Hi there, hope you all are having a rock-n-roll time coz we really had one roller-coaster time at Moon Plains and HP recently. So I’m gonna tell you all about it. After our Leopard Sightings at Yala, we decided to go and experience some cool temperature. Well I guess we didn’t specify how cool we wanted it to be and the Mother Nature for once misunderstood our request. Hasi booked the Mahaeliya which made me jump with joy as I’d never before stayed there. All my HP encounters were based on the good, old and homely Ginihiriya Bungalow aka Anderson Lodge. I was yet to explore the other two options Mahaeliya and the Dormitory so this was not a chance I was gonna miss out unless it was life and death situation.

Just a brief word on HP, especially its buildings inside as most of you might not be aware of her past. Apart from the Farr Inn and the Anderson Lodge which were built by the English Planters during colonial era, all the other structures are results of the mega potato farm that saw HP lose most of her forest making it this grassy plain. Whether it was a good thing or a bad thing, well I’ll leave your capable thinking to decide. So these buildings had been used as storage for potatoes and fertilizers, staff quarters and other purposes. If you visit the Moon Plains where they still have a government-owned seed potato farm, you can get an idea what it must’ve been at HP before being named as a wildlife park.

So we planned alternative options to visit on the way and I was long overdue for a visit to Moon Plains and so was Hasi. We then planned to be there by 6.30am in order to get the best out of the morning rays. Hasi then came up with the idea of visiting Single Tree Hill aka One Tree Hill, the 10^th highest mountain in SL with a height of 2100m. So that sealed the first day and we decided to reach HP afterwards. On the 25^th Jun, we left home around 3am and having made excellent ground arrived at Nuwara Eliya by 6.10am.

Tour Highlights:

1. Moon Plains aka Sandathenna, Nuwara Eliya.
2. Single Tree Hill aka One Tree Hill, Nuwara Eliya.
3. Sri Swarnagiri Viharaya, Nuwara Eliya.
4. Horton Plains.
5. Rail Hike from Pattipola to Tunnel 18 and back.
6. Galwaysland National Park, Nuwara Eliya.

Day 01

Moon Plains

My first-ever Moon Plains journey kicked off with a great disappointment. We arrived at the Seed Potato Farm run by the Agricultural Department around 6.25am, just in time for the rumored opening time at 6.30am. However as we drove in (just remember you have to drive on Nuwara Eliya-Welimada Road till the end of Gregory Lake which is Magasthota aka Mahagasthota and then turn to the left. There used to be big sign posts but after the season they’ve apparently been removed or destroyed by rains and winds. On this road, it’s less than 5 min drive to the potato farm and they have ample parking to leave your vehicle.) and parked the vehicle we notice the big difference in the weather.

The winds were strong and the temperature was around 15 degrees but add around 40-50kmph wind chill too. It was as if hundreds of needles were being thrown at us at subsonic speed which pierced through the outer layers of our clothing. We soon fished out the jackets and wore them when one of the farm workers came and spoke to us saying that the ticket counter won’t be open till 7am. Golly, we had a good half hour wait and it was not a welcome idea to stay outdoors being hammered by the wind and the cold. I could’ve murdered a cup of scalding coffee but there was nowhere to have any. The worms in my empty tummy woke up and started marching up and down the intestines carrying mega size placards against keeping them without food. One placard was saying that they’d take me to the FCID and another asking for an international intervention. One last was threatening to go complain to the Worms’ Rights Commission.

I was helpless so we walked up to the ticket counter and waited in the shelter. The farm worker too came and stayed chatting to us. According to him, the ticket counter is manned by the Nuwara Eliya Municipal Council even though the Moon Plains is in the Agricultural Department area. There had been plans to build a luxury hotel with a helipad at Moon Plains but thankfully they had all changed after the elections. Even if they built a helipad, it’d have been one helluva job of landing one in the off season when the winds are so strong they can take even on a chopper.

The person said that he’d called the girl who was working at the counter (in fact there are two of them whom are both from Magasthota which is in walking distance) and she was on the way and would be here in 10 minutes. The time was 6.45am and we were hopeful to leave for this 3km journey around 7am. Oh did I tell you that you need to hire a safari-style jeep to go to the viewing point? I guess I mentioned it in the notes and very likely you’ve missed reading that part. You have to rent a Jeep from the available ones at the farm. Altogether there are 13 Jeeps operating and it wouldn’t be a big deal to find one unless you go during the peak period in Dec and Apr.

• It costs Rs. 2000/- for the Jeep. I know it’s a steep price compared other wildlife parks but the sceneries are very rewarding and you won’t regret it if you go in the right time. Of course you gotta be mighty lucky too for those perfect views.
• There is space for up to 8 people (might be a tight fit depending on the size of the folks and so long as all of them are not Harinda-sized) and the Jeeps are very much like those Safari ones available at National Parks.
• The distance is about 2-3km from the farm to the observation point. It takes about 10 mins to drive there.
• You’re allowed up to 1hr (not strictly applied in less crowded days) stay at the observation point excluding the driving time to and from.
• You are not allowed to go into the farm by any other vehicle including your personal one. If you wonder why coz it’s allowed in other National Parks too, it is mainly to avoid viruses and bacteria harming the potato crops. We were told by that farm worker their crops are increasingly getting caught to various diseases since the Moon Plains was opened for public. Therefore don’t be too surprised if they closed it altogether as the Agricultural Department and the Head of See Potato Farm are vehemently against this.
• In addition to the Jeep fare, you have to buy tickets which are sold Rs. 50/- each.

We waited and waited and the time went past 7am, then 7.15am and the farm worker kept calling the girl and she said the same thing that she was on the way and would be there in no time. The same farm worker told us that in the past these working girls at the ticket counters were paid a commission on the daily income and they used to come to work earlier than the opening times. However for some god-forbidden reason, they’d been made permanent recently. Since then the downfall has started as they come late and don’t have the same enthusiasm they used to portrait because they’re paid for no matter people visited or not.

It’s just pathetic the way they offer their services to the general public even after charging exorbitant prices. The girl finally appeared just after 8am and didn’t even have the courtesy to offer apologies for being late. Instead she told the farm worker who we were talking to that she had no transport to come. Well, it was her problem, and of course has nothing to do with the visitors who travel many miles since early in the morning to witness the beauty of the Mother Nature. Instead we’re stuck between careless and irresponsible people.

Even the farm worker said that they get a lot of complaints on these people especially pertaining to the opening hours but they’re helpless to do anything as it’s out of their control. Even the Jeep drivers are very cross how this ticket counter is being operated and openly castigated them with us. So this appeal is for the Municipal Council of Nuwara Eliya. Please make sure these people do their jobs properly without harassing the visitors who pay large sums. Further these people ruin the image of our country as there are many foreigners who visit Moon Plains.

Ok, enough of bashing these inefficient people who don’t seem to learn. Let’s go and see some gorgeous views at least they’d cool down our blood and soothe our hearts and minds. Oh, almost forgot to tell you. Do you know that you can see 8 of the highest mountains in Sri Lanka from Moon Plains? Of course the weather has to be perfect without any mist. They’re in the top 15 list in terms of height.

Namely they are, Piduruthalagala, Kirigalpoththa, Thotupola, Kikiliyamana, One Tree Hill aka Single Tree Hill, Great Western, Haggala and Namunukula. They even have put up arrows with the mountain names so that it’d be easier for you to spot them.

This is closer to the Moon Plains and one of the remaining sign boards

On the way

Can see the clouds gathering above Welimada Plains

Haggala covered with a white veil

Closer look and see the ploughed terrain for potatoes

That’s towards Badulla and the range you can see in the distance is Namunukula

Haggala still very shy

Towards Badulla

Slowly lifting her veil

Towards GW, Single Tree and Kikiliyamana

She’s sexy

Couldn’t get enough of her

On our way back

Endless views

Piduruthalagala zoomed after a very narrow clearing of the clouds

Single Tree Hill / One Tree Hill

Ok, and I hope you guys enjoyed those breath-taking views which I managed to capture on my lens with the greatest difficulty due to the extremely violent winds gushing through the plains at ferocious pace. I’d never before experienced so strong winds and thinking about the hurricanes which can touch 100+ miles sent chills down my spine.

Just imagine those who have to undergo such natural disasters. Gosh, what a lucky country we have in terms of those. Unfortunately our folks take it for granted and don’t give the due respect to this lucky paradise. Do care for this country coz she’s kept us safe all these years from the worst of natural disasters and continues to do so despite our wicked and heartless acts towards her.

So our next destination is somewhere I’d no idea of going any time soon but Hasi’s revolutionary thinking paved the way for it and what an achievement it turned out to be at the end. If you read those mountains visible from Moon Plains, you must’ve seen the One Tree Hill aka Single Tree Hill. I wonder why it is called One Tree or Single Tree. Don’t think it was because it had only one tree or there was an unmarried tree there. She’s the 10^th Highest in SL with a height of 2100m. But we need some breakfast to calm down the protest of the worms in our tummies. They’re on the verge of going on strike so we’ll get something in us first.

This is how you can reach the summit. Oh I forgot, you can’t reach the summit coz as of most of our mountains, she too has had to sacrifice her beauty for the telecommunications in this country by allowing for many tall towers to be built. So you can get as far as the gate of the towers’ premises and then luckily can walk across the range which is about 600-800m and emerge from the other side. If you wish, you may even get down to the town via those hotels built up the hill in front of Race Course.

Take the Single Tree Road which can be found as soon as you turn towards Nuwara Eliya when coming from Nanu Oya about 75m from the turn off. There’s a shop called Imaduwa Hotel and the road is just before that. This will also lead to the Sri Swarnagiri Viharaya and you can even leave the vehicle at the temple and walk towards the summit which we did as it’d give you more chances of getting those panoramic views of the surrounding including Gregory Lake, Piduruthalagala Range, Race Course and Haggala too.

We got the permission from the temple and left the car there and started to walk towards the summit. You don’t need any permission to go up there and foreigners seem to go there more often than Sri Lankans. It’s about 1-1.5km to the temple from the main road and you have to walk another 1-1.5km to the summit. Ok, I’ll let you enjoy the pictures on our walk up to the summit first. It’d be better than me trying to explain all that.

The sign near the Imaduwa Hotel to the Single Tree Road

Our target

Here comes the views

Race Course

Gregory Lake

People enjoying at the Race Course

Closer look

Me and Haggala

Cultivations

One of the many towers

Zoomed in

The temple we passed and parked

The road we took is below

He was dead, probably overrun by a vehicle

Through the tea estate

Piduruthalagala Range covered in mist

Nuwara Eliya Temple

Gravel Road

Gregory Lake and beyond her is probably the Namunukula Range

On the sandstones

Some more close together

Haggala with jutting out shapes

Boats at Gregory Lake

Just before the telecom complex

Almost there

Halt!

So how did you like our walk? Do you think it’s worth making that effort? Well if you are that lazy, you can drive up to the point but don’t recommend doing so in a car. However, it’d be tricky for you to park and then turn around so it’s best you stop at the temple and go for a walkie and trust me, you won’t be disappointed whether you have a camera or not.

