leading to Viharamulla temple

Tunnel leading to Viharamulla temple

ගල් ඇද

ගල් ඇද

remnants of a sthups

remnants of a sthups

another sthupa

another sthupa

From the sthups located on the right hand side it is about 1.5Km to the “balum gala”. On this second visit my main objective was the summit point of this rock. Unfortunately I lost the main trail from the beginning; however I proceeded uphill along some water streams and ended up at the base of the gigantic rock. The climb was not that much difficult because there was not much of undergrowth and also the surrounding forest been icy cold following recent showers.

the path

the path

base of the gigantic rock

base of the gigantic rock

on the way scenery

on the way scenery

From here on wards it was purely trekking for a place to climb up, so eventually I was moving around the rock until I came across a forest patch which dissects the rock in to two parts. At this point I dropped one of my shoes so I had to go bare foot thereafter. I proceeded up through the forest patch and climbed along the rock and reached the summit of the smaller rock out of the two and enjoyed the flat surface and the scenery. I really wanted to get to the “balum gala’ which was the larger rock out of the two and few feet taller. So I called the priest of the temple and inquired about the path.

how to climb this

how to climb this

the gap

the gap

on the way to the summit of the smaller rock

on the way to the summit of the smaller rock

summit view of  the mini rock

summit view of the mini rock

360 degree view of Monaragala

360 degree view of Monaragala

 view towards nakkala, medagama, batugammana, buttala and hulandawa

view towards nakkala, medagama, batugammana, buttala and hulandawa

View towards Maragalakanda forest reserve

View towards Maragalakanda forest reserve

Namunukula covered with mist

Namunukula covered with mist

towards Hulandawa and Monaragala

towards Hulandawa and Monaragala

Poonagala hills seen far away covered with mist

Poonagala hills seen far away covered with mist

towards Buddama, Bibile side

towards Buddama, Bibile side

summit of the balum gala

summit of the balum gala

Weliyaya temple

Weliyaya temple

sheer drop

sheer drop

Paddy

Paddy

Towards Ihawa and Deliwa

Towards Ihawa and Deliwa

Wadinagala peak seen far away

Wadinagala peak seen far away

General hospital Monaragala

General hospital Monaragala

more scenery

more scenery

After enjoying the view from the small rock I descended back to the forest patch and started to trek around the huge rock until I reached a point where I could climb up. As described by the priest there were ancient steps carved on the rock and from there onwards it was a 20 feet 4WD climb until the summit. The summit once had an “Akash chitya” but now only few rocks are visible and the “Nidan gala” of the “sthupa” has transformed in to a mini pond.

The view from the summit is extremely rewarding. One can simply spot the town, General Hospital, Buttala area, Wellawaya, Namunukula and Poonagala hills, mountains of Bibile, Lunugala, Wadingala peak of Gal Oya, medagama, Buddama etc.The view towards the sea is obscured by the Maragalakanda & Athgala Mountains which are the tallest in the region. I had to start my descent quickly because it started to drizzle and I also had to find my lost shoe so despite taking the correct path I had to take my initial path to recover my lost shoe. It took me approximately 4 hours to end my journey at the temple premises where I had a wash and walked back to my quarters exhausted but feeling proud and happy of conquering Scenic Monaragala..

4WD climb towards the summit of Balum gala

4WD climb towards the summit of Balum gala

Towards monaragala town

Towards monaragala town

Summit of the smaller rock

Summit of the smaller rock

Towards the forest reserve

Towards the forest reserve

Athgala

Athgala

More mountain peaks

More mountain peaks

Summit of Monaragala

Summit of Monaragala

Part of Maragalakanda

Part of Maragalakanda

Nidan gala

Nidan gala

towards Buttala

towards Buttala

more scenery

more scenery

 towards the town

towards the town

the town

the town

found another cave while climbing down

found another cave while climbing down

a Dragon fly

a Dragon fly

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