Hello my friends, so how’s it going? The downpours have arrived at last, haven’t they? So my hopes of camping have shattered like eggs dropped on a rocky surface. So I had to adapt to the change of weather, well it’s so difficult to predict now thanks to the continuous abusing of the Mother Nature in the name of development, and find a way of doing something. That was when we finalized on Namunukula coupled with Ella Rock.

At the time of writing this article, the whole country was being hammered left and right with downpours due to a low pressure situation in the Bay of Bengal. This was a complete turnaround from the drought we suffered in April. We don’t anymore have the nice and mixed weather patterns which we used to experience. Instead, it’s either heavy rains or severe drought and nothing in between. Ok, let’s move on with the story.

We fixed the dates for early May (7 & 8) and unlike our usual 3-day journeys; this had to be cut short into two due to our members’ work related issues. Travelling to and back from Badulla after a relatively moderate hikes is very challenging, especially for the driver. However Ana was up to the challenge so we passengers happily consented and got ready for the journey.

We came across Kasun’s Report on the cleaning of Namunukula and Ana apparently had made up his mind on doing something similar as he’d communicated with one of his friends who had involved in the project and got the information. Unlike the previous group who had not prepared for the extreme littering and had only managed to carry the garbage and polythene items, Ana had collected two thick fertilizer bags which were ideal for most of the hardy stuff. In addition to those he’d also got some long sticks to carry the heavy bags easily downhill on the shoulders of two people like how they sell fish in those containers with a pole attached.

Day 01

We were ready and left for Badulla at 2am, an hour earlier than usual, to compensate for the long journey. Our plan was to reach Kital Ella by 7am in order to start the hike to Ella Rock before the sun got vicious and finish the journey before the rains got mad. As planned we made very good ground and after a couple of pit stops, arrived at Kital Ella just before 7am.

Tour Highlights: 

1. Ella Rock, Kital Ella.
2. Namunukula Mountain.
3. Cleaning Efforts at Namunukula.

Ella Rock is more popular among foreigners than locals, I can safely say. Almost all the foreigners who visit Sri Lanka go to Ella (they pronounce it as Ela rather than Ella with double Ls). It’s said that Ella is among the three mostly visited places in Sri Lanka by the foreigners after Dalada Maligawa and Pinnawala. Climbing Ella Rock was (before our journey) said to be a relatively easier task and there was no guide needed. So we too decided to attempt it without a guide. I don’t usually like to do any hike without a guide as the pros always outweigh the cons of having a guide even though we have to pay him some money. I believe it is money well-spent as those people who guide us will learn to protect those environmental treasures instead of trying to make easy money by destroying them.

Now to find the correct trail to the Ella Rock. Please follow this and you’re not going to miss your way. Walk past Kital Ella Station (when coming from Ella) and continue for about 300m until you find a road to your left hand side. It’s not quite prominent when coming along the railway line so keep an eye out for it. It’s just a gravel (rather earth) road and take it and after a 50-100 meters it’ll cross the stream that feeds the Ravana Ella (not the Bambaragama Ella found on Ella-Wellawaya Road) with a concrete bridge. You can of course see the Ravana Ella when coming from Ella towards Kital Ella. Now just follow this road all the way to the summit. Fairly straight forward, isn’t it? It’s about 2-3km moderate hike to the Ella Rock.

There is another path which is quite confusing and that was what we took. It’s just before the Kital Ella Station when coming from Ella. You’ll see a railway bridge and just after it is a Bo Tree and take the tiny footpath to the left and follow the stream for about 50m until you reach a concrete bridge (identical one is found on the other path too) across the stream that feeds Ravana Ella. Actually this is the top of Ravana Ella and if you get down to the rocky surface (of course on a nice and dry day) you will be at the top of Ravana Ella. Then follow the trail straight on and you’ll soon be walking at the edge of the ridge that connects to the Ella Rock Range. To your left you can see Ella, Ella-Wellawaya Road, etc.  In addition to them, you can see Punchi Sri Pada (Little Adams Peak) and beyond that towering above Namunukula. It’s longer than the other path and will run through a Mana Patch and then a tea patch. It’ll then merge to the main trail with a shop and simply follow it to the summit.

Of course, you can always ask the path from the locals and clarify. There are always people lurking around the Kital Ella Station waiting for foreigners to take them to the Ella Rock so if you’re really desperate to have some help, maybe you can get one of them to take you to the summit. Anyway there are many articles on Lakdasun which would help you with the directions.

So, let’s back to the story at hand, shall we? We stopped at a shop on Ella-Kital Ella Road at the turn off to the station. The shop owner kindly allowed us to leave the vehicle in his land. We walked downhill along a concrete-paved road towards the station. It’s almost a km to the station. As we reached the station, Udarata Menike was coming to Kital Ella bound for Colombo. Wanna see a couple of pics of her?

Good morning!

Udarata Menike at Kital Ella

There she goes towards B’Wela

Seen when coming from Ella

We took the path closer to the Bo Tree and arrived at the bridge and then as we walked along the path there was a foreign couple ahead of us. Then appeared one of the locals and he directed us to a path that goes to the right uphill saying it’d be shorter and easier and chased after the foreigners. Well, I don’t understand why he simply didn’t ask us to follow him. Probably he wanted to hitch those foreigners and feared we might jeopardize his plans. The path he showed and we faithfully took led us into a thickly overgrown Mana area and we decided to retrace our steps and follow the original path we intended taking.

This led along the ridge and we got some beautiful views and followed it through the Mana patch and then entered the tea estate until we came to the junction with a shop where it merges with the original trail. There we decided to take a break and have our breakfast. The shop was still not open so we sat inside and enjoyed sandwiches. Here are some pics while we eat.

The bridge you see when enter near the Bo Tree

Top of Ravana Ella

Huge ones

The rail bridge just before the Kital Ella Station when coming from Ella

Nayabedda Range

Zoomed in

Leafless

But plenty of flowers

Towards Ella

Namunukula Range

Close up

Basking in the sun

He was very tiny and had a tough time capturing the fella

We continued the journey now turning to the left. It was a straight forward journey from there. The terrain more or less resembled that of Kalthota Doovili Ella and Upper Diyaluma Ella area with those unusual rock formations and unique trees. After a short hike we reached a point with a view of Punchi Sri Pada, Namunukula and Ella Rock. It was a really nice place with panoramic views. Well, here are some pictures up to that point while we enjoy ourselves.

On the way, as soon as we turned left to the proper path

Here we are

Namunukula in the distance

Oh, it’s me

Picturesque

The path to the heaven

Ella Gap

Our target

Punchi Sri Pada in the foreground and Namunukula Range in the background

Better view of Ella Gap

Ok, the steep bit is ahead

It really was a heavenly place with the path bordered by those beautiful trees. I felt like staying there some more but we were pressed for time and already a couple of groups of foreigners (mind you not a single local group except of course for the guides) went past us. Their ultimate goal was to reach the top not to spend time admiring these breath-taking views. Afterwards we entered a turpentine forest with ramrod straight trees going up to meet the precious sun rays.

You will find a stream where you can fill in the water bottles but wonder how it would be like on dry season though. Always good to take from where you start the trail as these sort of water sources are very unreliable. This was a very steep hike, the most difficult in the whole journey but it’s only about 600-700m so you won’t have a back-breaking task.

We climbed up to a flat area where the trial meets up with a wide road that runs across from left to right. I guess this had been a Jeep track in the past used by the Forest Department or estates. There’s another trail that can be used to climb to the summit via Heeloya and I believe this wide Jeep track is the one that comes from there. From here it’s a nice cozy walk to the first observation point about 200m away.

As soon as we arrived there, there was a group of foreigners enjoying the scenery. You could see the Punchi Sri Pada right in front of you almost at the same level as Ella Rock. Above it was Namunukula towering like a giant protecting the Badulla district. Below was the Ella-Wellawaya Road snaking among the lush greenery. To the left was Ella Station and we saw the Podi Menike going towards Kital Ella showing off her sky blue colours. Meanwhile Jine mama was boiling water and selling king coconuts to the foreigners. We too ordered plain tea and the one he gave had lemon grass and ginger in it which gave it a punchy taste and it was quite tasty. It’s something you should try at home if possible. You gotta use the roots of the lemon grass just like ginger and make the plain tea. Well, while we’re having it, enjoy some of it.

The leech territory but not a problem during the dry season

Tall trees

On the ground

Clear path

Looking back

View from the first observation point towards Ella

Ella and Namunukula

Punchi Sri Pada and Namunukula

Ella Gap

Podi Menike going towards Kital Ella

98 Acres

98-Acres

Tea Factory seen

Well, I really wanted to take this

The second observation point is about another 200m away which is less than 10-minute walk, not a hike, as it is a walk across the summit. Feeling refreshed we walked across and entered the wooded area of turpentine trees which were growing taller and taller in search of the precious sunlight. This is where most people seem to use for camping. It’s a beautiful location and we savored the shade and the cool breeze. After a short walk, we found a stream which can be used if you’re camping on the top. However, as the stream runs through fallen and dead leaves, it’d still be a good idea to boil and drink it.

However, it might also go dry during the dry season. We then reached the observation point with a Buddha Statue kept in a rocky shelter. From here you can see the extreme top of the Bambaragama Ella or Ravana Lower Falls. You could also see the bridge where she crosses Ella-Wellawaya Road with numerous shops. We enjoyed the beautiful scenery but the sun was getting too much to bear. So we retraced our steps and started the return journey. On the way back, we stopped to bid our farewell to Jine mama and started our descent.

Shady and flat terrain before the second observation point

Like a painting

Goes towards the second observation point

Buddha Statue near the observation point

Towards the top of Bambargama Ella

Ella-Wellawaya Road below

The valley below

Zoomed in view of the Bambaragama Ella top part

The bridge near the Bambaragama Ella view point

Time to go

Couldn’t leave her

We stopped at the same view point and took some time to enjoy the panoramic views. The breeze was simply hypnotizing and all we wanted was to close our eyes and go to sleep. On our way down we met a group of local boys who were probably going up there for camping. They were the only other locals apart from us which shows the less interest among the locals to climb Ella Rock. In a way it’s a good thing coz this area will remain unpolluted and unmolested as a result.

We arrived back at the Kital Ella (this time we used the proper path) and got back to our vehicle around 12 noon.

Back on the trail downhill with Ella Gap

Namunukula once again

Heavenly path

Somewhat similar to Upper Diayluma Trail

No leaves

There were many skyscrapers like this

Had to be careful

Lush greenery

One of those you saw earlier basking in the sun

Similar bridge we saw earlier

Malu Miris

Getting ripe

Hasi ahead of me

This was a good deed and shows the transparency. If only our politicians and government institutions can do the same! Sigh

We arrived in Badulla and stopped at Ja Ela Kade for lunch. It’s closer to the roundabout at Muthiyangana RMV, if I’m not mistaken it’s the Cocowatte Road that connects to the Bank Road. A nice place to have lunch and there’s another shop cum bakers (on the same side, the other one) that serves fried rice, noodles and some very delicious buns. Afterwards we drove to our lodgings and settled down for the day. The rain came as if on cue which allowed us to have a nap in the evening.

We then got up, went out for dinner came back and slept again. Badulu Oya was flowing closer to where we stayed and we could see her downhill journey in the twilight. The rains helped bring down the scorching temperatures to bearable levels. Our next move was to get up around 4.30am and leave for Namunukula around 5am. As we were coming to Colombo on the same day, we had to make every minute count so as not to get too late. So we’ll see you in the morning and keeping our fingers crossed the rains will stay away until we’re done.

Day 02

Good morning everyone and hope you’re ready for the hike. We can hear the Badulu Oya making noises after getting fat in the rains. However, very little time to enjoy her beauty coz it’s still dark and we gotta cover the distance to the trail head as soon as we can so that the hike won’t take long and we could hopefully finish it before noon and be on our way.

We left Badulla and took the Passara Road until the 3^rd Mile Post. You’d not find a post but the address on the shops around say it’s the 3^rd Mile Post. Then you’ll find a turn to the right with an estate board saying it’s the Glen Alpin Estate (Balangoda Plantation). Take this road and you’d soon reach the factory, well not so soon. At the factory take the left uphill road until you come to a Y junction. Take the left uphill road once again and it’ll lead to the last line houses at the end of the estate. The village is known as Diyanagala.

I’ve given the time table of the bus that operates between Badulla and Diyanagala so that you could use it as it’d save a lot of money to hire a tuk-tuk. The sun was still coming up slowly when we reached the village and time was 6am. The bus driver and conductor were just getting ready and we drove past the village (the last house) for another 1km or so until the end of the road where there’s a shed built to collect the tea leaves. Remember, we were not aware of the exact point to enter the trail after the village. So I’m telling you the way we took it and later on will tell you how to find the correct trail. However the one we took is also a very nice one and would reduce the length you have to walk through the forest in half.

Oh before we go any further, a word on the road condition up to this point from the 3^rd Mile Post. It’s largely in the good side and even a low clearance car such as a Hybrid can do. However there are patches especially towards the last bit which can be tricky. I’d not advise you take a very low clearance vehicle as it could be problematic, especially after the heavy rains recently. As we went in a double cab, we didn’t feel much discomfort however there were quite a few tricky areas. And the other thing is the road is very narrow so if you’re going, try to avoid meeting the bus (you can roughly estimate the time using the time table).

We reached the shed I mentioned earlier and stopped the vehicle. There’s ample space to turn and park as it’s the end of the road and where the lorry which comes to collect tea leaves stop thus the shed. We walked through the shed and found a very prominent footpath. Assuming this was the proper path we happily walked on. To our left was the tea patch as far as the top of the hill and there was a tree line along the range. We passed a forest patch in the middle of the tea estate and walked further on. To our right, we saw panoramic views of the morning. There was a thin veil of mist over Badulla town and beyond that we could see as far as Knuckles, Haggala, Piduruthalagala, Ambewela, HP, KGP, etc.

