One-Day Bonanza: Embracing The Milky Way – Wewelwatte…

It was 23 June, Poson Poya Day when we went on the “Moon Walkers on a Quest of Their Own – Kalthota” and it turned out to be a cracker.

Since then I’d been in the middle of a travelling storm and missed our unique Poya Day quest in July. So I wanted to make amends and do our third consecutive ASAP.

As usual, Facebook came into my rescue and I sent around the request asking if they can spare 04 Aug and the replies were very positive. Anyway, not many people knew that Tony’s allowed only one trip a month and he did it with me to Meemure (There I said it:)). So it was another reason why it got shifted to August.

Unfortunately Danushka missed out this time coz his mother-in-law was going abroad and he and Thilini had to chip in with the preparations. He was very reluctant to back our but our experienced fellow Tony strongly advised (From past experience) not to take a chance when it comes to family things. It was great to have him and that valuable experience after all.

So Dana followed his advice to the letter and we had two openings for somebody else. Anyway I’d been getting many requests from both Lakdasun members and other friends asking if they could join us and decided to get some of them with us. Things got a bit scary when Harsha said he too was very busy and we were gonna miss out both our professional photographers.

Then came Dodam (Prasad) and his wife coz he’d always been asking to join us. As soon as I called him and told about the trip, he was thrilled (but had to check with his wife first – typical husband) and fortunately she agreed. It left only one place should Harsha decided to back out and for good measure I called Indika (Lakdasun member who’s been very keen on hitting the road) but he had his office work.

So we were practically down to eight people but decided to take our chances and Tony came up with the vehicle from his area. At the last moment, Harsha confirmed his attendance and what else could have been better. We decided to tackle the widely-known Ratnapura-Wewelwatte road but Atha came up with a suggestion of his own. He said that we should hit it from Balangoda end so that next time we could easily cover the rest from Ratnapura area.

The senior guy had a point and to make matters very interesting, we decided to visit that beautiful girl who can be seen from Pelmadulla-Balangoda road over the lush paddy fields. She’s the 7th highest in SL (according to some sources 8th) and we didn’t wanna miss her for the world. Everything fell into place wonderfully and Tony picked Atha and the rest of Battaramulla crew and came for me by 5.15am and then picked Harsha and Prasanna respectively.

Tour Highlights:

1. Kirindi Ella, Pelmadulla – 116m
2. Elle Wala (aka Ali Wala), Meddakande (aka Dhodamgallena Falls) – About 10-15m
3. Alupola Ella, Alupola Estate – 68m
4. Dehena Ella (aka Gaslabu Ella, Damana Ella), Wewelwatte – 73m
5. Katu Kithul Ella, Amunutenna – 15m
6. Hal Ella, Amunutenna – 7m
7. Plenty of other unknown or unnamed falls (Could be seasonal ones)

The journey was as always so much fun coz we kept chatting away without care in the world about anything and everything that came into our minds. They went on from stinking politics to Ravana and World affairs through many others.

In the meantime, Tony wanted to show off his talents and sang us a nice poem about Maths and Sir Isaac Newton (don’t forget to ask him when you meet up) and it drowned us all in a laughing pool. Harsha too had some scary tales of how he defied death several times including Tsunami in 2004. He’d been very close to the affected Ahangama town and could’ve been the first in whole country to use 119 services.

Amid all these Kumaraya managed to sleep like a log in the front seat coz he couldn’t find anyone who’d be silly enough to listen to his never-ending tales. Suddenly he came out of his reveries at the mention of breakfast and we were around Kuruwita at that time. This brought some great memories of the last time demolition of French restaurant in Kuruwita and we unanimously decided to hit them hard again too providing they were still open after our initial onslaught on them.

Alas, they were and Kumaraya in his dreams almost missed the place but the huge Filling Station saved the day. We all got down a bit nervously and sent Dodam and his wife in front to camouflage our arrival to no avail. Those boys could remember us really well and this time too the attack was no different. However, Prasanna having done about 5-6 vegetable roties and God knows what else took a back seat while the rest of the team enjoyed a sumptuous meal.

We were joking of not having lunch and filled our tummies as much as they’d allow. It was time to say goodbye to that wonderful restaurant (Highly recommended – Breakfast buffet 300/-) which serves delicious meals.

