I have always felt very sentimental about Great Western coz it was the turning point in my hiking life. When I went to GW last time, I told Morgan that we must camp on the summit one day and get the ultimate feeling of this beautiful lady. Oh, please check out the note I’ve put in the box at the top regarding GW coming down the list of Highest Mountains of Sri Lanka to the 7th place. It’s a mystery what this Kudahagala is and the Wikipedia gives no information as to its location, even the district. I wonder if this is the Agra-Bopath at HP coz there’s another mountain further down the list named Mahakudahagala at the 11th place with a height of 2096m. Casual search on Google didn’t yield anything fruitful either. Hopefully, one of you might be able to shed some light into this subject.

Let’s move on and start our journey, shall we? Anyway, she coming down the list was not a very happy thought for me. I wanted to take my hiking partner in the first journey, Hari with me but he wasn’t that sentimental about GW like me and decided to focus on something he’s not done before as the list of our to-do-things keep growing longer every passing day. So I was down to Uncle Tony, Atha and Prasa. Unfortunately, Tony had to pull out at the last minute leaving the three of us and we were in no mood to back off. Oh Atha too bought a tent with me so we wanted to try our tents at 2000+m.

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.

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.

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.

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??

“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.

Horton Plains is one of my favorite places in Srilanka. So I spoke with some of my friends to go on a trip there and Pasindu, who has prior experience in camping, was the first to jump in and suggest the idea of camping at HP. I put in that we walk the whole journey from Pattipola to HP and back. We gathered all information from “Lakdasun” and www.travelogueslanka.com

Ohiya is a rural village and one of the most scenic and coolest places in Sri Lanka. Normal temperature is less than 12 Celsius. It’s a lonely and sleepy town. The entire town consists of two boutiques and the railway station only. Nearest town by road is Boralanda (10 KM). Nearest Petrol shed is Welimada (22 KM).

This time we went on camping at Maha Eliya and climb Thotupola Kanda. Originally we planned a hike to Kirigalpoththa but due to time constraints and weather conditions we climbed Thotupola

We Started from Colombo fort 6th Friday 8.00Pm train(night mail).There were 10 persons with our team. We reach Ohiya railway station around 4.30Am 7th Saturday and had breakfast from the shop beside the railway station. Around 6.00 we came to the hotel. At about 7.00 in the morning we have started out Hike from the hotel.

World’s End Lodge is situated in Lower Ohiya. The location is fantastic and the facilities are decent. This is my fourth visit to World’s End Lodge and I’ve found the facilities improving with each visit. This place is certainly not for someone looking for luxury accommodation but is a great place for anyone who enjoys nature.

It was a short Backpacking session [Travelled alone]. Left Colombo on the 23rd Dec [Friday] night and reached Pattipola on the 24th Dec at 04:30 hrs. Slept at the Pattipola train station till dawn and commenced my walk to Thotupola Kanda, 3rd highest peak in Sri Lanka, via Horton Plains at 07:10 hrs. Reached the summit and got back to the Pattipola Station by 11:46 hrs [18Kms by foot]. After a short break I started my railway trek to Ohiya from Pattipola at 12:00 hrs [06 Kms by foot]. Was able to arrive at the Ohiya station by 13:50 hrs and on my way I have walked through 04 railway tunnels including the 3rd longest Tunnel in Sri Lanka [Tunnel No.18]. Got to Badulla by train from Ohiya by 18:30 hrs [train was delayed a bit] and got into the train from Badulla on the same day and got back to Colombo by 06:00 hrs on the 25th Dec 2011