When you’re at the gate, please look to the left and you’ll find a footpath that goes downhill. It’d lead to another tower complex which harbors Dialog Tower. Just before you get there, you’ll see the footpath extending further towards the forest. We were hesitant to take it but the caretaker at the Dialog Tower informed us that it was the path they take to go to their houses and for supplies as it’s closer. So we took his advice and got to the path. It was a nice walk among the forest patch and we soon arrived at the other end of the mountain which leads to a tea patch and then down below towards hotels and other houses. If you wish, you can get down from here but as our vehicle was at the temple, we decided to walk back. Here are the rest of the pictures of our Single Tree Journey.

Raddella Side and beyond is GW

Huge dishes

These colors are simply mind-blowing

Just behind the Dialog Tower

Painter’s School is in the distance and the entrance to Piduruthalagala is just behind among the trees

Play area or farmland?

Wearing goggles

Here comes the mist

At the other end and see all the match-box like buildings

Mist heading towards Gregory Lake

Not an inch of the ground is spared

Oh hello!

Perfect camouflage

The temple where we stopped at

Majestic

Ok, let’s go in for a proper look

Tiny tomatoes

Haggala one last look

Not Scotland folks

We then visited the Sri Swarnagiri Temple. It’s still under construction and the views from its premises are simply breath-taking too. The Pagoda looks unbelievably beautiful and the majestic and mysterious Haggala can also be seen from here. Here are those pictures.

Depicting the Parileyya Wanaya in Lord Buddha’s Life where a monkey serves some honey

Up to the main complex

Just an amazing sight

Looks simply grand

Architecture too is simply nice and more like Thai or Burmese

Wish it was a clear blue sky

Other buildings

See very much like a Thai Temple

Final glance before we went

Ok guys, time we went to HP coz it’s getting late and we need to get there soon coz the weather is looking very bad too with grim clouds threatening us with heavy downpours and the winds too trying to chase us back to Colombo.

HP

We arrived at the HP around 3pm but already it looked as if it was early evening. The mist covered the ground while charcoal grey clouds looked down on us from above menacingly. We reached Maha Eliya in no time and found the winds so strong and the mist so thick. There was nothing to do but snuggle into our rooms and stay away from the biting cold.

You must be ready for these merciless winds and cold if you are travelling in the off season to HP, like from May till Nov. otherwise it’d be a very painful experience. We were to climb the KGP on the following day but I knew as soon as we entered into HP, it’d be a no show. We however took a drive towards the Ginihiriya Bungalow but the twilight conditions wouldn’t allow any grand pictures. However there were many herds of Sambar grazing on the lush green grass despite the foul weather.

Our bungalow keeper, Wijerathna was a very gentle and supportive soul, very much like Abeysinghe at Ginihiriya. He said that the number of leopards at HP has increased coz the sightings have become more frequent. If you go into the bungalow, you’d see two framed pictures of beautiful looking leopards taken on 21 Mar 2016 by some photographer whose name I can’t recall unfortunately. Wijerathna says he very often sees the crossing the open grass fields in front of the bungalow so if you wanna have a better chance of seeing a leopard, stay at Mahaeliya.

However in terms of the bungalow, I would still prefer the Ginihiriya. Naturally Ginihiriya has to be better as it was the home for a planter called Anderson. All the other buildings inside HP belong to the potato farm and are not built for comfort and visitors. According to Wijerathna most of the buildings house only one or two wildlife officers as there is more accommodation for them than the number of people. I wonder why they don’t utilize at least couple of more bungalows for visitors as the demand is always very high. Well it’s something for the powers that be to decide.

We had coffee many times and then had a very delicious pasta dinner. The wind kept howling threatening to shred the bungalow into ribbons. The cold was getting bitter as the night came on. Nevertheless we kept flashing our torches onto the front lawn searching for a stray leopard but the mist kept it covered most of the time. So, we gonna get some sleep and you folks enjoy these pictures. Tomorrow, we’ll be getting up around 6.30am to see how the weather behaves coz we don’t wanna go see KGP in this foul weather. Fingers crossed!

Oh hello!

Curious

Bit controversial at first glance

All glaring at us

Isolated road goes all the way to the sky

Lush green grasslands

They were in abundance

Giving the tongue

Plenty to graze around so don’t offer tidbits

On a brisk run

Cutie, ain’t he?

Another little one

They too were in full bloom

Come to inspect the grounds

Telling Hasi something

Very beautiful

Herd in the distance

All got together probably due to an emergency signal

Well, here you are

From the Ohiya Road

Towards Ginihiriya we went

More beautiful views

Some more

Just a touch of sunlight brightening up the colors

Let’s call it a day

Good morning folks and as predicted the winds and mist were relentless as they kept us awake most of the night, well not all of us. The cold was so intense and going to the washroom was simply not a very pleasing thought. Coming to contact with water was nerve-racking. We got up and there went our plans for KGP and decided to instead take a drive towards Ohiya just to kill time and discuss our options for the day. The breakfast was nice and warm so while we go for a ride and have the cabinet meeting, you folks go through these pics. Hopefully we’ll come up with something worthwhile doing.

As we came out of the bungalow, there was this nice and hefty Sambar that had come to welcome us. He was the leader of the herd and had a nice little photo-shoot with us.

Good morning!

Seems a bit scratchy

Well nothing from us for you buddy, go find your own food

Everyone is scratching around

On the prowl

He’s the leader who came to greet us

Feeling cold?

Just love the pose

Good for a modeling show

Here comes the ladies

Endless

Not finished posing

Many different angles

Ok, time to hit the road

Many of them

Loving it every inch

See ya!

Rail Hike to Tunnel 18

Well, we’ve come to a decision and I’m sure you know it. Now that the KGP is out of our reach and we’ve a full day to wander around, we then decided to do a very short and quick rail hike as Hasi hadn’t been able to go across the Tunnel 18 in his last attempt as he was not ready with a flashlight. So we decided to go indulge him and Gayan on this and even I didn’t mind another crack at this coz Rail Hikes are one of my favorite pastimes.

So bidding farewell to Wijerathna, we left for Pattipola and managed to find a parking place for our reliable Vitz. Then we went and sought permission from the station master who was very willingly consented to these crazy buggers. Please always inform and seek permission before you venture into the railway tracks because the rules are very strict and you’ll be arrested by either the police or railway protection force and be produced at the courts. However the station masters along upcountry lines are very nice people and they’d be more than happy to help you in any way they can provided you ask them nicely.

When you inform, a message is being sent to the next railway stations and anyone working on the tracks so that they’d be aware of your presence.  It’s less than 2km from the Pattipola Station to the Tunnel 18 and shouldn’t take more than 45mins for you to get there. Here is a Video from Summit Level and the pictures I clicked for you.

Note: I wonder if you’ve noticed the number of abandoned Railway Buildings, mainly staff quarters, either side of the railway line especially in the upcountry. I’ve always been wondering why the CGR don’t convert these into guest houses or visitor bungalows which I’m sure would become very popular among both locals and foreigners. They could even turn some of those abandoned carriages into caravan-like accommodation options which would yield much needed revenue for them and can allocate those extra manpower (we all keep hearing how many people are extra in the government sector especially in CTB and CGR due to political appointments) to these duties. They’d be a unique travelling experience to everyone. So if you’re one of the powers-that-be in CGR or similar capacity, do consider this wild idea.

Common sight when you drive past Pattipola

So be warned and do the needful

On our way

Invading either side of the railway line

Yummy when cooked properly but all these are laden with fertilizers

Into the heaven

Towards HP

On the go

Summit Level

More clouds

Macro

S Turns

Abandoned railway quarters. Such a waste

Here we are already

Newly done drainage to safeguard the track

Closer

At the mouth

The story behind this

Oval-shaped

Other side

Came out

Towards Welimada

Towards Ohiya and there’s Tunnel 19 just ahead

Colombo-bound

Observation Saloon

More S Turns

Back at the Summit Level

Houses built either side of the railway

Time to head to Nuwara Eliya

Well it was very nice and refreshing walk. The winds through the tunnel going from Central Province to the Uva Province were cool on our bare skin and this tunnel is a very unique experience for any railway lover. Well it’s time to go to Nuwara Eliya and look for something else to do. Our packed lunch is also getting cold and having to eat cold food in this weather is not very appealing.

Galwaysland National Park

We hovered around wondering what to do. Shanthipura was one option but the clouds and mist kept coming wave after wave obscuring the view thus making it not so worthwhile to go up there. Finally I suggested Galwaysland mainly none of Hasi or Gayan had been there before and I always wouldn’t mind going to a calm and soothing place like that.

So the decision was made and we drove there along the Hawa Eliya Road. It’s about 4-5km from Nuwara Eliya Town and easy to access. If not sure, do refer to Google Maps. Here are the pictures but we were not so lucky to see any of the birds there due to the bad weather and the lighting. Enjoy these while we prepare for the long drive home.

Entering into the paved path

Info.

Looking back

Isolated

Very prickly

Not a bird in sight but plenty of chirping

For the drought

Mushy mushrooms

Artistic

Never ending it seems

But here we are back at the entrance

Beauties

Never seen before

The ticket office

Well folks, I hope this journey was of some interest to you and you too enjoyed these beautiful settings as much as we did. That weather was something unique for us as we’d never experienced something like that before.

This is Sri signing off for now and do take care and keep travelling.

P.S. Just wanted to add this as an afterthought. Please don’t ever feed the wild animals be it elephants, monkeys, birds or any other specie no matter how innocent, starving or vulnerable they look. I know we Sri Lankans have very kind hearts and are extremely generous. All you have to look at is the donations that flooded more than the floods in the recent flooding after the Kelani River spat out all the garbage dumped in her ferociously. There was this very appropriate saying which was shared on social media that went like this. “Sri Lankans have 999 Problems but Compassion is not one of them”

 However, may I beg you to keep that compassion and generosity to fellow human beings and not to extend it to the wildlife? Those wild animals are quite capable of finding their own food without our help. Remember, it’s illegal to feed the wild animals. Therefore please refrain from doing so no matter wherever you go. You can also discourage people who’re trying to do so, especially these crazy Chinese travelers who don’t seem to care much for the Sri Lankan Wildlife Rules & Regulations. Most of the foreigners especially the Europeans and Americans don’t go into these lengths but I’ve seen many Chinese (could even be Korean as they all look the same) behaving in unlawful manners.

 If you’re a tour operator, a guide or someone who takes tourists on journeys, please educate them of the repercussions on things like these. If you act responsibly, they too will learn the same thing. I’m sharing one of the most appropriate pictures designed by the Nature Science Initiative (their website is http://www.naturescienceinitiative.org/publications) to educate our fellow folks.

Please adhere to this by all means. Apologies for not having in English or Tamil

Ideally we can put these up at the National Parks such as Horton Plains but as you all know it costs money. So here’s something you can do to educate the general public. If you’re willing to sponsor for these placards to be displayed, or distribute some of these leaflets among school children, you can send a personal message to me and I’ll get you in touch with the people who would do this. However please note that they might not be able to put up the sponsoring people’s name or organisations as this would be done anonymously.

This was my third experience of Pada Yathra (පාද යාත්‍රා) and I wanted to do it in different manner. I met a group of people with kind hearts and having genuine ideas to help devotees at Pada Yathra in my second visit. We were the first group who reached Katharagama in 2015 Pada Yathra and this group of people at volunteer medical camp were friendly with us. I decided with my friend Nirosh to help this medical camp in 2016 Pada Yathra.

