Mill oya Expedition and few other places

The map – Click to enlarge

After the preceding days failed attempt in reaching Mill oya falls I decided to give it another try on the very next day. I never wanted to give up knowing that this hidden beauty will not flow as she had been doing all these years in few more months after the newly built mini hydro project starts functioning. So I reached Millebedda early as I could to try and reach the waterfall from the top because visiting it from Walas ella side was a failure.

Delan was a trishaw guy who I met at Millebedda temple and even he had not visited this waterfall but yet he was keen enough to join me on this venture. So we took the road named Kanchana which was about 1.5Km towards Lunugala(from millebedda). After traveling about 5Km’s we reached a house where we halted the trishaw and walked towards the Power hydro project work site located on top of the waterfall. Few guys who recognized me asked “ah mahattaya adath awada?” and I did give them a smile and said “ada nam meka balalamai yanne”. I was so determined that no one could stop me in doing so, we did walk along the Mill oya stream and reached the location where water was diverted and followed the concrete canal under construction for some distance. We stepped in to the jungle at a point where we thought it would be an easy approach to the base. It was a steep downhill descend and we had to crawl holding on to creepers at many instances too. Finally we reached the base of a stream but yet the waterfall couldn’t be seen. After climbing few huge boulders with uttermost difficulty we reached the base of Mill oya falls which was also known as Gona wetuna ella. This beauty has two parts and the top part could only be seen partly. The cascade is completely hidden and one needs to get to its base to have a proper view of it. Though we wanted to get to the upper part it was not possible at all. Next we started climbing from the opposite side and we were greeted by leeches and thorny wewal. After a good mud bath we reached a mini canal which diverted water from the waterfall to feed the nearby paddy fields. We did follow it all the way until the top of the fall was reached where a clear view towards Monaragala could be appreciated. Since we had done the whole circular trail we did understand that getting down from the left side of the cascade was the best option so my advice for someone would be is “get to the top and go along the canal on the left and reach the bottom”. There is nice bathing place on top of the fall if one wants to have a dip. After getting back to the wadiya we were offered pol sambol + dhal + pork with rice as lunch which we couldn’t resist! That miraculous lunch was the best medicine we had after a tiring hike.

the only glimpse of Mill oya ella, i did attempt on the very next day

shaped for milk

devastation, see what they have done to the forest

dawn on the next day

Suddas remnants

Buttala as seen from A5

rahathankanda and budugallena

foot path to the top of mill ella

the end of the waterfall is few months away

a mini cascade, good for a shower

a cave close to the fall

Mill oya falls (Gona wetuna falls )

lower part

the top part of mill oya falls

hard task

canal we followed

top of gona wetuna falls

scenery towards monaragala

uppermost cascade

plunges down

beauty

upper part

stunning view

getting down

Next place of interest was Adi hate wala which is supposed to have a waterfall too. Many locals suggested me to go and see this beauty rather than Milla oya cascade. To get to this waterfall one needs to go uphill via few line houses. I actually can’t remember the exact turn off point but better to inquire from the locals because they are aware of its where-bouts. There is a 1.5Km foot path which will lead to this beauty and it’s also a cascade of Milla oya. The base pool is said to be 60’ deep hence the name Adi hate wala was given. Downstream there is another beautiful cascade but does not have a clear path to reach it.

grey hornbill

play time

lower part

shining upper part

60 feet in depth

beauty

upper part

drops plunging down

Adi Hate wala falls

Adi Hate wala lower cascade

the path

From Hopton I went towards Yapamma and got off at a bo tree with a yellow coloured Buddha shrine. The concrete road uphill leads towards the famous “Besam wala” of Lunugala. The 2Km walk along this paved road was well worth it. After a while I reached a bridge and 50 meters upstream from it the famous Besam wala could be found. This is one of those wonderful creations of Mother Nature. The stream which is flowing downhill collects in to a rock pond and then overflows resembling a rocky basin. The depth was about 4’. I couldn’t resist not getting in to it and having a dip. Later on I ventured upstream to explore few cascades and similar bathing places but I was tormented by resident leeches . Since it was drizzling I returned back to the main road and headed towards Passara to catch a bus to Monaragala and end my day.

