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Trip Reports Archive » Trips Filed Under Pattipola

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Today's Most Viewed

  1. Dreams Do Come True, Maragala-kanda (1111m) The Paradise Of Monaragala 18 views
  2. Hiking Kabaragala – The Highest Peak of Dolosbage (1506 M) 16 views
  3. Siyane Korale Heritage – Maligathenna, Pilikuththuwa, Varana, Koskandawala, Petta-gam Gala Historic Cave Temples 12 views
  4. 3 Day Trip to Waulpane ,Pitadeniya Conservation Center via Sinharaja (වන නිවහන) 12 views
  5. Two days in Heaven (Madulsima to Pitamaruwa) 11 views
  6. Alagalla mountain hike (1140m) 10 views
  7. Silent cascades of Matale District and some tourist attractions 10 views
  8. Chariot Path of Ravana & Sitha on top of Piduruthalagala range and James Taylor’s Loolecondera! 9 views
  9. First Ever Camping at “Haritha Kanda”, Bogawanthalawa 8 views
  10. Uda Lakshapana Gala / Saptha Kanya / Seven Virgins (1569m) hike 8 views

This Week's

  1. Hiking Kabaragala – The Highest Peak of Dolosbage (1506 M) 108 views
  2. Hike to Gongala (1357m)-Highest peak of Sabaragamuwa Mountains 61 views
  3. Two days in Heaven (Madulsima to Pitamaruwa) 54 views
  4. Dreams Do Come True, Maragala-kanda (1111m) The Paradise Of Monaragala 49 views
  5. Story of Victoria 35 views
  6. Chariot Path of Ravana & Sitha on top of Piduruthalagala range and James Taylor’s Loolecondera! 33 views
  7. One day hike to Kabaragala (1506m) 33 views
  8. Alagalla mountain hike (1140m) 32 views
  9. Camping at Kelebokka 360 view point…. 32 views
  10. ගලේ බණ්ඩාර දෙවියන්ගේ අඩවියේ පිහිටි රාවණා රජු මල දවස රජුට ජනතාව ගරු බුහුමන් දැක් වූ ස්තානය (යහන්ගල/Yahangala 1220m)... 30 views

This Month's

  1. Hiking Kabaragala – The Highest Peak of Dolosbage (1506 M) 353 views
  2. Hike to Gongala (1357m)-Highest peak of Sabaragamuwa Mountains 275 views
  3. Two days in Heaven (Madulsima to Pitamaruwa) 251 views
  4. Misty point-Ambokka (1159m) and Selagama Mini world’s end 158 views
  5. Dhanigala / Kandegama the Alien Mountain 152 views
  6. Camping on Dolukanda (600m) 144 views
  7. Bulathkohupitiya-Narangala Hike (880m) 144 views
  8. Camping at Kelebokka 360 view point…. 133 views
  9. Back to Yahangala (1220m) 129 views
  10. Monkey Mountain (520m)…….A part of Viyana Hela 123 views

All-Time

  1. Two days in Heaven (Madulsima to Pitamaruwa) 45,109 views
  2. Aliyawetunaela Hike – 1665m (අලියාවැටුණඇල) 31,909 views
  3. Camping trip to Meemure – One of the best trips ever!!! 30,028 views
  4. Bathalegala (Bible’s Rock) 798m 26,723 views
  5. Chariot Path of Ravana & Sitha on top of Piduruthalagala range and James Taylor’s Loolecondera! 25,523 views
  6. Waterfalls of Colombo District 24,516 views
  7. සබරගමුවේ ආදරවන්තයන්ගේ කන්ද (Paraviyangala) 18,908 views
  8. Scenic Hike to Wangedigala 18,862 views
  9. ගලේ බණ්ඩාර දෙවියන්ගේ අඩවියේ පිහිටි රාවණා රජු මල දවස රජුට ජනතාව ගරු බුහුමන් දැක් වූ ස්තානය (යහන්ගල/Yahangala 1220m)... 18,112 views
  10. Great Western (6th highest mountain in Sri Lanka- 2212m) Once in a life time HIKE! 17,336 views

Thotupola Kanda Hike (2360m)

Totapolakanda (also Thotupolakanda or Thotupola Kanda), is the third highest mountain in Sri Lanka situated in Nuwara Eliya district 2,359.46 m (7,733 ft) above mean sea level. The mountain is located within the Horton Plains National Park. A trail to the top of the mountain, about two kilometers long, starts a few metres away from the Pattipola entrance to the Horton Plains National Park. Most parts of the mountain surface are covered with shrubs adapted to the cool and windy climate of Horton Plains National Park. Strobilanthes, Osbeckia and Rhodomyrtus species grown as shrubs are common among them.

A Lessor known, Palgasthanna Mountain

I discussed this with my friend at Nuwaraeliya and we planned to visit this on June 2017. As he got information we used Hewenakumbura road near to Keppettipola junction at Badulla-Nuwaraeliya road. Then we came near to the mountain by asking the information from the villagers. Then at a point we met the useful person who has been there a month ago. He showed us the footpath where it started. Hence we parked our bicycles and started the hike.

From Wildlife to Forest – Kande Ela & Pattipola…

The constant rains made it pretty awkward for us but it wasn’t going to hold us back. So finally as usual we set off on our journey in the dawn of 16 Oct. The topic of the day was based on the wildlife in Borneo such as Bearded Pigs, Orang-Utans, etc. We stopped at our usual place at the Devon Viewing Point. As usual she was in full flow making my heart leap in joy. She also made my hopes soar high in anticipation of seeing my beloved St. Claire in full flow. “Dear god, please let her be in full flow even if you have to blast the darn sluice gates of the wretched Upper Kotmale”, I prayed while we took our breakfast baskets of Seeni Sambol and Egg Sandwiches. I’m sure you would wanna see some pictures of the surrounding and it is my pleasure to oblige.

