Veiled secrecies of Nilgala (2013)

the map – Click to enlarge

There are some places one must visit and Nilgala is one of those places. Finally after 1 ½ years been to Monaragala that day seemed to be closing in. I was determined to visit Nilgala during the Esela weekend and only needed few guys to accompany me but at last I had a huge crew. First of all my office staff was ever so willing to venture on and later to be joined by few of my Lakdasun friends. Though I was disappointed with the wild life department because of all the messed up bookings, I was not going to give up this time and decided to camp the first day at the park entrance.

First of all I would like to bring forward what happened to us with the bookings of the camp sites. We initially booked Mahadoruwa camp site for two days from the Inginiyagala office over the phone. But we were told from Nilgala range office that they handle the bookings and also bookings can be done from the head office at Battaramulla. When Kasun inquired from the head office he was told that they do not handle any bookings so we decided to go ahead with the Inginiyagala office bookings. When I went to do the payment at Inginiyagala the park warden said that the camp site was booked from Colombo by another party and I was very disappointed with these guys who ruined all my plans. At that particular day they had even given bookings to 3 parties for boat rides and was wondering what to do when the parties arrived , I was also surprised to hear that the boats were functioning because few days back when I called them they said the boats were under repair and will be available only in August. I am really disappointed of the management of this park but I didn’t let these miss-happenings spoil my adventure.

We somehow packed all our stuff (specially the cooking stuff) and arrived at Bibila on a Saturday afternoon to meet up with my Lakdasun friends and set off towards Bulupitiya on the bumpy road. From Bulupitiya it was a dusty ride towards Nilgala and we were covered with dust while traversing through the Aralu, Bulu & Nelli forest. After about 12Km’s we reached the Nilgala range office where we halted and met Chandima who was introduced as our tracker for the rest of the tour. Since it was around 3pm we decided to visit Kahatatta hela which is close to the Nilgala ranger office.

To Get to Kahatatta hela we went back about 1Km and started trekking through the Nilgala forest. Within no time we reached the cave complex at the base of the rock. At this cave one can identify remnants of wall and also two rock inscriptions. After wondering around we started climbing uphill which required few pit stops. Though we got to the top in 10 minutes we had to walk a good 30mins to reach the highest point. On the way we did come across a recently demised Pangolin and it seemed to be attacked by hawks. The summit is a dream place where one could enjoy a panoramic view of Nilgala region. Some of us just fell down on the rock imagining it as our beds from top of it one could appreciate a panoramic view towards Danigala, Andagala, Rathugala, Galgamuwa, Madulsima, Bulupitiya hela, Nilgala, Ul hela, Berawa hela, Makare, Wadinagala, Mullegama range, Iginiyagala reservoir and the paddy fields close to the ranger office. After enjoying some stunning scenery we set foot towards the ruins site. And it took about 20 minutes for us to get there.

The ruins site was on another end of the rock and there were remnants of about 6 buildings resembling its prosperity from the past. From here we had to rush back before we came across any wild jumbos since it was close to 5pm. After getting to the cab we felt dehydrated but some juicy Water melons did the trick.

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Scattered all around were the remains of ancient structures. Legend has it that this was also one of the many places where King Dutugemunu had camped and gathered his forces as he marched on King Elara. It is also said that King Valagamba had taken refuge here.

Our next stop was Seenukgala which was very close to the Nilgala entrance but out of the park boundary, this place is a suitable place to camp if you couldn’t book any camp sites within the park. We found a nice cool calm swimming pool in Gal oya and had a swim for about an hour before getting back to the ranger office. That night we were offered camping facilities at the Nilgala office though we also had the option of camping at Seenukgala. Few of us decided to spend the night in a tree house done by the wild life officers while others camped on ground zero. At 8pm the vehicle was sent to pick up Amila from Bulupitiya and while he arrived we did have some superb dinner consisting of deviled Mannyokka . The night was along one with all of those shouting going around the paddy fields plus the turbulent winds.

the unique park road

packing up

a small climb

the cave

Kahata aththa hela rock cave

checking out an Atamba tree

remains

inscription

we did not disturb them

glimpse of the reservoir

ulhela resembling lakegala

on the way scenery

berawa hela, ul hela and wadinagala

plenty of ele dung

Gal oya national park

Nilgala and bulupitiya hela

towards Madulsima

the paddy fields at the buffer zone

illegal activity

where the reservoir meets

towards rathugala

Andagala and danigala range

Panorama from the top of Kahata aththa hela rock

almost full team

rock of meditation

mana was a challenge

ruins at Kahata aththa hela rock

more	pieces of history

another building

beauty

wonder if this is kahata?

Aralu,bulu,nelli

yummy

Seenukgala swimming pool

peaceful gal oya

came out well

Nilgala ranger office

full moon

deviled manyokka on the fire

Our cooks

Next day morning produced some stunning scenery towards the paddy fields which were done by the locals of Bulupitiya. After having some rice as breakfast we decided to cross the paddy fields and reach the beautiful anicut which supplies water to these fields. On the way scenery was superb the blue and green was simply perfectly merging together. After a 20 minute walk we reached the anicut of Gal oya which was an isolated yet beautiful location which a traveler must visit.

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The Galoya National Park is situated on the border of the Eastern Province. It was way back in 1954 that this large tract of jungle covering a total of 25,900 hectares was declared a national park. In fact it constitutes the upper watersheds of the Senanayake Samudra, the key irrigation facility of the Galoya Project. It has also become a refuge for all the wildlife displaced by the settlement scheme.

