Our Heritage & the Top of the Kingdom of Tanks – Res Vehera & Ritigala…

Hiya everyone, hope you are having a good time especially during and after the New Year. Well, I’m gonna tell you a story that happened two weeks before the new year in and around the Kingdom of Tanks or if you prefer “Wevu Bendi Rajyaya”. I’m sure you can remember the last time I was there hovering around Aukana & Ritigala amid heavy rains. It was my first serious visit to the North Central which turned out to be a great success and paved way for more future visits.

Unfortunately the heavy showers late last year had caused heavy flooding in A’Pura and Polonnaruwa destroying many acres of farmlands. Most of the farmers could only watch the heartless flow of water reducing their sweat, tears and blood into nothing but mud and uprooted plants that were way beyond their worth. All of their exhausting work was in vain and even the government did very little to compensate for those people. Those officials were far more interested in the presidential election than the fate of these innocent farmers without whose dedication, we’d have to starve.

The villages around Ritigala where my host Dayararathna lives were not exempted from the natural disaster and his paddy fields too were washed away making the lives a whole lot tougher. They didn’t get disheartened by the floods or the ignorant behavior by the relevant authorities but started to plough once again as soon as the rains eased. They were in the harvesting stage when I called him late March asking about the weather. The weather was back to normal and I decided to begin where I left last time. As we had just finished a grand tour in Knuckles and another of my Rail Hikes, I was without a partner for a journey so soon. I had a 4-day break with nothing to do. Knowing it’d only make things awkward for my family to find me home doing nothing wasn’t a sensible thing. They’d probably get the notion that I’d been given the sack. So I didn’t wanna create so much anxiety. Remembering that even last time I went on my own, I  decided to do the same once again just for the hell of it.

Last time I managed to squeeze Aukana, one of the greatest architectural marvels in the whole world, into my itinerary followed by the archeological remains of Ritigala and one of its seven peaks, Una Kanda. In fact I visited the Aukana Buddha amid heavy rains with a borrowed and battered raincoat from my tuk-tuk driver, Niroshan. So I called him and got him to drive me to the other statue that is located about 16km from Aukana, the Res Vehera. Then I called Daya just to let him know my plans and fixed the accommodation and the transport.

So with so much hopes under one arm and a light overnight bag in the other I set off to meet another sexy lady on the dawn of April Fools’ Day. A quick look at the FB showed that two of my friends had been unlucky enough to have been born on this day. I arrived at Fort station just after 5am and went into find the station was bustling with many people, mainly tourists despite this being a Tuesday.  Free Wi-Fi was introduced in fort station and few other places the day before and sure enough, everyone was looking at their phones checking this and that taking the full use.

I checked the phone too and found many portals but when tried to use, realized that you gotta register and get the password. So no free internet for me yet and I just spent the time munching on an egg bun that tasted like moulded cardboard and a roll that had probably been fried at least once before. That is the meals served by the station canteen and when I asked for bottle of water, one of them offered a bottle-shaped ice cube. The bugger must’ve thought I wanted to eat water rather than drink it.

Cursing under the breath for the shoddy canteen I occupied one of the chairs and looked on. The sexy girl I was waiting for said she would come before 6am. The KKS express train was waiting at No. 3 platform gleaming in sky blue. Around 5.30am, Podi Menike came in and many people squeezed in. Couple of night mails arrived disgorging sleep deprived passengers who walked as if under sedation. Still no sign of this girl. I was getting impatient and kept looking for a glimpse of her. Around 5.50am, she came with her usual charm as if nothing can make her quicken her pace. When I got up to go say hi, so did many others. Apparently there had been many others waiting for her. That is Udaya Devi for you.

Finding a seat was like musical chairs. There were so many empty ones and everyone kept hopping one to the other until they realized all the seats were alike. At the chime of 6.05am, she pulled out of the station and carried on towards the other end of the country, Batticaloa.

