Pettigala (Pethiyagala) 1500m, giant of Balangoda was conquered!

The map – click to enlarge

It was late 2009 and we were returning back from Bambarakanda while the bus stopped at Balangoda I noted a huge rock which looked like Kunudiyaparwataya and wanted to climb it on the very next weekend. This mountain prompted me to make a forum post on Lakdasun for the first time (at that time I had a forum account but hadn’t done any posting). Guess who gave me words of wisdom it was Priyanjan and he gave me all the details I wanted but I never had the opportunity to complete this hike. This year the ongoing mini drought around Rathnapura area prompted me to complete my dream. As usual I couldn’t find any partners despite many calls. At around 10pm while I was at Monaragala bus stand and about to leave I gave a call to Harinda who was planning to visit Kukuluwa temple with Sanketha. Finally both of them decided to join my venture by cancelling their trip . So this is going to the record books of finding partners at the shortest notice.

Pettigala 1 the long one, Pettigala 2 the small one

Pettigala as seen from adams peak

Pettigala as seen from mahagiridambe

Pettigala as seen from havagala

We met each other at Pelmadulla and headed towards Balangoda, where we had breakfast and packed some lunch packs before heading towards Pettigalawatta rd. The road was manageable up to the factory (store) and after that it was bit difficult for a low ground clearance vehicle. We had to halt the car and hire a trishaw to reach the upper (new) Pettigalawatta. Finding a guide took some time because villagers were reluctant to accompany us to Petiyagala no1 with the current “wallapatta” issue. Some even said its useless climbing Petiyagala no1 and encouraged us to climb Petiyagala no2. We were determined to get to the tallest peak which also was the difficult one. Somehow after finding a guide we walked through the tea estates enjoying a panoramic view towards Horton plains and Adams peak. At the forest boarder we exited the tea plantation and entered the wilderness.

pettigala 2 seen from pettigala – balangoda rd

horton plains seen from Pettigala estate

Dethanagala as seen from the estate

pettigala new division

transport method

Pethiyagala no1 was our target

Adams peak seen on the way

on the way through the estate

Initial path was along a stream and we had to squeeze between bushes and try not to slip and fall, after an hour or so we reached a waterfall. Climbing around the waterfall took some effort and we even had to deviate from the stream to reach the top of it. Somehow after reaching the top of it, for the first time a clear view towards Horton plains was in our visual field providing some satisfaction to our tired souls. From here onwards we headed in to the forest cover where we had to roam through the mountainous forest for hours and hours. We reached the flat plain of Pettigala where one could easily camp (but to get water one needs to descend to the valley which separates the main rock). There was a view point but only Petiyagala no2, part of Balangoda and Petttigalawatta could be seen. We had a small rest before descending to the valley which separated the main Petiyagala rock from the mountain. For this we had to crash downhill through the itchy Nelu undergrowth and climb uphill again to reach the summit of Petiyagala rock. We were half dead when we reached the summit but also happy with what we achieved. We went to the edge and took plenty of snaps towards Balangoda and Horton plains side (Samanala wewa & udawalawa was seen faintly) but most of those weren’t clear due to the haziness of the atmosphere..

an orchid

along the stream

art of balancing

a small break as harinda wished

beauty

life on life

these were a problem

crystal clear

the waterfall which caused us many problems

top of a waterfall

view from the top of the waterfall

beauty of the wild

searching for a path

the forest cover which didnt cause much problems

creeping up

the plain of pettigala

Hunuwalkanda which is located in the same range but 15m taller than pettigala no 1

the view towards Pettigalawatta from the plains

tree tops

Pettigala no 2 as seen from Pettigala no 1

Kendrickia walkeri, an epiphytic climber in montane zone (tks Bushana for the identification)

through the bamboo bushes

different colours

a mini break

pierced

summit point

A4

got bit gloomy

Balangoda budhdha statue

lovely

Balangoda town

view from the summit

more scenery

paddyfields

raising the flag

pano from the top of Pettigala

wow	pettigalawatta

bit of blue

unknown beauty

half dead team at the summit of Balangoda

the range goes towards Kuttapitiya(pelmadulla)

After having lunch and raising a flag we started returning back and we never expected things to get more difficult than the ascend. There was an interesting flower looking like “Bovitiya” which was found in abundance that seem to be a mysterious species up to now even after consulting expert advice. These were found on tree tops and even at ground level. After getting back to the open area we entered back in to the forest but our guide decided to cut some distance and took a short cut but this short cut was through a bamboo forest which sucked each and every calorie we had. Finally Harinda had to protest his decision and force him to get us back towards the forest. This period where we went through bamboo forest accounted for many falls cuts and a massive leech attack but finally we reached the initial stream we followed during our ascend. From here onwards it was not a problem at all and at around 4pm we reached the tea estate to notice that the sky had cleared off and the scenery we couldn’t enjoy from the summit was easily appreciated from the tea estate ha ha ha. Anyway after having a hot tea and some tasty wades from Raja’s place we said goodbye to them and returned back to Colombo dead tired! I must thank Harinda and Sanketha for joining this “KATTA” which was once a dream.

the deadly gap

රත්මිහිරිය

through the bamboo’s

this was the toughest part

finally back to the stream

we were there(the rock is seperated from the range by a small valley)

horton plains as seen from the estate

phew that was tough

landscape of the tea estate

Thanks for reading!