You can guess how much they enjoy the breakfast before a long day…

Delicious

The Team (From Left: Dodam’s wife and him, Wuminda, Prasanna, Me, Prince, Young guns Atha and Tony)

Kirindi Ella, Pelmadulla

We then set off in the direction of Pelmadulla to visit Kirindi Ella. Just before the Pelmadulla Bus Stop (about 500m) you’ll see the sign pointing on your left hand side towards Kirindi Ella. This is called Kuttapitiya Road (right in front of Cargills Food City). It’s about 5-6km to the falls and the road is in good condition except towards the tea estates where the state gets bit tricky due to constant travelling of tractors and Lorries to and from the Tea Factory. There’s also a bus service from Pelmadulla to Kuttapitiya but it didn’t look like as if there were plenty of them.

We reached the entrance to the falls with a massive board with the waterfall and info on the left of the road. On the right we saw the remains of what used to be a ticket counter, now almost in ruins. We felt that it would’ve been better if they keep it open and charge something so that it gives a job to someone and in the meantime generates an income so that the maintenance of the path and surrounding can be done easily.

The path begins right next to this hut with steps running downhill. About 100m down you come to the viewing platform where you can see the fall (most of it) from there. The view was absolutely stunning and we were speechless. We could see the top of the falls where water drops about 2-3ft before making the big mother. She wasn’t in full flow despite the heavy rains but there was plenty of water and we immediately wanted to get down ASAP.

Should you want to get down to the bottom of the falls, take the path downhill, small plants are grown covering the path at the beginning and you have to go down another 800m or so to the bottom. We were very grateful for whoever built those steps all the way coz the elevation is about 50-75m in that short distance and without steps, we would’ve struggled a lot.

At the bottom, you can see the full falls and she’s very wide about 50ft across covering the massive rock surface with her creamy water. We couldn’t take our eyes away from her and I felt as if I was in a trance. Everybody went into their own corners to take the best angle on their lenses regardless of the size of the camera. Athula and Harsha were busy mounting their tripods adding that professional touch.

As usual, we spent longer than we could afford with her (not unusual when you’re at the bottom of that massive falls towering over you like a mother Panda trying to cuddle her babies. Tony kept reminding that we had to make a move and the skies were threatening to open up, it all looked dark and gloomy but Sun kept peeping then and there to take that wonderful shot.

After about an hour and a half, we were climbing up and everybody felt the heat of climbing that steep bit. There was that young boy (Tony) kept taking breaks and by the time I caught up with him, he was panting so heavily with his tongue all the way out. We saw plenty of beer cans scattered all around with so many polythene bags, biscuit wrappers and numerous garbage. There was a toilet built now covered completely with the overgrown trees due to lack of maintenance. The mentally disabled people had done their bit with breaking the bottles and spreading them all around, so watch your step. Always wear shoes coz they tend to get through rubber slippers.

Kumaraya as usual was the first in and out coz he knows it’s the only way to avoid as many leeches as you can but we didn’t come across many. Back on the road, it was time for the main objective and we hurried towards Balangoda.

Here’s a short video of Kirindi Ella.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlJXt_IcNCs

The sign board at the entrance to the falls

The ticket counter and a shop in ruins…

From the view point about 100m down

Up close

Would’ve loved to see more water

The top where you can see the water flowing nicely

National butterfly of SL – Sri Lanka Birdwing (Troides darsius) Source: Harsha

So close yet so far

The team: From Left – Harsha, Prasanna, Wumi, Prince, Me, Tony, Dodam and his wife, Athula…

Couldn’t leave her

Thanks a million for whoever built these

Athula coming down

Steep descent

Killer ants???

Finally at the bottom

sliding down

More water please

The waterway going down

Not a chance of a dip

Everything in one pic

Miniature

Rock art

Right at the bottom

Forgot the name….

Going up tested all of our stamina

Wagging nineteen to the doze

Elle Wala (aka Ali Wala / Dhodamgallena Ella), Meddakande.

We reached Balangoda and took the Rassagala road which is 10km away from Balangoda. About 2km, Atha suddenly stopped the vehicle coz he’d asked his friend Anuruddha (who helped us find the Diyawini Ella last time) to help us locate the waterfalls but hadn’t remembered to call him in advance to inform our arrival. Fortunately, he was in Balangoda and came rushing to meet us and in his rush had misplaced the spare helmet (must’ve dropped it somewhere).

However, he couldn’t spare a lot of time but offered to take us as far as Meddakande where this gorgeous waterfall is located. She’s clearly visible from the main road over the Meddakande tea estate. Take the left at the junction and after about 500m, just before the Meddakande Co-operative shop; turn yet again to the left which is a concrete paved road. Go right down about another 1km or so and the road will end at a household. From here, it’s another 300m or so walk along the tiny canal and then through a manioc cultivation right to the base of the falls.

