Our trip was started from Rathnapura around 3.00PM in the evening. It took 3.00 hours to reach Samanalawewa VIP bungalow, because we stopped at Belihuloya to have a bath there.

Several security checks were required to enter the bungalow. It was the first time I went to the VIP bungalow though I have been in to Samanalawewa several times and the view from bungalow was fantastic.

 “Samanalawewa” Hydropower Project

Construction of the Samanalawewa Hydropower Project was started in 1986 and commissioned in 1992 with financial support from Japan and the United Kingdom. The Reservoir is built at the confluence of the “Walawe” river and “Belihul Oya”. This was the second largest hydro power project in the country after the Mahaweli project. The Samanalawewa dam is 110 meters (360 ft) in height and has a length of 530 meters (1,740 ft).

A permeable area of ground was found during the construction of the dam in 1988 and initially Curtain grouting was used in an effort to remedy this. Unfortunately the reservoir was being filled with water a large leak occurred on the side of the right bank mountain of the dam. Even though continuous effort was put to overcome this, all attempts to seal the ‘leak’ were not succeeded and still it has a leakage of approximately 1,800 liters per second continually. The people in the lower areas (down stream) call this ‘leak’ a God’s creation as if not for the leak, the flow of water down the ‘Walawe Ganga’ would have sharply reduced, which in turn would have affected their livelihoods.

Our trip was started from Rathnapura around 3.00PM in the evening. It took 3.00 hours to reach Samanalawewa VIP bungalow, because we stopped at Belihuloya to have a bath there.

Several security checks were required to enter the bungalow. It was the first time I went to the VIP bungalow though I have been in to Samanalawewa several times and the view from bungalow was fantastic.

The care taker of the bungalow “Lal uncle” warmly welcomed us. After few minutes there was a heavy rain and entire area was covered by the fog.

View from the Balcony – Kalthota, Udawalawe, Rakwana side

View from the Balcony – World’s End & Non Pariel Estate – a distant view

View from the Balcony – Breathtaking view of World’s End & Non Pareil Estate – a Closer view (Click Image to Enlarge)

Another view from the Balcony

View from the Balcony – Samanalawewa Dam

Another morning to Samanalawewa

Another Breathtaking view from the Balcony

Plan for the next morning was a boat ride on the reservoir. The level of enthusiasm helped us to wake up early in the morning. After the breakfast we went to the boat yard which is 4-5 Km away from the bungalow towards Kinchigune side. Since it was drought season water level had gone down and we had to walk down the bank of the reservoir to get in to the boat. Boat ride lasted more than 2 hours. We first went towards the dam and then went to “Rajawaka” side where the tunnel gates to carry water for hydro-power generation was located.

There was a small waterfall near Rajawaka area and due to the drought there was not much water in it.

It was a very rare experience since not everyone would get chance to have a boat ride on reservoir due to the security concerns of the Ceylon Electricity Board.

The Boat Yard

Specially built boats which were used to carry soil to cover the water leak – the bottom of the boat can be opened so that the soil will fall to the right location

The VIP Bungalow from the reservoir while we were on the boat ride

On the boat ride

Misty mountains – while we were on the boat ride

Another view while on the boat ride

The Leak – A picture taken in 1997 during school educational trip.

The Leak

Samanalawewa Reservoir & VIP Bungalow zoomed from World’s End (I took this picture on a different trip) – Click Image to Enlarge