Night at Ingini’s Cave |ඉඟිනියාගල මුදුනේ රැයක්

Year and Month	April, 2018
Number of Days	Half a day
Crew	Sampath & My self
Accommodation	Ingini’s Cave
Transport	Public transport
Activities	Hiking, Camping & Photography
Weather	Mixed (Sunny at the start, little shower during the hike & misty in the morning)
Route	Colombo –> Monaragala –> Siyabalanduwa -> Inginiyagala -> Inginiyagala mountain
Tips, Notes and Special remark	Need permission from Wild life department Need permission from chief priest Need a guide if you are not familiar with the terrain Beware of wild animals such as elephants, leopards, wild boars, snakes & wasp Avoid rainy days, especially when it is thundering Take enough water. There is a water source close to the top of the mountain but, it is difficult to find. Don’t disturb wildlife Don’t carry (minimize) plastic & polythene items. Make sure to bring back everything you took
Related Resources	Trip report : Inginiyagala
Author	Chamara123
Comments	Discuss this trip report, provide feedback or make suggestions at Lakdasun Forum on the thread Randoms around Hambanthota

After a successful hike to Westminster Abbey (Govinda hela) we returned back to main road (A25) & were waiting for a bus heading to Ampara via Inginiyagala. Famous Inginiyagala Mountain located at one end of the dam of Senanayake reservoir bordering to Gal oya national park was our next hiking destination. Inginiyagala is a mountain with two peaks that anyone can easily notice it when traveling from Siyabalanduwa to Ampara via Inginiyagala. The height of the summit point is 1,035 ft.

We got down at a four way junction called “Pansal handiya (Temple junction)” at around 2.30 pm. After fulfilling our food requirement from nearby shop we walked around 200 m to reach Sri Vidyaraja Pirivena as the trail starts from temple premises. We clearly explain our intention to chief priest after that started our hike along the foot path through the forest. The foot path was clear in early part but, little bit unclear here & there. Our 1^st stop was at mini pagoda built on rock surface where we can enjoy the view towards eastern. We spent around one & half hour to reach 1^st peak which called “Punchi Sripadaya” by villagers as there is a Siripathulgala

Our target

Walk along foot path

.	Pagoda on rock surface

Pagoda on rock surface

Towards 1st peak

සිරිපතුල්ගල

View from 1st peak

Preparing dinner

We could not identify a foot path from first peak to second peak but, looking at the second peak we realized that it is not far away from first peak hence, didn’t spent time to search for foot path. We walked towards second peak passing a small mana patch & came across a huge cave called “Ingini’s cave” within 30 min. Summit of the second peak was seen few steps away from the cave entrance but, we decided to explore it next day as we had to clean inside the cave before the dark. The cave is a huge one which can stay even 100 people at a time. According to the folk lore a Vedda called “Ingini” lived in this cave hence, named as “Ingini’s cave”. After having noodles for the dinner we went to sleep early hoping a bright morning next day. We prepared cave floor suitable for sleeping by laying polythene (ඉටිකොල) as we didn’t have a camping tent but, we had to move to another place in the mid of the night as it was started raining & flowing water in to the cave.

We waked up early morning, had a cup of tea then stepped on to the summit of Inginiyagala. We couldn’t enjoy the sunrise due to the bad weather condition, whole area covering Senanayake reservoir, Galoya national park, Namal oya reservoir & siyabalanduwa side covered by mist. We noticed Govinda hela, Degal hela, Wadinagala, Jayanthi Lake, Pallanhela, Walasgala, mountains in Gal oya national park & Namal oya sanctuary, Namal oya reservoir, fisheries and many more. After enjoying the sceneries we started our return journey which took around one & half hour. We refreshed at Senanayake reservoir & heading to Dewalahinda for our next adventure.