Nalanda Rock (Arangala) is situated at Arangala-Naula with the height of 782m. It’s distance view is shape of an ear ring (Arungala (අරුoගල) ->Arangala අරoගල) gave the name Arangala. This isolated mountain is best seen when you travel from Dambulla to Matale via A-9 road, once you reach Naula bus stand. It has three peaks which makes the shape of an ear ring.

We woke up around 5am after a deep sleep and straight away went out looking for the rising sun through the mountains. The pointed shaped rock is not in fact Lakegala, but called Thunnisgala. No wonder people say that there are 7 people alike in the world and it seems it goes to the nature too, especially for mountains and waterfalls. The cloud cover was a worrying factor and sun had no chance of penetrating this thick layer. Ranjith and Wasantha arrived with coffee and it warmed our bodies. We decided to go as early as possible coz wanted to see as many things as possible. The breakfast was extra-large Rotti with Luny Miris and Chicken Curry. We ate and was on our way merrily. This area is a cluster of few villages; they are Pitawala, Atanwala, Rathkinda & Mahala Kotuwa. It’s however very hard to distinguish one from the other as there are no marked boundaries.

Arangala is a mountain I came across while browsing through Chalitha’s profile on Facebook and since then I also wanted to be there and enjoy the magical scenery around Mathale and Dambulla! This gigantic rock is also called Nalanda rock since it is located close to Nalanda village. And also been at the center of the island it holds a special place compared to other peaks. Arangala also has a past history related to Weera Keppetipola and Gongale goda banda who formed troops at this mountain.

After a good night sleep we woke up to witness a beautiful morning in the middle of Knuckles range. Plan for the day was to cross over to the A9 highway at Naula, riding through some remote roads winding through knuckles range. As usual the departure time was 6.00 a.m. We thanked ශාන්ත අය්යා for the great help and hospitality and wished them all a happy new year. Then we started our journey towards Puwakpitiya from Illukkumbura via the Sera Ella road.

The 7th day of the tour started early as usual. We paddled along the A9 towards Naula from Nalanda enjoying the beauty of the world around us still waking up.