Kirigalpoththa Hike on 1st of January 2011

Kirigalpoththa is the second highest mountain in Sri Lanka at 2,388 m (7,835 ft) above mean sea level. Its situated in the South Eastern side of Horton Plains. The hiking trail to the summit is 7km in length and its one of the best nature trails in the Horton Plains. The trail is not too hard but its not too easy too.

Date : 1 January 2011
Crew : 7
Transport : Public Transport (Train)
Activities : Hiking, Photography
Weather : Overcast and Misty

Route : Colombo -> Ohiya-> Horton Plains-> Kirigalpoththa-> Pattipola-> Colombo 

We were planning to do this trail for some time but we had to postpone it several times because of the continuous rain. Finally we thought of doing this on 1st of January as it’s a nice way to start the New Year. We took the Podi Menike night mail train from Colombo Fort on 31st night and reached Ohiya on the following morning. We started our hike from Ohiya at 6.30 am. And soon we witnessed some breathtaking views when the sun light came though the forests as beams. It’s really difficult to describe the beauty of these scenes. 

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Camping at Kumana

Kumana National Park is renowned for its birds, particularly its large flocks of migratory waterfowl and wading birds. The park is 391 kilometres (243 mi) southeast of Colombo on Sri Lanka's southeastern coast. Kumana is contiguous with Yala National Park. It was formerly known as Yala East National Park, but changed to its present name in 5th September 2006. The park was closed from 1985 to March 2003 because of the Civil War. 

Date : 20/21 November 2010
Crew : 7
Transport : Public Transport (Bus)
Activities : Bird watching, Photography, Camping
Weather : Sunny / Drizzly
Route : Colombo -> Rathnapura-> Wellawaya-> Pottuvil-> Panama-> Kumana

This was a special trip for me as its my first camping experience in the wild. We started our journey on a Friday night from fort. We booked seats in advance for a bus which leaves to Akkareipattu. The bus left at 8.30pm from Colombo.  After a long uncomfortable ride we reached Pottuvil around 5am in the following morning. The safari jeep came there to pick us in a few minutes. 

We entered the park after getting tickets from the park office at Okanda. Our first destination was the ruins in Bambaragasthalawa. The statue of Lord Buddha was destroyed by the heartless treasure hunters. I was shocked to see the damage done to the statue. To reach these ruins we have to walk some distance on foot through the jungle. According to our guide this area is home to bears so we were asked to be careful. Bambaragasthalawa is the highest area in Kumana. During the war, a senior LTTE leader was hiding in this area. He was hunt down by the security forces later. 

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Thotupola and Diyagama nature trails – Horton Plains

Thotupola Kanda (2359 m) is the third highest peak in Sri Lanka. The trail is also known as Rawana nature trail. According to the legends, king Rawana landed his Mythical plane (Dadu monara) on the peaks of "Thotupola Kanda" which means "Landing Site" in sinhala language.

Date : 6 November 2010
Crew : 4
Transport : Public Transport (Train)
Activities : Hiking, Photography
Weather : Rainy and Misty
Route : Colombo -> Pattipola -> Thotupola -> Diyagama -> Thalawakale -> Colombo

We started our journey from Colombo Fort at 8 pm on a Friday eve. The crew was four. We booked the tickets for Badulla night mail train in advance. Even though I tried to get some sleep on the train it was really difficult for me. After eight and a half hours, the train arrived to Pattipola station around 4.30 am. We had to wait 1.5 hours till the sun rises to start our journey. So we had an early breakfast and as soon as the first shop opened we bought some food (Rotti and Lunumiris  ) as lunch and started our journey.

From Pattipola we walked towards Hortain Plains. Although it is 5km to the Pattipola entrance from Pattipola station, we decided to do it on foot. At first the weather was fine and after walking few kilometers the mist started to invade the area. Within a few minutes the whole area was in thick mist. The visibility was no more than 5-10m.

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