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Ampara, Arugam bay, Bakkiella, Hulan Nuge, Kiri Vehera, Kota Vehera, Lahugala, Magul Maha Viharaya, Muhudu Maha Viharaya, Pottuvil, Rajagala, Tharulengala, Three Days, June, Dry Zone, Sand & Beach, History, 2012, Photograhy, Trekking

Author: Ashan (200 Trips)

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This time our main focus was to explore the east. Our crew consisted of 4 including my-self. And others had explored batticalo, Oluvil area prior to meeting up with me on a Friday evening at Arugam bay Muhudu maha viharaya. After meeting up we enjoyed the beautiful landscape of Arugam bay coastal shores and hurried up towards the lagoon along the beach until we reached the newly built bridge and waited until the sun disappeared beyond the horizon. After hurrying to our night halting place called Hangloose , we had a wash and rushed back to the beach to enjoy the lit up bay and the evening breeze .

fields of Potuvil

hunter

Muhudu maha viharaya

a Bodhisathva statue

and another

drainage

where the queens boat came to the shore

like a desert

pals	a wallpaper

scattered ruins

Begging

Waiting till the dusk

golden foot steps

where the lagoon meets up with the sea

time for a catch

golden rays

west minister abbey seen far away

and it sets

Next day we woke up at 5.30am and rushed back to experience one of the most colorful skies of SL. It was quite interesting to note the foreigners who had started surfing even before the sun decided to rise. I must say the sun rise which I experienced was one of the best scenes I have ever seen. After rushing back we packed our stuff and got in to a Monearagala bus and left towards Lahugala where we were planning to spend most of our day.

and they waited

rowing in a hurry

simply loved that hut

like a pinting

time to pull out the nets

hoiya…hoiya…

peeping through the clouds

there she comes

never seen a sun rise like this

riding the wawes

trying to balance

over the waves

Pebbals

Just before(about 3Km’s) reaching the turn off towards Magul maha viharaya , we got down and walked towards Kota vehera which was on a hill top and surrounded by barbwire signifying that it was a military camp during the war period. Unfortunately there was no one around to ask further information. We noted some stone pillars , flower alters, siri patul gal and some more ruins…the scenery from top of this hill was simply great, that must have been the reason for the military to use the site as a watch out post.

Kota Vehera Lahugala

the yupa stone

siri patul stone

chatra stone

monoliths

camoflagued

note the barb wires

the team

steps

deserted road

Next we walked towards Lahugala on the deserted highway until we came across the turn off to the right towards Magul maha viharaya. Since it was a Saturday there were a considerable number of visitors but the most distracting seen was the guys who have come on a trip with preschool children. The kids were running everywhere because they had no idea about the importance of the place; I think there are much more suitable places for kids other than sites like these for trips. Back to the topic, magul maha viharaya is said to be done by King Dathusena and later refurbished and modified by queen Vihara maha devi and few more kings. It is said that queen vihara maha devi married king Kavanthissa at this place. The ruins in the athul maluwa area had been excavated. And the main attractions are Magul maduwa/Bodhi garaya, image house, sthupa and the moon stone which has an elephant rider on the elephant’s back which is unique. After hanging around we had a glass of “Pani dodam, piece of Watermelon and wood apple before we started to walk away in search of a unheard historical location called Kiri vehera.

the sthupa at magul maha viharaya

a guard stone

history – Click Image to Enlarge

the unique moon stone

a beautiful Korawak gala

guards

Magul maduwa

or a Bodhi garaya

burried

an exit point

Budhdha statue

still intact

We continued along the road passing Magul maha viharaya and came across an inscription located in the village and from there we traveled about 3km’s until we came across Kiri vehera temple of Lahugala. The main attraction was the ancient dhageba in the temple premises. There were some monoliths covered by garbage that was disposed by the temple residents, and the sight of it was disheartening.

