සබරගමුවේ ආදරවන්තයන්ගේ කන්ද (Paraviyangala)

The map – Click to enlarge

Every university has its favourite destination and this time I picked one of those places for a change. Been a Colombo Uni guy our favourite destination was the western coastal line other universities like Peradeniya has Hanthana range, Uva Wellassa has Namunukula & Sabaragamuwa has Adara kanda. As usual I searched for literature on the web but found nothing convincing about “adara kanda” though there were many images of Sabaragamuwa university students hiking in hundreds. So the best way to get more info is to explore it ourselves.

As usual finding partners wasn’t easy at all but finally found two guys who were willing to hike with me and we got together at Pambahinna on a sunny morning for this hike. After having our breakfast we took off along the road until we reached 161/4 “bokkuwa”. At that point there was a gravel road which goes uphill and ends at an ancient monastery. After crossing the stream near the toilet of the monastery we entered a foot path which took us through a pines plot. Tackling the pines as always was not easy. On our way we came across a potential camping place while ascending. We also did have a mini break before exiting the pines and entering the mana patch which was also a steep path. After climbing through this we entered another pines plot where trees were scattered around mana and had plenty of flat space to camp. The view towards southern Sri lanka was getting better and better every moment. This hike was all about scenery and Mother Nature gave us a good fiesta

Adara kanda range

Foot path towards the monastery

a greeny friend

what a place

the stream we crossed

on the stick

climbing through the pines

flat area

getting ready for the steep ascent

scattered pines

identifying landmarks

heavenly views

on the way panoroma

perfect reflection

Sabaragamuwa uni and samanala lake

the range is getting closer

note the foot path

Binara

can you spot the foot path which is white

Dethanagala

Hawagala

angled slope

finally reached our destination

The next stretch took us towards our first destination which was the rocky point and after getting on top of it we had to stay low down to survive by been blown away. Now the wind was simply unforgiving it was pushing us to the verge of death and to make things more complicated we had to go along the ridge further uphill. This rocky plate produced some stunning views and for the first time we also noticed greater worlds end where people could be seen.

The last stretch was tackled with uttermost difficulty and finally reached the flag post where we decided to rest. Though there was another peak close to the mountain forest of Gommolli range we weren’t interested in getting there. From Left to right it was gommolli range, Idalgasinna, Haputhale, Nayabedda, far away Hadapanagala, Hambegamuwa, Udawalawa, Samanala wewa, Sabaragamuwa university, Balangoda, Havagala, Pettigala, Non perial division, Nagrak , Worlds end and etc

view towards non perial side

worlds end

it was very windy at this point onwards

Adara kanda range

Passing Paraviyangala

next target

rocks forming patterns

last steep climb

summit of adara kanda

worlds end with its visitors at the far right

nagrak division

Protruding

the peak close to gommolli range which we didnt bother to attempt

Wind was something we would never forget

we did raise the fallen flag post

Haldumulla & Haputhale

Walawe ganga valley

Samanala reservoir and its unique half filled appearance

pano towards Nagrak and non perial

pano towards down south

3 man team

non stop clicks

We spent good 30 minutes there before getting down. It was not going to be any easier than we thought because the wind was so tight. Falls were becoming a common sight and the heat was making things more difficult. Somehow we reached the stream close to the monastery around 4pm where we refreshed ourselves and headed towards Pambahinna to have a late lunch and depart towards our homes. Though the path was clear the steep ascent and the extreme winds made this hike a challenging and a memorable one which we really enjoyed. I’m finally delighted that I could experience what these guys from Sabaragamuwa also experienced in their life time. This is a must do hike guys so do attempt it whenever you can.

time to get down

the path we came

the wind was unforgettable

Maha rathmal tackling the winds

Paraviyangala

Isolated life

showing the main road

University of Sabaragamuwa

what a view

towards Kuragala

lovely home garden for me

needed some frequent breaks

where we were

back to the shade

burden to the soil

plenty of these

bye bye

Thanks for reading!