ඌරා කන්ද (Ura kanda – 980m) hike!

The map – click to enlarge

I have been to Bathalegala twice and on both occasions I did note the massive mountain close to it which is called Ura kanda / Ashraff kanda. It is well known by many because in year 2000 a helicopter carrying Minister Ashraff and 14 others crashed mysteriously causing their tragic demise. This 980m mountain is said to be tough to tackle and many who have attempted have done it from the rocky side, during the rainy season. So we decided to give it a try from the easiest side which is from Kumarapura. As always Google earth helped us in picking the desired route.

I met Harinda early morning at Debathgama and headed towards Kumarapura. After halting our rides we started checking the maps and suddenly out of nowhere we met Nande. Since he was willing to guide us we were happy to get his assistance. From Kumarapura to the summit we decided to climb through the newly planted forest patch which was an easy task despite the continuous ascend. Nande’s Dog Tommy also decided to come with us and we were more than please to have him with us. Last bit of the ascend was bit tough but there were unlimited trees to hold on to.

ඌරා කන්ද as seen from bathalegala

on the way scenery at Kumarapura

mountains of Yatiyanthota

yeah some blessings

towards Karawanella side

Wewelthalawa

the path

Harinda with selfie cam

Tommy the guide

nande and tommy

he is sweating

last climb

The summit area is a vast forest patch with plenty of room to camp under the shade. Though this is known to be a leech infested mountain we came across only one leech. From the summit point we headed towards the sloped Mana patch to enjoy some stunning scenery towards the central hills. I must emphasize that this is one of the best places to identify many landmarks of central hills. For example we saw mountains from Kurunegala to Yatiyanthota including knuckles range & Adams peak. We also didn’t forget to roam around the mountain ridge and to have something for lunch.

at the summit

view from the top

Mawanella town

Bathalegala

Alagalla

piduruthalagala range seen at the backdrop

ambuluwawa

kabaragala in the center

to the left of alagalla ambokka could be seen

Kadugannawa region

A pano

kikiliyamana,single tree hill, waterfall point range

Mawanella

the gap where the the train and road passes at kadugannawa also note knuckles range

Hanthana range

paddy fields

famous hiking destination

Bathalaya having a bite of Bathalegala

with wings

sloped

looking down

Uthuwankanda

valley

peaks around mawathagama

Devanagala

Siri paa kanda

time to go down

While getting down we lost our way a bit and ended up in a thorny section which was a nightmare. After reaching down we had a nice cool bath from Nande’s home and a hot tea before saying good bye to Nande and his family. This was a quick planned and executed hike and I must thank Harinda for joining me on such a short notice.

slippery descend

lonely flower

through the trees

natures creation

adventurous tommy

Moranthota rubber estates

Puss in boots