Another off season Sri pada hike along the easiest route but through the mist.

This is to show the rare beauty of Peak Wilderness forest reserve under heavy storm an rainy season. All of these photos and videos were taken during the off season by few of members at සමනල කන්ද රසික එකමුතුව. They were able to experienced this amazing views during their journey which was had unexpected situation like this. You can see the beauty of Siripa trails from this report asyou don’t need to get this physical experience as it is rare and dangerous.

Ballabandigala (බල්ලාබැඳිගල ) / Bellanbandigala (බෙල්ලන්බැඳිගල) is a 1935m height beautiful destination in peak wilderness and it belongs to the Nallathanniya route as it’s neighbor is Yaka Andu Gala (යකා ඇඩූ ගල ) and the waterfall. I have planned this hike since March 2018 but was not able to make it realize due to some issues. Even though we planned this hike in January 2019 but due to a very urgent matter we had to postpone this hike at the last moment. Finally, I had to make this hike realize with Sajith and Migara on a weekend in October.

Sri Pada season begins with a procession to carry Sadhathuka Karanduwa, idol of God Saman and jewelries from Pelmadulla to Sri Pada Maluwa. After six months these sacred items are carried back to Pelmadulla by procession. This is my experience of last day at Sri Pada.

Bana Samanala Gala (2010m) is a fascinating rock situated at Peak wilderness. This is our successful one day journey to Bana Samanala Gala.

Finally I managed to convince myself and the crew that 5 and 6 of Sep are the best option remaining for us. I simply couldn’t afford to keep it postponing any further and decided to take our chances with the constantly changing weather conditions. I kept looking up the AccuWeather, Weather Channel and FallingRain for weather updates. Unfortunately our own Met Department is a symbolic white elephant and not as reliable or dependable as we would like it to be so we’ve no choice but to rely on alternatives such as the above. The rain patterns have shot to hell especially during the last couple of years probably due to the global warming and our irresponsible actions towards the earth. This has made it extremely difficult for farmers, fishermen and those who depend on the regular patterns of the climate.

Even the seasoned farmers, villagers or fishermen find it difficult to predict the weather conditions as a result. Usually you can trust those villagers’ expertise better than the state of the art equipment of the US Met Department but not anymore so we resorted to these web-based weather forecasts. It didn’t look good, not at all as it kept forecasting thunderstorms and heavy rains throughout. I was hoping against the hope for a clear window to make it safely to the summit. Anyhow, we were fully committed and there was no turning back. In the back of my mind there was this feeling of security that if your intentions are good and your behavior is acceptable, you’re going to be ok, especially at the Sri Pada. It’s said in the Buddhism that those who live by the Dhamma will be protected by the Dhamma itself. So we had faith we’d face no problems and if there was any, those powers that protect the area will take care of us.