Taking in the beauty unfolding us we kept walking. The tea patch was at an angle to our left (almost 70-degree) and a ravine to our right. We could see the Diyanagala village we drove through and other villages located below. The footpath in total is almost 1km and it goes in a horseshoe shape from left to right. We walked till the end of it where it disappears into the forest where tea estate meets with it and knew we were hopelessly lost.

Then Ana called Priyanjan and explained our position. If you have read Namunukula reports, you’d know that none of them had mentioned about the shed. If there was, I missed reading them. We saw the steep tea patch and on Priyanjan’s instructions we retraced our steps along the footpath about half way and found a path that goes uphill in a zig-zag pattern through the tea patch to the top where the forest is. You can easily find the trail head as it starts closer to a huge rocky boulder (see the pictures) to your left when coming from the shed. The distance from the shed is about 300m.

From here it’s pretty straight forward until you reach the top of the tea estate where it meets the tree line. The distance is about 1-1.5km (as it’s a zig-zag one) and despite the steep slope, we didn’t even feel it until we arrived at the tree line having wasted more than an hour looking for the correct trail. All the way up the sun was behind Namunukula Range and we were sheltered from his rays and the breeze coming from the open area below was very soothing to the body. We soon reached the tree line and took our position. It was apparent that there was a path running parallel to the tree line at the edge of the tea estate. If we were to follow it downhill for about 800m, we’d have met the shrine and entrance to the proper trail. But we didn’t know about it so did something else. Check out these pics before that.

Beautiful morning

Layer of clouds over Badulla

Was like heaven

That path is the wrong one but we went to the end

Passing these

If I’m not mistaken, that is Haggala

Ok, this is from where we were at the end. You see the forest patch and the tea estate? We climbed to the top of the tea estate along the crisscrossing path and entered the forest at the top

This is the starting point to the path uphill along the tea estate

There it is and we entered to the forest from the top

The view was with us all along

That was the path we walked by mistake

The path through the tea estate, not difficult at all

Diayangala Village in the distance

Clustering together

“Gedi Thakkali” – A variety of tomatoes which grow in up country

Almost at the top

A busy air traffic route was above us

Feeding time

Looking back just before entering the forest

We had our breakfast (if you can call a double cream bun each breakfast) there and contemplated our options. We chose an opening into the forest from where we were and climbed up through the dense forest patch. After a very short distance, not more than 10m I’d think, we came across a path which ran across from left to right. Very much similar to the one we found at Ella Rock but not as wide or prominent. We decided to go left and it was the correct move. Soon we found (100m or so) an opening where we saw remains of a fire to signal we were on a path which had previously been used.

Feeling light hearted we took a break and got ready with the fertilizer bags and hand glouses to start collecting the garbage while doing the hike. We walked across and another 100-200m arrived at a small opening with a clear footpath that goes uphill to the right and downhill to the left. This is the correct one which comes from the shrine. It’s easy to identify as some group had left white cardboard arrows at places (we found one here) and also there were concrete pillars (about 3ft in height, which you normally use to fence lands with those metal cables) at every 100m or so. These were probably erected by those who did the surveying of this area and we found evidence near the shrine on our way back.

So from here, it’s pretty straight forward. Go uphill until you reach the first summit point cum camp site. The distance was only about 1km and it was a gradual climb, not so steep. We found polythene wrappers but not much probably because another group had done some cleaning but our worst nightmare was still waiting patiently at the two camp-sites. We reached the first summit point around 9am and started snapping away. Before that, check out these pictures.

Here we are

Close together

Looks gorgeous but let’s keep the distance

The Team

One of my favorites

Colorful

At the merging point and Ana pointing at the white arrows placed by a previous group, probably the university students

Now on the proper path

It was nice and shady

Some more of those beauties

An opening before the first summit point

Just before

Summit Point 1

It really was a heavenly place but unlike other mountains, Namunukula doesn’t offer (if so we couldn’t find any) panoramic views from the top as it’s covered with trees all around. Maybe if you really tried you could get to an opening bordering the edge but we didn’t think it was a good thing to do so just enjoyed what was on offer. All that was before we found the countless number of broken pieces of glass bottles left by the other people. I’ll come to it after you see these pictures in and around the summit point 1.

Here we are

Where they’d lit the campfire

Around

Fresh leaves

Hiding among leaves

She’s not a stranger

Rest of the camping area

Looking good

Feeding on the minerals

Had to spend a long time to capture them

Afterwards it was nothing but heart breaking sights of garbage and broken glass scattered around the camp-site. Our initial plan was to collect all the garbage but in the end we had to switch to glass collection. Thanks to the previous group of people who’d collected so much polythene and other garbage, the amount of them was relatively low but still disturbingly high. We had no option but to pile them up and burn as it was too much for us to carry on top of the heavy glass without cutting ourselves.

Ana very wisely had taken a couple of pair of thick glouse and fertilizer bags allowing us to carry around 30kg each between groups of two with the help of the sticks. So here are the pictures of my team clearing around the Summit Point 1 and afterwards let’s go to the Summit Point 2.

There we go

Collecting piece by piece

It was back breaking work

Separating the gravel from the glass pieces

Those glouse saved the day

One bag almost full

He had to keep digging to unearth those pieces

Biscuit wrappers

This was an interesting one. A fire cracker that goes up (Ahas Kuru)

Not trying to give publicity but to show how pathetic the situation is

Summit Point 2

Well, it was tough work and we practically had to crawl along the ground collecting those tiny pieces of glass without cutting ourselves. Afterwards, we decided to go and enjoy the rest of the hike towards Summit Point 2 but took the bags with us all the same. It was a very good move coz that place was cluttered more than the Summit Point 1. We found a huge pile of garbage left behind and a pit of broken glass as well.

There was a well which you can probably use to collect water but these careless and heartless people had dropped tops of the liquor bottles into it. On top of that, I fished out a couple of polythene bags either dropped or fallen with the winds which had been left behind. It’s such a pity how they had behaved even trying to spoil the precious water found on the summit. First the usual pictures and then we’ll come to the cleaning efforts. We even found a toilet with in good condition which you can use. It’s located about 50m from the main campsite passing the Buddha Statue.

Here we are and can see the fire point

The team with a message from the Uni of Uva-Wellassa

Team meeting

Telling a secret

Rabbits’

About 50m from the camp site

Other shrine

Hidden in the forest

Seems to be in good condition

The water looked ok, but don’t pollute it and best boil before using

Well now let’s look at how my team members toiled on their efforts to collect this environmentally-unfriendly stuff which is a real killer blow for the innocent Mother Nature.

See the hard work

Piece after piece

Just unimaginable the way people go on polluting this

Endless supply of them

Getting it ready

Needs extreme caution not to cut ourselves

Ready to go

Here we go

In a line

Please stick to this and thanks for those students who put this up

Getting Down

We started our downhill descent and it was really tough to take the heavy broken glass sacks balancing between two people. There were many times we almost cut ourselves and towards the very last bit, Atha cut himself from a piece which had come through the fertilizer bag. So if you’re doing it make sure you have thick sacks and a stick to carry with two people. Garbage bags are fine but only for polythene and similar things, not for the heavy work.

We then climbed down and reached the point where we merged with the main trail. See the picture of Ana pointing at the arrow stuck on a tree. We went straight downhill as it seemed to be the prominent path and we found more concrete pillars and realized this was the correct one. After about 600m from where we merged with the main trail you’d come to a sort of an opening. You gotta be careful here and don’t go straight up a small hill but take the sharp left which is at a 90-degree angle. It was the only point which you might lose the path but now that you know it’d be no problem. So when you’re coming up towards the summit, you have to turn right to go to the summit. Hope it is clear.

From here it’s pretty straight forward and at the end of the trail you’d come to the opening with a shrine and the tea estate to your left. You’d also see the concrete pillars continue to the other end of the mountain range and perhaps one day you can cover the whole range by simply following these pillars. Ok, here are the pictures of our descent so far.

It was easier said than done

One miss, you’d have ended up bleeding

Path was slippery too

Taking a precious break

The knots kept coming off

On the proper path downhill

Fallen on the ground

One last break

Open terrain

Just came out and can see our entrance to the forest at the farthest corner

The shrine

This would help you and thus the reason for concrete pillars

Out they come

And this group too

Time to head downhill

We then walked downhill along the clear path through the tea estate. You can see the tree line which runs parallel to the tea estate. We entered the forest further up when you look at from the path. Eventually we reached the main road which goes all the way to the shed I mentioned earlier. So when you are coming from Diyanagala Village side, you have to take the left hand side path that goes uphill towards the forest through the tea estate. It’s about 300-400m from the village and you can see the shed which is the end of the road from this point to your right.

So keep an eye out for it when you’re coming up from the village and just before you lose sight of it is when you have to turn left. Hope that is clear. So you now know two paths to get up to the summit and I highly recommend the way we did this for you as you’d be able to see those breath-taking views of the mountains when climbing up if you use our route. Even though we took it by mistake, it turned out to be a real gem of a find.

So here is the last set of pictures before I wind up this journey.

See the tree line with the tea estate

The path through the tea estate

On the main road. This is where you have to take to the left

Valley below

Here they come

Yeah, it really was an achievement

This is on the way back and can see the point we entered into the forest

Here it is to the left

So folks, how was it? I hope you enjoyed it and got yourselves inspired by this small activity we did towards the betterment of the Mother Nature. I know some of you might feel that we could’ve organized it in a large scale by inviting more people. However, I feel different coz most of those projects don’t go as planned due to the time constraints and personal commitments. If there are more cancellations, the whole project might even get cancelled coz others would feel disheartened.

Therefore, I’d suggest you to take the initiative and do whatever you can whenever possible. Don’t wait for others; if you as an individual can clean a couple of polythene bags, toffee wrappers, etc. please do so. After all, those huge rivers are made of tiny tiny streams. So I’d always try to be one of those tiny streams which would ultimately contribute to a massive river. You too can do the same. Let’s all start small and spread the word so that others will join and ultimately this whole world will change their crude and greedy attitude towards the Mother Nature.

With that thought, I’ll say good-bye to you all. Keep travelling but do take care of yourself as there are many natural disasters happening in the country thanks to the continuous abusing of the nature. So stay safe and do your bit for the nature.

Sri…

P.S. As I publish this report, Ana and his team had been back to Namunukula once again in order to carry out yet another environmental project. They’d taken some wooden sign boards (to keep it environmentally friendly) and put them up along the path with messages such as “කසල එපා”, “බෝතල් එපා”, etc. Will update the details and pics at the forum under the thread.

Hello everyone, hope you’ll are doing great. Here I’m back with the 3^rd Pictorial Story. Well now you know these pictorial stories are solely focused on the wildlife parks in Sri Lanka. I brought you the stories of wildlife at Wilpattu and Kumana in the previous stories and hope you enjoyed them as much as we did. It’s amazing how one would fall madly in love with the National Parks as I was not so passionate about them before. My love was for waterfalls but from my last visit to Wilpattu, it all changed and now my penchant is wildlife.

It’s so heart-warming and pleasing to the eye when you’re with the wildlife. I mean, it’s just so difficult to explain the feelings, yet you’d find being able to observe these wonderful marvels of the Mother Nature in their natural habitats (lemme emphasise it again “Natural Habitats” coz caging them and having them in zoos as public displays is not human-like). Furthermore, we need to respect their rights of roaming in their own territories freely without making ourselves a nuisance. Just like us, they too value privacy and being able to be on their own. So as the most intelligent beings on earth (even that according to our own standards), let’s try to protect these wonderful creatures and live in harmony. However seeing the difficulties of living in harmony among human beings, I know it’s a big ask but please try your best to do your bits.

As you all know, Sri Lankan Leopard is the Holy Grail of all environmental enthusiasts in the country. There’s this manic rush at chasing the leopards in order to get the best shot on our lenses. Unfortunately this creates so much discomfort and unpleasant situations inside the wildlife parks inviting fierce competition among jeep drivers, trackers and visitors to beat the rest and get the best out of the sightings. This has wreaked havoc at Yala and being spread to Wilpattu quite rapidly making it extremely unbearable and uncontrollable. Well to be honest, even I’m guilty of some of these careless, selfish and reckless behaviours and I’m sure almost all the others are too. What’s more important is to learn from your mistakes and make an effort not to repeat them and help others correct theirs and prevent the younger generation from committing these.

I’ve a few suggestions which would help you enjoy the safari instead of being constantly under pressure looking out for the leopard or bear putting pressure on the drivers and trackers. Hope these will help you and I’ve actually started doing most of them, rather all of them except No. 3. However I’m planning to put it to use soon coz it’s just unbelievable how much freedom it gives me from the partial attempts at it.

1. Well, you’ve sort of gotta come to terms with not being able to see a leopard or a bear inside the wildlife park as it’s such a rare and gifted occurrence. When you make up your mind, it’ll lift a great burden from your heart and mind and allow you to relax and enjoy the safari. After all, you’re there to enjoy everything the wildlife parks have to offer. I’m sure there professional photographers who’re out there to get some good shots for their magazines, websites, etc. and would want only those pictures. However the majority of the visitors are casual photographers and you’d be amazed to see how beautiful the rest of the animals, birds and views really are if you just give up that sole purpose of seeing a leopard.
2. Learn to enjoy the wildlife with your eyes first. Most of the time we’re glued to our screens or viewfinders breathing real hard in order to capture the best of the best. What we forget is that we’re out there to ease the pressure building inside us from the issues at office, home and others. So don’t tire yourselves more and invite heart attacks. Now I’m not asking you not to take pictures. I’m merely suggesting you balance it out and enjoy them with your eyes and savour those moments. After all, nothing like seeing with your own eyes, don’t you agree?
3. Let go of the camera altogether. I know this sounds a bit extreme but just think about the days when you didn’t have sophisticated cameras or mobile phones with cameras. How much fun and joy you had then as there was no pressure for you to take the better shot than your friends? Now it’s become a competition, even among the closest of the friends and as a result you really don’t enjoy these rides as much as you should, do you?
4. Tell the jeep driver and the tracker that you’re there to see all the animals and beautiful sights. You’d be amazed to see how glamorous views are there inside wildlife parks which go unnoticed in our frantic rush to capture the animals. This will ease the pressure on the driver and won’t make his movements reckless. Make a humble request not to invite his friends by calling them if you happen to come across a leopard or bear. You’ll be amazed at the results.
5. Don’t encourage the jeep drivers or trackers to do illegal things by offering money or other titbits. When you show them that you’re there to enjoy the wildlife, the whole of them, but within the legal boundaries, it’d be an exemplary thing for them too. They’d in turn refuse to do illegal things as the time goes on. We need to help the wildlife authorities in order for them to help us.
6. Slowdown in your movements. Just take it easy and take time to spend time watching these animals no matter how commonly you find them. Most of the visitors simply ignore commonly seen animals like Spotted Deer, Wild Boar, Wild Buffaloes, Peacocks, Bee Eaters, Herons, Egrets, etc. Just take a moment to enjoy their behaviour as well and I promise you that you won’t get disappointed.