The idea of this volunteer medical camp is from Dr.A.Lathaharan and Mr.Sugath was the back bone of the work. This was the third year of the medical camp and it happened since beginning of the Pada Yathra till last day.
There is a medical camp conducted by MOH office Panama and Navy medical units at Kuda Kabiliththa (කුඩා කැබිලිත්ත) beyond Kumbukkan Oya (කුඹුක්කන් ඔය). But there is no medical help for devotees till they reach Warahana and this is the most difficult stretch of Pada Yathra due to it’s dryness. Therefore having a medical camp at Lin Thuna (ලිo තුන) (seems the middle point of this stretch) is a good idea.
It was really difficult to get permission from wild life authority to establish a volunteer medical camp at middle of Yala in first time. But the service they have done was really appreciated by the government in second time and gave the permission easily to conduct it in third time.
It is not an easy task to conduct a volunteer medical camp inside a forest reserve for 15 days. It is a real challenge to gather money, human resources and other resources. Dr. Lathaharan and Sugath have faced this challenge this time and got help from their friends.

I decided to join with the medical camp for 3days in middle of the Pada Yathra and later it cut down to two days due to busy schedule. We planned to walk to Katharagama from Lin Thuna (ලිo තුන) in 3rd day and it was another challenge to finish 28km in one day.

Kasun and I got overnight Colombo-Panama (පානම) bus from Pettah on 6th night and Nirosh joined with us from Thanamalwila. Next day morning we reached Panama. After having breakfast and refreshing from Panama we got into our official transport from Panama to Kumbukkan Oya.

Now onwards I would like to divide this journey into three steps:
1. Panama to Lin Thuna by vehicles
2. Two days at Medical camp
3. Walking from Lin Thuna to Katharagama in third day

Panama to Lin Thuna by vehicles

We were collected by an official vehicle from Panama and reached Kuda Kabiliththa Dewalaya in two hours time. On our way we stopped at Okanda (ඔකද) for a while and it was the time of Pooja at Dewalaya. The bank of Kumbukkan Oya was full of devotees. Then we crossed Kumbukkan Oya at dedicated place where water level was considerably low compared to first few days of Pada Yathra. We had to wait for few hours till we get our next transportation to Lin Thuna. We bathed at Kumbukkan oya and slept under the shades of trees. Sugath came to accompany us and we reached Medical camp at Lin Thuna in late afternoon.

Passing Panama Lake

Okanda Dewalaya

Fire Balls

Carrying Sri Skandha statue

Tamil traditional music

Carrying Sri Skandha statue

Devotion…..

Okanda Dewalaya premises

කිරි සරුවත්

Colorful

Jackal is moving in his best to escape from our vehicle

Passing Bagure…(බාගුරේ)

Devotees crossing Bagure

Devotees crossing Bagure

Kumana Willuwa (කුමන විල්ලුව)

Crowd at Kuda Kabiliththa

Kuda Kabiliththa Dewalaya

Flames…..

Temporary camping site at Kuda Kabiliththa

Preparing Lunch….

The place to cross Kumbukkan Oya

Other side of the bank at Kumbukkan Oya

It is a safe place to bath as well

A young devotee

Two days at medical camp

Two days at medical camp was an amazing experience in my life. It was not limited to treating patients. We have prepared an herbal tea and given to all devotees passing Lin Thuna. I can still remember the first taste of this herbal tea in 2015. Devotees loved it and some asked for 4/5 cups per time. It was a challenge to treat patients with limited resources and language barrier. We conducted the medical camp since dawn till 10pm. Night was reserved for bathing in nearby lagoon and roam around.

There was a high flow of devotees in those two days. Lin Thuna was a good camping site.

Dressing of a wound at feet

Distributing herbal tea

Sugath is carrying a collapsed patient

Attending to an emergency…..

Crops are behind everything….

Giving Herbal Drink

Attending to a little one

Having a break

We used two pots of this size to prepare herbal drink

Preparing dinner

The lagoon near Lin Thuna. People reached Lin Thuna by crossing the lagoon as it cut down some distance.

Devotees crossing the lagoon

Tea time

Dr. Ruwan is treating a patient

It is essential to have good fire wood store to make herbal tea

Mother and son

It is nice to have a warm cup of tea during the journey

It is nice to have a warm cup of tea during the journey

Eyes of hopes

Though it is a traditional walk, it is a fun for youth

The pond closer to Lin Thuna

Evening sky

Age is not a limiting factor

Devotees crossing the lagoon

Devotees crossing the lagoon

Singing traditional songs

Small Kovil at Lin Thuna

Getting some rewards after Kovil Pooja

Ready to have a tractor ride

Walking from Lin Thuna to Katharagama in one day
It was a challenge to do this stretch (28km) in one day but we accepted it. We started the journey by 5.30am and said good bye to Dr. Lathaharan and team. Devotees also started the journey as early as possible to avoid the heat comes in afternoon. But almost all of them stay overnight at Menik Ganga but we wanted to finish it by a day.
There was a massive Dansala at Yalewela (යලේවෙල), conducted by Kandy Diyawadana Nilame and his team. We reached Menik Ganga around 11am and had a dip to refresh us. It was pleasure to meet the team of St. Johns ambulance service also conducting a health camp. We restarted journey by around 1.30pm and noticed a huge settlement of devotees at Warahana (වරහන). After passing Warahana we were only three devotees walking towards Katharagama. It was around 5-5.30pm when we reached Katagamuwa entrance and we were asked to stay at Katagamuwa entrance by crops because of wild elephants roaming in the road. But we didn’t want to stay there.
We shouted “Haro Hara” -හරෝ හරා  to escape from wild elephants at Katagamuwa and Katharagama reserves. We were invited by army jeep to drop at Katharagama before last three or four kilometers. It ended up my third experience of Katharagama Pada Yathra.

Starting the journey at dawn

Starting the journey at dawn

Starting the journey at dawn

Crossing a lagoon

Crossing a lagoon

Uncertain life

With the help of stick

Passing Uda Potana Eliya (උඩ පොතාන එලිය)

Army soldiers are being shifted to their duty points. Sulochana-the journalist also there.

Nirosh and Kasun…my companions

Tree art

Passing Pilinnawa Eliya (පිළින්නව එළිය)

It is like a desert

Tree adopted for dry weather and wind

Massive Dansala at Yalewela

Reaching Yalewela

Dansala at Yalewela (යාලේවල)

The way to carry goods

At St. Johns health camp at Menik Ganga

Little devotee

Crossing the section at bank of Menik Ganga

Though she is sick, wants to complete the walk

Water Melon Dansala

It is dry and dusty

Reaching Warahana (වරහන). Massive settlement of devotees there

Crossing the bridge at Warahana over Menik Ganga

Walking in Yala block-2

Traditional flag

කුකුල් කටු

Passing Katagamuwa Lake

Few wild life encounters

Few wild life encounters

Reaching Katagamuwa entrance

Devotees camping at Katagamuwa entrance

Blessed by God Katharagama….

Appreciation of the medical camp by media

කතරගම දෙවියන්ගේ පිහිටයි

Hello everyone, hope things are ok and the scorching hot season has sort of eased a little bit with the arrival of thunderstorms. But with them come the danger of lightening, especially for hikers like us. Well hopefully you all have taken the safety measures before attempting any hikes. By the way, you might be feeling pretty awkward about the name of this report and wondering what on earth I’m getting at. Well, as we go on, you’ll realize the meaning behind it and I’m sure you will fully agree that this name suits really well.

As soon as you hear the name Sri Pada, there’s this calm and soothing sensation which goes through your system as if a nice cool flow of water through a parched throat. That mountain is so special even her namesake alone is enough to make us feel reinvigorated. I don’t think there exists any such mountain in the whole wide world that has been worshipped and visited as much as this despite her location in a tiny out of the way island in the Indian Ocean with nothing below it until the frozen Antarctic Glaciers. This is very special and it further proves by it being chosen to leave the footprint of one of the most respected and enlightened philosopher that walked on this earth some 2600 years ago, Gautama Buddha.

Since then, this has been worshipped by millions of devotees every year between Dec (Unduwap Poya) and May (Vesak Poya). However the situation has become a bit alarming due to the unprecedented crowds that gather to visit and worship the sacred footprint every year. If you were following the media (and supposing they were reporting the truth), there were reports of some 800,000 people visiting on long weekends and somewhere in April that figure rose to some 1.5 million. There were so many who were planning to go from Hatton but due to the large number of people ultimately ended up climbing from Kuruwita. Just imagine the plight of those people who were only prepared for an easy ride of 4-5km yet were forced to do 12+km. Most of them had been in tears by the time they had reached Galwangediya.

With the increased number of people go multiplied amounts of polythene and plastic, not to forget the tons of bio-degradable stuff either. All in all, there must be around 4 million people if not more, who visit the Sri Pada in the season which is just 6 months. If you were to do a few simple mathematical numbers, you’d sure to be fainted with the results. Human waste alone would come to hundreds and thousands of tons. Ok, let’s do some maths then.

“An average Asian person weighs about 57kg or 125 pounds. The average person poops at least once a day. An ounce of stool for each 12 pounds of human weight which means an average Asian person produces around 0.7 pounds of stool a day. So what about the urine then? The normal range per day is 800-2000ml with a normal fluid intake of about 2 liters per day. As we all know, those who climb the Sri Pada definitely drink more than 2 liters of fluids and eat quite a lot as well. However, let’s just keep the urine output to 1400ml per person. Ok, here’s the moment of truth.

0.7 pounds X 4 million = 2.8 million pounds of stool

1.4 liters X 4 million = 5.6 million liters of urine

Of course this is the average figure towards the lower end and the real figure is bound to go a lot higher than these numbers. So can you imagine the amount of bio-degradable human waste which is being unloaded at the Sri Pada in just 6 months? Not to forget the stinking smell which spread all over the place? Do you think any god would want to stay in a place like that?

How about you add all the other waste such as food leftovers, wrapping papers (biscuits, toffee, chocolate, drinks packets, etc.), polythene sheets and plastic items such as bottles, where would this number be? Unimaginable is the word that comes to your mind, isn’t it? And closely followed by words like Horrifying, Criminal, etc. Amount of fruits, rice and vegetables which they carry for religious rituals alone could be into millions of kilos.”

I know the famous argument which is being played everywhere. It’s the polythene and plastic which are the serial killers and everything else is bio-degradable. I wonder how anyone can justify the dumping of millions of tons of human waste on top of other waste within such a short period of time in one of the most sensitive and virgin forest reserves. The pollution caused alone by these bio-degradable wastes is so great and it must harm many endemic and other plants, animals and other species. If you begin to wonder whether I’m a scientist or an expert, perish the thought right away coz I’m none of them but an ordinary person with a bit of common sense.

Well now that I’ve homed my point in, let’s go on with the journey and see what is waiting for us in this sacred yet being destroyed place. I’ve a few more controversial propositions which I’d keep for the end bit otherwise you might even not go through the whole report and close the screen cursing me all the bad things you can think of. Well, I don’t want that kinda thing just yet, do I?

