Dothalugala is a famous destination in Knuckles as the legal campsite also located over there. We went through the Dothalugala nature trail and few of us were going out of the trail for a few minutes to reach the summit of Dothalugala mountain which is height about 1574m. After we complete our trail we headed to Rathna falls and later on we explored Kaluwa Watunu Falls in the latter part of the evening.

Dothalugala is an known nature trail designated by Forest department but unfortunately it doesn’t extend up to the summit. We decided to give it a try to reach the summit and for that we decided to use the Dothalugala nature trail.

We started the journey on May 3rd around 4 AM. At around 11 AM we were able to reach Hunnasgiriya. On the way at Mawanella we had our breakfast. It took more than half an hour to reach last 8 Km since the road is in bad condition. But we are able to tackle it with high ground clearance car. We showed our pass to officer in Deanston and directly heading to campsite which is about 2 KM away with our backpacks, tents and gas-cooker.

“Knuckles”, is a name that is known all over the world because everyone has got them. Well I’m not gonna talk about those knuckles. I’m trying to pave the way for another fairy tale. There are five peaks hidden deep in a forest bordered by Kandy and Matale districts. They are shaped in such a way that whoever saw them felt as if looking at an enlarged set of knuckles created by the Mother Nature. Thus the name “Knuckles” not only for the mountain range but also for the whole forest. Now this is a world heritage site and a dream for many hikers.

Knuckles Is my Second favourite Destination .I have been there for 7 times now. From a long period of time I needed to take my parents on a trip .So I was thinking about a scenic but a place with easy tracks. So did my dear friend SANKETHA. He also wanted to take his parents and family to a scenic but less adventurous place where everyone could enjoy without getting tired.

Within one month of my journey to Kehelpothdoruwegala I needed to revisit at Knuckles mountain range from Deanstone (ඩීන්ස්ටන්) area. We gathered at Hunnasgiriya town (Three from Colombo and two from Moneragala) started our journey from there. Loolwaththa (ලූල්වත්ත) CTB bus reached at Deanstone Conservation Center around 9am. After having brief visit at DCC we headed to Dothalugala (දෝතලුගල) trail.

Year and Month July, 2013 (12th to 15th) Number of Days Four Day Trip Crew 3 on 12 & 13 July & 4 on 14 & 15 July (Age: Classified) – Tony, Lasantha, Dimuthu and Me with our helpful host Nava mama Accommodation Nava Mama’s House (081-3804191) – Best place to stay with a real village […]

Afterwards we proceeded to Hunnasgiriya Town, from where we took the road to Loolwatta. The Deanston Conservation Centre is located about 8km away on this road.

The place is accessible by bus. To reach Hunnasgiriya either the Colombo to Kandy, Kandy to Mahiyangana bus combination or the Colombo to Mahiyangana bus should be taken. After getting down at Hunnasgiriya 616 Hunnasgiriya – Loolwatta bus must be taken. However this bus only operates. It leaves the Teldeniya depot at 12.30pm each day (Information can be obtained by calling the teldeniya depot).

Early morning we got up and left to Dothalugala Camp Site. Dothalugala Cabin is 2Km from Deanston. The road is mortable but some parts the condition is not that good. So it is better if you can use a 4WD. Dothalugala camp site is around 750M away from Dothalugala Cabin. Forest Officers provided us a Villager / Guide. Please make sure to carry enough kerosene oil and lanterns, because you are entirely depending on it and there is no electricity available for nearly 2.5KM. When you need to charge you phones and Cameras you can head back to deanston (2.5Km + from campsite) and get it charged.