At one end of the park is Nilgala. The rolling savannah is surrounded by a ring of hills, the more famous among them being Danigala. Yakunge Hela, Nilgala, Bulu Hela, Endagala, Kahatatta Hela, Guru Hela and Akuna Hela are the other peaks in this range.

The diversity ranges from tiny lizards to elephants. But unlike other such reserves, Nilgala has to be approached on foot. As wondrous as the sudden sighting of an elephant is as one weaves one’s path around the Aralu, Bulu Nelli and through the tall mana grass, a certain degree of caution has to be exercised for the dangers are many. Any excursion, then, has adventure written into the unfolding script.

Within the protected area there lies a large tract of paddy land. Legend has it that the ancestors of the present day farming families had arrived in the area fleeing from the marauding British troops that ran riot to quell the Wellasssa Rebellion. Needless to say, these lands have always been threatened by elephant attacks, especially in the context of dwindling feeding grounds for the threatened creature.

good morning Nilgala

view from the hut

where we slept

plenty of true tree huts

paddy at the buffer zone

HDR

breakfast is ready!

wow

Nilgala and bulupitiya hela over the paddy fields

Phone signal booth

the hut

the guard!

pus wela

wonders of mother nature

along the water way

the anicut

beautiful

lazy guys

gal oya

Baobab kumbuk tree

the beauty of the blue sky

an Ibis

the beauty of green

trying out a gal dunna

lovely

yum yum

After returning back we packed up and entered the park and on the way through the beautiful landscape of Aralu, Bulu, Nelli and mana we reached a spot where the Mukkuru tomb (sohana) could be found. We really were puzzled about its origin and even our trekker didn’t know why it was called Mukkuru sohana. Not so far away from it and very close to Madugasthalawa (where plenty of Madu trees could be seen) we came across few boulders which were said to be remains of ancient Kalugalbemma road which King Dutugemunu used to travel towards Polonnaruwa side.

Our camp site Paraviyan ara was very close to the jeep track and there was a sand platform plus a toilet with a nonfunctioning tap line and it seemed to be a camp site which not many prefers to stay. Our tracker suggested that we could camp at the river bed which was the perfect place to camp in the end. Simply the river bed was a magical place and the only obstacle was carrying stuff towards it. On one side we were bordered by the deep river and no animal could reach us from there, we only had to worry about the opposite side. Within no time our specialist cooks started cooking and the knives and the coconut scrapers were working like machines while the eggs were boiling on the fire. After having a cool dip for many hours a perfect lunch (noodles) satisfied our hunger.

the path through the forest

Mukkuru sohana

what a landscape

lovely

ancient Kalugal bemma road which King dutugemunu used.

summery of Nilgala

madugasthalawa

finding our own camp site

the cooks were busy

our camp site

our bathing spot

thanks kasun for this capture

oluwen hitagena

splashing

what a time we had

At around 2.30pm we started to walk towards Makare which was already been crowded due to the long weekend. First we reached “Stage Wella” where day camping is allowed it was just like Mount lavinia beach and the difference was the people who were all local villagers around Bibila. We did walk about the Rocky River to enjoy some stunning rock formations. It’s like walking along a 3D painting and one should not miss this place. Next it was a 200m walk towards the reservoir through the forest and on the way we did note the “Gilma” where the mighty river disappears under the rocks to re immerge at Makara kata (makare) out of nowhere. It is fascinating to note the river seems to be blocked at this exit point with these huge boulders. Once we emerged at Makare it was all sand but no rocks and once a year this layer of sand keeps renewing itself and one could appreciate the in between humus levels too. We decided to venture in to the Makara kata and that was a fascinating experience. The saddest part was seen the drunken locals misbehaving worse than any wild animal on earth and I think the poor rangers are facing difficulties in handling them because most of them been locals. Strict laws on Alcohol use should be a must at Gal oya and hope the authorities will take necessary steps.

Next we decided to venture further on to see the ruins of Andayampola fortress which was a 30 minute walk through boulders and the muddy reservoir. It seemed to be a wall like structure done by rocks placed on top of each other and there were no ruins of buildings to see around. On our way we heard a bears cry but was not lucky to see one jumbo even thanks to those drunken guys who were screaming around. We reached the camp site at dusk and set up a good camp fire before the cooking session begun. While the popcorn was popping few of us had a dip in the river enjoying the rays of the full moon. That night we slept without any interruptions thanks to the comfortable sand bed.

walking towards stage wella (makara day camping site)

Stage wella

rock formation

natural pools

3 layers

Gilma where the river disappears

close up

suddenly its sand

it meets the mightiest reservoir

Makare

where the water appears from

framed

where it ends

Mullegama range

colourful

drackula island and mount inginiyagala

foot prints of a bear

water levels starting to drop

the tank

towards andayampola

the wall

Andayampola fortress

best place on earth

trying to role a dry tree

our camp fire

yep we had pop corn

full moon was bit shy

finally appeared

What a comfortable bed

Next day morning the rays of the sun were creeping through the braches producing beautiful photographic opportunities. After having some rice with papadam and stuff we had another morning session in the river before deciding to leave this luxuries paradise. I must thank my staff for the superb food they cooked which made this camping trip to Nilgala much more special than it looked. Saying good bye to King Budhdhadasa’s herbal paradise we headed towards Monaragala on a Ceylon takaran bus which seemed to be reserved only for us and a “komadu dansala” plus the “sawu dansala” which the bus stopped at confirmed it.

our tents

camp site

peaceful gal oya

wow

dawn at gal oya

our well

gal oya beach resort

brekfast again

time to leave

left it as it was

plenty of these guys

Good bye gal oya

Thanks for reading guys!