We left for Ratnapura on the 23 Apr around 3.30am and on the way, Janith and his US friend Craig joined us at Kuruwita. For those who curious, Janith is the son of one of Ana’s close friends and he’s studying in the US currently. His friend Craig had got this notion of visiting Sri Pada having seen a few pictures and read quite a lot about this majestic place. So they got down and joined us for this journey.

We reached Trail Head around 7.30am and started our journey after a vegetarian breakfast of Cheese Sandwiches. We remained vegetarian right throughout the journey and Craig, being an American, obliged without a second thought. The road condition from Rathnapura to Sri Palabaddala is ok and the road is still under construction up to the turn off where it forks into two, one leading towards Wewelwaththa-Balangoda and the other to Sri Palabaddala.

Tour Highlights: 

1. Palabaddala Trail.
2. Rajamale Trail.
3. Rolls Royce Museum, Plantation Hotel, Kitulgala.

Day 01

We sent the vehicle with the instructions to come on the following day to Fishing Hut to pick us up and got on the trail. Already there were many vehicles, notably the buses, parked waiting for pilgrims to come down and some were on the way up. We went and worshipped at the temple and mingled with the few people on the way up. It was a fine morning for a hike and we passed the shops which were selling all these artificial jewelries, flowers, ornaments, clay pots, sweets, toys, etc. Almost all the people tend to stop by and do a bit of window-shopping before getting on with the hike. However, those who climb down have eyes only for the safety of their vehicles.

It’s believed to have some 11,000-12,000 steps from the trail head to the summit on Palabaddala route. You will see that the steps are marked at every 100-foot point and there are almost 9000 steps (if I’m not mistaken) until you reach Galwangediya. As we went up passing the houses on either side of the concrete steps, there were many others coming down having spent the night travelling downhill. The humidity was unbearable as we kept sweating like pigs. Thankfully the path was shady thus making it not so uncomfortable to do the hike up.

One funny thing happened at the beginning of the hike. There was this Election Poster with the symbol of a Bell (you know the party name, don’t you?) and an X below it asking for our vote. Seeing this Craig looked perplexed and very quietly asked us “This means no bells allowed on the hike?” and we burst into a roar of laughter and he watched us with mixed feelings. Well, I’m sure it wasn’t the first time a foreigner was wondering the same thing and this wouldn’t even be the last time. Janith and Atha explained that it was how the begging of votes is conducted in Sri Lanka.

More surprisingly, Craig was the only Suddha (White Man/Foreigner) among the crowds. Usually the foreigners take the Hatton Route and most of them choose the off season to enjoy the hike and the nature. Commendably, those foreigners (notably the Europeans, Americans, Australians, Japanese, etc.) hardly ever, if not never, leave their garbage behind them littering the surroundings. It’s always the locals and some foreigners from you know where who do this ungraceful deed of polluting our Mother Nature.

Many local pilgrims took notice of Craig and attempted to dram him into some conversation using their limited vocabulary. There was one old lady (she was fitter than any of us despite her age) who kept encouraging us, especially Craig and even offered him mangoes couple of times. People were very amused to see him going with us and anyway with 6’ 4”, he couldn’t have been missed unless they were having sight issues in their eyes. After some hard laboring and constant breaks, we managed to reach the Ambalama just passing Lihini Hela and took a small break.

Most of the pilgrims took pleasure in throwing food items at the monkeys residing in nearby trees and watching them catch those tit bits and some even went so far to claim those monkeys were very good than most of our present cricket team in the field. Nevertheless, it was a very silly and careless thing to feed any wild animal and may I request at least you, who are reading this, not to do so in the future. Even I’m guilty of it and have done that in the past without knowing the repercussions so if you too are guilty of it; it’s never too late to stop now. Ok, here are some pictures on the journey so far before you get bored to death.

On the move

Very delicious and used worldwide, notably in Switzerland

Good colors too

Thank you soldiers, you not only won the war for us, but also, made this for millions of people

Life on the dead

Climbing was tougher than we thought

How many of us adhere to this? You may take but make sure to bring them back

Those handrails are a great help too

Between two steps in a crack I found him

“Hey, you had enough”

“Not enough mommy”

“See they also noticed how naughty you are”

“Welcome to Monkey Spa”

“Hey, we got more customers lining up”

“I’m gonna bite this off”

“Not enough milk mom”

Mummy fallen asleep

And son’s fallen asleep now

Plenty of them are there

Stairway to heaven, reminded me of Ritigala

We resumed our journey while the echoes of people calling for Lihini Akka were coming all around. Sri Pada has all these unique rituals and customs which you won’t find anywhere else. Those chants they sing while climbing up and down is another unique feature and most of the people, especially the older ones, believe that by singing along would make it easier for them to climb and reduce the exhaustion. Of course you’d find some modified versions of these as well which might not be that suitable to use in a place like that. However, it helps interact with the other pilgrims who you might not ever have come into contact with. You’d also be surprised at the length people go to help complete strangers.

There was a bit of unfortunate incident as well. There was this group who’d come from down south (most of the people who climb via Sri Palabaddala is from down south due to the easy access) and had one of the old lady missing for four days. They’d been climbing up and down, looking down at the crevices and in the forest shouting her name looking for her with the help of the police. Fortunately, we heard the same day night that she was found sitting on a rock inside the forest. As many believe, there’s very little chance of anyone coming to harm at Sri Pada so this was another point where it’s proven once again.

We went on further up and already we saw so much of plastic bottles and wrappers scattered either side of the trail, especially closer to shops and resting points where people had very carelessly dumped them with leftover food. The ranking smell wafting from them was so disgusting and I felt like throwing up many times. So much for the bio-degradable waste! Passing Dharmarajagala, Geththampana and Seetha Gangula, we finally arrived at Galwangediya around 2.30pm after a 7.5hr journey.

There were dark clouds threatening to break loose and we were glad when we came to the safety of the Ambalama at Galwangediya. We had lunch (rice & curry) at the co-operative shop in front of the Ambalama. However, I recommend the shop at the junction where Ratnapura and Kuruwita Trails meet each other. Their food is tasty and good quality. Both these places offer accommodation facilities if you need your own room but not sure about their quality or the comfort levels as I’ve never used them before. We were quite content with the Ambalama so after lunch went and found a corner for the night.

We were very grateful for the army soldiers of many regiments from the SL Army who’d spent so much time and efforts building the whole path with concrete steps. If it wasn’t for those, it’d’ve nearly impossible for us to climb from Ratnapura side. We could still see the old steps carved into the rocky surface parallel to the newly built concrete steps with handrails. No wonder it’s said that in the past people used to write their last will before attempting this pilgrimage. There are still iron chains hanging from the rock which people used to pull themselves up. There are a few on the last leg at Mahagiridamba passing Hulang Kapolla. Here are some pictures of the journey up to now.

Generation after generation

Old steps and the new ones side by side

Blossming

Must’ve been a back breaking task to do this

Imagine what it’d have been like without them

Craig and Janith ahead with the steps from two eras

Looking back

Dharmarajagala

Very steep and made it on the same old steps

Entering those tall trees

Taking turns like on the railway track

Looks like mini jack fruit

It’s a lot easier now

Colors

He too is climbing to the summit it seems

View from Heramitipana, Galwangediya is just below

Slow moving clouds

Such a treat to the eyes

Closer

And the summit

Night is coming fast

We hung around the Ambalama taking those pics you already saw and went down to the Galwangediya itself for dinner. We had rice again while Craig tasted Rotti with Lunu Miris. We even heard some people talking among themselves “Arun Bath Kala Suddhata Rotti Deela”. Janith had asked Craig to watch out for that word “Suddha” and he immediately spotted it and asked what they were talking about.

The night was dark but the lights at along the trail lit up the surrounding beautifully. The Pirith Chanting and the echo of the bell coming from the summit were soothing. We fell into a deep sleep until Janith’s calling brought us wide awake. “What’s the matter?” I asked having forgotten that we agreed to get up to see the Sri Pada lit up and the clouds cleared. As they were still suffering from jetlag and time difference (12 hours is quite a big difference almost like night and day), it was hard for them to fall asleep. So at 3am, shivering like skinless polar bears, we got up and took some pictures of this wonderful and heavenly place. Here are a couple of shots taken by Janith with his DSLR.

At 3am. Photo by: Janith

Photo by: Janith

After a chilling photo shoot-out which made us surpass all the Hollywood, Bollywood and Kollywood film directors combined, we went back to sleep and got up again at 5am. It was time to get ready and go to the summit. Our plan was to go up to the summit early to witness the sunrise but had to give that idea up due to the number of people going up. One of the workers on the shops claimed that he’d never seen such massive crowds ever before. So we can safely assume this was the most crowded and visited season ever.

Day 02

After a quick cup of tea, we went on our way around 5.50am. We had some snacks with us so kept munching on them while hiking. The next stop was Andiyamalathenna and then the summit itself. The sewerage system which was being built had been completed but there was a foul smell in that area. We heard that the whole system couldn’t be fixed due to the lack of power in the off season and financially it wasn’t viable. As a result, one major component was missing thus the reason for the bad smell. It was a grand thing to have built the system but leaving it half-done wasn’t probably a good idea.

It was still dark when we left Galwangediya but the sun was on his way up. We were sheltered from the morning sun by the shadow of the great mountain herself. Looking backwards, we could see the squarely shaped Kunudiya Pawwa which resembles Bathalegala and Sigiriya, getting lighted up slowly from top to bottom.

To our right was the twin peaks of Bena Samanala and to our left was the Seven Virgins. In between there were many other hills looking radiant in the morning golden rays. We made good ground and in exactly two hours reached the summit. As soon as we entered we saw huge piles of garbage collected on either side of the summit. People were cutting fruits and dumping them right over the parapet wall around the summit without giving a toss that they were polluting the environment by allowing those rotting fruits to stink the whole place overpowering the smell of the fresh mountain air. They were all selfishly interested in invoking blessings for themselves, even at the cost of the Mother Nature. If they thought the gods will look at them and bless them, they had another think coming.

The stench coming from rotting fruit and vegetable matter was so overpowering we just lost the interest to stay in the summit more than absolutely necessary. The sun was fully up and there was still a long queue from Hatton Route to go worship the sacred footprint. We went around quickly and worshipped from outside and got on our way. It was so saddening to see the pollution caused by our reckless and selfish pilgrims in the name of religion. Here are some pictures of our journey to the summit.

Can you see the Kunudiya Pawwa?

On the way up on a chilly morning

Can see the dark and the light clearly

Look at the half lit Bena Samanala too

This was so amazing

Kunudiya Pawwa with Seven Virgins to the right

Good morning!