Conservation Project No. 1: Combating Ulex in Horton Plains…

I’m sure you might have come across theories by many pundits claiming the usefulness of Ulex in many of their theories. Most of these pundits (as Ana rightly put armchair critics) haven’t even been to HP to see the real danger posed by the Ulex. It was as if fighting the terrorists from AC rooms in Colombo. The biggest theory is that Rhino Horned Lizards take shelter in these plants and nest in them. Well how did they survive before these were introduced? HP is not the only place where they live so how do they survive where there is no Ulex? Why the wildlife department is so anxious to get rid of them if they were that useful? So we decided to leave all the theories behind and take some action instead. As Sash rightly put in the forum under the Video Journey, “It’s better to light a single candle than blaming the dark” which is exactly what we had in mind.

It was during one of those casual chit-chats that this idea of doing something about Ulex came up. By then I had climbed Kirigalpoththa 3 times (KGP) within 18 months and had seen the fast and furious spread of Ulex covering the path at many places. So Ana as usual spotted the benefit this would give to the HP and pursued it further exploring ideas. Finally after a few dozen emails and hours of phone conversations we managed to find the best possible way.

The Repeat Performance – Kirigalpoththa & Thotupola…

I woke up and lowered the blanket covering me and a rain of needles hit my exposed skin. Oh dear, I’m in HP, it suddenly dawned on me. There was a light moving out of the room and it made me feel jittery. Getting out of the bed and landing my feet on the ground sent another dose of needles up my body. It was so cold (probably around 10-degrees) and I followed the light out of the room to find Ana already up and getting ready to make some coffee. The time had just gone 4.30am and I was shivering when I entered the kitchen. There wasn’t any sign of the bungalow keepers (they can’t have ever had their guests waking up at 4.30am) and I waited with my feet up for a steaming cup of coffee.

Atha and Prasa were still sound asleep and I went back to wake them up. It was very cold and we sipped at our scalding coffee hugging ourselves so tight. The caretakers got a shock when they appeared around 5.30am to see us up and about. I guess this was a great shock for them and they got very busy making our breakfast while we washed in the freezing water and got ready to leave while the sun was beginning his painting class towards the east.

Memorable trip to world’s end

We, my self-my wife and two kids, started from Kandy at about 7 in the morning. Journey to Nuwara Eliya was eventless through beautiful mountains and tea estates. We reached Nuwara Eliya at about 10 in the morning. On the way to Horton Plains was also through beautiful farms.

One day hike to 2nd (Kirigalpoththa) and 3rd (Thotupola) peaks of Sri Lanka

This was the first trip of New Year. We reached Pattipola railway station around 4.30am and Ashan came to accompany us to Karunadasa guest house which is situated in walking distance from the railway station. Following our bed tea we started the journey to Hortain plains National Park by a three-wheeler. Weather was excellent and Piduruthalagala mountain range, Ambewela area, Namunukula, Hakgala mountain were visible one our way.

Invaded by the Mist – Rail Hike Stage 04…

I’ve seen mist before but lemme tell you that I’ve never seen something like this. The world around us was nothing but grey white and the odd black shadows of all kinds of trees were barely visible. We were practically crawling at a snail’s speed and it was no better than feeling your way in the dark. However we were intrigued by what we saw.

Eventually Tony had to get a torch and lower the shutter and aim at the edge of the road so that we wouldn’t fall into a drain. However lowering the glass made our hair stand on its ends and froze our exposed skin.

The Enchanting March to the Milky-Rocky-Slab – Kirigalpoththa…

After a long journey we were finally almost on top. We reached an opening about 100ft below the summit where it gave a 180-degree panoramic view. This is where you can get the best view more than even the summit coz the summit point is covered to a certain extent by trees. We rested our tortured legs and had our energy bars and drinks giving us a boost for the rest of the day. I took hundreds of pics and managed to get Tony to do a short documentary too.

A Fairyland in Thotapola Kanda…

I have been closely following the topic “Nelu” since it first started appearing in the forum late October and with every report and every photograph the desire to see Nelu was becoming too irresistible. Moreover, the fact that the next sighting of Nelu will be in 2025 made this trip a “must do now”. Do not know where we would be in 2025 – grave yard/ hospital bed etc…etc??

Divided between Two Giants and a Million Petals

“Apparently there are 30 different kinds of Nelu and 24 of which are endemic to Sri Lanka”

We jumped out and headed towards the summit of Thotupola with an elevation about 200ft over 2km stretch. It was a sight to treasure for the rest of our lives. We were simply speechless and kept walking through dense forest patches till we reached a bit open area and the sight was simply outstanding. So many mountains were visible and Adam’s Peak was standing tall and majestic in the horizon with her distinct shape. Kirigalpoththa and the undocumented Agra-Bopath were standing next to each other.

Seven Wanderers – Rail Hike Stage 02…

The sun was out and it was around 6.45am when we set off and I heard a dog shouting from the top of his voice to find out it was actually a puppy tied into a pole. He was making a big fuss wanting to be free and run about, looking very sad. I felt very sorry for the fellow but there was nothing I could do for him. The surrounding was lush green as the railway track lies through the Horton Plains.

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