The onlooker of Yapahuwa kingdom – Diyabete kanda 256m

Year and Month	February, 2020
Number of Days	One
Crew	Eshan, Anupama, Chamara & My self
Accommodation	N/A
Transport	Pajero, car
Activities	Archaeology, Photography
Weather	Sunny mornings and Gloomy evenings
Route	Chilaw -> Wariyapola -> Daladagama -> Konwewa -> Diyabete kanda -> Returned back on the same route
Tips, Notes and Special remark	Take a bottle of water Do not carry Plastic items (Minimize), Make sure you bring back everything you took. Get permission from the head priest or anyone who looks after the temple Ask directions from locals Where clothes which cover your body Explain your intentions clearly to locals There are two peaks, the towering peak needs specialized safety measure. We opted not to climb up to the towering peak considering the risk Better to get the aid of a local Look out for Wasp
Author	Ashan
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Metered map

When ever I have climbed up Yapahuwa I have noted an interesting rocky monadnock which was like a soldier keeping an eye on Yapahuwa fortress. Later I got to know that it was called Diyabete kanda. There is an ancient caved temple at the base of the mountain and to reach it one needs to get to Konwewa on Maho – Madagalla road. The road towards the temple is manageable with any vehicle. After reaching the village its best that you inform locals prior to reaching the temple or climbing the rock otherwise they would look at you in a suspicious manner.

There is a beautiful lake close to the temple with clean filtered water where an inscription on the rock of the lake bund could be found. The cave temple is now abandoned but one of its caves still proudly presents its glorious past by been preserved. The main cave seems to be restored after repeated attacks of Nidhan horu but the cave on the side still preserves its ancient beauty.

Google map

As seen from Yapahuwa 2011

Diyabete

main cave

murals

side cave

inscription

preserved

From the Temple we started climbing along the rocky gap to reach the ridge of the mountain. Firstly we walked along the range towards the western peak and after curving around a rock we got on to it to have a panoramic view of Madagalla region. Please do refer the images for landmarks.

the steep climb

reached the range

endless rock

prominent summit

other summit

lake of the temple

Degadaturawa

Galgamuwa lake

Galgiriya with mist

Nika wewa seen far right

caves

perfect shelter

cave view

warming up

Madugasgodella and nikawewa seen far away

the range

western split

framed

Thalapatte kanda

Galagiriya behind Nabedewa

Maho line

selfie

yapahuwa

cave

cave view

western summit

From the Western peak we headed back towards the prominent towering Eastern peak. After a small climb we reached the base of the rock where we entered the split point to reach the other side of the rock. Now from here onwards there was a 15m rock crawling section and if you slip you are dead. We noted that there was a rope hanging between the two rocks but decided to stop at this point since it was drizzling and too risky to attempt. There is a saying “there’s always another day” so we decided to return back after this attempt. After reaching the village we refreshed our selves and set off back to our destinations.