Lakegala – The Ultimate Rock Climbing Adventure in the Heartland of Ravana’s Kingdom

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 [http://trips.lakdasun.org/the-ultimate-glory-my-beloved-lakegala.htm] 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.

1. Part 1 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ez74ZmdMzB8
2. Part 2 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgmzQ9blWag
3. Part 3 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZViWALUSsk
4. Part 4 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFeYM_9mPIM
5. Part 5 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsIfHdvDkPw
6. Part 6 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o467X07EhyQ
7. Part 7 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLogmkuQ1sY
8. Part 8 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgS_BT_uBuU
9. Part 9 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYTCIET-DRo
10. Part 10 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LWHtlPpDsw