Day 01

We swayed with her getting in and out of sleep while the sun rose high above the houses and then coconut trees. I always enjoy the train journeys except the inevitable delays. Just that morning I saw a cartoon shared on FB showing a passenger sitting at a station with two notices overhead. One showed Wi-Fi with a check in front while the other showed Trains with a cross next to it. Good one to start the day after the horrible fort station canteen. We arrived at Veyangoda, the most notoriously reputed place for train delays. It’s always something or the other. Today was no exception and we found Podi Menike still parked and waiting when the speaker informed there’s only one track operation just ahead close to Pallewela but assured we’d leave in a very short time. I cursed Da Vinci for his findings on relativity coz the very short time of railway officials at Veyangoda ran past 30 mins before we were given the green light. Even the last time we got held up more than 10 mins and today this.

Tour Highlights: 

1. Res Vehera aka Sasseruwa, Meegalewa.
2. Keeriyagaswewa Village and the Tank.
3. Ancient Ruins, Ritigala.
4. Kodi Gala aka Kodi Kanda, Ritigala.

We arrived at Maho and waited for Udaya Devi to go refresh herself before continuing her journey. She always seems to take very long, well what more can you expect from a beautiful girl like her. She turned this way and that way before deciding to continue. There was a bitter taste in my mouth after that awful breakfast, if you can that godforsaken junk breakfast. Thankfully there came an old mum selling guava. Couple of them (going Rs. 10/- each, a steal) went down with plenty of chillie and salt giving a better feeling. What a contrast?

Just reached Maho

13-carriage train

A copy of the good old Canadian one by the Indians

A key point in SL Railways

There comes her to be attached on the other side

One of the first 12 engines to be donated, Point Pedro

Just got coupled

The delays made sure I arrived 45mins late at Aukana where Niroshan was waiting for me. We set off immediately and chatting about on the way.

Res Vehera

We took a short cut that met Galnewa Road around half way. Then Niroshan took some more short cuts which looked all alike to me until we came to Res Vehera. There were one or two signs to give directions. The road to the Res Vehera, especially the last 6km was terrible and had seen no sign of tar or concrete. It was a typical gravel road with plenty of pot holes and washed out sections. Niroshan said despite the popularity and the importance, no politician or government body had bothered to make this road properly.

Apparently hundreds and thousands of people both local and foreign visit this marvel throughout the year yet nothing has been done about this road. So if you are one of the people who could do something about this, please try and do whatever you can to make this a better one. Before we go any further, lemme give you the story behind this wonderful creation.

The Legend

“King Devanampiyatissa had planted a Bo tree in the premises in 237 BE (around 307 BC) (Buddhist Era). The rocky Buddha statue that is 42ft 4in in height is believed to have been carved by King Mahasen sometime in 276-303 AD. King Walagamba (89-77 BC or 104 BC) had later added two cave temples. There are 99 caves with drip edges where some 365 Arhath Monks had stayed. During Kandyan Era, the last Sinhala King, Weera Parakrama Narendrasinghe had renovated the temple and the complex. The wall paintings depict the stories from the Jathaka Book such as Kakkata, Dahamsonda & Manichora. Further there’s an 11.07m long sleeping Buddha statue that is the only one of its kind in the whole world. The statue had been moulded using clay and then covered with a real cotton robe before completing the statue with colors and design.”

We arrived at the temple closer to noon. There is a board at the outside the main entrance announcing the forest around it Kahalla Pallekelle Sanctuary, a place I’d not heard before. What’s more there’s an electric fence erected to keep the elephants inside the sanctuary and protect the farmlands just outside it. I wonder how practical it is to tempt them with all those crops and hoping to keep them behind an electric fence. There was a beautiful white Stupa to the side of the temple at the edge of the small tank. The tank is about half a football ground in size. There is a large rock towering at the background at the middle of which is carved the magnificent Buddha statue. There’s a plight of stairs to it. You can see the remains of caves all around and the two cave image houses are located to the left of the stairs and below the statue. There are two separate entrances to them.

