Kota ganga (කොට ගඟ) falls expedition

The map – click to enlarge

I haven’t been doing any hiking recently and I was starting to see leeches in my dreams too and finally it seemed like my dreams were converting into a reality. Krishani called me and asked for some information of a guide in Thangappuwa to do the Kota ganga trail. I asked her whether I could join them because this hike was in my long list and my request was accepted gladly by Krishani.

We were supposed to meet up at Theldeniya but somehow they were getting late so I decided to head towards Rangala. 3Km’s from Udawela junction there was a name board directing towards a waterfall called Perumal fall. It was stated that there was 6.5km from Udaispattuwa junction to the waterfall. I took the road to Heel oya from Udaispattuwa. Few kilometers along this road I came across a 3 way junction where I took the left turn. The road turned in to one disastrous ride after about 1km. I don’t recommend low ground clearance vehicles on this road at all. At the end of the road where a board directing towards Iskolamuduna, I parked my vehicle and started walking towards the river by foot. After crossing the river I found a foot path which ran uphill along the river. This then started to branch off and I always took the path close to the river and ended up in a land which was been cleared off for plantation. From this land I reached the river and crawled along the boulders to reach this beautiful and unique waterfall. It was like watching an overfilled damn spilling the excess water along the slope. I had to return quickly because I didn’t want to get late.

the path towards Perumal falls

crossed the river to reach this

Perumal – Peruma falls

beauty

and it flows

scenery seen on the way to rangala

From Udaispattuwa it was about 16km’s to Thangappuwa. Though the road was carpeted to Rangala the last stretch of it was in terrible condition. One needs a good ground clearance vehicle to make it to Thangappuwa. At Thangappuwa I met Krishani and her friends and got ready to take off towards Kota ganga. We were bit late so we had to initiate things soon as possible. Luckily Raja our guide had bought tickets from Digana FD office on the previous day. We started climbing uphill through the tea plantation up to the forest cover. The climb through the tea estate was a tough one and it kept our engines boiling continuously. After we entered the forest it was bit relaxing and we did enjoy the walk through the bamboo bushes too.

friendly chaps at thangappuwa

cricket at thangappuwa

initial climb

onlooker

Beru diyanilla

thangappuwa seen after a long up hill hike

thangappuwa

ah flat terrain!

Exacum trinervium

Osbeckia aspera

arched path

Podochilus. sp

At one point we came across Kota ganga where we decided to go down stream to reach the top of the fall. After a 400m walk we reached the top. It was so heavenly that we couldn’t take our eyes off it. I’ll let you enjoy the scenery through my pictures. We had some Roti with dhal and “lunu miris” and started ascending through the forest (right bank) to meet a tiny stream drooling along the wide open plains where one could enjoy the beauty of five peaks of Knuckles. While going downhill along the stream we found the foot path branching towards the left and into the forest which we eventually took. My God it was a hell of a descent. It was a nightmare to think of the return journey at that point. We headed towards the 3^rd fall which is one of the most scenic falls (skipped the first by path to the left) but within few seconds it started to drizzle. We only managed to hang around for few minutes before we started ascending back. We reached the first turn off which we skipped and headed towards the first fall, by this time the showers had started pouring down heavily making our journey a misery. We went very close to the second fall but had to skip it because the descent was too risky. With difficulty we reached the first fall which was trickling downhill calmly 1 hour back. The waterfall had changed into a scary nightmare and it was very difficult to capture it even. I only managed to get one clear shot before we started ascending back. The ascend was worse than a nightmare because rain water was flowing down the steep path. I don’t know how we managed to return back along that path until now.