Feeling cold

Inflated golf ball

Very curious

Drainage system with a bad smell spreading

One of the many water pumps

Silhouette of a bird

Looking for scraps on the steps

White-Eyed Bulbul

Can clearly see the white ring around its eyes

Very tiny but fluffy too

Seven virgins

Another common sight

He didn’t move so we were wondering if he was frozen

At the last shop before the summit

Bena Samanala, Sri Pada Shadow and Kunudiya Pawwa

One of the Bena Samanala Peaks, Kunudiya Pawwa, Seven Virgins with the Sri Pada Shadow

On the way to Dick Oya or Nuwara Eliya. Just imagine the aerial view they must be having

Twin Peaks of Bena Samanala

Seven Virgins and Andiyamalathenna Ambalama

Wind Gap or Hulang Kapolla

Mountains to the left of Bena Samanala

Seven Virgins in the background

Sun kept coming overhead

Seven Virgins and see the white line

Drainage pipes running to the collection point below. The white line is a metal ladder

Ok, this is just a pinch of the garbage I photographed

A lot more

What do you feel? This is so close to the sacred footprint

It’s good to do the rituals but do think about the pollution too caused as a result

If only…

Golden fence around the summit

Towards Hatton

Maussakelle in the distance

Craig doing the rituals after a long wait. This bell tower is really unnecessary at the top. Pic by: Janith

So how was the situation at the top? I just put only a handful of pics. In fact I could’ve taken million shots just like that, especially along the downhill on Hatton Route. It was really pathetic and disgusting. After about half hour where we took turns to go and worship, we started our descent without further delay coz staying up watching them raping this virgin environment was giving me heart attacks.

We started our descent and soon passed the Bhagawa Cave. It was yet another disastrous move to have cleared those trees and wines covering the cave. Now it’s being used to pile garbage sacks and some wooden planks. Some even claimed this was the long-searched Diva Guhawa. As soon as we passed it, there was so much of bread (made into sandwiches with some sort of paste in the middle) thrown either side of the trail. There were hundreds and thousands of rotting bread slices and looks like somebody’s efforts at giving a Dansala had gone horribly wrong. We thought the paste or whatever which was put in the sandwich must’ve gone bad thus resulting in throwing all the bread slices very conveniently over the railing on either side.

It was as if walking through the garbage dump at Kolonnawa. I had to put my camera way and hold a handkerchief to my nose until the end of Mahagiridamba where you need to take a right turn, through so much human waste, to enter the Rajamale Trail. So photographs were few and far between in that stretch. It was so horrible and frustrating I decided not to come again in the season at the time. I know I should’ve taken some pics to show you but my main priority was to get out of this stinking hellhole into the safety of Rajamale Trail.

There was another ongoing Dansala where they were serving rice and curry. Yet again, the lunch sheets with remaining rice and curry were piled up in bins which were overflowing and attracting crows and other birds who kept taking them here and there dumping those sheets among the green foliage where nobody could reach to pick them up even if they wanted to. I know it’s a noble act to feed people especially those who attempt such arduous hikes but one needs to think of the huge environment impact it’ll have on the nature.

Finally after it felt like a life time, we reached the safety of the Rajamale Trail and managed to avoid a few piles of human waste but Craig was not so lucky. We had to stop for about 15 minutes before he managed to clean himself and got on the way. While he does it, please enjoy these pics.

Getting down

Upper Gartmore and Gawarawila side

Dried up Maussakelle

Towards Yaka Andu Ella

Peace Pagoda

Usually you don’t see those brown islands

The seaplane going back

Zoomed in view

We followed the trail breathing some fresh mountain air at last out of that garbage pit. Even as I type, I seem to choke on my breath remembering how awful that experience was. Unlike my last time where we climbed to Sri Pada from this route, there was considerably a large amount of polythene and plastic items signalling that many had used this trail as well.

Reaching Sandagalathenna was the pinnacle of the journey and both Janith and Craig marvelled at the beauty unfolding their eyes. The sun was nearing the top of the sky thus the colors were not so glamorous like in my last journey. Nonetheless, I couldn’t take my eyes off. From there we made good ground and soon (well not so soon) were on the summer hut to find our van waiting faithfully for us. One funny thing about Rajamale Trail is that when you climb down only you will notice how steep that really is. Also it seems to grown in length as it never seems to end, especially the stretch between Sandagalathenna and Summer Hut. Here are the pictures of it.

On the Rajamale Trail

Through the tree canopy

Zooming in

See the huge Buddhist Flag

Not to be taken away

We met a similar one between a crack, remember?

Portrait view

Simply majestic

Colorful

Almost stepped on the fellow

Couldn’t get enough of them

Oh ho, saw quite a few around Sandagalathenna…

One of the best locations in Sri Lanka

You won’t get enough of it

Time to go

But not without a picture with me

Leaving her behind

She was very playful

Never ending grand views

Into the tea estate

Where our van was

Summer hut

The team. Pic by: Janith

We got on the van and left with a very sad feeling at the way this beautiful place is being invaded by the Cockroaches killing the Butterflies, thus the name for this report which you’ll find fits nicely. Not only Gods or Butterflies, even Devils won’t stand so much pollution. Well what to do? I’ve a few suggestions which might stir up a hornet’s nest. Well I’ll come to it after I show you the Rolls Royce Museum.

We stopped at Plantation Hotel for lunch which is owned by Dr. Jayasuriya and he’s built a museum for a number of old Rolls Royce cars. It’s said the place is not big enough to house all the cars he has. One noticeable car was the one Queen Elizabeth drove when she visited Sri Lanka. Here are the pictures for you while we have a hearty lunch.

The Rolls which driven the Queen

Lusty red

Elegant black

Proud looking

Sexy blue

Mini Cooper reminding us of Mr. Bean

Now would you like to see a couple of Panos as well? Coz I can’t remember attaching any in the recent reports. Here are a few.

5 Mountains in one. Bena Samanala, Kunudiya Pawwa, Seven Virgins and Shadow of Sri Pada

Bena Samanala, Kunudiya Pawwa & Seven Virgins

From Sandagalathenna

So how do you like the journey? I know it’s been not so nice coz of the garbage and pollution. And here are my controversial theories or propositions to make this a better place and save it for the sake of us all. Coz this mountain alone feeds so many rivers in Sri Lanka which in turn helps us enormously in our day-to-day use with drinking water, agriculture, factories, etc. It’s of paramount importance we safeguard this place, not only coz it has the footprint of Lord Buddha, but also, it helps us live in many ways. So whether it is religion’s sake or environment’s sake, we must safeguard this wonderful place like our own eyes.

• As you all know, almost everyone who gets to the summit, try to donate some money for the fund there. It’s done in a way of cleansing their sins or bad times. I wonder if those who manage this fund (which I’m sure is not being audited) would be kind enough to recruit people to clean the three main trails during the season. I’m sure it’d require a lot of manpower, probably about 100 in total if we divide them 30 each into the Ratnapura and Kuruwita and 40 for Hatton. So how much money would we need in order to maintain this workforce? Back to my mathematical table. If we pay, Rs. 2000/- per day, for the whole season we would need 36 million rupees (100 X 180 X 2000). I know it sent your eyebrows so far up and they almost touched your hairline above the forehead. Is 36 million so big a price to pay for our own well-being? Now, there’d be a huge uproar saying how on earth are we to find that money coz we don’t get donated that amount to the fund? Well, if it is the case, I’ve another suggestion, a very wild one but doable.
• How much is your satisfaction when you are able to climb to the summit? Can you ever measure it with any of the metric parameters available? I don’t think so. That’s why we have expressions such as “Kotiyak Deela Wath Ganna Be”. So isn’t it worth to keep this place safe and sound for us to come back again and again? It is. So what we can do? Would Rs. 10/- make you bankrupt? Surely not. So what if there was a system to issue tickets for the pilgrims to buy at all three trail heads, there’d be money to fund the whole cleaning project every year without an issue. Of course, it’ll have to be managed without corruption as we know how money goes AWOL and end up in Panama and other offshore accounts. There might be some who are vying up for the argument of selling tickets to a religious pilgrimage wanting to crucify me for suggesting this. Well, all I have to say for them is look at or read what Lord Buddha preached properly before taking the sword to kill me.
• If ticket selling is so much of a criminal act, we can also have a fund at the trail heads but it’ll be too difficult task to manage as it’d require a lot of book keeping and account balancing. The chances of money going for walks are also very high.
• I wonder if it’d be practical or viable to limit the number of people entering like they did are planning to limit the number of Jeeps in Yala. Well this is yet another line from my own wild imagination and is bound to stir up more hornets’ nests.
• Now for one of the most sensitive and controversial points I wanna make. How about not allowing people to carry all those fruits and vegetables to make rituals as they in the end play a major role in piling up the garbage at the summit? These rotting food matters keep stinking the whole of summit along with the toilets making that place uninhabitable for anyone let alone butterflies or gods. Instead they all can contribute to the fund at the summit for the daily rituals conducted at certain times. Well, the blessings you invoke will still be the same so long as your thoughts are pure. You don’t necessarily have to do them individually, do you?
• Ban the Dansal or enforce strict rules to monitor them and make sure nothing is added to the environment and everything is taken back down by those who organize them. If you can’t do so, well, it’s better not to do them at all and add to the pollution of this sensitive environmental habitat.
• Further, what if we removed that huge bell tower which was erected couple of years ago taking up a substantial space on the already cramped up summit floor? I feel it is unnecessary to have such a huge bell making so big a boom and we all know what the sound pollution is, don’t we? I guess those who did this thought the bigger the bell and more the merits gained. The echoes generated by ringing that huge bell can also destabilize the rocky bed where the summit is located along with its buildings. I wonder whose bright idea it was to have that bigger bell tower in the first place as there were a couple of nice and small bells already which took up virtually no space.
• Also, the pilgrims shouldn’t be allowed to ring that bell more than once despite the number of times they’ve been to the summit before. It’s more of an ego-massaging exercise than a ritual nowadays as people keep ringing the bell while many others waiting for a chance. And they do so by pulling hard at the rope sending shock waves all along the mountain range. Nobody else is interested, let alone God Saman, about the number of times you’ve been to the summit. Also, you don’t get any advantage or a bonus as a result of the numbers. So why deprive others of their chance of this ritual by just doing it once and moving away?

Now I know what you’re wondering. Sri is the perfect role model and as a result he’s qualified to preach all these to the rest of the world? Well, I’m not and even I’m guilty of committing these mistakes to a certain extent. Nobody is perfect but what really important is to learn from our mistakes and avoid them in the future. More importantly, convey that message to the next generations so that they’d be properly educated about the value of places like Sri Pada. Not just the religious value, but also the environmental value. Let’s hope there’ll be some strict measures taken before it’s too late to preserve this place. It should not however be a tug-a-war between the Wildlife Department and Ministry of Buddhist & Religion Affairs. This is our heritage and treasure so we all need to contribute to its preservation for the years to come.

Well, folks, that’s about from me on this journey. Hope you enjoyed it despite the frustration and sorrow involved in. if I’ve hurt anyone’s morals or feelings by my controversial ideas, I sincerely apologize as it was never my intention to do so. Also, they might not be the best of solutions but I just listed down the things I thought would be ideal to make things easier and safer for the future.

Take care and keep travelling!

Birding is a favorite pastime among people who love watching the behavior of these wonderful creatures of the Mother Nature. However compared to other areas such as hiking, wildlife, etc. this is mainly done by relatively lesser number of people.

Gayan’s has become addicted to birds since recently thus we too have no choice but to follow him at times looking up at trees bending our necks at unusual angles almost dislocating the spinal cord near the neck. It’s a great miracle that these bird lovers manage to walk without tripping themselves as they don’t tend to look at the path or where they step on. If you have seen those pigeon lovers in the urban areas, you would know what I’m talking about. The only difference is that these bird lovers don’t whistle like those pigeon folks do.