We climbed the stairs and arrived at the statue and it took my breath away. Lemme be honest and tell you that it takes a lot to take my breath away and make me speechless coz I’ve seen a quite a lot of things. This was as good as the Aukana Buddha even though it looked as if half finished. The reason being the Aukana Buddha had been carved out of the rock making it look like he’s not attached to the rock in anyway. Unlike the Aukana Buddha, Res Vehera statue is still attached to the rock by a strip of rock in the back. However, the Res Vehera Buddha is taller than the Aukana Buddha. Res Vehera is 42ft 4in whereas Aukana Buddha is 38ft 10in including the Siraspatha (the symbol on the top of the head). However we mistake the heights due to the pedestal of the Aukana Buddha which increases the height dramatically to 42ft. Still Res Vehera Buddha is taller by good 4in.

I simply looked at this gorgeous creation by our ancestors. Just imagine building something in this caliber more than 2100 years ago. What kinda modern civilization we must have had then. A lot better than our current sad situation, I’m sure. The statue was in the middle of the huge flat rocky wall towering above us and looking as serenely as ever. There were kind of holes on the rocky wall just above the statue and I’m just wondering if it’s a sign of a partial roof built to protect the statue. I can go on and on describing the extraordinary statue but it’d be a lot easier to just let you look at the pictures. I’m speechless to say any further.

We spent about 20 mins admiring the statue and came down halfway the stairs and turned to the right where the ancient Bo tree is. There was a group of old ladies sweeping and cleaning the area. Instead of a typical wall around the Bo tree, there were a couple of layers of blocks of rock placed on top one another securing it. We walked around it to the rocky cave image houses. The doors were closed as in many temples nowadays, especially the ancient ones. We saw the stone scriptures on the rock above the roof of the cave and it looked in better shape and clearly legible. Unfortunately there was no way to figure out what it says. I wish there was a board with the translation placed at places like these for the travelers’ benefit. Feeling disappointed not being able to go in and see the paintings (I love the ancient paintings on walls, rocks and wooden planks) we circled the caves and got back in the front courtyard of the temple. However we saw a few tiny pagoda shaped structures probably some tombs of the monks were buried from the look of them.

At Res Vehera

Beautiful Chaithya

Going towards the main statue

Remains of ancient structures

This is where the cave image houses are, we’ll come to it later

Oh my god!

Lemme tell you this. Seeing this on a picture is nothing compared to what you see in real. A completely different feeling. So go see it for real

Amazing details even after many centuries

Those holes might mean a former roof over the statue

Must’ve looked stunning when this was built

The feet

The Robe looks real enough, not a sign of rock

View from the image below

Very old Bo Tree with plenty of history behind it

The rocky inscription at the image house

Closer

Surrounding rocks

The path to the other image house

Signs of caves

Where the sleeping Buddha is located

The steps but the door was locked

Where the monks are buried

Heart breaking thing to go without seeing the image houses

Niroshan came to my rescue and suggested we go talk to the chief monk and ask for permission to enter the image houses. He said that he knew the monk so we went to the living quarters. One of the old people who stay at the temple said the monk was taking a nap so we decided not to bother him. However one of the ladies asked us to go talk to Ukku Banda mama who has the keys to them. Fortunately he appeared out of nowhere and and kindly offered to show the place. It was one of the best things that happened in my life. You will know why when you see the pictures and the Documentary.

He opened the first one which is the smallest out of the two. It has a sitting Buddha with a couple of other statues. The walls are painted with beautiful pictures including the uneven rocky roof. How on earth they managed to paint such subtle paintings inside those dark caves even without the help of electricity. They must have been super humans, definitely not ordinary folks. It’s a pity that most of these image houses are now wired without giving much consideration for the destruction caused by them. Sadly it is the same situation in almost all of the places.

We finished the work there and went around to the other one, the largest cave that holds the 11m statue, the one and only in the world. As soon as I entered after Ukku Banda mama what I so sent me speechless for the second time of the day. There to the right of the cave was this gigantic statue looking very much real. Ukku Banda mama showed me around. There were many statues inside the cave but nothing as glamorous as this sleeping Buddha. Unlike many other places, you can walk around the statue the full circle being able to see him all around.