Ok, hope that was of some use. So if you read my previous Pictorial Stories, you’d know that we had some grand sightings except just one occasion we barely saw the leopard at Kumana. So for some reason, something was telling me that we’d be rewarded for our patience with some grand leopard sightings in the next journey. That was when Hasi came around to book Heenwewa in Yala and we arranged our journey. Ideally you should spend 2 nights at a wildlife park, especially something as big as Yala, Kumana, Wilpattu, Wasgamuwa or Maduru Oya in order to maximise your chances and have a more leisurely-paced journey. Unfortunately for us, we only could get away during the weekend limiting our stay for just one night.

So we decided to improvise just like at Wilpattu. We left at midnight on Friday and reached Yala just before 6am. On Sunday, we left Yala NP around 5.30pm after two full days of wildlife safari. Ok, join me for this roller coaster ride through Yala where we finally got a good look at the Holy Grail…

Day 01

We left Colombo half past midnight when most of the Colombo was still partying late into the night. The garbage collectors were busy at work in the neon lights while stray dogs kept barking and fighting for remaining morsels. The beggars were fast asleep along the shop fronts and some dogs who could fight no longer sought the same shelter with them. Tuk-tuks, the most reliable source of transport method 24/7 in and around Colombo kept whistling past carrying partygoers home.

Amid all the hustle bustle, a group of 5 people were speeding down the E1 towards Matara to make it to Tissa by 5.00am to meet up with our jeep driver. We made it by 4.30am and the Tissamaharama Temple looked simply outstanding in the early morning and I couldn’t resist paying a visit. There was pirith being chanted and a couple of devotees were doing the rituals while majority of them were sleeping along the temple premises.

There was a nice cool breeze coming off the lake nearby rustling the Buddhist Flags lining the sandy path to this mighty Stupa. The time came to a standstill and I slowly walked up to the Stupa premises and walked around quietly so as not to make a movement to disturb the tranquillity of this sacred ground. It’s such a rare opportunity for someone to be able to visit this beautiful place at this time of the day and there were many decorations as the temple was being prepared for the Poson Poya. Here are a couple of pics.

Everything ready for Poson

Serene looking Buddha… Could’ve looked at this for ages

The mighty Stupa in one pic…

Gayan had to come looking for me as the jeep driver had come and was waiting for me to return from the Stupa. So we got into the jeep and went to Harsha’s place to leave the car in their garden and then having loaded everything onto the jeep we started our journey. Harsha had arranged the 5-litre water bottles for us beforehand. We arrived at the park ticket office just after 6am and joined the already long queue. The jeeps were parked all over and the queue seemed to move ever so slowly. While Hasi is waiting, I manage to take a few pics.

Please adhere to these by all means

“Good morning!”

Well, sorry if you’re unable to read Sinhala

Yala Map – Click image to enlarge

Finally we got our chance and drove to the entrance about 500m away. The road up to that point is now well carpeted. We entered the park and here’s the story of wildlife at Yala for you. We’ll meet them till lunch time before we go to the bungalow for checking in and have lunch.

Just entered

“Hello there”

“It’s a gorgeous morning”

“Well, just doing my morning meditation”

“Where did this snail go?”

“Don’t jump out of line”

“Hey, it’s me Orange Breasted Green Pigeon”

“I’m the Black Robin”

Where the leopard was to the right beyond the water, almost 100m

“Can you see her at 30X?”

“Hey you all are in Yala too?” asked her

“I’m thirsty after all the licking”

“This looks like a better spot”

“I know I look funny with my tail up like this”

This is just after the leopard sighting. Can you see the rush building up almost like A1 on a Fri evening?

“It’s so hot, so I’m taking a dip”

“Thanks for taking a pic coz most of the people simply ignore my beauty now. Except the foreigners”

“Hey, watch where you going”

One of the many tanks full of water thanks to the rains in the previous weeks

“Hiya! Where you guys staying?”

“Can’t even have a bath properly with you trespassing all over”

“Hey get up those guys are watching us”

“I saw it right here a while ago”

“Take your wretched spoon out of here” retorted the Pelican

“Grrrrr”

“Hurry it up you fellas”

“Ow, it was tasty”

“පීනමුකෝ මඩ වලේ – හිරු හිනහෙන උදයේ”

“Got yah you brute” jumped the Croc from the water after catching a fish. Meanwhile the jumbo was saying “Oh golly this is fun”

“Oh hello, wanna come and have a mud bath free of charge?”

“මේ වගේ පෙරලි පෙරලි”

“No way I’m gonna tolerate this nonsense from that crazy jumbo”

“Hello, I’m Ravana. Well not the one in the legends”

“Did you see my mate Gemunu by any chance? Hope he didn’t bother you”

“Well, just wanted to say hi to you all”

“I’ll get going”

“Oh one last thing, don’t feed that fella if he tries to rob you of any food and those monkeys by the Menik River”

“Hey, come on up here”

“You almost missed me, didn’t you?”

“That fella is crazy about photographs”

“Lols, nobody taking pics of us” – Well we did

“Welcome to the Yala Herbal Spa”

“This is the trusted and proven Yala Mud Pack for anti-repellent and anti-ageing”

“Sweetieeeee, where are you” – She was looking for her husband

This is Weera, one of the favorite delicacies of Bears after Palu. It tastes heavenly

“So when do you think we should get settled?”

“You oafs, keep away from me”

One of those beautiful wild flowers

This comes in one of the very old theme songs in ITN. That rock resembles an elephant

In full bloom

“Mom, I’m scared”

“Oh fear not son, they’re actually scared of us”

“Let’s go without giving them heart attacks”

“Was that you?”

“Anything to eat here?”

Back on the road…

So how was the journey so far? It really was a very sharp look from one of the trackers that got us the opportunity to see that leopard that was around 80-100m away. She was resting in the shade and after a while decided to come have some water and then go into the forest. This was the best encounter so far after my brief encounter at Kumana. So our hopes were considerably high for more encounters this time.

We came to the bungalow which is located about 800m from the Situlpawwa Road. There’s this tank which is the Heenwewa full of lotus leaves and the breeze coming from there is simply amazing. We unloaded the goods and give instructions for lunch and took a much needed break at the benches erected closer to the tank. The place was simply wonderful and well worth the stay. Please check the link at the notes for pics and information on the bungalow. So if you’re ready, let’s go and see what more this amazing park has on offer.

“This fella is very naughty”

“It’s very sunny today”

“This is how you have a full body wash”

The lagoon closer to the Buthawa Bungalow

“Did you hear that honey?”

“Gosh, it’s so itchy here”

“And here too. I must’ve ticks among the feathers”

“Hey, do you need a help with them?”

“I can brush them just like this”

“Hey croc, move out of there”

“Hey there’s something out there”

“Oh, forgot to introduce ourselves, we’re the Pied King Fishers or ගෝමර පිලිහුඩුවා”

“Hey, don’t scream like that”

“What’s this thing now?”

“Here, eat this one son”

“Go away you silly peacock without bothering my siesta”

“Grrrr, if you wanna fight, come to the water”

“Time to go home kids”

“The pride of us”

“My jaw hurts after all this”

“Same here and look at my dirty teeth, not cleaned in years and the dentist gonna get real mad”

“What’re the new stories dear?”

“I’m so hungry and can even eat this lotus”

“Hey, today’s Boys’ Outing”

“You’re making a mess here son”

“Oh hi, can you see this funny thing around my neck? It’s so uncomfortable to be honest”

“Well, if it helps, I’ll bear the pain”

“They were actually going to put it on me but I escaped”

One of those rare places where the water remains during the drought

“Hi, going home?”

“Hey, eat this”

That was one great day of safari we had. As I told you before, we’re not that particular about the animals we come across. For us, every one of them is worth seeing in their natural habitats. That jumbo with an elephant collar was a real first as I’d never seen any of them with one like that. The fella looked quite funny with that collar which reminded me of Enid Blyton’s Famous Five where Timmy had to wear a collar in order to heal its ear. I hope this enables the relevant authorities to gather vital information as it looks quite uncomfortable for the elephant.

Ok, time to have a bath and sleep in the open dormitory with the cool breeze. However don’t forget to pull the mosquito nets as there are mosquitoes and other insects which would disturb your sleep.

Day 02

We woke up at 5am and got ready and decided to leave without breakfast at 6am. We had to check out by 11am so decided to do a morning safari till 10am and then come for brunch and for packed lunch to have in the afternoon. Ok, let’s get going.

“Good morning but that noise is a bit frightening”

“Don’t you dare call me Thatta Manawa?”

“I’m the Lesser Adjutant, you hear? I’m one of the threatened species too”

The manic rush to get a glimpse of the bear. There were many more jeeps back and front almost stretching up to a few hundred meters

“Did you notice that those pinkish feathers are brighter?”

“Gotcha, finally”

“Today is our weekly meeting”

“You folks wanna join?”

“Where’s our mother?”

“And ours too”

“Well, she’s fishing for you hungry mouths”

“Anybody home?”

“We’re not the commonly seen Lapwings. We’re Yellow-Wattled Lapwings”

“Have to take care of our eggs and protect from Jackals”

“We’re endemic to Indian Subcontinent”

“Here, did you see my mate?”

“I’m asking you”

“This is the Perahera Walk”

Miles of it

“Searching for water”

“Well you guessed right. I’m in my musth”

“Posing for the 2017 Yala Calendar”

“He’s a crazy model”

“What’s going on here?”

“You going for a free ride huh?” shouted the angry bull.

At the Menik Ganga where you can get down from the jeeps. The path ahead is the entrance to the Block II

“Oh, there’s another fellow looking at me”

“Gorgeous and placid Menik River

“Hey, I’m going to Block II, can take a couple of you if you wanna come”

“Mom, they won’t leave”

“Finally that idiot moved his vehicle. I wonder why on earth they can’t leave us alone”

“Hurry up before they come”

“Please keep them away mom”

“Ok, don’t worry I’ve got you”

“Run bro, run like hell”

“Hey you brutes, stay away from my family” growled the little fella

“Is everyone accounted for?”

“Hide me mom”

“Let’s get going and make it snappy”

“Hey, where you folks going?”

The herd of jumbos was a real treat as there were many little ones which is a good sign for the diminishing numbers of them. They looked adorable but one jeep was blocking their path allowing its passengers to take pics of them which was very silly and heartless. We need to let them pass without being a nuisance to them. So please think about the discomfort we already cause by visiting in large numbers so don’t make it more unpleasant for them.

Winding up…

Well we came to the bungalow around 10.15am, had a hearty meal and got things back into the jeep for the last bit of the safari. Bidding our farewell to the cooks, we left Heenwewa Bungalow with very sweet memories. Little did we know, however, that we’d be treated to the best ever leopard show in our lives to date. Here we go.

“So thirsty these days”

“Grrr, I’ll catch one of you very soon”

“Oh, who are these now?”

“I’m just going home”

“You better stay outta my way”

“Well, I’d better just lie down until you guys get lost”

Lonely and dusty roads

“Hey, they’re watching. What are you doing?”

“It’s nice and shady here”

Here’s the Palu, the other delicacy where Bears go nuts

“Hi, I’m the Red-Wattled Lapwing. Heard you saw my boastful relatives before”

“Who do you think is more beautiful?”

“Just having a dusty bath”

“Well time to go and have a real bath while you guys watching”

“Oh dear, seems like I’ve got Arthritis”

“අප්පා තියෙන සැප”

“Ok, here I go”

“Not many people take notice of me”

“I’m the Peni Kurulla”

“Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh”

“Nothing much to eat around here”

“Here I am once again”

“Oh, so you saw all three of us this time”

“Hmmm, සැප නින්දකට වැලි පොලොව”

“I guess I left it here”

“ඔබට සතුටුයිද දැන්”

“Huh huh, good for a toothpaste ad, right?”

Full of flowers

“Very lush grass is available here”

“Very chewy”

“We’re celebrating our one year anniversary”

“Have you seen me before?”

“I’m on top of the world”

“Hmmm, what’s there on the water?”

“I’m a Green Pigeon”

“Oh yeah, I’m a mighty Sea Eagle”

The road to the beach where you can get down

To the right is the fishing huts which have been allowed by the DWC

We went to the beach to have lunch around 3pm. The remains of the Tsunami destroyed bungalow brought back sorrowful memories. 42 people had died at Yala but fortunately the occupants in that bungalow had gone out for a safari at that time the waves hit the bungalow. The two bungalow keepers had been killed by the merciless waves along with many others.

After lunch, we got back on the road for the final bit of our safari. That female leopard was a great treat but we were yet to see the best of the lot yet. Let’s get going. Oh before that, I must mention that we came across the bear both days but couldn’t take a picture as there was a manic rush with jeeps coming after one another at breakneck speed. So the bear having seen how stupid the so called brainy humans are went deep into the jungle.

“Don’t feel like coming out”

“Hurry up kids, must get home before the Leopard starts his hunting round”

Another of those beautiful lakes

“You managed to capture me despite the long range”

“No peace from these Ibises”

“Did they see me?”

“Hey, I’m the owner of this area”

“What did you say?”