an inscription found in the village

Lahugala Kiri vehera temple

Kiri vehera

ancient alter

After a tiring morning session we came to Lahugala town(no proper shops or any cool spots) where we got in to a bus towards Hulannuge and got off at a halt close to the road which lead towards Hulannuge Taru len gala Viharaya, where one of the longest drip ledged caves in Asia can be found. Hulannuge temple is situated on the Hulannuge Mountain and one needs to climb few steps before reaching the “Awasa Geaya” where the monks reside. After taking permission from the head priest we visited the cave near the Awasa geya where a long “Sathapena statue” could be found. And also this cave had many Vedda paintings which we found fascinating. Next target was the longest cave and to get to it one needs to cross to the opposite side of the mountain. There are arrows painted on rocks indicating the direction but these may be confusing at some places. There is a newly built statue and a sthupa on top of the mountain at a very scenic location. After passing few caves we reached the main cave where once monks resided. You cannot easily visualize the other end of the cave because it’s so long and according to the monk it’s about 540 feet. One should be careful if it’s the “Palu” season because there are sloths bears in considerable numbers on this mountain range. After returning back to hulannuge we had some soft drinks and took the next bus towards Siyambalanduwa where we had lunch and departed towards Ampara. We lodged at Ampara city inn which was a peaceful place with a swimming pool where we spent our evening at before meeting up with few friends after a long time.

Hulannuge mountain

the sthupa at the base of the mountain

an inscription seen on the way uphill

the cave with the statue

Veddha paintings

more paintings

wow!

serene

newly built

on the way to the cave

longest cave in Asia

Part of the cave

towards Maragalakanda

Framed

Paddy fields

Next day our only target was Rajagalathenna which is less known though it is a very important archeological site. After having breakfast we took a Kandy-Ampara bus towards Uhana and got down at Rajagala thenna junction near Bakkiela. We took a trishaw to travel about 2Km’s towards the base of Rajagala where we were greeted by few archeology guys, they explained us about the important sites to visit during our stay. The ruins can be found on the opposite side of the mountain, so we needed to climb up about 800 meters which required few pit stops, though the path was clear cut. After reaching the flat surface we came across a 3 way junction where we decided to take the path towards the left which led us uphill. We reached a special site on the edge of a rocky plain where there were two ancient sthupas separated by a rock pond with lots of tad poles. When one looks down its easy to identify lots of ruins scattered over the valley. We decided to explore the valley with ruins and the most interesting finding was the beautifully carved guard stone. After exploring a bit we climbed up to enjoy the panoramic view of the Namal oya mountain range including Friars hood at the back drop of Nava kiri Aru Lake.

an exhibit at Rajagalakanda

another guard stone

time to start climbing

Take a snap of me.

more to climb

a cave

Ruins scattered all around

Guard stones

remnats and Nuwaragala in the back drop

Bala gala or Friars hood

Nava kiri aru dried out

Nuwaragala

After resting a bit we returned back to the 3way junction and took the path which led us downhill and our first sighting was the “Mihindu sthupaya” where relics of Mihindu maha rahathan wahanse and Ittiya thera’s reside and there is an inscription to certify the fact(the only archeological evidence found). This sthupa is the main reason why this archeological site is so important. After passing the mihindu sthupa we came across an umbrella shaped cave and an inscription carved on the sides of a drainage line. Next stop was at the Huge “Gal Paththaraya” and there were remnants of another which has been vandalized by treasure hunters. Another interesting structure was the ancient pipe line which is still functioning and been the only water source in this dry season, was a pure blessing for us. From this location there is an uphill path which we followed until we came across many caves (out of 70 0dd caves). Some caves were built like palaces and some had stone doorways which were still intact. Since we were running out of time we returned back to the “Gal Paththaraya” and proceeded towards the forest where we came across two huge dhagebas and this was the site which was undergoing excavation currently. If you climb upon the sthupa you will find deep wells dugged up by treasure hunter which is an unbearable sight. Passing the sthupas and proceeding forward one will come across a stone bridge and soon after you pass it there is an unfinished Budhdha statue lying on the ground which is a very rare sight. We did not have time to explore the whole monastery simply because it seemed to be endless so we returned back to the starting point at the base and had a chat with a lecturer from department of archeology before we ended our great 3 day adventure in hot and humid conditions. This write up is a pure summary because it’s not possible to write each and every detail, so please if you have any queries’ please ask 🙂

the shape of the Mihidu sthupa has benn changed with time(Please refer the image in the paper article)

an inscription

The Mushroom shaped cave

the Gal Paththaraya

The ancient pipe line still functioning

Creepers

time to lay some eggs

a cave

Stone Pillars

wow looks like a palace

still intact

Kuti

stone door ways

inscriptin under the drip ledge

Remnants of a roof painting

a Sthupa

Vandalized by trasure hunters

the othetr sthupa

being excavated

Vedda paintings in a near by cave

Chatra gala

the stone bridge

To be completed

More ruins

Getting down

King fishers at the banks of Nava kiri aru

Please see this trip report to get to know about other interesting places around Lahugala.