We went to the back of the statue where Ukku Banda mama pointed to a place which has been peeled off the paint showing off the cotton wool of the robe. Thanks to the ignorant and stupid travelers the temple has had to erect a chain fence to protect the statue being damaged. According to Ukku Banda mama, the buggers try to pull out the cotton strings which are prominent on the waves of the robe and take them as souvenirs. The stupid devils don’t understand the gravity of it. No wonder these places are kept under lock and key from the maniacs who stop at nothing to do some damage.

To the further corner of the statue is a square shaped hole where it’s believed that a corbra stayed protecting the statue. I wish it would still stay there to chase the stupid devils away coz now is the time that the statue is under great threat. We came out of the other side to find a bed to the side near the wall. “A bed? Inside an image house?” I’m sure you’re wondering out loud. So did I when I saw it. Ukku Banda mama offered the solution before I had the time to read the notice on it. This was offered to the temple by a carpenter as a gesture of his religious beliefs and now it stays here. Ukku Banda mama says it’s probably a couple of hundred years old but nothing to back his claim unless they do a carbon dating. The weavings on the bed had been pulled out and broken taking away as souvenirs by the same idiotic people. It’s a real shame and if you’re guilty of crimes like these, be ashamed and make a vow not to do it ever again. I guess you can remember how people used to pull out the silver thread from the old 500-rupee note. Do pull out anything else if you must but invaluable pieces of our heritage. We must protect these which have been protected and passed onto us by our ancestors and make sure our future generations get to see them as well. Our current situation might be worse than a cesspit but at least they’ll know we had the best civilization ever, incomparable even to the best of the today’s standards.

After the inevitable documentary, I left Ukku Banda mama thanking him profusely and praising him for his dedication to protect this place. Niroshan had been to soothe the nerves of the monk who had got up and kept wondering who I was. All the treasure hunting has left all the monks live in fear not only for the ancient things but also for their lives. We saw a CTB bus coming to the temple carrying the board Kumbukkadawala-Galgamuwa via Res Vehera. It’ll probably give you a clue of the public transport but don’t think it’s available that often. I highly recommend Niroshan if you need a reliable and friendly fellow who is cheerful and not rob you in broad daylight. Before we go on, take a look at the mythical story about the two statues which are completely false and has no real foundation.

Image House No. 01

Got lucky

My savior, Ukku Banda Mama

Entering the first one

The locked door

Either side

Just about to open and reveal the secrets

Wood carvings

Wooden roof supported by rocky pillars

Some more

Entering, just look at the statues and the paintings

Plenty of them

Painting on the rocky ceiling

One of many

More paintings along the walls

Some more

On the uneven rocky ceiling

Main Buddha Statue

Image House No. 02

Here we got the chance

Solid locks

Just before entering, can you see the writings?

Near the door

Here’s the Gigantic Statue

Hard to get the whole statue in one frame

“Siras Patha”, similar to Aukana Buddha

Another statue by the main one

Cotton robe exposed at the back of the head

Here clear signs of it

Can you read the note?

This is where that cobra had stayed. It needs to be there now not then

Can you see the torn bits? Stupid tourists are responsible for that

Hope you can read it

One of the legs

See the length of the statue?

Many more

Here a couple more

Paintings too

Time to go

Lifeline of the villagers

The Myths of Aukana Buddha and the Res Vehera Buddha…

Let me go controversial now coz there is many legends relating these two statues. So let’s get the facts straight. How about answering a few simple questions first?

• When did they build the Res Vehere Buddha? – It’s believed this was done by King Mahasen in 276-303 AD.
• When did they build the Aukana Buddha? – Apparently in 5^th Century by King Dhathusena (which means sometime in 459-477 AD). However there are other theories as well such as it was the 6^th Century and some say this was built by King Parakrambahu the Great in the 13^th Century but this is the closest we can get I suppose.
• What’s the gap between the two building dates? – Supposing they built by Mahasen and Dhathusena respectively, approximately 180-200 years. Could be more or less.