name board

රන් නලල් කොට්ටෝරැවා

feeling the cold

not ambewela but lunugala

Solitary

police has put up some notices on rocks close to besama

slow shutter besama lower fall

besam wala

upstream similar location

Besama upper fall

top of besama

good bye besama, I will be back

castle of electricity

Day two even before the sun decided to rise I got a bus towards Badalkumbura and reached the town where I hired a trishaw to visit a famous historical temple called Dummaletenna which was 10 Km’s away from Badalkumbura town. The road was almost washed away at some places close to the temple but we did manage it with are trishaw. This ancient temple is said to be one of those places where great king Dutugemunu rested while marching towards Anuradhapura. Also this is surrounded by Kubukkan river on three sides and the other side been occupied by a paddy field which produces some stunning landscapes. This temple has a restored pagoda where only the outer protective wall remains from the past. The image house which is under construction has some vandalized statues and it seems like the remaining bit also would be lost in time when the new one gets completed. After having a chat with the monk I took off towards Badalkumbura to have some breakfast and join my friend and his wife who was searching for a wonderful location to go on their anniversary.

Dummalethenna temple

vandalized and repaired

Dummalethenna temple statues

under construction

note the ancient outer wall

beautiful

poya geya

Karavila bubula

pride of uva

bordered by kumbukkan oya

We decided to visit Alupotha fort where and Archaeology board directing towards inland from Badalkumbura Passara road could be seen. Following the board we went towards Alupotha and within no time we were confused by the locals who repeatedly said there is no such thing to see. Somehow after a wild goose chase we came to know that the current Alupotha town was the fort long ago. This is the place where “Weera Keppetipola” joined the rebels according to the history books. My friend and his wife were teasing me all the way because they saw nothing interesting though there was a black archeology board. I felt like removing the board but within no time that feeling vanished away. So now I needed to compensate and satisfy my friends and that is what I did. Bambaragala pathana my favourite view point of Wellassa was where I took them next and they really enjoyed the panoramic view from that point.

is there a purpose of this board anymore

remnants of the fort

old buildings

Bambaragala pathana scenery

wellassa

towards wellawaya

From Namunukula we went towards Ella and on the way at a big elbow bend we were forced to stop and enjoy an awesome view towards Wellawaya town. We also named this as “Balleketuwa gap”. Next stop was Wellawaya Kotaweheragala temple. There is a small pagoda seen on a rocky plateau few Km’s away from Wellawaya. Since it was a scenic place we decided to climb that rock. The access point to this temple is about 2Km’s away from Wellawaya on Monaragala road. the temple is a modified place and if one wants to reach the pagoda you need to start climbing up from the image house. The task was not easy as we thought but the blissful scenery seen from the top made us forget everything. The mountain ranges of Poonagala, Namunukula , Ella rock could be seen clearly from the pagoda. To our surprise the pagoda was an ancient one which was later refurbished and the remains of the old pagoda was evidence for that. After hanging around a bit we set foot towards Badalkumbura.

Balleketuwa gap towards wellawaya

wellawaya town

Kota weheragala at wellawaya

the image house

uphill climb

leafless

note the rocks from the ancient sthupa

the view

wadinahela side

Poonagala range

wellawaya town

Ella gap

on top of kota weheragala

serene

paddyfields of wellawaya

Just before Badalkumbura we reached Punsisigama and took a right turn towards Walagamba hermitage. After tackling a 2Km road we reached the isolated cave temple on the base of a mountain range. We met the head priest and obtained permission to wonder around. There were about 4 or 5 drip ledge caves where some were modified and used. One was the image house where few bats could be found. We also came across an interesting carving of a coconut tree on a rock close to the bo tree too. It was getting all gloomy and we had to get back before dark fall. Exploring further caves was not feasible so we thanked the resident monks and returned back to Monaragala to end another interesting day!

Entering shri Walgamba hermitage punsisigama

අනිත්‍යය!

modified

inside the kutiya

image house made out of a drip ledge cave

inside the image house

kutiya at shri Walgamba hermitage punsisigama

head priest

another kutiya

a coconut tree carving

view towards badalkumbura and passara

Thanks for reading!