Year and Month March, 20113(26th, 27th) Number of Days Two Day Trip Crew 02 Accommodation Hatton Inn T.P. 0512222974,0779913924 Transport Bus, Three wheeler and by foot Activities Photography, sightseeing, hiking Weather Sunny day later had showers Route Hatton -> Thalawakale -> Agarapathana -> Dayagama -> Dayagama tea estate 6th division border -> Horton plains and [...]

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).

December, my favorite time of the year. So as usual, I wanted to go see my beloved N’eliya no matter what the weather is like. All my friends warned me against heavy rain and landslides for no avail. As my friend Lasantha’s hometown is Welimada, I decided to go there with my friend Sanjeewa who will soon be leaving for US.

This was a very well planned trip as our friend Lasantha’s home town is Welimada. We decided to pay a visit to his place and visit many other places. This came as a blessing having toiled night and day at office for nearly 2 months. So Roshan, Buddhi and I got into “Podimenike” leaving for Badulla at 5.55 am from Fort on 07 July. Lasantha was to meet us at Welimada.

After spending some time at the Adisham we hit the road again towards Ohiya. Road was not in the best condition, so it took us some time. After the Ohiya Railway station the road condition was good and started to be scenic. It was around 5.30 pm when we reached the turnoff to the Hill Safari’s gravel road. We were mesmerized by the stunning view and simply forgot to proceed towards the Hill safari.

This was a hike that we were planning to do since few months back, but lack of information was the main problem. At last we decided to this however, so on Friday we got into a Hatton bus at around 4pm and left to Bogawanthalawa but because we got late we decided to stay somewhere in Hatton(Hatton has many small places offering lodging services). Next day early morning (6am) we left to Bogawanthalawa & from there took a three-wheeler up to North-cove Cabana at around 9am. The Cabana was a wonderful place; we loved the place a lot. The caretaker was helpful in finding some guides who were Gem miners & we are thankful for the hospitality showed by the young assistant manager of the estate who we bumped into by chance!

This is a continuation of a 4 day trip. We camped First Night and before going to sleep our objective was to complete the “Kirigalpotta Trail” on next day. It was a special trail because I was planning to get engaged on top of kirigalpotta.

But unfortunately there were heavy showers at night with extreme wind conditions. Our tent got damaged. Water came in to the tent and we had to take a decision and there were no alternative other than returning back to our Van. It was 11.30PM and we started walking on the rain to the Van. Phew! This was a once in a lifetime experience. I don’t think anybody have ever walked around 12AM inside Horton Plains.