Somehow we reached the plain which was bit of a relief. The small water stream which was drooling along the rock was now a river and we had to cross it at two locations holding each other’s hands and creating human rope. The whole plain was one soggy marshy land and we did proceed uphill on this until we met the knuckles peak trail. We also found a lost foreigner who was headed towards Kota ganga side and if we didn’t find him he would have been lost in the forest for few days. The guys stated that he had read all the directions in Lakdasun and wanted to do this trail alone. Even local’s don’t do any of these trails all alone. So this guy should be very stupid to attempt such a thing. At Kota ganga cross over we had to create a human chain once again and the lost and found guy didn’t want to join it so he decided to cross it all alone. We witnessed him doing it alone and tripping and falling few time in that attempt. Somehow we managed to get that guy to join us to reach Thangappuwa though he wanted to go to Alugal lena at 4pm. After reaching Thangappuwa we had an icy cold bath and had few Roti from Rajas place before departing from the village. While others returned back to Kandy I decided to spend the night at Theldeniya rest house.

leaf nosed lizzard like a boss

Kota ganga

beyond a branch

Arundina minor

along the river

Pseudophilautus femoralis

top of Kota ganga

wow what a view

the river

looking down

wow

splendid

the plains with knuckles peak covered

more to go

following the stream

before getting in to the forest

getting down

top of the 4th fall

3rd fall

lovely

the drop of 4th

bye bye

after taking 10 shots this was the only clear one i got of the 1st fall

returned back(there were no pics of the toughest hour)

us with raju

toby loved the icy water

It was a Sunday and I was looking forwards for a relaxing day. Early morning as I woke up and opened the curtain there was breathtaking scenery towards Victoria reservoir. What a view to start off the day! Within few minutes I got in to the vehicle ad took off towards Rangala town to take the 3km ride to Kota ganga. This again was a 4wd ride but the scenery was breathtaking and rewarding. I took the road towards Girindi ella (passing the tea factory) and halted close to the end of the road near the bridge. There was a foot path near the bridge which went upstream (left bank) and I followed it to end up in a tea field. From this point it was very easy to have a glimpse of 5^th to 7^th falls of Kota ganga. I was told by the locals that there was a new foot path to the top though Raja said there wasn’t. So if you got some time try and explore the upper 4 falls from the bottom.

morning at theldeniya rest house

fishing

hunnasgiri peak seen from Rangala rd

Hanthana range

hanthana zoomed

bathale gala and ura kanda

gombaniya and yakunge hela

gombaniya zoomed

scenic roads

first glimpse of the full stretch of kota ganga fall

calm and quiet cota ganga

surrounding at cotta ganaga

7th fall

another view of 7th fall

6th fall

lovely 5th fall

close up

one could note the top 5 cascades

we were there

cascade of kota ganga

bus halt

view towards alagalla

made some new friends

Rangala

From Kota ganga I took off towards Thangappuwa where I had some frequent stops to enjoy the breathtaking scenery. This road provides a wide scope because it’s located on the southern reaches of Knuckles forest range. Just before Thangappuwa (after passing the school) there was a road to the right and there was a house. The owner directed me towards a waterfall which was formed by a stream which was flowing behind the house. Raja also mentioned about this cascade so I decided to have a go. And yes it was a beautiful cascade which I named Thangappuwa falls.

scenic Rangala rd

adams peak

plenty of tea

beautiful road

dried out victoria reservoir

reaching thangappuwa

not a selfie :-P

the stream which goes behind this house forms a waterfall

mini cascades

a stone sucker

another one which i came across down stream

and then this one

base

lovely

ah a river crossing

slow shutter

best bathing spot

Ferdale

From here I reached Thangappuwa and took the 4km 4wd road to Cobert’s gap which was a ride in heaven for me. I met no human and it was so peaceful. All alone through the mountain forest was one unique experience I really enjoyed. It was so heavenly until I reached cobert’s gap which was packed with many vehicles. I only hanged around few minutes because the place was too overcrowded and headed towards Hunnasgiriya to end my day. Ah and I didn’t forget to have some frequent stops to enjoy the breathtaking scenery.

starting to ride through the lonely forest

wow

tall trees

it was all about both of us

heavenly

over the bushes

colourful

LOVELY PATH

wow	sora bora seen over balalgira

hetakatuwegala

at attalamuttuwa

sphinx rock

knuckles

lakegala

view from the gap

namunukula and narangala

dothalugala

towards meemure

scenic

:-)	at deanston

towards ulhitiya

kokagala and friars hood

yahangala and kehelpathdoruwa