Ok, back to Runakanda. This is a part of Sinharaja actually but is now being proposed as a separate Forest Reserve. I hope this will get legalized soon as we’re fast losing our forest areas. Even Runakanda like many wet zone rain forests have been ravaged by the Walla Patta Hunters. According to villagers many outsider had come in gangs and stayed inside the forest living in makeshift shelters or caves chopping down Walla Patta trees and making loads of money. The FD and Police are in high alert even though the damage has already been done thus the reason why you shouldn’t venture into these areas on your own.

We heard that the FD is now distributing Walla Patta plants for commercial planting where they help with the chemicals to produce that specific bit of residue after 5 years. At the age of 8, the tree is good to cut down and harvest. Hopefully these will put a stop to the destruction of our virgin forests.

We were greeted by Chanaka’s father-in-law and he was a very friendly and hospitable gentleman. He’s a retired Grama Sewaka in the same are so has a fair knowledge of the surroundings. Chanaka was away so he’d arranged Chathura who’s originally from the village inside the forest but they’ve moved to the village on this side of the river due to lack of facilities. However his father and grandparents have objected vehemently to the idea and are living inside the forest to date. Maguru Ganga is the border between the forest and the village and she acts like a protective shield for the forest from the evilness. Unfortunately even she’s not been able to defeat the wicked acts inflicted on the forest by those greedy people.

We hadn’t prepared for this journey properly due to the lack of details so this turned out to be a reconnaissance mission which we conducted to get a feel for the place. We’ll be going again for sure armed with the information we obtained and better prepared. So here are the pictures I managed to take in our short stay and hope you’ll enjoy.

Turn off to the Conservation Centre from the main road

Korawakka

Beautiful

Runakanda is over there

Elabatu if I’m not mistaken

There’s the info

Conservation Centre and this can accommodate up to 12 people

Another angle

Dewy	This fella had been injured and found by the wildlife department. After doing an operation, he’d been brought here for recuperation

Munching on a piece of break, one of his favorites

Fiery tale full of spikes

Grey Hornbill

Sunbathing

Enjoying a free meal

Looks nice but I don’t know the name

Drying his feathers

Close up

Plenty of diversity among trees

Well this is common enough

Probably not this one though

Floating around

He was a huge fella

Here’s Maguru Ganga

Crystal clear

Pelen, a fruit similar to Mora which is a delicacy among birds

Here’s a deep black hole where you shouldn’t attempt to bathe

Weaving on the way

Here’s the footpath used by the travelers as well as those who go to the villages

Golly, what’s this?

String Hopper like mushroom

Hanging for dear life

A stream that feeds Maguru Ganga which we had to cross

Just love the look of these pebbles underneath the water

Very slippery

Halt! No rail gates inside the jungle so keep an eye out for these along the path

100-foot tall trees

The tree cover

See the different shades of colors

This was a scary thing. I wonder if you can spot the trap here. This was laid along a game trail probably targeting porcupines, small deer, etc. Clear sign of hunters at large and also why you shouldn’t venture into the forest all alone

Grandfather of Chathura in his home turf

They’re drying these to make coconut oil

Searching for the nectar

Juicy

Look at that color

Another

Many different ones but very hard to capture on our lens

Tough cookie this one

From the other side

Spider man?

Wasn’t ripe enough

Kasun couldn’t wait no longer and made this then and there

Orchid type

Up close

Another strand of flowers

Chathura’s father in their own house but living all by himself now. Just realized that I didn’t take a pic of Chathura

My favorite

Back at the river and ready for a bath

It was heavenly to lie down in this cool shallow water

After a bath and meal, we were on the way back

It was isolated

Here’s another kind

Some more

This is a female. How do I know that? Well look at the left of the pic

Many of them

Goodbye Maguru Ganga… Will come for you again

Too far away for me

Ok, the name I know for this fellow is “Jambu Kottoruwa”

Just like in a vase

Look at that reddish patch in the middle

This fellow is a common one

Well probably this one too

He was taking a nap

Very cute

Munching on a roti

Glistening in the sun

Surprise visitor

Closer look

Very fidgety to take a good shot

Look at those green feathers

Oh hi there!

Standing on its hind legs

Just a cutie pie

Take off your tail from the rice

Another kind

Kept looking for something to eat

Closer look

This is a different one, can you see the contrast?

Not fully bloomed yet

Know this? It’s called Donka, a delicious fruit somewhat similar to Mangos teen

Runakanda, time to go

Well folks, I hope you got some valuable details about Runakanda in this short story. It really is a bio-diversity hotspot which needs to be protected before it’s too late. Do visit this place by all means but adhere to the laws of the nature and do your utmost to protect it.

This is Sri signing off and would hopefully meet you again with another fairy tale.

Haagala/ Havagala is a famous mountain situated at Sabaragamuwa province near to the Sabaragamuwa University. This mountain is the final lesson of their Rag but this is some kind of a good experience to them to have an adventure in this beautiful area.
Haagala was situated on the way of famous “Pahanthudawa Waterfaall”. And you have to go about 8km from the Badulla road. Vehicles can park near to the starting point and the nearby village house is very friendly and helpful to keep our extra bags and helmets too.

Nameboard at the Main road

School Nameboard at the Main road

Hotel Nameboard at the Main road

Hotel Nameboard at the Main road

Another Hotel

Another Hotel

Another Hotel Nameboard at the Main road

Hotel Nameboard at the Main road

After you start the journey the path will continue to a tea estate via a small jungle by crossing below mentioned two bridges. After you entered to the tea estate, walk along the tea plot about 30m to the jungle side. And then you will entered to the jungle, please remember that do not go to the right hand side foot path way which is go to the top of the area beside the tea estate. Just go down to the left side foot pathway which is directly goes to the stream. Cross the stream and walk about 100m via the small jungle patch and then you will enter to the Pines area. The same foot path way will continue to the top of the mountain but it is difficult to find at the Pines area since there some paths created by animals too.
However you have to walk to the end of the Pines area about 1-1.5Km and on that way you will find about 3 main long rocky plains which are situated from the top to the bottom of the Pines area. We stopped at a one big rocky plain which is having a dead end and that place is like a dried stream. There are some stone cuts in that area likes small squares. This Pines area was fully covered with “Mana” bushes.

Begining of the hike

Crossing the 1st Bridge

Crossing the 2nd Bridge

Water Stream at the 2nd Bridge

Path to the Tea Estate

Entering to the Jungle

Don’t follow this path, this is just going to the upper tea estates

Just entered to the Pains area

Finally we came to the end of the Pines area where we met the Jungle and the 1st Camping site. After the camp site the path will continue via the jungle and from that point till the end you will find the Red flags where it shows the correct path to the summit level.
After you entered again to the final Mana bushy area menas to top of the Haagala, you can camp at anywhere of the mountain area since the ground is flat and suitable to accommodate about 200-300 people. There is a flag at the top of the mountain which was fitted by the University students. When we go there it was fallen to the ground since the high wind in this season. We fixed it again and spend about 1 hour at the top.

We have to go beyond this Pains area

Having a rest

We came across the 1st Pains area

Different type of a Pains tree

Red arrow shows the destination

Amazing environment

Ihala Galagama and Horton Plains side

Beautiful Nature

The main rocky plain on the way to the summit

Dead end of the Rocky Plain

Some stone styles, Dont know who create these or any relation with Rawana Legend

Ihala Galagama area

Adara Kanda seen

Another rest at the Rocky Plain

Close to the summit

Having a rest

Camp site 1

Camp site 1, just before meet the Flag area

The directions to the final 1km

campus students such did a useful work

DWC land marks

Path through the jungle

After this flag the path will continue to the Mana patch

Beautiful Mana area

We are so close to the summit level

Another Camping side at the top of Havagala

We at the Top, this flag was made by the Campus Students

Adara Kanda side

At the Summit Level

Lonley Planet

Another land mark

beautiful nature

The bottom of Havagala

Adara Kanda and Non Pariel side

Samanala Wewa

Havagala seen at near the Landu Yaya road

Another view

Time to Leave the Havagala

Havagala seen at Pambahinna

Havagala Mountain

Facebook – Travel in Sri Lanka-Sobasiri

Kalinga Island is located in the center of Mahaweli River at the boarder of the Wasgamuwa NP & it consists of 7 islands. The main island harbours ruins of a forgotten era. It’s said that princes of Kalinga sailed upstream along Mahaweli River to the interior of the country and this mini island was once believed to be their ship manufacturing yard. Also in text it has mentioned that King Parakramabahu sent ships to invade Burma from this point. The archeology evidence found on the island suggests that on a later date a Buddhist monastery has been constructed on this land.

The map (click to enlarge)

the huge island (click to enlarge)

Actually the chief organizer was Amila but he had to return back to Colombo for a personal reason. Anyway we proceeded as planned and NG & Yohan also planned to join us. On the previous day we reached Damana wewa and found a guide, we also informed the local DWC officer of Damana wewa. Next day morning we met each other at Siripura and reached the elephant fence at Damana wewa where we halted our vehicles and started marching.

As we crossed the elephant fence we came across a mini canal called “Kalinga Yoda Ela” which was done by the kings to diverted water from Mahaweli River at the southern tip of Kalinga Island by damming the river. Parallel to the canal the great river of Mahaweli could be found and there were few fishermen who were trying to earn something to tackle their day to day lives. Walking along the shores of Mahaweli we started crossing the river by first reaching one of those miniature islands. The main island was seen on the opposite bank and one could not say it’s an island because it looked just like the main land. The crossing towards the island was very tricky where at some points the water level were up to our chest height. The most challenging aspects were the slippery bed rocks & the rapid tides.

Quote

“Kalinga Ela apparently starts about 1km upstream of the island of Kalinga Nuwara in Mahweli river left bank, with a 20m wide entrance and between that and Amban Ganga, within the Wasgomuwa National Park, some 2km stretch of the channel is visible still (personal comm.- J. Balasooriya). The map of Elahera (#43) of 1:50000 scale shows an irrigation canal between Amban Ganga and Mahaweli Ganga but without a proper beginning. It is just above the 40m contour and some 4km long. It enters Dedarane Wewa after 1.5km and leaves on its other side and then meets Nabunagas Kotaliya Ela (some 200m before Amban Ganga) which feeds Dastota Wewa located below the 40m contour.