So it’s technically impossible to have built these two statues at the same time (well it’s still possible but very unlikely considering these dates). The folklores of two brothers or the teacher and the pupil building these two statues in contest seem nothing but fairy tales. I’m not saying they’re completely bogus coz we don’t seem to have the facts at hand but from what we gather they don’t seem to amount to much more than that. After all, I too am a big fan of fairy tales but it’s crucial to have the facts right. Hopefully the archeology department will be able to iron out these issues as much as possible and make sure the correct information is given to the tourists as these places (not only Aukana and Res Vehera) are visited by hundreds and thousands of tourists both local and foreigners.

Does anyone have a better theory or can anyone give us some concrete evidence please?

Kala Wewa

We got back in the tuk-tuk and returned to the bus stop at Aukana to catch a bus to Kekirawa. Having thanked Niroshan for his help, guidance and patience I got in the bus. We went along the bund of the Kala Wewa that was looking appealing. The distance hills, thick clouds, blue skies and the still water waved at me. Fortunately the driver stopped the bus on the bund and got talking to another fellow bus driver. I got the opportunity and jumped out of the bus and took a few pictures before he went away. However it was not enough for me.

As we went further up, I could see Ritigala rising majestically into the sky. I wanted to get down and walk along the bund not missing a thing but I simply couldn’t afford it. There was more to see and I was way behind the schedule. Well, just check the pictures below and tell me if you would have felt the same way.

The bus stopped

And I jumped out

Took this

And this

Ritigala in the distance

Before getting back into the bus

I called Daya who had been waiting for me. There was a very special place to go see. It is not only very special but also very much unknown to the outside world. Even the people live in the same village so close to this are not aware of it. I’m afraid; you won’t get to read about it in this report. Now don’t groan and start complaining. As it’s really special and so valuable, I’ve decided to unveil in the next report. So if you’re reading it now, you can expect that hopefully within a week or two. So I’ll jump straight to Daya’s place where I spent the night before the big day. Remember, it was one of the best days in my life and one of the best journeys but still not better than Lakegala.

We arrived at Keeriyagaswewa when the dark was falling. One of Daya’s friends called Tissa (not the one I went to see the archeological site last time) had caught some fish in the Kaluebe tank in the next village and suggested we go pick them. He had caught them in the morning and had put them in the water attached to a string to stop them rotting. See I keep things learning every day. If you’re to preserve fish after catching them, just put them back in the water after tied to a string. However only a limited number of hours you can keep them safe, probably up to 12-18 hours. These fish strings cost around Rs. 200/- at the current rate and has 6-8 fish weighing between 1-1.5kg.

We then arrived at the house and while Daya’s wife was busy cooking,  I took a bath. Most of the paddy fields have been re-ploughed and sowed after the floods and harvested too. However there were still many fields with ripening paddy still to be harvested. I saw many tree houses where the farmers kept watch at night on their paddy fields from the elephants. The jumbos present another threat to their crops as they keep coming to destroy them. Well this is a problem in most of the country from south to the north where quickly vanishing forests make the jumbos homeless forcing them to come to the villages to find food. Can’t say I blame the poor fellows. When I’m writing this, it shows on news that many jumbos coming to the garbage dumping ground in Hingurakgoda closer to the Kaudulla National Park. There is even a tusker among them. They will either die of food poisoning or get killed by some wicked people, especially the poor tusker. Nobody seems to do anything about it and the jumbos keep chasing the garbage trucks until they dump the loads.

Despite the grievances of the farmers I felt elated at the prospect of seeing some elephants in the night. I love watching the jumbos. Even last time I was without luck and was hopeful having seen the tree houses. Daya, Chandi (another of his friends) and I went for a walk along the road with torches that were turned off looking for the elephants. On the way we talked to a couple of people staying up the tree houses keeping a close vigil. We heard couple of elephant crackers going off but most of the time farmers just light them even before seeing the elephants, probably just to give a warning if they are nearby. All of a sudden we heard the roar of them in the tank most likely having a late bath. We couldn’t get towards the tank so returned home for a sumptuous meal with tank fish.

