Batadombalena

Batadombalena is one of the pre-historic places where the famous Balangoda Manawaya or the Balangoda Man had lived. This cave is situated about 5km from the Kuruwita town which is a suburb of Rathnapura. You need to hike up a mountain with thick jungle to get there so we strongly advice you to come prepared for the hike. Especially, this place is full of leeches who  eagerly waiting for your blood. Therefore, we advise you to take some soap with you to chase away the fellows. It is advisable to wear a short with sandals or slippers because you need to travel through small streams from time to time. There is only a board from the Department of Archaeology and a board showing the way up. If you are travelling in a vehicle, you need to park it by the boutique near the path leading to the jungle and start your hike. It is advisable you take some water bottles along with you. 

On your way up, you are invading the territory of leeches, giant hakarallas, giant ants and spiders. Believe me, other than the leeches, all the others are harmless even though they look creepy. Leave the guys alone and be on your way. You will find a small stream of water running parallel to the path and the water is so clear and clean you think you could even drink! You will not see the sunlight for most of the journey as you are going through a thick jungle. The ground and the surrounding rocks are ever wet due to the same reason. 

Once you go up passing the thick jungle, you will be amazed to see a rubber plantation. At that time, you might think that you have taken a wrong turn but do not change course, go right up and you will find the cave, magnificently rising on it's all pride of thousands years of history. The sad fact is apparently, this area had been cleared recently to cultivate rubber. If this cave also surrounded with a thick jungle, that will be more beautiful and also will give more protection to the ancient caves as the direct sunlight could fast track the decaying/ peeling off process of the rocks.  

You will find an excavation site in the main cave. Inside the main cave, it is so cool and the cave is so huge it could accommodate around 1000 people at a time. If you are interested in rock/cave expedition, you will find a lot of varieties inside. There are crevices inside the cave some are so deep you can walk right in. 

Outside the caves, you will find a small waterfall which is falling down from the top of the caves. If you walk to the other side of the rock, you will find some nice photo angles of the rocks and the waterfalls. However, be careful as the rocks are extremely slippery. We advise you to wear a slippers/sandals with a better grip and do not step on to the dead leaves as they could cover the crevices between boulders. One loose step, you will be 10-15 down probably breaking a limb or bang your head on a rock for the worst case!

On the way back, go through on the stream for a change! The water is so cool so they could sooth your aching soles and believe me, it's fun...In some places, it's challenging as you have to jump from rock to rock etc...If you are not feeling not confident, you can always take the ground path. It is advisable you keep your foot only on the rocks which are submerged under water. The rocks which have emerged from water are extremely slippery.
The rest of the hike back down is fast and easy. You just have to lift your feet. The gravitational force will eventually take you down. 

As a general advise, please do not litter the virgin jungle with your stuff. Do not harm the creatures as they do not harm you. Even the leeches case, do not kill them, just take them off from your skin and throw away. Please do not enter this place under the influence of alcohol. Balance is a much needed skill needed on this hike... 

Maha Saman Devalaya - Rathnapura

This is the major Devalayas in the Sabaragamuwa province. Annual perahara is also performed as a centuries old tradition. This is situated in Rathnapura, along the Panadura - Rathnapura highway, around 90km from Colombo. We strongly recommend you to go in a weekday because if you go on a weekend, obviously it is crowded and you will have to walk with a throng of devotees who are coming to visit this place from all over the country. Additionally, there is a museum on Devala premises and it is closed on weekends (so we didn't have the chance to go in). 

Devalaya is built on a higher level giving a panoramic view of the premises all around. It is protected with a parapet wall with a thickness of 2 feet and the wall is protected with a roof. 