“Darn, this tree is not strong enough”

“Well, I’m not hungry so I’m gonna spare you”

“Mmmm, not a familiar scent”

“I’ll be off then”

“Hey stop following me”

“Mmm. that was a juicy one”

“Very tasty”

“අයියෝ මගෙ හොට”

“Good for you, you crazy Painted Stork”

“This is how you do it”

“You guys going home it seems. Tc and come back again”

Well guys, that’s the end of our safari and probably the best so far I’ve done. That male leopard looked ferocious and quite authoritative of his territory. He looked at us with those piercing eyes as if to question us for trespassing. I was simply speechless and missed taking quite a lot of pictures as I took in the scene unfolding in front of us with my own eyes. The camera was nothing compared to what I saw for real.

Well, feeling over the moon but yet with an insatiable penchant for the wildlife, we bid our farewell to this wonderful place on earth vowing to come back at the next possible moment.

Let me request you all once again. The new Yala Park Warden Mr. Suranga Ratnayake has taken plenty of protective measures to ensure the safety of you and the wildlife. Furthermore to make sure the animals are not harassed by the reckless behavior of the jeeps and tourists. Please adhere to them by all means even if you have to forgo that one-in-a-million picture.

This is Sri signing off for now and hopefully will see you again with yet another Pictorial Story soon.

P.S. As you all are aware the newly appointed Wildlife Director, Dr. Sumith Pilapitiya had tendered his resignation (http://www.dailymirror.lk/110716/Why-did-Wild-Life-Department-chief-resign-) making all the environmental enthusiast once again feeling hopeless and disappointed. He was worldwide acclaimed as an expert when it comes to Wildlife Conservation. Taking up the post of Director General Wildlife, he made the following comments:

“As an environmental professional, during my tenure as director general I will not violate the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance or do anything detrimental to wildlife conservation in Sri Lanka. I would rather resign than be instrumental in causing a negative impact on wildlife conservation.”

So his reason for resignation so soon after the appointment is quite clear. Apparently our corrupt and under-educated politicians and other powers-that-be made him resign by forcing his hand to violate the rules and regulations. It’s such a sad story to hear well-reputed hard-working government servants with a spine are treated like this forcing them to resign and then leave their motherland. Well this is a big let-down by the President who bears the Ministry of Environment who said that he’d do anything in his power to make sure they are protected. Unfortunately they are mere words as they turn out to be coz if they can’t allow people like these to work independently, how on earth are we going to leave a better environment for the present generation let along future generations?

Furthermore, another dedicated Wildlife Official, Yala Park Warden Mr. Suranga Rathnayake is also under the political microscope apparently after an interview (http://www.dailymirror.lk/111017/Yala-Warden-s-Daily-Mirror-Interview-Ministry-to-hold-inquiry) he gave to one of the national papers against illegal entries by a Cabinet Minister. Now the Sustainable Development and Wild Life Conservation Minister has very promptly ordered an inquiry into this incident and I hope it won’t mean the law-abiding park warden will be prosecuted as it is the nature of the political game in Sri Lanka.

Well let’s hope Dr. Pilapitiya gets his fair place as the DG of Wildlife and also Yala Park Warden escapes the hatred wrath of incompetent politicians.

Finally, I’ll leave with the below quote from Ansel Adams, a renowned American Photographer and Environmentalist. This suits for today across the world, especially in countries like SL where corrupt and uneducated leaders rule.

“It is horrifying that we have to fight our own government to save the environment.” 

Hello friends, hope everything is ok with you and I actually didn’t expect to come back so soon with yet another conservation project but the things are happening really fast nowadays I couldn’t take a break, at least from writing. So I guess you all remember our Conservation Project at Namunukula. By the time I write this article, the report had just been published and being hailed as a good deed. Well, any deed is a good deed if it leads to the conservation of the Mother Nature.

So as I keep repeating myself, it doesn’t matter how big or small your project is. It doesn’t even have to be a project. How many people you have is not a case to consider. You as an individual can do so much for the welfare the forests, wildlife and the environment. Therefore, don’t wait for the auspicious time, the right number of people, perfect weather, ample budget, etc. Just go there and do your bit.

After our Namunukula (NMK) Trip, Ana was highly engaged in doing something more than that. So he finally came up with an idea of better signposting the path to the Namunukula (NMK). As you must’ve read, we had a time finding the proper path but managed to do it via possibly a better route. There were signposts made of cardboard arrows stuck on the trees which wouldn’t last for long especially due to the moisture in the air and the amount of rains and winds. So Ana decided to make it better and last longer. However it had to be environmentally friendly too.

We just concluded a trip to HP and found some group had nailed A4-size laminated messages not to litter along the road to Pattipola Entrance which was a really good thing. However the only thing was that the heavy rains and strong winds are bound to unstuck them and throw them into the forest at one point. So these laminated sheets will add up to the non-bio-degradable lot making it even more complicated. Now, please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not being an armchair critic and trying to criticize this good deed done by those great people. I’m sure they spent a lot of time, money and energy doing this project so whoever it was, please accept my heartfelt gratitude.

So this was a learning curve for Ana and his team when they explored possible materials for marking the path to the summit of Namunukula (NMK). We discarded the idea of Polythene and Laminated Sheets as they too would ultimately add to this ever-growing collection of waste which the Mother Nature can’t digest. We discarded the idea of using those aerosol cans for paint the rocks to mark the path too. As it’d ruin the beauty of the nature and those toxic ingredients in them might harm the tiny species. After a lot of deliberation, we decided on wood. Yeah, the best option given the circumstances as it is environmentally-friendly, long-lasting and easy to find. To make it blend with the environment (not to camouflage, mind you), Ana had them painted in green.

To make it more useful, he added some environmental messages on to them with a picture of an eagle with piercing eyes to inform that we’re watching your dirty work if you happen to litter, poison or harm the Mother Nature. So he got together with one of his longtime friends, Stefan (the fella who conquered Kurullangala with us), Deepani (another environmental enthusiast cum veterinary) and his one of daughters for this venture. Sadly I’d made prior arrangements with Hasi for another journey, not a conservation project, thus missing this journey.

Ana had contacted the tea estate and got permission and help of three estate workers to do this job. Not only they put up these invaluable signs, but also collected the garbage with the help of those workers. All in all, they went and did an all-around solid job. Here are the pictures of it.

Trail head with the shrine. Please note the arrows being wilted on the tree

There they go

Tough work

Must’ve been very itchy those leaves

Neck breaking work

The expression says it all

Very good friends doing very good work

See the eagle face?

“Please don’t litter”

Helping hand by Ashani

Heavenly path

“No Bottles Please”

They had carried plenty of wooden arrows

Doing it meticulously

Tree climbing was a part of it too

Yeah, we’re watching you

Kept them going

Here are the helping hands with two young fellows. Hope they’ll learn something valuable and help keep this safe

Yeah son, and please pass the message to your friends

Had taken necessary tools too

It was a bit of a hiking experience for them too

Can you see the idiots at work?

Oh my gosh

Not tall enough?

Testing their monkey skills

Definitely campers.

Oh dear, risky too

The happiness and joy after a good deed is something you can’t buy for 1 million dollars

Everyone chipping in

Difficult work for a good cause

Summit Point 1

Around the camping site

Hunting for polythene and plastic

And putting them higher up too

Need to secure them real tight

Please say no to these

Dog tired not drunk

The helping hands with part of the garbage collected

Well guys, I’m sure you all agree that this was indeed an exceptional job. Furthermore you must’ve enjoyed this very short report from me too. I hope these will motivate others to do similar work and spread the message around to keep our environment safe and sound. Tell your family, relatives, friends and anyone else about the importance of having a safe, healthy and protected environment for the future.

Please behave yourselves folks and try to do the following and get others too to do the same in your circles. Let’s not wait for the authorities to do this for us. Let’s also not wait for those ignorant and uneducated politicians to wake up and safeguard this country for us. Let’s put our hands together and do the needful for a better environment.

1. Don’t litter please no matter where you go. Always dump them in the right places. If you go to a National Park, please collect and bring them back with you and dispose of them wisely.
2. Please don’t throw things out of vehicle windows. It’s not only littering the environment but also a hazard for the people on foot. Those who travel by train think the tunnels are there to dump all their garbage. The tunnels are dark places so most of the passengers very conveniently dump anything they don’t want through the windows. I’ve seen so much garbage in those tunnels. So please don’t do it as those tunnels are made in order for the trains to pass through, not as garbage pits.
3. Don’t break glass bottles and leave the broken pieces here and there. Well it’s an accepted fact that we all are under immense pressure at work, home, etc. Therefore we all are itching for an opportunity to release that pressure at the first given opportunity. So when drunk and you have a bit of freedom and a hefty bottle in hand, all that pressure seems to be coming through your body to the hand making it smash the bottle against rocks. Please can I ask you to find some other alternative to do this such as squeezing one of those pressure balls which you can easily buy from super markets? By the way, I’m not asking you to stop drinking and become a teetotaler either. It’s just that do it in a way it will not harm our precious earth.
4. Don’t lit fires and leave them unattended. Most of the wildfires are a result of these undistinguished fire embers and also cigarette butts. So again, I’m not asking you to stop smoking coz you don’t do it by my own money so you’re free to smoke as many cigarettes as you wish but please don’t throw them here and there causing wildfires.

Well folks, I guess enough preaching from me. Thanks for reading and hopefully I’ll be lucky enough to bring about more of these in the future too. This is Sri signing off for now. Take care and protect our nature.

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.

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.

The day I heard about Lakegala, I started collecting information about this incredible rocky mountain. I was dreaming about this for very long time. When I did the ‘Nil Diya Pokuna’ cave expedition, I decided my next big thing is Lakegala. Me and my friends went to Lakegala during April 2016. Weather was perfect, but the night we stayed, Meemure had a heavy shower. Nava mama told that not do the hike. I was heartbroken L. But I made up my mind that something bad would have happened if we have hiked. From that day I was my clock started ticking……

Every time when I told my friends that I want to do the Lakegala, they said that it’s very hard and too risky. And to think twice before you attempt. But My mind was already set to do this hike this year. After my first attempt I tried several times, but planning screwed me up.

At last, I got an invitation from Kasun Priyashantha, I was walking on the moon. The plan was to climb Lakegala and camp at river bank. We planned to leave on 23^rd September, I informed Nava mama that we are coming on 24^th morning. We (Kasun & his wife, Shashika, Uditha) assembled at Kasun’s house on 23^rd at 6 pm. We have packed all the food, tent and other necessary items for camping and started our journey on Uditha’s Toyota pickup. We left Piliyandala at around 6:30 PM and guided by Google navigation to get the shortest path to Kandy. Our plan is to reach Kandy by 10 PM. For some reason, whole plan got collapsed and came to Nittambuwa at 9:30m PM ha ha ha…. Nothing to do we have to go on. We continued our journey and reached Nava mama’s house at around 4 am. According to Nava mama, we should start climbing around 5 am, we were very tired and exhausted. This worried me a lot, because the hike is very tough. Not only that, wind was blowing like hell, this worried me too much. Especially when you climb the rock surface, if the wind speed it too much, it’s very risky. I checked with Nava mama, he said that wind started only today…… not again L. But my mind said that you will do it today. So we continued.

We had a good cup of tea at Nava mama’s place. We packed with bread & spicy seeni sombol (thanks to Hasini) and started the hike. Before the hike, went to a devalaya to get blessings for a safe journey. I lighted 3 oil lamps and prayed. Now we are ready to rock. We were accompanied with Kalu malli (the guide).

During September, it was very dry, no water in the river and remaining water is contaminated with bugs and dried leaves. Therefore, make sure you carry enough water.

Our transporter……

WOW…… what a view…..

Walked through the jungle and passed dried streams for an hour. We took time-to-time short break and had jeewani & glucose. We all were tired and exhausted due to long journey, this continued to worry me. But inner mind said that we are going to achieve this goal today, and I trusted my inner mind. After hour and half walk, we came to small water fall (a stream), where we had our breakfast. Comparing to last time visit, this time stream was dried big time. We had search for clean water for drinking.

It’s breakfast time….

Contaminated water…. 

After the breakfast and a small rest, we started the journey. From this point onwards there was no big trees for shade, it’s like an open area; small thorny bushes, slippery rock surface and lose stones. You have to be bit careful, that now you are climbing at the edge of the Lakegala. On your right side, it’s a 90 degree drop, single wrong step; you know where it will lead you J.

On April 2016…..

On September 2016…..

Before and after………. Dried big time….

Edge of Lakegala.

At this point I could see the summit; first I thought it’s not too far. But it’s not true, it’s the illusion coz of the rock’s angle. The climbing angle has made us little more difficult to climb. Step-by-step, steep is increasing. Suddenly, we were hit by an another hurdle; very strong winds. Don’t know the wind speed, but it was very strong. I have to grasp the bushes coz of the strong wind; it was pushing me aside. The guide told us that, if this wind continues, we cannot reach the summit.

It’s just ‘WOW’ nothing beyond this……

What a creative mind of ‘Mother nature’

Not again……it troubled me too much, I came that much closer and returning for the second time also; not acceptable by me. I have made up my mind that I AM DOING THIS SOMEHOW. We decided to go as much we can, and see the, if it’s safe to reach the summit, we will, otherwise we will return. Even though my mind said to go, I cannot take stupid risky decision. As mentioned by Sri, in his report, “You have to understand your capabilities and decide for yourself whether you can do it or not. Remember, at the end of the day, safety comes first. You’ve gotta live to tell your story. Don’t try to be heroic unnecessarily and put yours and others’ live in danger. You don’t have to be ashamed of yourselves not being able to climb each and everything.”

These words MUST be followed to the letter, whoever tries this hike.

On the way to the top.

Walking through the thorny bushes…..

Finally reached the rock bottom of the surface…..

After few hours of steep climb through the thorny bushes, we reached the 80-degree angle rock surface. Simply ‘WOW’…. Now mind asked me ‘Are you really want to climb this?” …. Yes, of course…….

WOW…… the path-way to the haven……

The only way to the summit….