After the meal, we stayed up for another hour or so hoping to see a jumbo but my luck was not in this time either. So we went to sleep asking to be woken if any jumbo came in the night. No jumbo appeared as if sensing my arrival. They had come regularly over the past days but today was taking a break. Chandi joked saying I should come and stay until the harvesting stage so that jumbos will stay away. I went into a dreamless sleep hoping for clear weather the following day. Now you too get some rest coz tomorrow there’s plenty to do.

Day 02

I woke up as the first rays of the morning falling on the trees and the gravel roads. I was hoping for some mist but none to be had. Fortunately the unbearable heat was not there in the night and I slept like a baby. The typical noises of the forest could be heard. There were birds chirping, wind rustling the leaves, peacocks making their unpleasant deep noises and bees humming on their way to juicy flowers. I would have loved to stay like that listening to all this but there was plenty to do with very little time. Time seems to fly when I go sightseeing. I reluctantly flexed my muscles and commanded the limbs to start cracking.

Daya’s son and daughter had already got up and were ready to go to school. Unfortunately he still hasn’t got electricity in his house and even the house is barely enough for them to live. You know what I’m hinting at, don’t you? It’d be a real noble thing to help him complete the house and obtain electricity. So if you come across any organization that is looking for some charity work, they can’t go wrong with helping them. It’d be a very worthy cause.

I got up and did the usual chores while the sun climbed up the Ritigala. We sent a message to Tissa (my partner in the last journey) to come in the morning for the day’s schedule. Till then I had sometime to explore the surrounding areas. Grabbing the opportunity, I walked along the gravel road taking in the scenery breathing the fresh air coming from Ritigala kissing the paddy fields and the tanks on the way. Some fields had already been harvested while some still were not ready. The harvested fields looked brownish yellow with dried up clay sticking to the roots. Others had the lush green in many shades. Bunches of grains were bending towards the earth feeling the weight of the ripening seeds. Water gurgled through the tiny gaps making bubbles in places. There was a motorbike left at the base of a tree house. Nevertheless the house was empty. The farmers had apparently gone home after a sleepless night.

The Ritigala mountain range looked absolutely stunning against a blue and white sky. The light green paddy fields in the foreground added the flavor while the dark green on the mountain itself blended into the setting. It wasn’t all, there were a few exposed rocky sections in the mountain giving charcoal grey, black and some shades of the peach to the picture. What more can I say? It’s really pleasing to the eye and you would never get enough of looking at this beauty. Well, I was ready to get to the highest point that day but don’t you worry coz I had all the means to achieve that. So don’t get anxious and let’s go experience what it is like to be on the top of the kingdom of tanks. But before we go, I gotta go get some breakfast in me. I heard Daya’s wife saying there was tank fish left from the last night. Now don’t be jealous and go have your meals and enjoy the pictures of my morning stroll.

Gosh, what a breakfast! All I need is a mat under the shade of the tamarind tree to digest the meal. Unfortunately I ain’t got that luxury coz I can hear you complaining. But we’re not going up yet. Lolz, I’d have loved to see your face after the last sentence. You think I’d been ranting about it all this time just for the hell of it, don’t you? Please bear with me for a little while longer and I promise you won’t be disappointed. Would you like to go see the Keeriyagaswewa tank full of water? Last time it was nearly empty and I wanted to go see the transformation after the rains. So Daya and I took the tuk-tuk and went for a drive. After a few minutes we arrived at the foot of the bund and parked the vehicle.