When inquired about the name of the falls, the villagers said it’s called “Elle Wala” and one old grand ma said this is also called “Ali Wala” as it used to bathe elephants in the 70s. However, I came across this name “Dhodamgallena Ella” as well. So you can pick your name. She’s about 40-45ft in height and curves in the middle creating this nice folded saree look. She wasn’t in full flow either but still managed to retain her good looks. Harsha kept saying she looked so tempting and gorgeous and I tend to believe that man coz he sees things in a professional’s eye.

This is where Tony decided to improve his firing skills using two tripods of Harsha and Atha to make a mock GPMG (General Purpose Machine Gun). However on the melee of everything, he managed to leave Harsha’s tripod behind at the house in the end of the road. It started raining and we just stopped at this house for cover and he’d left it there. We didn’t notice it till we were about 1km away towards Rassagala when Harsha out of nowhere began to wonder where the tripod was.

We took a turn and came back to Meddakande junction where Harsha and Wuminda took a tuk-tuk to go get it back. Fortunately it was still there where they had left and the house holders had been very surprised. The rain was now really coming in torrents and pelting like pebbles on a roofing sheet. We had no proper raincoats or umbrellas and taking those crucial pics were practically impossible. Fortunately, Tony had brought his waterproof jacket and I used it as a shelter to get out and take those important landmarks on the lens.

Managed to get a video of this as well: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtZBi-5GMLs)

The concrete path lies passing this tree

Seen many times but pictured first time

Couldn’t leave all these alone

Goraka… (was looking for fresh ones coz the core flesh is very tasty but found none)

Just had breakfast

There she is…

Getting closer

Not a lot of water but still keeping her elegance

Lush greenery enveloping us

Beautiful but don’t eat the yam…

The small channel where you have to walk to the falls

Along the path

Really it’s fresh

The path lies to the left of the pic along the fence

Here we are at the bottom

The Ali Wala where elephants were bathed

The top of her

She curves in the middle

Looks deep in the middle

We kept stopping for these

Bidding our farewell

Not ripe yet

There it comes…. rain pelting down hard and you have to take the left just before this

The landmark at the Meddakande junction

You can’t miss this

The fall seen from the road

Rain or no rain, they gotta keep working

Miniature with their loads

Meddakande junction…. take the left after the van

Alupola Ella, Alupola Estate

When we reached Rassagala amid pouring rains, Tony and Athula got down to ask about the falls ahead and the directions. There was this shop and Harsha wanted to get something to munch coz we were almost certain to miss the lunch. The shop owner, a lady, was deeply engrossed in watching some super cross (Possibly Minneriya Super Cross) on TV and very reluctantly got up to serve us. It was so amusing to her keenness on motor cross.

We bought Halapa, Wandu and Bananas which evaporated in seconds the moment it was given to the crew. It showed how hungry the folks were, rain must’ve been the main reason. Tony and Atha had got some important pieces of information for our journey. Getting key directions to the waterfalls and the villagers had strongly advised not to go bathing in the rivers or water falls. What they didn’t know was that we were not a bunch of ragheads looking for a place to drink to unconscious but a crazy gang of nature lovers trying to defy the heavy rains.

Tony got the directions and sat in the front coz Kumaraya was falling asleep and we had to shout from the back to keep the bugger awake. The road from there was one of the most scenic ones in SL. We kept climbing uphill through tea estates and came across many seasonal falls. Just passing Rassagala we came across a waterfall like waterway coming down through a stony ditch from the tea plantations uphill and Tony kept asking me what the name we can give her. There was no point coz it’s just coming down that ditch.

Just passing that we came across another somewhat large falls around Uwella. It was about 20ft in height and what’s more, she became “Uwella Falls”, very natural way of naming. We couldn’t get down so all had to zoom through the window. Harsha had a large hanky tied around his lens and took pictures while I had no such thing for my point and shoot. My method was easy, point-and-shoot, wipe the barrel off, clean the lens with tissue again point and shoot. My camera wasn’t waterproof but it turned out it can handle a lot of water though.

The rain kept pelting down and we reached Wellawala and I soon saw a mini St. Claire at the bend just passing the small town. She was falling in two parts with a considerably longer gap between them. The first bit was about 6-8ft in height and after about 100m or so the second part which was the taller one out of the two. It was about 15-20ft in height and very wide resembling my beloved St. Claire. There was no way we could get out but I couldn’t just stay inside and saw a person coming from the shops with an umbrella. Having put the waterproof jacket on my head, I dashed out and ran to him startling him. I got him to stand here and there and stayed under the umbrella while taking lot pics. He too enjoyed this encounter and let me get on with my job protecting me and my camera with his umbrella. She was named “Wellawala Falls” and we pushed on.