On the way to the top.

This is not a hike; this is 100% rock climbing, so be prepared for this.

When we came the rocky surface, the strong wind was almost gone, and the Kalu Malli said that we can continue to the summit. And not to waste time, coz don’t know when the strong wind starts again. And he said that we should climb down, before noon, coz if the rock surface get hot, we will suffer, where we did J. So we kept our backpack and took only water. I took my DSLR bag and a water bottle.

First step……

Shashika in action….

The rock surface is about 700-800 feet high. You should have a good body balance and strength to bare your body weight. Train yourself you planning for Lakegala.

This is how you will be on the rock surface Ha ha ha ……….

second step……

Hasini in action….

It’s recommended be on bare foot when u climb the rock, unless you have the full control. It was almost near to noon, and coz of the slight wind blow we didn’t feel the heat. But the rock surface was getting hotter and hotter.

While you are climbing take you time, be relaxed and don’t rush. If you are thirsty, drink a sip of water, don’t drink too much.  Carry a gloves, this will help you while you are on the rope.

Kalu malli….atha arinnam epa putho….

Still more to go…..very steep climb.

Uditha is in action…..trying his best.

Uditha, couldn’t make it to the summit, coz he was too tired and exhausted; so we don’t want to force him. He decided to climb down to the steam where we had our breakfast. Good decision, I would say. Climbing this rock surface will take very long time, therefore it’s highly recommended to have 5 or lesser members.

Kalu malli….resting

The iron rod where the rope is tide to.

After few hours of hard rock climbing, we all reached the summit. WOW, what an achievement, I felt, I am top of the world. From the summit, Kalu malli informed Nava mama, that we have reached the summit. This is the only place where u have Mobitel signal.

Lakegala Summit…..

Now the hard time begins, climbing down, don’t look down. Always face the rock and climb down like abseiling. By the time we started to climb down, if I am right it was around 3 pm, the rock was soo hot. Anyhow we have to go home; this trip shouldn’t be a history. Keeping this mind started the climb down approach.

I had left with less than 100ML of water. I have to reserve this till I reach down. I was thirsty, to drink 3 chilled Coca-Cola bottles; but only left with less than 100ml water J. This situation was deadly. Can’t explain in words, have to experience it. And we have climb down one by one, that is going to take another couple of hours.

At around 5pm were able to climb down from the rock surface. Now we have an another worry, Uditha. He climbed down to the water stream where we had breakfast and went alone. If he has gone in a wrong path or lost, that would be another disaster. All were worried and climb down faster we can before the night fall. At last we found Uditha near the water stream.

When we found him it was almost dark & he was worried about us, coz. He has thought that something has happened to us. So he got some dried logs and put up a camp fire, so that he can reach help from the villages. Very good thinking, and appreciate his effort. In this kind of a hike we must be ready anything.

We decided to rest for a while, but Kalu malli said that we should move on. Coz, usually the hike will take around 10-11 hours, and if we don’t reach the village ASAP, the villagers will get panic.

So we continued the journey. Kalu malli was right, Nava mama has sent few villagers with rope, drinks, water and with some biscuits; they thought something has happened coz we were so late.

At last we came to village around 8:45 PM. I immediately went to Nava mama’s home. When he saw me, he came running and hugged me said that ‘I was so worried that we didn’t return.’ That time I realized how much these village people are rich in their heart, money is nothing. Very emotional moment. We all thanked Nava mama, Kalu malli and said good bye to Meemure and returned on the same day.

We reached Colombo, next day around 9 am (home sweet home). I should thank Nava mama for this successful trip.

I will meet you soon once again for a cave expedition on Lakegala J.

Most important tips and some guidance.

• Don’t go in large numbers
• Make sure the backpacks are light and stay closer to your body.
• Carry plenty of water
• Climbing Lakegala is like a religious ritual, so guard your tongues
• You have to understand your capabilities and decide for yourself.
• You’ve gotta live to tell your story. Don’t try to be heroic unnecessarily and put yours and others’ live in danger.
• You don’t have to be ashamed of yourselves not being able to climb each and everything. Just gauge carefully and decide what’s best for you.
• Take frequent breaks; remember it’s not a race to the top
• Please don’t attempt this during windy and rainy season
• There are no water sources on top of Lakegala.
• This is not a hike, this 100% rock climbing.

Lakegala is the not yet polluted, my kind request; don’t pollute the mother nature. Even ‘Nil Diya Pokuna’ is polluted with Arak bottles and Red bull cans.

Thank you for reading, see you soon with an another adventure trip report.

Hi folks, it’s been a long time since I brought something for you. I was actually enjoying the marvels of the Mother Nature but in a different territory. After dreaming for so long I managed to make another of my dreams come true when I got the chance to visit Ladakh (I know it might sound like Greek to many) with Ana and D in late Aug 2016.

Ladakh is one of the three main areas of Jammu & Kashmir in Northern India bordering Pakistan and Tibet. Usually J&K is a very volatile area due to the never ending battle to eliminate the terrorism. However Ladakh is relatively calm as it’s further away from the troublesome Srinagar and Kargil. Anyway, I’m not gonna tell you about my Ladakh Journey but if you’re interested in seeing some breath-taking sceneries, do click on the link to view the videos I shot.

After a fairly long time of being idle, I decided to break the shackle and restart the travelling frenzy. Well I couldn’t think of a better place than Sri Pada to do so. As usual I tried to get my gang together only to find that some of them couldn’t make it. To make matters worse, even I had to change the dates making Hari to miss out but he made full use of the break and went onto climb Sri Pada and Bogawanthalawa in two consecutive days.

I was left with only Atha and we decided to give it a crack all the same. So hiring a tuk-tuk, we left Kolonnawa around 2.30am and reached Pettah private bus stand before 3am. Apart from Badulla and Airport buses, there was nothing. So we decided to try our luck at CTB, good old reliable transport method since independence despite having more workers than the number of seats combined in the whole fleet. We got lucky but the bus was due at 4.15am so we joined the queue which already had around 6 people. It showed how popular this bus is and you have to get quite early to the bus stand to get a seat. Those who’re planning to get on after Pettah will have very little chance of finding a seat.

Tour Highlights:

1. Sri Pada Ella
2. Sri Pada Cascades
3. Peace Pagoda
4. Yaka Andu Ella
5. Mapalana Ella

Day 01

It was a wet morning as the rains kept up with us all the way and I was worried and it didn’t help get much needed sleep. When we reached Hatton, it was still gloomy and we decided to have a quick breakfast which turned out to be disastrous as the hotel just off the bus stand looked no better than a slum. For some strange reason, I didn’t feel like a slum dog millionaire. While we waited for our coffee, I got a glimpse of a Maskeliya bus and ran out of the hotel to find out the departure time. Well it was in fact departing but I managed to convince the conductor to hold on for 2 mins and came back and paid the bill, including the untouched coffee.

Just under Olympic record we made it back to the bus and managed to get seats. Well if you miss a Maskeliya bus (remember no direct Nallathanniya (නල්ලතන්නිය) buses just like in the season and there’s one or two that run at very odd times), it means waiting for almost another hour for the next bus. We were glad to be able to get into this and it was just before 9am when we left Hatton.

After a snail-like journey, we reached Maskeliya and bought a couple of essential things like instant noodles. We were planning to take a tuk-tuk from here but our luck held coz there was a Nallathanniya bus leaving at 10am. So having breathed a sigh of relief we got into the bus and settled. The sun was back and my hopes soared like an eagle. However as we got closer to Nallathanniya aka Dalhousie (remember it’s Dalhousie not Delhouse or Delhousie), those hopes came down and down like a deflated balloon.

It was very gloomy and there were a couple of passing showers as well. “This is going to be one heck of a hike” I told Atha and we both regretted not having brought the umbrellas. Well we shouldn’t have worried coz the usage of umbrella becomes next to zero after Geththampana due to the open area and strong winds. We had our long overdue coffee from the shop just before the bridge. Already there was a group of people getting ready to climb for a Pooja and we started our hike around 11am, after 8.5hr journey, well literally.

The hike was ok and the rains stayed away from us, but only until we reached the Sri Pada Ella. The drought which had plagued the whole upcountry area was coming to an end. The water levels were better in the falls but we had to cut short our stay due to the rain. We ran to the shelter near the Makara Thorana and contemplated our options. It was too cumbersome to walk with raincoats on and taking pictures was mission impossible. So I decided to back to the trail head shop looking for umbrellas. I practically ran all the way coz we were pressed for time as well but it was to no avail coz they didn’t have umbrellas for sale but for rent. Well it was no help coz we were going to climb down to Palabaddala.

Yaka Andu Ella extreme top left

Abandoned?

Not really

Sri Pada Ella looking gorgeous

Closer

And some more

Kissing the rock

Like a thin veil

Time to go lady

However, I bought couple of polythene sheets which have been improvised with hoods and they were Rs. 50/- each. It was no use for taking pictures but at least they’d keep our backpacks safe from the water. I ran back to the Makara Thorana (මකර තොරණ) where Atha was waiting. The rain had eased a bit and we had to have a plan. We then decided to use one of the techniques used by the Special Forces’ called hopping. Well there are many animals like rabbits that hop but the SFs use this to cover a long distance by moving from one designated point to another. Thanks to the frequent shelters found at Hatton Trail, we called this Ambalam Hopping.

We decided to hop to Gangulthenna where we could see the Yaka Andu Ella and Peace Pagoda. We started and found our array of cascades to the right. They were not quite prominent like our Previous Journey and coincidentally it was Atha and me who did that waterfall tour which paid dividends. As we got closer to the peace pagoda, all hell broke loose and the sky opened up its double front doors. We managed to run to the shelter adjacent to the peace pagoda where a dog was already seeking refuge.

This gave a good vantage point to enjoy both Peace Pagoda and Yaka Andu Ella but the thickness of the raid made it next to impossible to take clear pictures. Anyway, here are some of them for you.

There they are

Not as many as we saw last time

Just amazing

Red Bridge and we missed the falls to the right of this even this time

Mist coming thick and fast

Peace Pagoda badly in need of a lick of paint

Through heavy rains

Water levels kept rising

Time to get a move on

He was fast asleep

But a leech kept crawling towards it

After more than half an hour wait, the rain eased a bit and we put on our raincoats once again. We were stuck between a rock and a hard place, well very much like. When you put on the rain coat, you begin to sweat like a pig and it’s really uncomfortable. When you take it off, either you’re getting soaked by the rain or being blown out by cold winds. So the Ambalam Hopping somewhat helped manage this dilemma. As we reached the Gangulthenna Ambalama (ගඟුල්තැන්න අම්බලම) the rain completely stopped and the misty veil lifted off the Yaka Andu Ella (‍යකා ඇඬූ ඇල්ල).

Well this sort of helped wipe our tears as I was practically crying over the inability to take a decent picture of this beautiful lady. As we kept watching the water level seemed to increase every passing minute but the window of the opening didn’t last long so we only managed a handful of pictures. On the other hand, we couldn’t take the break in the rain for granted so after a hasty run of photos, we decided to make the next hop to the Seetha Gangula Ambalama. Until then, here are some more pictures.

Better view and no rain

Portrait

Closer

Water levels rose within minutes

Just amazing

Getting darker

One more before the mist covered

And this too

Full of water

Seetha Gangula fattened up

The rain had eased by the time we reached the Seetha Gangula Ambalama (සීත ගඟුල අම්බලම). However we decided to take a break and munch on some cashew as the energy requirements of the body wouldn’t stop rain or shine. However little did we know that the worst was yet to come. Even the breaks we took were not helping much as they didn’t help rest our minds even though our limbs took the much needed break.

We were not sure whether to stay for 5 minutes or 15 minutes and it was a constant battle in our mind. The rains had increased the water levels of Seetha Gangula and we heard a massive waterfall just off the Ambalama. This was visited by Niroshan recently but we didn’t even think about it due to the ferocity of the water. It was as if an M6 Engine was falling off the Kadugannawa rock.

Well, till we reach our next stop which is Rathu Ambalama, here are some pics. Oh don’t expect anything more afterwards for a while coz the rain and mist forced me to stow the camera safely away in the backpack.

Please follow

Slippery steps

Laden with water

The steps helped quite a lot and kept the leeches away

Peace Pagoda, Yaka Andu Ella and other cascades

Peace Pagoda zoomed

Further zoomed

Rare find. The top of Yaka Andu Ella which is not visible from the front.

Age is no barrier for the hard-willed

We reached the Rathu Ambalama (රතු අම්බලම) as the rain was starting once again. It was good timing but the Ambalama was leaking big time and there was nowhere to sit either. So we rested the backpacks on what little dry ground we could find and leaned on the crumbling walls for a breather. We stayed for about another 20 minutes until the worst bit of the rain eased. Afterwards, we decided to let the camera go into the backpack and start the hike. The time was already 3pm and we were quite a distance from our destination.

As I feared from the very beginning, we weren’t going to make it to the summit in this weather. Because it’d certainly be pitch black by the time we started our descent towards Heramitipana (හැරමිටිපාන) and we’d be faced with strong winds, heavier rains and slippery steps which were not so inviting factors. Therefore we had to cut short our journey and take the by route where it merges with the Ratnapura Trail closer to Andiyamala Thenna (ආඬියාමළ තැන්න). In this way, we’d not only save time but also reduce the distance and the worst part of Mahagiridamba on both sides.

It was a very sad decision to leave without worshipping the sacred footprint but hiking and travelling are all about staying safe and taking the safe way and making the right decision no matter how hard it is. Remember, you can always come back when the things are better if you decide to leave something half-done coz you’re saving yourselves from injury or even death. If you make that call, you can almost always come back to complete the journey from where you stopped.