The area was all covered with paddy fields and on almost every tree which is there in the middle of them had a tree house for the farmers to keep watch. We climbed up to see the tank and gosh, what a difference. It was full to the brim with beautiful white lotuses rising from the water towards the sun while the leaves spread out around them on the surface. Not only that, above the water surface which was making tiny waves in the wind, Ritigala looked beautiful than ever. This was a dream of every photographer, painter and film director. I just couldn’t drag myself away despite numerous warnings by Daya about getting late. Finally I gave in and we got back in the tuk-tuk coz my destiny was calling me.

Good morning

Left most part

My target

Probably had a quarrel last night

Endless paddy fields

Nice combination

“Maduruwa” bike

Dusty roads

Beautiful range

Some harvest for the hard-working farmers

Will take some time before the harvest

This is nearly ready, two more weeks

A meeting?

Equal gap

Another watch hut

See the colors bending nicely?

Now the contrast

Hey buddy!

Salivating, ain’t it?

Kept bumping into them

Oh dear!

Ferocious

Another one

Look at the silhouette

At the Keeriyagaswewe Tank

A sight worth seeing again and again

Last time it was completely dry

Good looking

Couple with a baby to be born soon

Harvested paddy fields

Many huts all around

Ok, now let’s head to the dream

The Dream Hike

Tissa came in and we went to the archeological site some 2km away. The tree covered road was cool and it was around 9am when we arrived and started our hike after the necessary paperwork and official matters. Already there was a large group of local tourists roaming around and I was grateful for my previous visit which gave me all the freedom to take pictures without having to worry about people moving about. We went on to the target even though the journey was strenuous and tested our rather my bones and muscles. I don’t think I would ever cease to be amazed by the ingenuity of our ancestors. Especially what you would see in Ritigala. This must be categorized as one of the seven wonders. What they had built in Ritigala making that rocky mountain self-sufficient and self-reliant is beyond any imagination. I know I have already given a big chunk of my photo collection for you in the last trip but lemme give a bit more coz it’s worth seeing them again and again and again.

Well afterwards it was all about the jungle and we saw trees and plants grow in Ritigala which are unique to other environmental conditions such as Horton Plains, Sri Pada and Knuckles. That is why Ritigala was declared a Strict Nature Reserve (SNR). Only three of them exist in the country and I’ll let you find out the other two if possible. Until then without further delay I’ll let you enjoy the pictures of our laborious hike uphill. After the pictures, I’m gonna jump once again and get to the observation point little below the summit.

Ok, now we were about to get up to a place with a beautiful view. This reminded me of the Una Kanda as it too was similar to this point and gave a similar view but a little lower. I did a short documentary and we continued our way uphill. The final push brought us to a somewhat flat wooded area. There is ample room to move between the trees unlike the thick and impassable areas of Sri Pada and Knuckles. We saw a small toilet-sized cement and brick structure and a cable ran from it to a nearby pole which was a failed attempt by the officials to use it as a signal tower. The summit is a larger rock about 20ft high and closer to 50ft in diameter and a circumference of well over 100ft. Very much similar to the Saradiyel Rock or the summit of Alagalla I guess. I’m yet to visit any of those mountains. I know what you think and yeah I too feel ashamed of myself for not doing anything about it.

Archaeological office

Let’s make a move

Banda Wewa

Hallmark steps

First Stone Bridge

Many ruins like this

Hundreds of Monks had walked along these paths

Entering the footpath

Here we go

Bed and Pillow

Drainage lines made of stone

Hidden ruins

All over the forest

Almost stepped on the fellow

Still not so steep

Seeking the much needed sunlight

Just look at that

Now the difficult terrain

Tough places to go past

Circling the boulders and trees

It was very calm and serene inside

Huge one, probably attacked by the eagles

Just look at the precision making

Sambar is responsible for these

Final stretch

Very tough terrain

Look at the creeper

First observation point

Stretch into miles and miles

Not edible

Typical upcountry forest

“Balu Dan”, a plant found in Knuckles and Sri Pada

This tree is covering the rock with its roots

Wana Raja, again seen on Sri Pada mainly

Skeleton bodies

The small structure with the signal tower

There it is now abandoned

Oh, hello!

Hi cutie!