Another couple of kilometers and we came to the Alupola Ella road on our right. I’m afraid I simply can’t give you a land mark at this point but keep checking with the people and it’s one of the most prominent falls in the area and you can’t miss it. We turned and on the way towards the Alupola Ella, could see a massive waterfall below in the next mountain range. This was the Beruwatte Falls which is on Wewelwatte-Balangoda road about 1.5km away in Balakotunna Village.

Finally we reached a junction where the road divided into two parts, the first going straight on while the second took left via a very narrow concrete bridge without any supports at either end. We mistakenly took the straight one but had to turn back and take the concrete bridge one when we checked from the Alupola Tea Leaves collection center. It was such a grueling task to pluck and carry all those heavy sacks of tea leaves to this point and we felt very sorry for those poor workers. If they didn’t work, they wouldn’t get paid and so heart breaking to see them doing these back-breaking things without a proper rest and a wage.

Taking the narrow bridge tested our driver’s skills and we passed without incident. Then through the lush green, we arrived finally at the falls. There a bridge and two houses in the far (one of them is a shop) and there’s a sheltering garbage collection place with three barrels to separate them. It was still pouring and we decided to improvise. Tony, Wumi and Prasanna ran to the shop beyond the bridge and bought a few large plastic bags. They cut this on one end and make temporary corn-shaped head covers but they wouldn’t stand a chance in the intense rains.

I jumped out and ran to the garbage collection shelter which was barely covered me. From there I got a good view of the bottom part of the falls and saw nothing but white curtain on the top. I felt very disappointed to have come all the way to see this tiny waterfall then out of nowhere Tony ran forward ignoring the rain completely shouting “Look at that” and when I looked up all I saw was a massive tree-trunk shaped waterfall coming down straight from the sky.

Then only we realized the size of the actual falls. She was so tall and the top part was completely covered from mist and water vapor. It wasn’t visible at all but on and off the mist lifted to give us a glimpse of what laid underneath. Athula, Harsh and Wuminda all gathered around me in that tiny shelter and they were standing inside those barrels without giving a toss but completely concentrating on the falls.

Tony and Atha ran through the tea plants to get a better view and brought back a few dozens of leeches with them for Kumaraya and Wumi’s horror. We stayed put nearly half hour without success and finally decided to go see the rest of them. We had re-invigorating coffee at a nearby shop and the owner said the rain only stopped for 2-3 days during the whole last month. We didn’t feel unlucky hearing this.

We then headed towards Wewelwatte and suddenly stopped at another big waterfall around 30ft+ in height. Through the windows came click, click and click and we were soon on our way. Tony wanted to call her “Alupolla Ella-2” and we had no choice. Passing Wewelwatte junction where the road on the left takes you back to Balangoda and the right one to Ratnapura, we took the right and after 1km or so later saw the sign board saying “Beruwatte Falls” 2km away. We turned around and took the Balangoda road, after 1.5km or so, came to the signature “Mud covered House”; rather a kitchen coz the house is now built using bricks and painted white. There was a tiny footpath and without second thoughts ran along it with our temporary head covers. Atha and Wumi ran in front defying the leeches and found the river is too strong and wide to cross after about 100m.

Tony kept asking for a name for this but it’s just a ditch

Uwella falls… our name

Shooting through the window

We had to take turns and kept our cameras from the pouring water

A releif from the rain

Can you see all those animals? We of course didn’t

Wellawala Falls, again our name…

Mini St. Claire…

Through the tea plants

Imagine the rain… the camera had a tough time focusing on the falls through the rain

Alupolla Ella bridge

Sheltering under the garbage collection shed

We thought it’s only this bit

The bottom up close

All of a sudden, the mist lifted and the sky was pouring water… we were shell-shocked

Simply amazing

The water was falling ferociously

Holy – Moly – Guacamole

I ran to the other side to get a better view but not a chance

The doggy was wet and hungry we fed him 3 large biscuits

The ghost of Alupola – Tony showing his dancing skills

This fellow was fast asleep

Frowning at me for waking him up

Alupola Ella-2

Practically every bridge had a waterfalls

The path through the windscreen

It was falling in two straight lines

Dehena Ella, Wewelwatte (Gaslabu Ella / Damana Ella)

We had to give in coz there was no way we were gonna cross it. However, it was so sad to leave her having come so close. She was another 300m or so away. What to do we turned back and went along Wewelwatte-Ratnapura road and all of a sudden saw this massive waterfall among the forest uphill. We figured it could be the “Mandanagiri Falls” but had no clear footpath to it. Then passing another huge bridge we saw yet another waterfall but only the bottom part was visible and couldn’t get through the river bank or the forest to go further in. Checking this later, this could’ve been the last section of “Pandi Oya Falls” which is nearly 6km inside the jungle but couldn’t be sure.