So folks, my advice to you is, stop and turn back if you know that you’re not up to it. Don’t force yourself or others to carry on doing something they’re not comfortable with. Sometimes you might feel it’s a dent in your reputation or ego to turn around but none of them will matter or come to your help if you’re met with mortal danger. Remember, staying safe is the most important thing, nothing else matters. I’ve heard that people who’d climbed to within 300ft of the summit of Everest had decided to turn around as the weather got worse coz they valued their lives more than the achievement itself. And most of them lived to complete their journeys at a later date as a result. Most of the deaths are occurred as many travelers don’t have the temperament to make that call. Well, no matter what I or anyone says, it’s ultimately your call and staying safe and looking after yourself is your responsibility.

After what felt like an eternity we arrived at the Geththampana (ගෙත්තම්පාන). There were 3 people waiting by a shop which looked dilapidated. They spoke to us in English “Where are you from?” thinking we were some foreigners as not many Sri Lankans are this crazy to make this journey under such severe weather. When I replied in Sinhala, they got a shock. We went and sat with them and apparently the shop owner and his helper were preparing the shop for the upcoming season. A bit too early one would think but considering the damage done to the building, they’d need a quite a lot of time to repair it.

Well this shop which is called “Hime Kade” (හිමේ කඩේ) has a 117-year-old history behind it. This had been started in 1898 and is one of the 2-3 shops which don’t have to pay a rent to the urban council as they’re owned by them. The old uncle (gosh I forgot to get his name) was very proud about this and kept on telling us stories while his helper served tea for the other three people. They were from a larger group who were going to the Pooja and said that they’d be staying overnight at the summit. Well my heart leaped and wanted to ask if we could tag along with them as a part of their group but decided against it.

They left after their tea and we too ordered some coffee while the old uncles rattled off the history behind the shop and how people used to travel to the Sri Pada in the old days. Before they built the Maussakelle Reservoir, the road to the Sri Pada had been paved only up to Maskeliya. From there people had to walk all the way to the summit, good 10+km more than what they do now thanks to the road up to Delhousie. Bullock carts had been the primary source of transportation and many people had come from all over the country despite travelling difficulties.

We were hungry and the helper gave us the last roti remaining for us to have. This was probably their lunch but seeing how ravenous we were, they must’ve felt very sad about us. After the roti and hot coffee, we bid our farewell and turn right at the Buddha Statue at Geththampana. This was my first time using this path and Atha had used it years ago. It’s relatively flat but there are ups and downs. The distance from Geththampana to the summit is 1.8km (it’s 4.2km to Geththampana from Trail Head). The by road is around 500m and we walked that under 15 mins. It was a clear footpath despite the off season and even though we were warned about leeches, we weren’t disturbed except for maybe one or two.

It led to the Rathnapura Trail between the Andiyamala Thenna and newly built drainage. The weather was still very bad and we walked down to the Andiyamala Thenna Ambalama hoping to settle down there for the night but the condition of it made us want to puke. The construction workers had left it full of building materials scattered here and there and cement dust had turned into a clay mixture after the rains. Garbage left behind by the previous residents was all over and simply it was no good even for a wild boar. We were undecided whether to get down to the Heramitipana fearing it’d be the same condition.

While we were contemplating, there was someone very beautiful who’d come to welcome us. Here are some pics of him.

Look at that red beak

Constant watch out for food

Managed to get this after many shots

Very observant

It’d gone 4.30pm and we decided to take our chances and go down coz the Heramitipana Ambalama is very large and well protected compared to all the others. So our chances of finding a tiny place to sleep on were very high so we went down merrily. We reached there under 1hr and to our joy found it in better condition. So we cleared a corner and heated our dinner in one of the abandoned sections of the old Ambalama behind this. Always try to light a fire for cooking out of the Ambalama and if it’s raining, at a corner on a tin sheet (can find many in and around) as we must do our best to protect these shelters for others’ usage.

There was water in the tap off the Ambalama so we had no trouble cleaning up and preparing dinner. However it was very difficult to make it but we managed to have a warm meal inside us and turn in early. All I remember was getting inside the sleeping bag and turning to my left. However I woke up with a start to find a Boeing 747 is getting ready to land on the roof. Well, it felt just like that but in reality it was the rain pelting down so hard on the tin roof. I thought it was the wind but it was only the rain pouring in heavily and both Atha and I stayed up for a while to be sure the roof wouldn’t fall on us. The water started leaking in at a few places but we had no problem from them. So we went back to sleep and didn’t stir till the following morning.

Day 02

As we woke up, the rains had eased but the mist and the gloominess still hovered about. It was an effort to get out of the sleeping bag but we had to coz we were thinking of going to the summit before getting down. Unfortunately the visibility was so poor we abandoned that thought. Instead made some coffee and decided to wait for some time for the fog to clear. While we were roaming around the Ambalama, we came across a few visitors here and there. I’m sure you’d love them but a squirrel, eating a moth wouldn’t be a pleasant sight, would it? Well that’s exactly what the fellow was doing after catching a yellow moth. Probably they’re so hard up for fruits and decided to improvise or adapt to the harsh environment. So don’t feel disgusted at those cutie ones. Here you go:

Amazing, ain’t he?

Same fella

This fellow is a bit common

Gosh, what’s this?

There were shiny blue feathers underneath those black ones

Very blackish

Caught in the act

Not so innocent fellow

After quick breakfast of instant noodles, we were ready to go but the thick fog kept us guessing and we just cleared the area we stayed and made sure the fire was put out properly. Just sitting on the steps, we sort of reminisced our previous journeys to this wonderful place. Around 9.45am, we could no longer put this off so decided to take a chance and start the descent.

The rain had stopped and as we went down the mist cleared. I was worried about crossing the Seetha Gangula due to the heavy rains but as we got there, there was no problem. A doggy followed us from the Heramitipana and we shared our snacks with him. However the camera had to be kept inside the bag until we arrived at the Lihinihela Ambalama where we found a massive wasps’ nest. It was built on a mango tree quite close to the path and we warned a group of pilgrims coming up not to make any noise. Here are some pics of them and surrounding views. We even captured a distant seasonal cascade.

Seasonal cascade

Close up view

Here they are

Busy bees

Close up

Closer. Just don’t know how they move about on top of each other

Afterwards, we slowly came down and the sun too decided to poke his lazy head through the clouds. We managed to get down in 4 hours well ahead my estimated 5-6hrs. We washed our faces and walked towards the Palabaddala bus stop but on the way I got this wild idea of visiting Mapalana Ella coz of the sudden rains. Atha hadn’t been to her before so we decided to find a tuk and pay a quick visit to her. More about it after these pictures:

Looking back

More shady compared to Hatton

Ants’ nest

Not so fluffy due to rain

Our friend who ate anything from cashew to biscuits

Colors were bright after the rains

Nice and compact

Such grand colors

Macro at its best

Coffee time

Nothing in sight

Not ready yet

Trying to camouflage

Many beautiful flowers

Like a yacht

Emerald Dove

No mistake, these were very much natural

The temple at the trail head and we used the water overflowing to wash our faces

The clouds were gathering towards Rakwana Mountains and slowly on their way towards us. We spoke to one of the tuk-tuk fellows and he agreed to take us back and forth for just Rs. 200/- to visit the falls. Well it was very cheap coz there’s around 2-3km from the Palabaddala Junction to the falls on a somewhat bad road and he even waited for us. So away we went and as we got closer we could get glimpses of this mighty lady’s top parts.

She was looking grandeur and if you remember My Previous Visit to this beautiful lady with Uncle Tony, she was even richer this time around. So our decision to go pay a visit to this lady really was worthwhile. We stopped at the house just before the falls and then took to the path bordering the stream and the tea estate. House owners warned us of slippery rocks and leeches but the huge roar of the waterfall made my heart beat faster and my legs wouldn’t wait another second as they started their brisk walk towards one of the most beautiful ladies in the whole wide world.

Remember, she’s the 4^th highest in the whole of Sri Lanka and what a sight it really was. There was this massive body of virgin white water falling from the sky all the way to a rugged base pool of rocky boulders sending millions of droplets bathing the whole surrounding area. I was just speechless and even the leeches crawling up my shins and sucking blood from my veins couldn’t deviate my attention from her.

Ok, here we go with the pictures coz I know how impatient you are to get on with them.

Sexy lady

Getting closer

Top part

Extreme top up close

Centre and towards the bottom

Falling in

Little lower segment

Full package

Just look at the posture

Colorful

From the road

One before we left

Well guys, hope you liked those views as much as we did. It was simply unbelievable and we just didn’t feel like returning. However we had a bus to catch to Ratnapura so hurried back to Palabaddala around 2.40pm. The next bus was due at 3pm so had a rushed lunch of bread and dhal from a nearby shop and waited for it.

As promised, the bus left Palabaddala on time and we reached Ratnapura by 4.15pm and got lucky to find a Colombo-bound one at 4.30pm. In the end, we were home before 8pm which was more than we could’ve hoped for.

There ends yet another of my Sri Pada journeys and I hope you all enjoyed it despite the lack of pics throughout the journey. Looking back, I feel very happy we decided to go ahead despite the foul weather conditions and the decision we made to bypass the summit was also a very wise thing. It’s true that every journey we make teaches us something very important and this was no exception.

Well this is Sri signing off for now and will see you again with yet another tour.

Summiting Lakegala was one of my dreams since 2010, when I first camped in the beautiful village of Meemure. After nearly a 6 year wait, this dream was finally realized in September 2016, thanks to some remarkable guidance and teamwork of a dedicated crew. During the last two years, I have been on a number of hikes of varying difficulty and complexity – some of them planned with the help of Lakdasun trip archive. But never previously I had the time to write down those experiences like this. However I thought of keeping a record of this journey due to sheer lack of literature on the matter. In fact, even by the accounts Nava maama – a seasoned hiker and villager in Meemure, less than 100 outsiders have been to the top of Lakegala in his 50+ year span of life. First climb on record was in 1943 by E.T. Dyson, who was the then Colonial Government Agent of Kandy. Sri Abeywickrema’s legendary report on his ascent in April 2014 was my only reference when I started planning the trip way back in February 2016.

Soon I got to know that due to an unfortunate incident occurred in September 2014, killing 1 person and seriously injuring 2, climbing Lakegala has come to a halt. Not even the villagers of nearby villages – Meemure, Ranamure, Narangamuwa etc. – were willing to take up this task. I called Nava maama for the first time in February 2016 to discuss on a possible journey in March or April, but he kept on discouraging me from doing this, recalling the accident and difficulty of the climb due to wind and rains. Knuckles range is notorious for its unpredictable weather – mist and sporadic rains in this case. So timing was absolutely critical for our success. Usually March-May is considered the best time for climbing due to lack of rains and wind. However it was March and this time, the rains have not yet departed. Towards the end of March, Nava maama finally agreed to take up the task of guiding us to Lakegala. He suggested to do it in between New Year festival in April and Vesak full moon poya day in May. Considering our work commitments and holiday arrangements, we decided to do it on 21^st April, exactly 2 years from Sri’s attempt. First week since the New Year festival was calm without serious showers to the area, raising our hopes.

First Attempt

So me, with 3 of my friends – Ashan, Chinthaka and Dinuka – packed our bags and departed to Nava maama’s place in Meemure on 20^th April with cheerful minds. Much to our dismay, a heavy shower started in the evening of 20^th, shattering all our dreams of making it to the summit. Nava maama casted a totally negative outlook of tomorrow’s proceedings, as it could be observed that streams of water sliding down the Western face of Lakegala, from where we are supposed to climb. Nevertheless we insisted on going as far as we could, and Nava maama had no other option but to agree J Next day we started the journey from Meemure with the guide introduced by him, Chanaka, and reached the base of the rocky surface after nearly a 5 hour struggle. It was clear to us that any attempt to proceed further would be suicidal. Such a venture would only result in consolidation of the already established opinion that Lakegala is a deadly peak. I am not going to further elaborate on our first attempt to climb Lakegala, since our second and the successful attempt also covers the same details up to this point. Only difference here was that the climb required extra energy due to forest patch being infested with leeches and rocky surface being extra slippery.

The captivating view of Lakegala. We were glued to view of this majestic peak every time we saw it. After the initial failure, this remained the wallpaper of my laptop until we finally made it to the summit in September 2016.

The lush greenery of the paddy fields of Meemure, as seen from the village Bo tree. However the greenery was nowhere to be seen when we came there again in September.

More of the enchanting beauty of the village. Did you know that Meemure is located at a lower elevation than Kandy? Elevation of these paddy fields is around 370m MSL while Kandy is at an elevation around 500m MSL.

Through the forest patch starting from Meemure towards the base pool of Lakegala.

First sight of the mighty peak. We were desperately hoping that these streams of water would be dried off before we reach the base of the rocky surface.

Streams of water flowing down the rocky surface.

Wannimaana range is seen to the West of Lakegala. Thunhisgala is covered in mist.

At the base of the rocky surface – this was the furthest point we could climb in this attempt. It was impossible to walk horizontally cross the slippery rock to reach the rock crevice.

A grim reminder – the shoe of the hiker who fell to death in 2014.

The mesmerizing beauty of Thunhisgala after the mist was cleared.

Though it was a setback for us, this failure could only strengthen our motivation to give another try to conquer this mighty peak under different weather conditions.

Second Attempt

Time passed and we did several other hikes during next 4 months’ time. But the incomplete job at Lakegala was always in our minds. Nava maama mentioned about a brief window of opportunity in September before the start of North Eastern monsoon, prior to our departure from Meemue in April. Keeping that in my mind, I gave him a call in the last week of August to check whether he has new plans. To my great surprise, he said that there will be a team from Colombo on 11^th September to climb Lakegala. He asked us to join with this team if possible. I quickly called my friends to check their availability. Both Chinthaka and Dinuka were okay but Ashan had other plans for that date. Considering the difficulty in arranging such a journey, we decided to proceed despite the brief time for the preparation. Fortunately for us, Rajitha joined the team to fill the void left by Ashan.