There is a strong possibility that this canal could be the same Kalinga Ela. The same map shows a canal leaving the right bank of the Mahaweli River some 500m above Kalinga Nuwara which continues all the way to Dimbulagala, and names it Kalinga Yoda Ela (that is referred to as Gomathie Ela by Balasooriya, 2004).”

on our way along the elephant fence

crossing kalinga yoda ela

mahaweli

the island seen

crossing over

After all of us got to the shores safe and soundly we started to trek in to the island. Ruins were found mainly on the highest points of the island well cleared from high flood levels of river Mahaweli. The monoliths we came across were all less than 2 feet and scattered all over the island. We reached an interesting point where rows of rocks were placed towards the Wasgamuwa side of the island. This site seemed to be where the ships were launched in to the river. Other interesting findings we came across were a huge building which was dug up, a large excavated (by thieves) pagoda and few moon stones with elephant carvings. This large island needs proper protection and restoration because of its uniqueness and we hope someday the department of archaeology would take some interest in such a valued site like this. On our way back we had a nice dip in a mini river which traverses the island and it was equal to a paradise for our tired souls.

the island forest

one straight kumbuk tree

along a mini stream traversing the island

piece of korawak stone

plenty of monoliths

more

human interventions

tall trees in the island

note the base

taking the elephant path

twins

kaluwara

urinary stone

a monolith

rocks plated like a stairway… may be the ships which were built were pushed to the river along this

the plated rocks

other side of the island

wasgamuwa side

one long monolith

bricks

work of nidan horu

a huge sthupa dugged to the base

a huge brick

the buried moonstone

two elephants on a moonstone

note the two elephants

part of a moonstone

parts of tile

see the carvings showing the importance of the location

faded carving

තිඹිරි

another korawak stone

mahaweli river seen

paradise

paradise indeed

.

lovely location

Crossing back to the main land was with many slips and falls across the river which left us with some unforgettable experiences. To finish off the day we had a wonderful “Game Batha” (which was homemade) at a miniature hut in the middle of a “Chena” where the breeze brushed off our sweat. After thanking the local guides and the DWC officer we left towards Sripura to head towards our own destinations.

crossing back to the main land

.

many falls

on a mini island

the island land is seen on the right

fisherman

plenty of mini islands

returning back

having lunch (Photographer NG)

Ridiyagama Safari Park was declared open in March 2016. Construction of the project started in 2008 and first phase was completed at a cost of Rs.2,600 Million and opened for public on 28.03.2016.

The Park comes under Department of National Zoological Gardens.

The total extent of park is 500 acres.

The first phase in extent of 200 acres which is opened for public consists of

16 acre service area

35 acre lion enclosure

54 acre elephant enclosure

80 acres of herbivorous animals

According to the Department information, the second phase of the park will include

# Bengal Tiger Zone

# Leopard Zone (Hopefully not from Horton Plains)

# Sloth Bear Zone

# Asian Herbivore zone

# African Herbivore zone

# Australian Zone

# Cheetah Zone

# Small Animal Kingdom

# Reptilliam

# Butterfly Garden

# Animal Breeding & Conservation Center

# Camping site and Circuit Bungalows (Good News)

# Leisure Area o Kids

We left Warana by 7.00 in the morning and reached Tangalle Navy Base for a safe sea bath and lunch.

GOOD PLACE FOR A SAFE SEA BATH

After the sea bath and lunch, the group moved to Hummana to see the famous blow hole in action.

.

.

UNIQUE LANDSCAPE

AWAITING THE GIANT TO AWAKE

.	MIGHTY BLOW

CALM AS NOTHING HAPPENED!!!!

After this wetting episode, the group proceeded to Rediyagama Safari Park at correct time around 3.00 pm. We were lucky enough to get two busses exclusively for our group and very knowledgeable guides.

We spend a memorable two hours in the park.

.

.

BUS PROVIDED BY ZOO

INSIDE THE BUS

LION ENCLOSURE – THEY WERE AT TOUCHING DISTANCE

.

.

.

.

.

SHOWING OFF THE STRENGTH

ROYAL KING OF THE JUNGLE

INNOCENT HERBIVORES

.

.	NON STOP PECKING

SHY HIPPO

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.	UNUSUAL COMBINATION

.	SCRATCHING TIME

.

.

.	ELEPHANT ENCLOSURE

.

.

.

.

End of the Report

Thanks lot for reading it.

Year and Month	2016 Octomber 30th
Number of Days	One
Crew	Two-Chamara and My self
Accommodation	Not applicable
Transport	Bus, Three wheel and climbing
Activities	Hiking, Sightseeing and Photography
Weather	Excellent
Route	Colombo->Kandy->Ududumbara (උඩුදුම්බර) ->Uda Iluka (උඩඉලුක)->Velangolla Pathana (වෙලන්ගොල්ල පතන) ->Medakelle (මැද කැලේ)->Lihinikatiya (ලිහිනිකැටිය)->Batumulla (බටුමුල්ල)-> Udaththawa (උඩත්තාව)->Udawela (උඩවෙල) ->Hasalaka->Kandy->Colombo
Tips, Notes and Special remark	Start the journey in early morning. Threewheel charges from Ududumbara to Uda Iluka is varied. Average is Rs 800. Carry at least 2l per person. There are no water sources after the one at Mana patch till you get down to Udaththawa. Can’t recommend of approaching to water sources at Velangolla Pathana as elephants are roaming. Still this area is clean. Don’t pollute. It is better watch elephants from far. Velangolla Pathana is a nice place for camping. But be cautious about elephants. There is a significant drop to Medakelle side. But can go down through Mana bushes. This is not something to promote visiting wild elephants. It is a risky activity and you must have an escape plan in a case if an elephant chase you.
Related Resources	Back to Yahangala
Author	Niroshan and Chamara
Comments	Discuss this trip report, provide feedback or make suggestions at Lakdasun Forum on the thread Searching Jumbos at Velangolla Pathana (1020m) Some photographs belong to Chamara Perera.

This was our back to back visit to Velangolla Pathana in order to view elephants. It was kind of a rare incident to watch elephants at high attitude. We have seen an elephant on Velangolla Pathana on our way to climb Yahangala. It was seen far and we have noticed it was not moving much. We were so curious on watching this elephant and planned a separate journey to visit the elephants at Yahangala Pathana.
But it was only Chamara and myself on the day of visiting Velangolla Pathana. As usual we started the journey early morning and reached Ududumbara. We had our breakfast from Ududumbara and hired a three wheeler to reach the trail head to Velangolla Pathana. We were familiar to the environment due to recent visit.
Chamara and myself reached Velangolla Pathana in 1hour time. Surrounding was bit gloomy compared to our Yahangala visit.
Velangolla Pathana spreads on right side of Yahangala. Basically it is covered with grass and Mana bushes. It is not a flat plateau. Velangolla Pathana has less tall trees except the mana patch. Our plan was to get down to Udawela side from Pathana and reach Hasalaka.

Yahangala becomes an acceptable tourist attraction

Following rituals before enter the forest. Photo belongs Chamara

On the way to Velangolla Pathana-Garandigala at back drop

At Velangolla Pathana. Two man team with back drop of Yahangala. Photo belongs to Chamara.

Get blessings from Gale Bandara Dewiyo. Photo belonges to Chamara.

View of Kehelpothdoruwegala from Velangolla Pathana

View of Knuckles peaks from Velangolla Pathana. Click credit goes to Chamara.

View of Balalgira from Velangolla Pathana. Click credit goes to Chamara.

Paddies of Uda Iluka. Click credit goes to Chamara.

Moving on Velangolla Pathana.

We always kept our path at the edge of Pathana to view the drop. Last time we have noticed the elephant at the middle of Pathana. We have passed small Pinus patch and reached almost flat grassy area. Suddenly we noticed an elephant at a drop with 15-20m gap. We were nervous and started to run back. But when we looked back we saw the elephant was also running away from us. It made to stop us and move towards the elephant. The elephant gradually hided into tree cover and we could see another one with this elephant.

We always kept our path along the edge of right hand side of Pathana.

Nice cross section of Velangolla. It shows the step ladder way of climbing Yahangala.

This shows our pathway along Velangolla Pathana.

The view towards Uda Iluka.

Chamara is enjoying the view.

Velangolla Pathana and Yahangala.

Velangolla Pathana and Yahangala

It was kind of a gloomy weather.

Foot pathways from Kalugala to reach Velangolla Pathana. We used one of these to descend in 2010.

Velangolla Pathana.

Velangolla Pathana. Click credit goes to Chamara.

Different appearance of Yahangala

At the edge

Pinus patch

Most beautiful section of Velangolla Pathana

Most beautiful section of Velangolla Pathana

Velangolla Pathana

Velangolla Pathana

Fresh elephant dung

Passing a small peak at Velangolla Pathana

Looked back…..

Typical plateau. This area is good for camping.

Typical plateau. This area is good for camping.

The descend of Pathana where we assumed to have elephants. Click credit goes to Chamara.

Coming across jumbo…… The elephant is also running away from us. Click credit goes to Chamara

The elephant is moving away from us… Click credit goes to Chamara.

Under the cover of trees. Click credit goes to Chamara.

Under the cover of trees. Click credit goes to Chamara.

Click credit goes to Chamara

The elephant roaming at Velangolla Pathana. Third encounter. Click credit goes to Chamara.

Second one out of three. Click credit goes to Chamara.

Hope these elephants have enough food and water at this Pathana.

Then we moved further and reached the other end of Pathana. Velangolla Pathana gradually connects with the low land from this side. On the other side we saw a
Chena with a small house. But there was a huge drop where we wanted to get down. We looked for a foot pathway to reach this Chena but it was not successful. Then we decided to get down through Mana bushes at the drop to reach Chena.

Nearby lake at Batumulla side. Photographed by Chamara Perera.

18 hair pin bends / photographed by Chamara Perera.

The drop to Batumulla side. Photographed by Chamara Perera.

The drop to Udaththawa side.

Pathana gradually connects with low land from this end.

Pathana gradually connects with low land from this end.

View of Yahangala and Kehelpothdoruwegala with Velangolla Pathana.

Incidental capturing….

Getting down through Mana patch

Mana and Velangolla Pathana

Where we were…..

This Chena belongs to Kiri Banda Mama (කිරි බණ්ඩා මාමා) who is 86years old. He lives here with her disabled daughter. They asked us to stop for “Kahata”/කහට but we politely refused it and got directions to Batumulla where we can get a bus. It was almost a descend from there to Batumulla. By one and half hour we reached Batumulla. We had a small wash from Batumulla hospital and hired a threewheel to Hasalaka.

The Chena at Medakelle

Reaching Chena

Posed for group photo. Belongs to Chamara Perera.

Small road named by his name.

Crossing the bridge

Map reading: Click to enlarge. Blue star shows our start from Uda Iluka. Black star shows Velangolla Pathana. Red star shows Medakelle village where we descend.

Thanks for reading

December 11, 12 and 13^th were the days and it was a long weekend which was not to be wasted. Our decision was to go on camping in Udawalawe or in Wilpaththu but ultimately a decision was taken to go for Udawalawe. Waruna had high hopes about Wilpaththu but ……… bad luck.

Campsite was booked well in advance and all geared up for the trip. On 11^th morning we left Colombo. Had to stop at a few places to buy some stuff and food we needed and at around 1 we reached the park entrance. There was a little delay at the park office since there was a difficulty in finding a proper tracker to go to the campsite. We had plenty of time to get to the campsite hence we decided to go on a safari and get to the place around 5 o’clock.

Probably it should be the end of the dry season for Udawalawe according to the park officials as there was some considerable amount of rain in the last few days. But most of the areas in the park were dry and dusty. At the very start of the journey we saw two jumbos drinking water right ahead of us. One of them was standing on the road so we had to stop until they are done with drinking. After 10-15 minutes they slowly walked into the jungle and we continued our drive.

Jumbos enjoying some cold water

Driving on a dry lake

We spent 3-4 hours with the safari and the most common sights were elephants, Peacocks, buffalos, deer and crocodiles. Have to say that if you are a bird lover you will have plenty of opportunities to spot various numbers of birdies in the park including the fast and mischievous guy green bee-eater.

Such a poser

“Dude, we are hungry”

“What are you looking at human?”

Spot the croc!