Then came the moment of truth. There was this massive girl on our right hand side sending many millions of tiny droplets of water. To see, she’s the really famous and the tallest of all, Dehena Ella. Over 240ft in height and she was coming down in with loads of water showing her beauty in full flow. We could hardly get to the other side of the road via the bridge due to the water vapors and taking pics of her took so much effort. Harsha used Tony’s waterproof jacket as a shield while we had to seek shelter in the bus stop right in front of her.

The view was spectacular yet we had to resort to our unique technic of wipe and shoot method. There’s also a viewing platform built on the side of the falls but the whole area was wet and slippery. Treading carefully and avoiding passing vehicles, we managed to shoot a lot pics and take a short video too. What a breath-taking beauty she actually was and I wished thousands of times the rain would stop just for a wee bit but to no avail.

Check out my short video of her on YouTube: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6Qg0QXGlbk)

It’s all about water

Up close…

Heading towards Dehena Ella

Everywhere you can see so much water

Just after Wewelwatte Junction we saw this board and decided to turn around

The foot path to the Beruwatte falls to the left

The Landmark house but we missed seeing the falls

At the Wewelwatte Junction

This certainly was a lot bigger but couldn’t go around due to the rain and slippery path

Wish could get closer

The water flowing under that bridge

243ft…. she’s massive

The spectacular waterfall – Dehena Ella

She comes down in steps

Plenty of water

Right at the top is not so visible

Would’ve been nice to have a cuppa tea but not a chance

The bust stop helped us take pics

The side view

Widening the river path

Artistic

I could pic a beautiful princess in silk

Miniature

Katu Kithul Ella & Hal Ella, Amunutenna

It was getting dusk and we decided to step on the gas and get to Ratnapura soon. We were in a manner of speaking, hopelessly lost due to the rain. We had the directions but there was hardly anyone about in that torrential downpour to check. We on the other hand had no means of tackling the rain as raincoats and umbrellas were left behind.

After another few kilometers, we came to a complex of waterfalls where two waterfalls were coming down on either side. The one on the right is called “Hal Ella” (I actually got to know this name after the journey when comparing my pics) and the one on the left doesn’t have any name. Fortunately the rain had decided to leave us alone for the last leg of our marathon and we got down and took some pics.

Just another 100m or so away was another waterfall and she too was very beautiful. Like the Hal Ella, I got her name as “Katu Kithul Ella” after the journey. They were pretty much very close to each other and easy to spot on. However, these two looked more like seasonal falls and when the rains is away, it would just be a trickle down the rocks.

We then went passing many other villages and everybody was getting hungry. Our van had been used as leeches for travelling for free. Tony, Prasanna and Wuminda kept finding them inside the van and every time they do, I could see Prince twitching in the front seat. He was not very keen on getting down due to this and remained most of the time in the van.

We reached a shop selling hoppers and Wade and everybody wanted to jump out and eat. I had to give in eventually and they all started gobbling down hoppers at hundred miles an hour. There was a shout from the road and Harsha, ever the curious, came in laughing coz he’d heard one of Prasanna’s friends talking to him and using his pet name. I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to put that name on the report, so I’ll leave it and if you ever come across him, just ask him.

Finally after a hearty meal, we were on our way and soon got enveloped by the traffic on the high level road. It was such a dramatic journey and so much water came across us in all forms and everyone was soaked to the bone. Wuminda kept saying that he’d always wanted to do a journey like this and finally his dream came through. The Wewelwatte is full of these beautiful known and unknown waterfalls and I decided to call her the Milky Way.

So folks, hope you enjoyed my fairy tale and those beautiful girls…

Take care…

Twin falls drawn by my camera

On the right – Hal Ella but no name for the left one

Hal Ella

Unnamed falls on the right

Top of Hal Ella

Looks like a seasonal falls

Silky smooth

Katu Kithul Ella about 100m away from Hal Ella

This could also be a seasonal falls

Reminds me of Nanu Oya

Tony and me

The professional touch: Harsha and me

Another unnamed falls

In fact two on either side

Hungry… Prince having two wades inside and trying to squeeze a hopper too in