We carefully conquered the rock which is not that big a deal if it’s not wet. Arriving on the summit is an experience which will be with me forever and ever. There is a pole about 20ft high supported by rocks with a flag flying from it symbolizing the name “Kodi Kanda” or “Kodi Gala”. It gave a 360-degree view which is also a very rare thing as many summits don’t have that possibility. One major exception is the Sri Pada that gives the best 360-degree view in Sri Lanka, probably the whole world. No wonder Lord Buddha chose it to leave his sacred footprint.

Ok, let’s look around and see what we can see. Tissa is gonna help us. Here we go, there’s Habarana side over the extreme left (when looking at the range from Keeriyagaswewa) end of the range. Moving to the right now, there’s Kala Wewa in the distance. Then we’ll follow the Galenbindunuwewa-Kahatagasdigiliya road. Towards the right end of the range is the Anuradhapura area. There’s Ruwanweli Maha Seya if we’re not mistaken. To the left of her is Thuparamaya and to the right some way away is Mihintale. Ok then let’s cross the right edge of the range. There is Hurulu Wewa in the distance and closer to the mountain is Ganewelpola town. About just below us is Keeriyagaswewa tank and the wildlife office. We could see the road running from there to the base of the mountain. Then going further is Minneriya and Kaudulla.

Yeah you can see all that and much more. The sun took pity on his children and hid behind a cloud giving us the much needed shade. We spent closer to three quarters of an hour enjoying the scenery, savoring the achievement and taking dozens of pictures. Well, all good things come to an end and my journey too had to come to a conclusion. Sadly we bid farewell to this unique and beautiful lady thanking her for putting up with us. This was a dream come true and I’m gonna treasure it till the end of my life. We started our descend and made quick progress.

By 1.30pm we were on the solid ground when there was a big commotion near the office. There were a couple of busloads of school children waiting to go see the place. We were lucky to have been inside before they went in.

The final obstacle, gotta be very careful

Here’s the summit

Now the endless views

Kala Wewa in the far

Towards Habarana

Mihintale and Ruwanweliseya to the right and in the distance, don’t think you can see it

Rest of the range

The other end of the top part

No wonder the North Central is called the Kingdom of Tanks

The lone traveller

The 360-degree view

Beautiful patterns

Well, time to go

Climbing down carefully

Passing the same obstacles

Oh, hi!

Hmmm?

Looks like an alien

Climbing down with the help of a creeper

Here it is

Plenty of creepers around

Origin of a water stream. This must feed many villagers on the way

Patterns

Back on somewhat flat area

Mushy mushrooms

We saw it going up so did you

Ruins

First thought: “Rock Python”

Could be the same fella

An ancient pond now being used to pump water to the archaeological site below

Here it is

Rocky walls

Split rock

Almost finished the journey

Inside the Library

See the hole to the left?

You saw this in the last report

Another stone bridge

See the interlocking side railings?

Endless path

Many ruins

Going back

No one there

Perfectly designed

Near the Banda Wewa

Ok, time to call it a day and head home

Having arrived at Daya’s place we sat for a quick lunch. Then bidding farewell to everyone, Daya gave me a lift to the Moragoda junction where I took a bus to Kekirawa. Fortunately there was a Colombo bus but the stretch between Dambulla and Kandy road was a pain to cross. It’s still under construction and the heavy rains made going slower than walking. Ibbagamuwa, Malsiripura and other towns nearby were under more than a foot of water. After a slow and painful could of hours we reached Kandy road then Colombo along it by 9.30pm.

Well folks, are you tired after the marathon? I’m not and gonna do another right after but not today. You can join me later, another day.

Hope you enjoyed our trip together and would love to go see the secret treasure I promised earlier. Be patient coz next report is gonna be all about it.

But, before you go, there are a few Panos for you to look at.

Pano 1

Pano 2

Pano 3

Pano 4

Pano 5

Pano 6

Pano 7

Pano 8

Until then, take care and keep traveling. This is Sri signing off for now.

Ciao…

Sri,