Herbal Paradise Dolukanda (600m)

Green = ambalangala, Red = maligatenna, Blue = ponds, Purple = weheragala, Black = cave, Orange = rassa muhuna – Click Map to Enlarge

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According to Folklore During the war between Ravana and Rama, both Rama and Lakshman were hit by powerful arrows to fall unconscious and to bring them back to life Hanuman was instructed to fetch lifesaving herbs from Himalayas. Hanuman went to the Himalayas, rooted part of the hill and brought it as he was not able to identify the lifesaving herbs. Parts from the hill fell on five places in Sri Lanka, Rumasala, Dolukanda in Hiripitiya, Ritigala, Thalladi in Mannar and Kachchativu in the north. Archeologically the mountain range has received some importance because of the well-known Arankele monastery been located at the base of it. Regarding the geometry it’s about 2km in length and 0.5km in width with a vast intermediate zone forest reserve on top of it. First time I came across this mountain range was when I visited Wellagala at Wariyapola and few months back while we were on top of Yakdessagala I noted this range for the second time. And the temptation was exclaiming to uncontrollable levels since then. Conquering unique mountain peaks has been my passion and day by day my list has been growing and growing with occasional tick offs. This time Anupama was the man who bought me the solution; he had already climbed up 3 times but was generous enough to join me this time too. Other than Anupama and his friend Dinusha my friend Harinda also joined me in this adventure. Harinda and my self-arrived at Kurunegala at around 7am by bike and bought some bread and dhal for lunch and together with Anupama we went towards Hunupola on Hiripitiya road where we met Dinusha and our guide Kumarasekara.

We started climbing from an abandoned rock quarry where huge square rocks cut by machines could be found. According to locals some Indian guys have done treasure hunting in large scale with heavy machinery. Next we came across few abandoned “kuti” which were built few years back when Dolukanda was a very famous place of worship for Sri Lankans. The initial stretch was through a relatively flat area but within no time we were starting to ascend uphill. The undergrowth was not much but since the area had received some showers on the previous few days it was enough to make things bit slippery. Suddenly the climb got steeper and more pit stops were a must and our guide Mr Kumarasekara was staring at us because we were crawling at a snail pace compared to him! On the way we came across few medicinal plants which is the most unique feature of this forestry and Harinda managed to root off few accidentally . After about 1hour and 45 minutes of climbing we came to the base of Ambalan gala and after tackling the last rock we were on top of it with a smile on our tired faces

gloomy morning at dolukanda

treasure hunting done by indians in large scale(according to locals)

entering the forest

abandoned sakman maluwa

off we go

may kollo nam ada ena patak naha

try and un tie it

harinda plucking huge trees

coconut!

then it got steeper

leading the way

finally on top of ambalam gala

Ambalan gala is a bare rock located on the edge of the mountain and at a center location. There was a Buddhist flag post on top of it waving in proudly signifying the importance of this place. At this location one can enjoy a 180 degree view towards Wariyapola and Kurunegala but since the cloudy and misty nature on that morning we couldn’t appreciate much of the landmarks. Some landmarks we noted were Alagalla, Athgala, Mawathagama peak, Anda gala, Kuruminiyagala, Yakdessagala range, plenty of paddy fields, Dolukanda temple at the base, Wariyapola, Hiripitiya side, new Deduru oya reservoir and few lakes. We spent about 30 minutes on top of the rock enjoying the stunning scenery before we decided to enter the huge forest patch to explore around.

it was gloomy towards kurunegala

dolukanda temple and its pond at the base

raising the fallen flag

kurunegala region

paddy and coconut together

Yakdessagala range

wow	towards wariyapola

expecting rain

started clearing off a bit

time for a panorama

wonder what is this

ambalan gala

ideal place for a team pic

Though we thought it was already done and we could return early Kumarasekara mama and Anupama listed out some interesting areas worth visiting and from here on it was a never ending walking session on the top of the 2km long mountain range. We got in to the forest which was very shady and cool and within no time reached Maligathenna which might have been an ancient castle according to the locals. There were plenty of fallen pillars covered with moss and been Camouflaged with the greenery while few pillars were still standing tall like tree barks. Also there were rock walls here and there creating platforms and borders indicating that this was once a prosperous kingdom of a king. We also came across a huge “katarama” on a rock used to divert water from one place to another. This archaeological site had gone through the devastating illegal excavation process just like other locations in the island.

