යක්කුන්ගේ හෙල / Circular trail of Devil’s cliff

Year and Month	January, 2019
Number of Days	one
Crew	4 (Chamara, Sampatha, Sampath Bandara & my self)
Accommodation	N/A
Transport	Car
Activities	Hiking / Scenery / Trekking / Photography
Weather	Clear and perfect
Route	Chilaw -> Kurunegala -> Wattegama -> Panwila -> Huluganga -> Alakolle estate -> Rathnatenna -> Returned back on the same route
Tips, Notes and Special remark	Take a 2L’s of water Wear attire suitable for protection against thorns. Use Leech repellents Do not carry Plastic items (Minimize), Make sure you bring back everything you took. Don’t disturb wild life Main obstacle is BAMBOO bushes you need a good knife (Rambo) one or a Keththa to cut through the bushes (it’s a must) Its only 2Km from the trail head but will take more than 2 hours to reach the summit Keep an open eye on the weather (if it rains the hike is tough) We found a clear cut trail Most of the time windy and misty February is the ideal time but august is also fine Dont try and descend towards Gombaniya side (too much of bamboo) One could camp at Rathnatenna resort and start the journey from there but need to get permission from the SD
Author	Ashan
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Blue summit point

In 2014 when I hiked Gombaniya I did note this magnificent giant called Yakkunge hela and ever since that day I wanted to conquer it so It was pushed up the list on 2019 and It didnt fail my expectations.

Gombaniya seen from Thunhisgala

As seen from Gombaniya

Yakkunge hela as seen from laggala

We reached Hulu ganga at around 7.30a.m. and headed towards Alakolle waththa where we halted our vehicle. It was a long walk towards Rathnathenna and just before Rathnathenna we decided to climb the mountain along its Southern ridge. Our choice was a good one because we found a clear cut path after few hundred feet of trekking. There were some intermittent bamboo and Nelu which we exited at one point to enjoy a clear view of knuckles forest range. After the exit point it was a continues gradual ascend along the ridge through Pygmy forest with breath taking views.

on the way to rathna thenna

kelebokka seen

sri pada seen

Yakkunge hela

entering

the path

Alakole

nearby peak

towards kandy

Clear sight of gombaniya

Knuckles

knuckles seen over selva kanda

gap btw gombaniya and yakkunge hela

many false peaks

sripada and HP

another peak

sripada over hanthana

hunnasgiriya

Naran aththa oya valley

.	enasal division

Rathnagiriya

main peak covered with mist

Victoria

drop

binara

true summit

One needs to be cautious on his steps because one small slip will take you 2000ft downhill. Along the ridge passing few false peaks we reached the true summit which had a shady section. We spent few hours waiting till few landmarks cleared off and it paid off. This is a good view point towards East but sadly the eastern regions were covered by mist. Main landmarks were Knuckles, Alu gal kanda, Duhuwili ella, Dumbanagala, Gerandigala, Aliya wetuna ela, Kehelpathdoruwa, Yahangala, Lakegala, Vamarapugala, Rehena ketu pathana, Ginikeliya pathana, Asweddum pathana, Kalu ganga, Naranaththa oya, Iluk pathana, Walpolamulla kumburu, Rambukolouwa kumburu, Manigala, Ethanwala, Sudu gala, Reverston, Kalu ganga reservoir, Moragahakanda reservoir, Karagastenna, Gammaduwa, Arangala, Menikdena, Beliya kanda, Ambokka, Kirigalpoththa, Gombaniya range, Hunnasgiriya, Hanthana, Ambuluwawa, Kabaragala, Samanala kanda, Piduruthalagala, Namunukula and many more

top

Kukulagala and mahakudugala + piduruthalagala at the backdrop

ambuluwawa and kabaragala

victoria and beyond

alugal len kanda

summit view

namunukula seen

pano

Iluk pathana

yakkunge hela junior

Kalu ganga reservoir

mist

Gammaduwa and karagasthenna

Karagasthenna

gammaduwa and menikdena

lakegala meemure peak

pettigala

Dhuwili ella

new laggala town

Kirigalpoththa and ambokka at the backdrop

summit view

vamarapu gala

Ginikeliya pathana and asweddum pathana

Walpolamulla kumbura

Rambukoluwa kumburu

.	valley of naranaththa oya

thunhisgala

.	Etanwala and Mulkirigala gap

.	arangala beyond the tower and beliya kanda far away

moragahakanda

moragahakanda covered by mist

Rehena ketu pathana

waterfall plunging from ginikeliya pathana

.	knuckles, alugal kanda, dumbanagala, gerandigala

.	Manigala different view

note walpolamulla lake

sudugala

thunhisgala

After enjoying landmarks we descended along the northern ridge which was a bad idea. The short bamboo was not helpful at all and finally we reached the valley close to the base of Gombaniya which we followed downhill until we reached Rathnathenna resort.We refreshed our selves at that point and left towards Alakolle division to reach our halted car. This was one of the most awaited hikes for me and now I feel contempt.