බම්බරගන් (Bambaragan oya) expedition

Year and Month	January, 2016
Number of Days	1
Crew	2 (Chamara and myself)
Guide	Yaparathna – 0758044025
Accommodation	N/A
Transport	Pajero
Activities	Trekking, Hiking, photography and Waterfall hunting
Weather	Hot and dry
Route	Chilaw -> Katugasthota –> Digana -> Hunnasgiriya -> Rambukpotha -> Hunnasgiriya -> Udu dumbara -> Thalagune -> returned back on the same road
Tips, Notes and Special remark	Take a bottle of water Do not carry Plastic items (Minimize), Make sure you bring back everything you took Wear flexible attire Need Leech protection( there are millions) Beware of wild animals (Leopards, wildboars) Slippers preferred Best time to visit would be January (Just after the monsoons) Keep an open eye on the weather (if it rains or mist comes down the hike is tough) Always go along the right border of the river. There are two more falls which cannot be accessed by this route and to reach those you need to take a separate route from Hunnasgiriya town.
Author	Ashan
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For years I have been passing Hunnasgiriya while going home from Monaragala and almost always I would not forget to have a glance at an unknown cascade plunging down Kunckles forest reserve. Repeatedly seen this cascade was enough to stimulate me. January 2016 needed an account opener and the best way of doing it was by hunting cascades.
I met Chamara at around 4.30am and we took off from Chilaw towards Hunnasgiriya. After reaching Hunnasgiriya we had our breakfast before taking the road via Rambukpotha towards Dehigolla. (Dehigolla road is found to the left at the starting point of the town)

The map – click to enlarge

Google earth area image – click to enlarge

Traveling few Km’s along Dehigolla road we reached the bridge across Bambaragan oya. Our first target was the lowest most cascade which could be seen clearly from the main road. We followed a water diversion canal downhill (below the bridge) and at one point took another partially covered foot path to the right which took us towards the base of the fall(overgrown path). We immediately noted that there was a cave on the left bank and we headed towards it. It was a huge cave bordering the waterfall and would have been a nice place to camp during the dry periods. We later got to know that this was the cave where King Shri Wickrama Rajasinghe had spent time with his royal family. Few meters away from the cave there was another well sheltered cave and this is believed to be where he hid while Englishman were hunting him down.

Bambaragan oya as seen from hunnasgiriya on a rainy day

lowest most cascade seen from the road

second cascade seen from the road

on a rainy day

upper cascade seen from the road

on a rainy day

1st and lower cascade

slow shutter

cave and the waterfall

this is where shri wickrama rajasinghes royal family had their bath

where Shri wickrama rajasinghe hid

with a rainbow

After snapping around we returned back to the bridge where by chance we Met Yaparathna. While inquiring about the upper cascades he suddenly decided to volunteer to show us the way and we were so overwhelmed with that offer. Yaparathna returned with a “keththa” and we took off along the right bank of the river. Wearing slippers did ease off the journey a lot, though we later paid the price by donating blood to the blood suckers. Not so far away from the bridge there is a massive waterfall which is about 50m tall. It’s a sight that would make any waterfall hunter mesmerized. Some do call it Dehigolla falls but I would stick on to Bambarang oya cascade.

along the river we go

second fall

upper part

lovely

full length

After taking few selfies we started climbing further up along the right bank until we reached the top of the fall. We were greeted with a lovely view and few meters upstream there were two close by cascades which we named 3rd and 4th (on the opposite side of the 3rd fall there is a 30 feet long cave which we didn’t visit since we had to climb up a bit). From the forth fall we again headed into the bushes and reached the 5th fall. Though we could have gone to the base of it we opted not to. Next we came reached an open area where one could easily camp and from here we headed towards the stream which was wide with plenty of space to hang around.

top of the 2nd fall

towards the main road

another cascade

3rd and 4th falls

3rd fall

4th fall

through the bushes

5th fall

part of 5th fall

the other part

our guide yaparathna

නවහන්දි

top of the 5th

note the rocky walls

we were surrounded by rock walls on both sides

A short climb through the forest of the right bank took us towards the 6^th fall which was a magnificent beauty. My god we were so mesmerized by her beauty and we couldn’t stop clicking. Since the whole river plunges down from a narrow gap through the cliff the locals call it the “Katare”( කටාරේ). We were overwhelmed with this find and we didn’t want to leave her and go. Yaparathna said that there were two more cascades in its upper reaches but to reach those we have to take a 4Km detour and Google maps did justify that claim.

lovely 6th fall

plunging down

gorgeous beauty

close up

saying good bye

Our descent was along a foot path through the jungle until we reached a tea estate where we got rid of the last set of Leeches before saying good bye to Yaparathna the friendly villager.

where we had a snack

selfie time

along the river

a place to camp close to 5th fall

Meda mahanuwara peak

mushroom life

From Hunnasgiriya we took off towards Udu dumbara and from there we went along the Kalugala road until we reached Thalagune where a waterfall could be seen cascading at the backdrop of a paddy field. I have seen this fall before which is named Gedaramada falls but the locals did call it Ellagala. We decided to have a closer look and two local boys did join us in this venture. There was a concrete road across the paddy field (beginning of the paddy field) where we walked along until we had to follow a path through the paddy field and ended up at a mini bridge across a stream. Crossing this bridge we turned to the left and after few meter we took an uphill right turn. Climbing up a bit we came across a water pipe on the left which we followed and ended up at the middle of the fall. From here we got to the base where we had a nice bath to end our tiring day. We did return back on the same route and headed towards Udu dumbara to have a nice lunch before departing towards Bomure.

ඇල්ලගල fall (හුලන්ග් – ගෙදරමද)

ellagala

as seen over the paddy fields

Thalagune

Wooly necked stork

whitish petals

off we go

at the middle of ellagala fall

Ellagala fall

beauty

plunging down

wide angle

To reach Bomure one needs to take a 2Km by road from the kandy road and locals will help you with directions (follow the concrete road and then the concrete steps). Bomure is the location where the last king of Sri lanka was captured so we had to visit the place before getting back home.