in search of maligatenna

Dummala

fallen pillars of maligatenna

treasure hunters have done their part

no this is not a well

more pillars

drainage system

a rock wall

remains from a different era

After exploring the ruins we set foot towards the other end of the range an on the way we came across a very rare “Wanaraja”plant which has a medicinal importance. There were other plants with medicinal value showed by Kumarasekara but I’m unable to recall any. Been so rich with medicinal plants Dolukanda might have some connection with Hanuma’s story just like Ritigala and Hakgala. Next we reached the famous rock ponds called Kalu diya pokuna, Dunukei pokuna and etc these are said to be found full even during droughts. This was an ideal place for us to have a rest under the shade and have a sip of jeevani to replace the lost minerals. Next we came across Watekei pokuna which was covered with plenty of Wetakei bushes hence the name.

life on life

barks were decorated

more mushrooms

Wanaraja

my favourite

Kalu diya pokuna

reflection

Kasi pethi (Panam pethi)

wetakei pokuna

On the way to Weheragala and not so far away from it we came across the trail used by villagers of Doluwa linking up with the main trail. By the way Wheragala got its name because of the huge ancient sthupa located on it and was vandalized by treasure hunters as expected. Weheragala been on the opposite side of the rock produces a different view compared to Ambalan gala and there is a very nice view point close to it where one can enjoy again a 180 degree panoramic outlook towards Ritigala, Arankele, Kibulwana reservoir, Dolukanda lake Ambokka and Mathale areas. This point seems to be the highest place and the drop towards the base of the rock was too scary to have a look even.

demarcated path

ancient pagoda at weheragala

gloomy scenery from weheragala

kibulwana reservoir

Hiripitiya town

doluwa side

Pano towards arankele

next observation point

dolukanda reservoir

wow	mondanocks of wayamba

phew the drop (this is the highest point)

Ritigala and Galgiriya can be seen

towards Rassa muhuna

We continued along the edge of the mountain through the forest cover and came to our next pit stop which is the Hulang Kapolla and its beautiful cave. This is a very dangerous but yet fascinating place and at some months a monk resides in this “kutiya”. There was a bed used by the monk and few saucepans used by visitors who spent the night in this non drip ledged cave. We decided to have our afternoon meal which was Bread and dhal while enjoying the scenery towards Arankele from the cave. This cave also was not spared by visitors who were muttish enough to scribble their names on the rock.

hulang kapolla

the cave which a monk used

view from the cave

vandalized

the view from our lunch table

the rock looks like pasted

ambokka got cleared off a bit

Rassa muhuna

ambokka peaks through the gap

Next we wanted to get to the last view point which is called “Rassa muhuna” because of its appearance like a devils face. It could be appreciated properly from Hiripitiya area according to the locals but we had to satisfy our selves with a different view. En route we came across another cave where a monk once meditated keeping dead human corpuses. To get on top of the Rassa muhuna we had to crawl along a bark of a tree and it was totally worth it because we enjoyed a good 270 degree view and at that moment the sky also had decided to clear of a bit to produce some stunning scenery towards Kala oya side. Galgiriya kanda and Ritigala were seen far away while Arankele was at the base of the rock. After enjoying some breathtaking scenery we decided to return back and for that we used a different route.

seems like some one has roasted some meat here

climbing along a fallen tree

on top of rassa muhuna

gala pita gala

the sky cleared off

arankele

Yakdessagala again appeared to our visual fields

towards kala wewa side

ambokka

very tempting

Ritigala side

i was on top of that peak few months ago

wow again

pano towards wariyapola

pano towards arankele

After getting to the opposite side of the rock we continued along the rocky area known as Kalu gala and came across an area covered with Bowitiya bushes and it was like Horton plains on top of Dolukanda for us. Finally we reached Ambalan gala where we rested a bit before starting to descend.

tackling kalugala

dolukanda bowitiya plains

on the way scenery

treasure hunting continues

the dry forest in the center of the mountain

alagalla and mawathagama peaks

last pano for the day

now it seems cleared off

pride

While descending I sprained my knee joint which was a nightmare for me and from there onwards I had to crawl down slowly without bending my left knee as possible. While I was tackling with a sprained knee Harinda was rooting up few huge trees and producing some chuckles in our minds ha ha ha… If Hanuman was a live he would have come in search of Harinda and asked him to pay for the damage:-D. Anyway it was unintentional and descending is always a problematic when it’s too steep. We ended up finally at Kandagoda RMV which is located at the base of the mountain. It seemed to be an ancient temple with a huge caved image house with a drip ledged inscription. After getting back to the village house where we halted our bikes, we were served with a glass of sweet orange juice by the owner which was like “Amurthaya” for us and not so far away we got a hot Belli mal drink and a piece of papaw from another villager which was like medicine for our tired souls. After thanking Kumarasekara mama we went to Dinushas place and had a wash before we departed, to experience a continuous shower until we reached Hettipola. Harinda was kind enough to drop me off at Chilaw and return back towards Colombo to end our one day adventure at historical Dolukanda. Thanks for reading!

getting down

last moment captures

kandegoda RMV

the inscription

good bye dolukanda