Nava maama said that he has some good ropes with him. Therefore we decided to take only 2 pieces of 10m ropes with us. Other stuff we took with us include gloves, knee guards, energy drinks, glucose and jeewani. With heavily loaded backpacks, we met in front of Sri Dalada Maligawa in the morning of 10^th Saturday. With the experience of the first attempt, we all knew the gravity of the task in front of us. Hence we went inside Dalada Maligawa to get the blessings of the sacred tooth relic despite the heavy crowd. I was sure that only a sudden rain could stop us this time, thus asked all divinity to be kind to these 4 souls until they get back safely. After spending nearly an hour inside Dalada Maligawa, we got into the van of Rajitha – whose father drove us to the township of Hunnasgiriya. It was around 12pm when we reached Hunnasgiriya. We bought ample chocolates and marshmallows on the way. After having short eats for lunch, we got into the van that brings passengers from Hunnasgiriya to Meemure once per day. There’s another van that travels from Hunnasgiriya to Kaikawala, which is located few kilometers before Meemure in the Hunnasgiriya-Meemure road. This van can also be arranged to go to Meemure if the Meemure van is too crowded. These vans usually start journey from Hunnasgiriya around 1-1.30pm, but it’s good to be there at least 1 hour prior to the departure so as to reserve a seat. There is also a possibility that it could leave early if there are many passengers. A bus service exists between Hunnasgiriya and Loolwatte estate, which is located 18km from Meemure. Villagers of Meemure were used to walk all the way to Loolwatte prior to the start of this van service.

After a tiring, 33 kilometer–3 hour journey inside this barely ventilated van, we reached Meemure around 4.00 in the afternoon. On the way we saw some forest fires which we later came to know that has destroyed hundreds of hectares up to Yahangala. Having known the Meemure village with our previous visits, we straight away decided to walk down to the stream that supplies water to the village – ‘Meemura oya’. Unfortunately there was very little water in Meemura oya, and the place where we had a quite refreshing bath during the last visit, barely had any water to take a dip. So we walked further down the stream for another kilometer or two, to the waterfall which comprises three sections. This is the place where the famous ‘Giniyam Rae’ video of Iraj was shot. However the darkness was starting to fall and after taking few snaps, we decided to return. After having an ice cold shower at Nava maama’s place, we sat down to finalize tomorrow’s plan. There was no news from the guys from Colombo with whom we were supposed to climb. So the following day was totally ours. Around 7.30pm, Nava maama arrived with a middle-aged villager, to whom we got introduced as Dhammika. At that time we didn’t know that Dhammika maama would become one of the best guides we’ve met to date. Nava maama seemed to have given up hiking Lakegala, perhaps due to his age. We also didn’t insist on him to join. However he seemed to be somewhat positive about tomorrow’s journey than the previous time. Nevertheless, he clearly warned us of the difficulty of it – ‘Mahaththuru, meka hari awadaanam gamanak. E nisa hama welema thamange parissama gana waga balaganna.’

After finishing a dinner which was totally vegetarian, we started testing the ropes. Nava maama had 2 pieces of good quality marine ropes of about 30m length. He also had another 30m rope which was made of the same material of our ropes, but contained 2 interwoven strings. We tied all three ropes to a tree and started pulling them one by one. What I noted immediately was that the third rope started to elongate gradually as we started to pull. This would’ve been problematic at the peak since a slight elongation per meter would create a dangerous pulsation when pulled from the other end of the rope. Marine ropes, which were much heavier comparatively, seemed quite stable under tension. However there were only the 5 of us there to carry them all the way. We had other essential stuff including food and water that had to be carried as well. Considering all these factors, I decided to take one 30m section of the marine rope. Then Chinthaka proposed that he will also take the two 10m ropes he bought from Kurunegala. At this point, we didn’t know that the success of our journey would critically depend on this decision.

After removing all unnecessary stuff from our backpacks, we split the food, snacks and water between the 4 of us. We took water bottles with a capacity of over 13L. There was no necessity to fill all that from the village itself because we could fill them from the base pool of Lakegala. After re-confirming that everything was in order, we went to sleep by 10pm.

Only a tiny trickle of water in stream this time.

Silhouette of the dusk at Lakegala

On the long awaited day, we got up at 5am. After having rotti for breakfast, we left Nava maama’s home at 6am. Dhammika maama joined with us near the Bo tree of Meemure village. While he was preparing his stuff, we went to the Kande Bandara Devalaya in the upper right corner of the paddy field and sought for his permission and blessings. Ultimately it is King Ravana’s adaviya, and we all were under his mercy during the course of this journey. I was watching how my friends were looking at this mighty peak, awestruck by its majesty and the power it disseminates. It was wonderful to see how the morning sun rays kiss the peak of Lakegala, reflecting a mesmerizing orange color and creating a huge dark shadow behind, even concealing a section of the Wannimaana range.

Statue of Kande Bandara Deviyo

Rituals at Kande Bandara Devalaya

After completing the rituals, we entered into the forest patch with the guidance of Dhammika maama. As Sri has mentioned in his lengthy report, this journey can be divided into 3 sections.

1. Path from the village to the base pool of Lakegala – around 4km journey through a forest patch (difficulty – moderate)
2. From base pool to the bottom of the rocky surface – around 2km uphill climbing through trees and maana bushes (difficulty – moderately strenuous)
3. Climbing along the rock crevice and through some trees and maana bushes to the summit (difficulty – extremely strenuous)

The hike to the base pool of Lakegala is similar to other hike in the Knuckles range. In the rainy season you find plenty of leeches but this time round we hardly found any. There’s a moderate downward slope until we met the ‘Lake ela’. Just upstream of the point we crossed ‘Lake ela’ there’s a waterfall named ‘Akula ella’. This time it had very little water compared to the previous instance. A key to success of this journey is to complete this 4km stretch without a significant drop in your energy. This is where your previous hiking experience comes in handy. From ‘Lake ela’ onwards it’s a continuous ascent until we reached the base pool. However in a sorry state of affairs, it had very little water compared to the last time. In April it was a full flowing stream from the top of Lakegala, but this time the water was stuck in mere 2 pits. Though there were no nearby habitats, we weren’t sure of the quality of the water. However we didn’t have any other option but to fill our bottles with this water. Altogether we carried 13L of water and 2L of Isotonic with us. Some of the water was mixed with Jeevani to avoid cramps during this strenuous climb. After approximately a half an hour break, we left the base pool at 8.30am.

From here onwards there was no proper footpath. A cattle track beginning from the base pool lead to a rocky surface with was located approximately 300-400m up in the hill. There was water flowing from the top of Lakegala when we did the limb in April, and it was quite slippery. But this time we managed to pass this without much hassle. In another 100m or so we reached an edge of the rock from where we could see the deep ravine of Lakegala as seen from Meemure. This is where we first saw Meemure after leaving the village. A few minutes into the journey from that point, we suddenly remembered that we are still carrying the lunch packets with us. Since we had enough chocolates and other snacks with us, there was no need to carry them further. We quickly collected them and put into a bag which was hung in a tree to prevent the reach of animals.

Dhammika maama looking at the steep uphill climb.

Team with Dhammika maama. Here the Gombaniya range is seen behind the Uda Wannimaana range.

Up to this point, there were 2 dogs who followed us from the village itself. However they were in no mood to give up climbing. After another short break for water, we started climbing again. This time through some thick undergrowth. There was a tunnel created by frequent travels of wild boars and hedgehogs, through which we had to crawl to reach an open area. It seemed that this is a resting point of cattle. After another break to gather our energy, we started the uphill journey again. Soon we came out of the jungle and were heading towards the rocky surface through a ‘pathana’ area made of maana bushes and other small trees. It should be noted that these maana bushes are fixed to the ground by a very thin layer of soil; so most of the time the bushes came out easily when we grabbed them to get a support. Every step had to be placed with care because loose rocks tend to come out all the time. Slope of this range was around 50-60 degrees, so we had to take a zigzag route to climb up.

Through the Pathana area in a zigzag route.

Team climbing the maana patch, aiming at the rock crevice we are supposed to climb.

These two dogs followed us from the village.

Rajitha contemplating about the hard climb ahead.

This terrain with maana bushes was unforgiving. Therefore it’s good to wear gloves keep your hands unscratched.

Scenic background all around the place.

Climbing the first rocky surface. Still some 100m below the actual base of the last leg.

Chinthaka trying to maintain his balance on a rock surface of 70 degree angle.

As I have mentioned earlier, the third and the last leg of this climb is through a rocky surface. Dhammika maama related to us that there are 2 routes to do this task. One is the popular route along a crevice in the rock. All recent hikes are done along this route which has a slope of around 70-80 degrees. The other route is along the edge of the front face of Lakegala. The major advantage of this route is that the roping distance would be shorter. However climbing had to be done along the ridge of the mountain, with one step away from a 90 degree, vertical drop. As he mentioned, Lakegala has been climbed by the villagers along this route when he was young. Later it had been abandoned as it was deemed too risky. But in a youthful spirit, he suggested that we should climb along the crevice and come down using this long lost path. At this moment, we did not express any opinion about that. However I was worried that this path had not been used by anybody closer to 3 decades – hence there could be nasty surprises even Dhammika maama was not aware of, if we were to reinvent it.

We aimed at the rock crevice from the point we came out of the jungle. Last time we arrived at the rocky base some 30-40m to the left of the crevice, so had to take a treacherous horizontal path along the rocky surface to arrive at the starting point of it. After arriving at the base of the rock, we had to revisit our backpacks to identify what else we could leave behind. Even an ounce of unnecessary payload could make the journey far more difficult. After preparing our backpacks and having some water, we gathered all our energy for the final push. We had to be mindful of every step, as one wrong step would draw curtains to the entire journey. Dhammika maama took one end of the rope and went into the lead. First target was to reach the rock crevice, which was located some 20-25m to the left. Rope was of no use at this point because it was not attached to something solid on the top and the path was horizontal. I went from the behind of Dhammika maama, carefully avoiding sand and pieces of rock. 3 others also followed me without much trouble.

Team ready to start the ultimate climb. Look at the way Rajitha is staying there – something in between sitting and standing.

It is essential to use all 4 limbs during this part.

Dhammika maama preparing the 30m rope.

The view behind us was terrifyingly beautiful. It was a scenery we could sit and watch all day if we didn’t have to worry about where we were sitting. In a few meters of climb with all 4 limbs, we could reach the famous rock crevice which we had seen even in our dreams. For me, the crevice was far more accommodating than the bare rock because we could take cover from wind, and also gave something to hold on. As long as I was holding on to an edge of the rock, I felt comfortable even without the rope. This is where the gloves came in handy. Here we strictly advised Chinthaka, who had a slight fear of heights, not to look back no matter what. Making our worst fears come true, the 2 dogs who were following us also came to the place where we were staying. There was no way those 2 could be sent back without hurting them. However it was evident that they will not be able to climb all the way to the top.

By this time, Dhammika maama was free-soloing the rock with one end of the rope attached to his backpack and one hand on a wooden stick we found near the base pool. He used this stick to fix the rope when we required. All 3 of my friends were around 60kg of weight with slim and athletic bodies. I was the heaviest of the team with 80kg body weight. Therefore I was always afraid to give my entire weight to the rope as it was not fixed to something solid above. All this time I used it only as a support. Journey from here onwards was extraordinary – unlike anything I have done before. Crevice was not enough to set my foot most of the time. Therefore had to step on the side walls while holding on to edges. When it was not possible to get any push from the legs, I had to use the power of the arms to push forward. Sometimes my foot got stuck inside the crevice and had to remove the foot first and get the shoe after climbing one step down. Me, Rajitha and Dinuka were wearing shoes while Chinthaka and Dhammika maama were climbing barefoot. If you aren’t sure of the grip of your shoes, it is highly advisable that you remove your shoes. Only downside was that by this time, the sun was rising above the peak of Lakegala and the rock was gradually starting to heat up.

On the rock crevice. Now we are at a point of no return.

Dhammika maama has attached the rope to the pole which is fixed in between the rocks.

Chinthaka trying to climb the first (innocent) boulder.

The crevice contains 3 places where the climb was purely vertical. While first and third boulders are manageable if you have the height, the second one is quite nasty even for a tall guy. Villagers had placed a piece of wood as a support to climb this earlier, but because of the absence of climbers for 2 years, this piece of wood was nowhere to be seen. It poses a real challenge for the person who’s climbing first. Fortunately, Dhammika maama, with all his experience found a way to circumvent this boulder by climbing on the bare rock surface, holding on to miniature cracks on the rock. This is where something unexpected was occurred. Dhammika maama lost the hold of our prized rope and it fell down the boulder. Therefore the one who was leading the 4 of us – by this time it was Chinthaka – had to climb without the rope, grab it and throw it some 10-15m above his head. Having stuck in a tiny crevice, surrounded by vast granite walls, this task was by no means easy. However Chinthaka took up the challenge and went ahead without any aid to grab the rope. From that point, he grabbed the rest of the rope and threw it at Dhammika maama with all his might. But sadly, it fell short of him and Chinthaka again had to do some risky climbing to get to the rope. This was unnatural for somebody who is known as the best cricketer of our gang. Such was the tension of the situation we were dealing with. In the second attempt however, he was successful and Dhammika maama was able to grab the rope. He went expertly up to the first iron rod which has been placed in the rock by somebody who has climbed Lakegala in 1990s, and tied the rope there. That was the first time we could give full weight to the rope during the climb. And there was no other way to climb the nasty second boulder, which seemed like a piece of rock stuck in the middle of the crevice. Thanks to the heroics of Dhammika maama, we were able to reach the first iron rod with all body parts intact.

Rajitha climbing up to the point where the first iron rod is fixed.

Dhammika maama – hero of the day. Picturesque Thunhisgala is seen in the background.

Dinuka – up on the second (nasty) boulder.

Second iron rod. People who fixed these rods in the rock should be born as gods in their next lives.

Then started the climb up to the second iron rod, which was placed with a slight deviation to the right from the vertical line we were following. So the rope again had to be used only as a support, since it was unwise to give full body weight to the inclined rope. However, soon I figured out that there are no edges that I could take assist from. Thus we had to maintain perfect balance while doing this task. Fortunately, everybody was 100% concentrated on the task they were up to; thus able to reach the second iron rod without any shocks. We have now climbed the up dreaded rock crevice, and were looking at the perfect view of Wannimaana, Udawannimaana and Thunhisgala peaks in front of us. Dhammika maama seemed relieved.

