| Year and Month | July, 2013 |
| Number of Days | Two Day Trip |
| Crew | Five (myself, wife, daughter and two sons) |
| Accommodation | Sinharaja Seyana Eco lodge [sinharajaecolodge.com] |
| Transport | Car |
| Activities | A family trip, Waterfall hunting |
| Weather | Excellent weather on first day. Heavy showers throughout the night and on and off showers on second day. |
| Route | Gampaha -> Kottawa -> Southern Highway -> Baddegama out -> Nagoda -> Udugama -> Hiniduma -> Thawalama -> Neluwa -> Kosmulla -> Lankagama and back on the same route |
| Tips, Notes and Special remark |
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| Related Resources | Trail Guide: Trail to “Hariyawa Dola” waterfall complex – Sinharaja Rain Forest |
| Author | Wije |
| Comments | Discuss this trip report, provide feedback or make suggestions at Lakdasun Forum on the thread |
Lankagama is a very remote village in southern boundary of Sinharaja forest. The main living of the villagers are paddy and Toddy tapping. They have the best ‘Kithul hakuru (Jaggery). These villagers are very friendly, humble, polite and they give due respect to all visitors.
We came through Southern Highway and turned from Baddegama out. Then we came to Neluwa through Nagoda, Udugama, Hiniduma and Thawalama. From Neluwa you have to drive another16 KM on an extremely narrow road, through Kosmulla.
We were greeted by the owner of the lodge Anil, a typical village folk. This lodge is a very simple place with three eco type cabanas with six rooms. Shower rooms are tiled and very clean. They have solar power electricity during day time and a generator during night.
Meals are all ‘Gamey Kema’- village food. I will never forget the mouth-watering ‘Helapa’ they served with evening tea.
 Road to Lankagama – extremely narrow Just sufficient for one vehicle to pass |
 Bed room with clayed walls |
 Towel rack |
 Entrance to Dining hall |
 Dining Hall |
 Roof thatched with ‘Beyru’ leaf |
After a chat with Anil over a cup of plain tea with jaggery, we started our hike. There is a ring of five waterfalls within a radius of about one KM. They are
- Brahmana Ella
- Uran Wetuna Ella
- Gal Oruwa Ella
- Thattu Ella
- Duvili Ella
It’s a circular trail. We started with the Brahmana Ella which is just at the turnoff to this lodge. Kalu Maama was our guide who is a wealth of knowledge with his enormous experience.
 Directions |
 Ticketing centre at Lankagama |
 Brahmana Ella |
Few more meters uphill through the thick jungle, on a fairly difficult terrain, we came to the next waterfall, Uran Wetuna Ella. Kalu Maama said when he was 8 years (Now he is 62), he still remembers that four wild pigs drowned in gushing waters of this fall. Hence it was named Uran Wetuna Ella. There were numerous unnamed cascades along this trek.
 Uran Wetuna Ella |
 A tiny, unnamed but beautiful cascade |
 Kankunda (Giant Millipede) |
 Kalu Maama, Veteran guide |
 ‘Thebu’ a useful medicinal plant |
 Kiri Wel |
 Beyru, which used to thatch the roof |
 Bandura |
Walking further up we reached the Gal Oruwa Ella. This flows between two boulders resembling a boat, hence the name Gal Oruwa (Rock boat).
 Upper part of Gal Oruwa Ella |
 Lower part of the fall flows between two boulders about 2 meters wide |
It was a steep climb and we were out of breath. But Kalu Maama was going effortlessly with his non stopping stories about Lankagama.
From Gal Oruwa Ella we came to ‘Thattu Ella’. This water fall has two steps, hence the name Thuttu Ella.
 Thattu Ella |
We had to cross the base pool of Thattu ella to reach the next waterfall, Duvili Ella. This is the most beautiful out of all five. Gushing waters of this fall give out dust like spray and hence the name ‘Duvili Ella’.
 Duvili ella |
 This is a very popular bathing place |
There is a mini hydro power plant at Lankagama and the plant is fed by this water.
Lower part of this water stream is blocked with a wall to form a pond and water goes through a pipe line to feed the turbine.
 Thattu Ella from another angle |
 Pond which feed the hydro power plant |
We came to the lodge around 2.00 pm and had a typical village type lunch.
 Lunch, Gamey Vidiyata kema |
 Anil, the owner typical village folk |
Our next plan was to visit Kekuna Ella and white monkeys. You have to walk 4 KM on a gravel road or this can be managed only with a 4WD.
 Tractor is the only transport available |
Anil, the owner agreed to take us in his jeep and we came up to the Araluwa bridge with him. After passing the bridge we had to walk through a thick jungle to reach Kekuna Ella. This bridge is very narrow. You can see the Pitadeniya Wild life bungalow from this bridge.
 Araluwa bridge, Only a bike or a 3 wheel can go through |
 Pitadeniya wild life department bungalow view from the bridge (Zoomed) |
We crossed the Araluwa Dola which had more than three feet water and walked another few meters to reach this small but beautiful waterfall, Kekuna Ella. Kalu Maama was very watchful as there was a wild elephant hanging around this area and had destroyed most of their cultivations. This elephant was chased away by wild life officers only three days before.
 Kekuna Ella |
 Smashed by the jumbo three days back |
We spent some time at Kekena Ella and came back to the Araluwa bridge. From there we took a right turn on another gravel road to see ‘white monkeys’. Kalu Maama said there are about 20 white monkeys roaming around this area. It was 6.15 pm and not the best time to see them. We came across four monkeys far away and I managed to capture few of them under very low light. The best time to see them is 6.30 am to 8 am and 4.00 pm to 5.30 pm.
 Mother and the baby |
 Same pair |
 White tail |
It was almost 7.00 PM when we came to the lodge.
Next day morning we went for a bath at the base pool of Brahmana Ella. Heavy rains of previous night had provoked this peaceful cascade to become violent.
 . |
She was not so aggressive the previous day
Still the base pool was very safe and we had a cool dip there.
Having a scrumptious breakfast we left the lodge around 11.00 am and returned home on the same route.