As planned we reached our campsite around 4.30 pm. Away from civilization! Away from the concrete jungle! Campsite was so spacious and every moment spent here was like injecting stress relief medicine into you.

Pansadara campsite

We quickly set up the tent and went for a quick bath in the nearby Walawe River. According to our tracker, nearby area of the river is a normal bathing spot but not the area upstream or downstream. Even when you bath near the campsite river bank, you need to be in full alert.

Bathing in walawe river (Mahesh in action)

Lighted up the lanterns around the campsite and then prepared diner. Maggie noodles and sausages did the job more than enough. Hail chef. Laksri for the delicious first meal!

On the second day, we woke up early, had tea and left the camp for the safari part 2. While we were driving we suddenly saw someone or something crossing the road very quickly way ahead of us. From distance, to me, it looked like an elephant but once again it was so quick and lightning fast as it crossed the road. Our tracker also had noticed the scene and according to him those were two hunters who ran across the road into the thick greenery hearing the jeep sound! We had to go to the rangers’ office to report the incident.

We drove through the jungle without much luck and decided to go near Udawalawe reservoir where we spotted two jumbos, actually a little tusker and an elephant.

“Jeeps could roam in the reservoir area tracks freely now as the water level is very low but in the rainy season the complete area gets flooded and covered, there won’t be any tracks or safaris along these routes”- Mr. tracker

Udawalawe reservoir

These tracks are not available in the rainy season in Uda walawe reservoir

We had our breakfast near the Gonawiddagala bungalow, where visitors are allowed to get off their vehicles. Top part and the roof of the Gonawiddagala bungalow and part of the reservoir was visible from this place. Afterwards we drove back to the camp without any animal sightings.

Gonawiddagala bungalow from distance

Prepared our lunch which consisted of salmon, meat balls, rice and dhal. Hail Chef. Laksri once again! for the delicious meal. We spent a relaxing evening at the campsite that day. In addition to that, were able to spot a couple of huge crocs on the sandy river banks.

That night we lighted up a campfire in addition to the lanterns and had a chat until midnight. And on the next day we packed up to leave Pansadara.

Campfire

Camping Crew before departure

Cheers!

Sri Lankan rail tracks run in different environmental locations of the country where you can have different experiences with rail walk. Rail hike along central part gives maximum beauty of the country and costal rail walk is totally different from it. We thought of doing a rail walk in dry zone mainly rail tracks runs through forests. Total credit should go to Chamara as he was so enthusiastic on doing this. We selected the section of Colombo-Batticalo line from Habarana to Minneriya where Kaudulla (කවුඩුල්ල) and Minneriya national parks are at direct touch with the rail line. It was an amazing experience of meeting wild elephants along rail track.

I met Ashan and Chamara at Habarana junction. Habarana station is situated about 3km from Habarana town. Habarana is the junction of Trincomale and Polonnaruwa road. But Galoya junction is the point where Trincomale and Batticalo rail tracks meet. We travelled to Habarana railway station by three wheeler and started the journey towards Gal Oya junction.

As soon after get into the railway track we have noticed a board shows elephant crossing. This is the area you can get maximum amount of Elephants cross along the railway track. Therefore they will get more accidents with train and deaths. Following the rain surrounding was greenish. Colombo Trincomale road also runs parallel to the railway line with few meters apart but later separated well from the railway track.

Most of the times this railway line was almost flat and can view another 1-2 kms well. It rarely had bends not like Udarata railway line. Till we reach Hatharas Kotuwa there were no houses and same scenario was detected in between Hatharas Kotuwa and Galoya Junction.

Starting at Habarana

Colombo-Trincomale road crossing the railway line at Habarana

Train schedule at Habarana station

Warning at the beginning

Nice flat railway line

Randomly placed…

It was greenish on either side with Mana and bushes

They were two chaps walking with me…

Newly placed sleepers

Most of the time you can view the distance for another 1-2kms.

Wood sleepers make the journey fast…

Something fun…..

They put all boards at one place….

Old elephant dung….

Another elephant crossing….

At a break…

Old bridge..

Still Trincomale road is parallel to rail way track

Mana on either side

Always there are milestones and Kilometer posts on either side of the railway line.

The only house was found closer to the railway line. This is a store/rest room of CGR.

Now they are posing….

“Udaya Devi”(උදය දේවී) has passed us….

Trio of the journey…

Snapped at ground level…..

We have come across elephants in different occasions between Habarana and Galoya. They were noticed far front as well as behind us. Once a jumbo has crossed in front of us. Third time an elephant was eating closer to railway line without moving even though it has seen us. It made us bit anxious and wanted to bypass the railway line. Later we have decided to proceed along the railway line while watching his reaction towards us. Luckily he didn’t take any action against us.

First elephant encounter at distant vicinity.

Jumbo is crossing the railway track

Jumbo is crossing the railway track

He got scared by seeing us

Scary faces after seeing the elephant closer to railway line.

They were thinking whether to bypass the railway line.

The jumbo who was at closer to railway line.

The jumbo who was at closer to railway line.

The jumbo who was at closer to railway line.

Heroes after crossing jumbos

If you are not capturing things when you go, it is such a boring thing to walk along railway line.

Star tortoise. (තාරකා ඉබ්බා) It was a common finding along railway line.

Awaiting ….

Kilometer post

Might be following an accident

Tree house at Chena. It is a sign that we are closer to human inhabitants.

Reaching Hatharas Kotuwa station

Smiley faces…

We have refreshed our selves at Hatharas Kotuwa with cool drinks (The villagers at Hatharas Kotuwa buy drinking water). Safari jeeps were passing to Kaudulla Park with tourists. It is not a safari season in other years but it is a good advantage to them due to drought. The section between Hatharas Kotuwa to Gal Oya junction was same as previous stretch. As it was the evening of the day we expected to view more and more elephants. Unfortunately it didn’t happen. We reached Gal Oya junction just before Mahawa train departures. The lake at Gal Oya junction adds extra beauty to rail track. It is a nice place for bird watching at evening.
We found a three wheel from Gal Oya junction and travelled to Colombo-Trincomale road to catch a bus to Habarana. It ends 16.3k journey along rail track from Habarana to Gal Oya junction.

Railway crossing after Hatharas Kotuwa

Railway crossing after Hatharas Kotuwa

Over the line….

Reaching Gal Oya junction railway station

Reaching Gal Oya junction railway station where Trincomale and Batticalo railway lines separate

The gap….

Slow train travels to Mahawa (මහව)

Though we plan to catch the train we missed it….

Parked at Gal Oya junction railway station

Trio at Galoya Junction Railway station

Towards Minneriya. This is the road between Minneriya and Hatharas Kotuwa.

Gal Oya Junction Lake. Mountains in Minneriya can be seen beyond the lake.

Gal Oya Junction Lake-sun set over it.

The rail track over the lake

Birds of same line…

Pelicans

Work out report at the end of the day. 16.3kms.

Rail walk from Gal Oya junction to Minneriya
This rail track goes through Kaudulla National Park to get touch with Minneriya railway station. The distance between these two stations is 8.1km. We thought it might be another opportunity to visit wild elephants if walk along this section as well.
This journey was arranged in a separate day and I ask two of my colleagues to join with me in an evening. We started from Minneriya station (as it is easy to travel from Polonnaruwa) and walked till Gal Oya junction.
Though we expected elephants it didn’t happen. Forest was on either side of the railway line and no human traces were found till Gal Oya junction railway line.
I could enjoy the evening beauty of Gal Oya junction Lake again.

Work out of the day. The rail track goes through Kaudulla NP.

Starting at Minneriya railway station

This was parked at the entrance of Minneriya rail way line

Beginning of the rail walk for the day.

Companions of the journey. Lalinda and Chanuka

Road side beauty

Iron bridge just next to Minneriya Station.

The bridge at Colombo-Polonnaruwa road. Minneriya Lake is seen over the bridge.

Slow train to Mahawa passing us.

Slow train to Mahawa passing us.

Birds gathering

Designed by wires

Straight railway line

Warning about elephants

Foot prints of jumbos

Good for screen saver

Limitation of speed due to elephant crossing

Forest was on either side of the railway line.

Met another Star Tortoise. Don’t know why they are common here

Railway track gets a bend

Photography at ground level….

I like this color combination

It was nice to walk along rail track with greenish surrounding

A mile post

Designed by current wires

Another bend

Reaching Galoya Junction Lake

Reaching Galoya Junction Lake

Cormorant

Enjoying sun set

A Group of birds made the sky beautiful

A Group of birds made the sky beautiful

Sun set over Gal Oya Junction Lake.

Safari jeep crossing the railway line

Thank you

Somawathiya temple (Somawathi Chethiya) is one of the popular places among Buddhist devotees. The right sacred tooth relic of Lord Buddha was kept at Somawathi stupa. (The left sacred tooth relic is found at Dalada Maligawa-Kandy). Most of the tourists come to Polonnaruwa don’t forget to visit at Somawathi Chethiya which is situated 40km from Polonnaruwa ancient kingdom.

History of Somawathi Temple

Prince Giri-Aba (ගිරි අබා) (2nd century BC) and princes Somawathi (සෝමාවතී දේවිය) (sister of King Kawanthissa) has built this stupa at “Somapura” (සෝම පුර) which was a sub kingdom situated closer to Mahaweli River. They have requested from Mahinda Maha Thero for some “Dathu” (ධාතු) to be kept in the relic chamber of stupa. Mahinda Maha Thero has visited “Naga Lokaya” (නාග ලෝකය) and brought right sacred tooth relic of Lord Buddha to be deposited at stupa. After completion of Somawathi Chethiya and six vihara, prince and princes handed over to Mahinda Maha Thero and sixty other Thero.

Though Somawathi temple was built on the eastern bank of Mahaweli River, currently it is seen on the western bank of the river due to change of the course of the river.

Somawathi stupa was renovated and developed under many kings of Rajarata. The temple premises with stupa got lost in the forest and rediscovered in 1947. It is not mentioned even in Polonnaruwa era. Archeologists have found four moonstones, flower pedestals and “Siripa Gal” around ancient Somawathi stupa.
They have found nine stone inscriptions around the site. Four of them situated on Eric Swan Rock situated on right hand side of the road from Polonnaruwa, few kilometers away from Somawathi Stupa.

Somawathiya Temple-2013

Somawathiya Temple-2013. They have kept a cross section of Stupa to show the structure of the wall to public.

Devotees around the Stupa. It is a common thing to see hundred or thousand gatherings around stupa in poya days.

Finial/ කොත් කැරැල්ල with crest gem.

Ruins around stupa

Ruins around stupa. Slab inscription.

Moon stone

Sacred foot prints

Eric Swan Rock/ “Dig gala” (දිග් ගල)
This longitudinal rock is situated on right hand side of the road from Polonnaruwa, about 1km before Somawathi temple. It got this name because a photographer called Eric Swan was killed by a wild elephant near this rock. He used to visit on this rock frequently.
There are number of inscriptions found on this rock mentioning commercial laws, taxes to Somawathi Temple etc.

View of Eric swan Rock/Dig Gala from Somawathiya road.

Eric Swan Rock. It’s inscription is protected.

Stone inscription of Eric Swan Rock

Stone inscription of Eric Swan Rock

A pond/ cave?

View of Somawathiya road from Eric Swan Rock