But it didn’t take that long for us to realize that the rock climbing part was far from over. There was no way to climb upwards because path was obstructed by a nasty boulder. Thus the usual path villagers have taken is walking on the rock horizontally, and reaching the maana patch from the botom. Rope was useless since there was no place to fix the leading end of it, not even a tree. As usual, Dhammika maama went ahead, keeping his rock solid balance. Slope was around 60 degrees, not as steep as the rock crevice. But I was shocked to see that the rocky surface was absolutely smooth in most parts. There were scarcely any crack to hold on or set foot in. Rajitha gave me a serious look and asked whether we are really going to do this. Frankly speaking, this was the first time I was scared in this entire uphill journey. Even the rock crevice was somewhat manageable because there was something to hold on to. But I was in no mood to turn back, having come up this far. It was down to the grip of my shoes to take me to the end of this rocky surface. I cannot recall how I managed to do this part which could only be 30m in horizontal distance. I barely remember that I had to jump from one crack to another to set my foot in somewhere solid. Somehow I was able to pass this treacherous surface and all my friends followed without any incident, under the merciful watch of Kande Bandara Deviyo. We were relieved to enter into the final forest patch before the observation point in the summit. However I was psychologically drained after the scary experience we just had to undergo. Walking through the forest patch was by no means easy because there was no footpath or paths taken by any medium sized animal. After another struggle for nearly a half an hour, we were able to reach the pinnacle of Lakegala.

A dream of 6 years and a plan which was in the making for nearly 7 months had just come true!

We were exhilarated at our success which took away all our pains. We were looking over the village exactly the same way how King Ravana was looking at it millennia ago. It was 12.30pm when we reached the summit. We lost no time erecting the flags – the Sri Lankan flag and the flag of our alma mater Dharmaraja College, Kandy. The piece of stick which Nava maama used to erect the flag during Sri’s visit was still there to help us with that task. The breeze on the top of Lakegala was so strong, but it took away our tiredness and pains.

Time for a sip of water after reaching the peak.

Dinuka enjoying the unbelievable achievement. Sorabora wewa, Maduru Oya reservoir and some other reservoirs are seen in the background.

On a clear day, we should be able to see all the way up to the ocean.

Paddy fileds of Meemure are seen in brown. Green paddy fields are located in the village of Kaikawala.

Rajitha preparing to raise the flags.

Then we sat down to eat some snacks and chocolates. Dhammika maama described the surrounding peaks and notable locations one by one, starting from Riverstone in the right side extreme to Yahangala in the left side extreme. We were facing the dome-like peak of Thunhisgala (Kalupahana peak – 1), and below that were Wannimaana and Uda Wannimaana. Gombaaniya aka Dumbaana Gala, the highest peak in the Knuckles range was covered in thick mist as usual despite the scorching sunlight over the rest of the region. We were witnessing something only a few pair of eyes have seen all this time. Dhammika maama showed the place where they did the legendary pirith chanting on top of Lakegala on 20^th September 2002. He and Nava maama were two of the 45 men who climbed Lakegala for the event that day. Later I found this (http://www.asiantribune.com/node/2697) beautiful piece of writing by Dr. Sudath Gunasekara, who had also been one of the people who went to the top that day.

We remained roughly 1 hour there in the heavens. It was freighting to think about the downhill journey. For a brief moment, we contemplated on taking the long lost second path which Dhammika maama mentioned earlier. However it came into my mind that even if how difficult or long the journey along the rock crevice is, now we know every bit of it, and we know what to expect at each point. Wind on top of the peak was also too strong to consider a downhill journey along such an open ridge.

It was close to 1.30 now, and we started re-packing our backpacks. It was only then it occurred to me that we have finished all the water we bought with us. We might have left a 1L bottle down the base of the rocky surface, but until we reach there, we are without a drop of water to drink. We have effectively consumed 12L of water and 2L of Isotonic during these 7 hours!

The moment we envisaged for nearly 6 years!

Breathtaking views towards the east.

Dinuka was overjoyed.

Leaving the summit – bidding farewell to the flags we raised.

Leaving only the flags behind, we started our return journey. It was bit of a challenge to figure out from where entered into the forest patch. After some deliberation among the teammates, we were finally able to find the location. But now we were confronted with a deadly task.

Rope we left near the end of the rocky surface was still there. Dhammika maama had to stay behind holding on to one end of the rope, while somebody from us had to go horizontally to the second iron rod and tie it there. This was one hell of a task due to absence even tiny cracks in rock. We could only hope that our shoes had enough grip to stick to the surface. Rock was heated up by this time, making a barefoot descent more difficult. Dhammika maama too was wearing an additional pair of socks I had with me. Considering the fact that it was me who brought others on this journey, I took up the task of crossing the horizontal surface and tying the rope to the rod. Total distance was close to 30m, since our rope was barely sufficient to tie to the rod. It took me more than 10 minutes to go that distance, holding one end of the rope in my hand. I was on all 4 limbs, praying that my shoes won’t slip. After a dreadful experience, I was finally able to reach the iron rod. Rope was just enough to tie onto it. My friends also came there one by one. And lastly it was Dhammika maama who came there, maintaining his supreme balance, and holding on to the other end of the rope. We were relieved to finish that part without any incident.

We spend some 10-15 minutes there to gather our concentration. We were surrounded with insanely beautiful sceneries. Dhammika maama was relating to us how he had climbed Uda Wannimaana via the front face of it. At one point a rock he was setting his foot just slipped and he has had to jump out of it in a fraction of a second. He also pointed out a loose rock of about 1m length, at some 20m horizontal distance where we were sitting. It was right above the rock crevice we were about to get into. When we informed this to Nava maama later that day, he said that it should be removed before people start climbing the rock more frequently.

Dinuka accepted the challenge of climbing down to the rock crevice with the aid of the rope. He went down expertly using the rope and disappeared into the crevice in a matter of minutes. The rock had a sharp angle at this point and guys at the top couldn’t see what anybody at the other end of the rope is doing. We screamed asking Dinuka whether he was okay. We did not get an answer immediately. Rope was still tensioned, so we knew he was holding on to it. It took us a little while to understand that answers are not audible due to sharp edge and the wind prevalent at that point. After getting confirmation that Dinuka was at the crevice safely, Chinthaka and Rajitha also went down the same manner. Now it was my turn to disappear into the abyss. I gathered all my concentration and went down using the rope, looking only at the place where I was going to set my foot. After a struggle that lasted few minutes, I too was able to get down to the crevice. Now it was time for Dhammika maama to release the rope and come down without any aid. But at this point, Chinthaka remembered that he brought two 10m sections of rope with him. We tied one end of that rope to the main rope and asked Dhammika maama to pull it. This way, he was able to get some support during the descent. We did not mind that we had to leave behind those pieces of ropes. However the next section of the descent, with the rope tied to the first iron rod was going to be far more challenging. We were sure that the remaining 10m section was not going to be enough, since we had to pass two boulders including the nasty one in the middle. Dhammika maama did not reveal what was his plan when it was going to be his turn. Instead, he tied the rope to the rod and asked us to start the descent. Dinuka took the lead as usual. At this point, something dreadful happened. While Dinuka was holding on to the rope, the knot released. However the rope stuck in the head of the nail (iron rod). Dhammika maama quickly caught the end and strengthened the knot by keeping one foot on it. Our blood literally turned into water!

On the second iron rod. Riskiest descent ahead.

The drop! To get to this point, there was some 30m section that we had to walk across horizontally.

Target is to get into the rock crevice without slipping the foot.

Dinuka doing some risky roping. Our hearts stopped for a while.

Chinthaka doing conventional roping.

Despite the mishap, Dinuka started his journey again. He climbed down the first boulder and then the second one by keeping his foot in two side walls. Then he lost in the rock crevice like the first time. This time it took more time to get confirmation from him because the distance was more than 20m. We were waiting for like 20 minutes until he finally gave confirmation for somebody else to start the descent. Chinthaka and Rajitha also went down the same way and took a long time in the process. I wasn’t sure why it took so long until I went there myself. This time I had no option but to give my full weight to the rope because the rock was far more steep – almost 85 degrees – to release one hand. The boulder was almost 90 degrees and around 2m high. There was absolutely no place beneath it even to set my foot. So I was virtually sliding along the rock surface, tightly holding on to the rope with my hands. If not for the gloves and the long sleeve T shirt, skin would’ve been ripped off at this point. After nearly a half an hour struggle, I was finally able to set my foot in somewhere stable. Now it was the turn of Dhammika maama to start his journey. I was frightened to even think of climbing down the boulder without a rope. But we could not leave Nava maama’s rope there, and there was only one 10m section of other rope left. We had no idea what so ever how he was going to do this.

There was no sound from him for a long time and we were waiting desperately for him to appear from the top of the boulder. It was more than 20 minutes past and there was no sign of him. We called him, and got a faint reply amid the breeze. We all were chanting ‘ithipiso’ gaathawa, since his plight was quite obvious.

In another 10 minutes or so, the joyful face of Dhammika maama appeared from the top of the boulder. He was somehow holding on to the other rope brought by Chinthaka. Even that was not adequate to reach the place where we were. But the riskiest part could be done with the aid of the rope. Only after reaching our resting point he narrated what he has done there. His thinking was such that, there was no point of bringing the extra rope if this nasty drop had to be done without the help of it. So he has climbed up to the highest (2^nd) iron rod and brought back the rope tied to that. Only after attaching both sections together, he has done this miracle descent. We all were thankful to the divinity looking from above for taking him down safely. Now we were left with only the 30m rope of Nava maama. Dhammika maama fixed it in between rocks and asked us to start the descent again. It was not dreadful, but still the risk was higher compared to the climb up. In another two rounds, we were almost at the bottom of the rocky surface. Still the last part had to be done without the rope and there was no time to ease the concentration.

Dhammika maama looking at the performance of the guys from the 2nd iron rod.

Now it’s Rajitha’s turn for the descent. I was getting unnerved, knowing that it’s my turn next.

Making the matter more complicated, we found that one of the dogs which followed us from the village was stuck in the rocky surface, unable to climb up or down. We tried to bring it down but it was dangerous to bring the chap with one hand. So yet again, it was up to Dhammika maama to perform the riskiest act. Dog was severely dehydrated by that time. We climb down slowly to reach the place where we started the journey from the base. Everybody was sweating and was in a state of disbelief what we had just done!

Dhammika maama, with all his expertise, was still descending carrying the dog in one hand. It was an amazing sight, but it was unfortunate that I didn’t have my zoom lens to capture the moment. Both of them reached to the safety in another 10 minutes or so. Altogether it had taken nearly 3 hours just to descend the treacherous rock surface. The water bottle we left there was finished in no time. But our thirst wasn’t quenched. I too was getting dehydrated so my only target was to get to the base pool as soon as possible.

This is where I noticed that the sole of both by shoes are going off. However there was no option but to proceed at this moment. I was thankful that they didn’t go off while in the rocky surface – especially in the horizontal section at the top! There were plasters in the bag we hung in a tree some 1km downwards, that was the only hope for getting this fixed. Downhill journey was difficult than I thought, because my foot was hurting and I was getting severely dehydrated. Small rock pieces were making things worse, and we lost the count of times we fell down after stepping on loose pieces. My foot started hurting really bad when it hit on the rock. It was only after reaching the village I noticed that that the nail of my big toe was broken. Rajitha did some patchwork to my shoes with plasters after reaching the tree where we left the backpack containing lunch packets. We decided to take it down to the base pool since we had no water with us. It took nearly one and half hours to get to the base pool, and it was around 5pm when we finally reached it. I straight away drank nearly 3L of water with scant regard to the quality. After having a late lunch and some chocolates, we started the journey through the forest. The forest was hidden in the dark shadow of Wannimaana. Time to time we saw the bright reflection of sunlight by the rocky surface of Lakegala. Our eyes could not believe that we had just climbed this monster peak.

End of the story of my shoes. Glad that they served me well during the riskiest part.

As Dr. Sudath Gunasekara has described in his article, Lakegala could be one of the largest rock masses on the planet which is visible to the eye. The paddy fields of Meemure are located at an elevation of roughly 370m from Mean Sea Level (MSL), while the top is at an altitude of 1310m. Therefore the altitude gain of today’s climb was close to 1km! We were dead tired as we reached the village. Near the village, we saw Nava maama’s campsite on the banks of Meemura oya. We were fortunate to receive a warm cup of tea from the person who was working there. Near his home, we bid farewell to Dhammika maama, to whom we were indebted for taking us up to the heavens. It was around 6.30pm by then, but we did not forget to go to the Kande Bandara Devalaya for the thanksgiving. As we heard, it has been a ritual of everybody who come to the village after climbing Lakegala. We walked along the road of Meemure under the serene moonlight, reviewing the day’s proceedings. Everybody had so much to talk, and those talks didn’t stop even after reaching Nava maama’s home.

Nava maama came to see us with a broad smile in his face. He has seen the flags we have erected on the top, from the village around 2.30pm. Asked whether he truly believed that we could make it, he straight away said ‘no’. He has even said that ‘me mahaththuru kochchara kaiwaaru gahuwath, gal poththa langata gihin aapahu harila enawa’ even to Dhammika maama on the previous day. Not even Dhammika maama believed that we could do it as he said near the base pool during the return journey.

We had one of the most fulfilling dinners that night at Nava maama’s place. We prepared our backpacks and went to sleep around 10.30pm. Then we got up at 4.30am, and went to Hunnasgiriya in the 5.00am van from Meemure. It was around 8.00am when we arrived at Hunnasgiriya. There we had a superb breakfast and got into a bus which was heading to Kandy.

It was the end of the greatest journey of our lives so far!

I have no doubt that we will cherish this adventure until the day we leave this world… J

You can watch the footage of our journey using below links. Sorry for the poor upload quality.

Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3 , Part 4 , Part 5 , Part 6 , Part 7 , Part 8 , Part 9 & Part 10