Inside the Devalaya, you cannot take photographs without special permission from the guards.You will find an amazing stone inside a cabinet, which is keep on growing like a vine!. Since this is a solid rock, it doesn't need any support and it grows in a helical path. There is an ancient gun used to signal the commencement of the Perahara and we got to know it is still working. You will probably find many artifacts in the museum but remember to go in a weekday. 
There are allocated times where the daily Thewawas of the Devalaya is being held. The Kapu Mahaththayas or the guardians of the devalaya are reciting in a unique tone where I didn't here as such in another Devalayas in Sri Lanka. 

In the outside of the Devalaya, there is a place where a stage is made some 20 feet above the ground level. It is used to keep the Karanduwa (from the stage) on top of the leading tusker (ground level) of the devala perahara. 

There is a shrine for Buddha as well. It is situated in juxtapose of two shrubs neatly cut into a shape of an elephant. 

Ambulgama Temple - Sri Lanka

History:

You can find a history of this temple by the website of this temple

Click here

How to get there??

If you are taking the High Level road, you can use the 293 bus route starting from Homagama. From there, it will be a half an hour journey to the Ambulgama temple. You can get down straightaway at the temple so that you don’t have to walk. If you are taking the low level road, get down from Ambulgama junction and turn right (from Colombo) and you will have to walk 200m to  get there.

We would recommend that it is better if you could start your climb as early as possible. When the sun rises, you will get tired easily. Also avoid rainy days as the steps and rocks become slippery.

Climb

There are different levels of climbing and at the first level; you will find several Buddha status in different postures. The largest one being a standing pose and may be you can offer flowers/ light an oil lamp to start the climb (if you remember to bring along those stuff). In here you can see a nice scenery down but keep on climbing, there is more to come…

Next there is a “Pattini Devalaya” a shrine, offered for the Pattini deity

After you climb from the Pattini devalaya, you will find a mini Mihinthale. In a rock there are statues of Arahath Mahinda and his team of Bhikkus who first visited Sri Lanka to spread the noble message of Lord Buddha. In a little downwards, there is the King Devanampiyathissa whom Arahath Mahinda came across when he is out to deer hunting. If you observe more closely, there is a statue of that escaping deer.

Near those statues, you can find a cave and hardly there is sunshine coming down and it’ll be wet and cool even when you visit there in a hot sunny day. The less light and the reverberations of your voices through the caves will give you an eerie feeling.

Down there, it leads to another replica. It is of a Paththirippuwa in Dalada Maligawa, Kandy and as of now, it is still under construction.

You can turn back and start your climb up and this time, you will have to be quiet as there are some wasp combs on a huge rock. It seems that the little fellas have abandoned those but to be on the safe side, keep your mouths shut…

Underneath those caves, there is another set of colourful Buddha statues and do not forget to worship and offer a few coins into the “pin pettiya”.(by offering coins Buddhists believe that they will have the blessings of that sacred place)

Then comes the most difficult part of the climb but don’t worry there is a guard rail to keep you from falling same time guiding the way up. Watch your step specially if it is a rainy day. As you climb up, you will find another standing Buddha statue facing the infinite stretch of beautiful landscape of Colombo district. You will be amazed about the greenery and the mountains which the highly commercialized Colombo district has. Down there you can see a branch of Kelani river flowing gracefully. There are beautiful huts which used as brick stoves. You can stay as long as you want enjoying the beauty down there.

When you walk across the summit of the mountain, you will find another Buddha statue facing the opposite direction of the 1^st Buddha statue.

 From there also you will get a beautiful scene but this time your photos may have been polluted with some factories scattering around the mountains. That gives us a feeling how the natural beauty is wasted and we cannot be sure how long we are to enjoy the scenery of the rest of the virgin landscape.

Climbing down is a not a daunting task and if you feel tired, there is a small boutique on the opposite site of the road to have refreshments. We would recommend buying few packets of tasty murukku from there to enjoy on the way your journey back home.

If you are a photography enthusiast, this is a heaven to have some nice shots. We would suggest you to take along a wide angle lens and of course a telephoto lens to take closer shots down the hill. If you visit there at the times of sunrise and sunset, we are sure that you will capture splendid images of the sun and the surroundings.