LakRoo Environmental Club: Kalupahana to Ohiya Through Devil’s Stairs

It’s a wonderful journey which can feel the environment in different angle with instant climate change.

Author & photographer –Ruwan Herath (www.ruwanh.blogspot.com)

Period	No of days	Team	Weather	Transport
November 2012	02	07 Members	Windy & Cloudy	Bus, Train & by Foot
Route
01^st Day by Bus & foot – Nittambuwa > Colombo > Kalupahana > Bambarakanda > Udaweriya > Ohiya
02^nd Day by Train – Ohiya > Pattipola > Nanuoya > Inguru Oya > Kandy > Veyangoda
Accommodation
Ohiya Mr. Prasanna’s Home – 0575780378 / 0775312375 / 0728238480 / 0716161092
Travel Tips & Special Notes
Make sure to have a comfortable shoes or slippers if you plan to complete this journey by walk or if you plan to complete this by vehicle, make sure to have a 4 wheel vehicle with at least two spare wheel
Make sure not fill in your baggage & bring the things which are most essential if you plan to walk
Be ready to strong wind & cold conditions
Be prepare for enough water before traveling
Leave only your foot prints

Dedicated to Team “LakRoo” (www.lakrooec.blogspot.com)

It’s a rainy day (23^rd November 2012) we start our journey around 8.00 p.m. from Nittambuwa. Got an AC bus from Colombo to Kalupahana at 11.30 p.m. & get down around 3.30 a.m. on 24^thNovember in Kalupahana junction. There are 07 members from team LakRoo including me join to this journey. Start our walk near Kalupahan junction around 5.00 a.m. to Bambarakanda & we reach to there around 6.15 a.m. & had our breakfast from Bambarakanda Holiday Resort.

We had a chat with the director of Bambarakanda Holiday Resort Ms. Mayakaduwa and got valuable information of the locations. Holiday resort situated closer to Bambarakanda waterfall which is the highest waterfall (790 feet high) in Sri Lanka. “Wangedigala” mountain in front of the holiday resort& “Balathuduwa” and “Gon Molli Kanda” mountains are in right hand side.

We leave from there around 7.30 a.m. As per the instruction of Ms. Mayakaduwa we plan our journey through the jungle. Because to have a hiking experience. It’s really hard to travel by foot, but we enjoyed well. When we reach to the top of the waterfall, the road which we came is appeared as a small thread.

Environment is really beautiful & suddenly clouded. There is no clear path in some places. Walking sticks helped us to clear the path and to pass some places.

We reach to Lanka Ella waterfall which located bottom of the“Balathuduwa”mountain. The place is really beautiful and we spend couple of hours in there. This is uncommon place, but the beauty is high. We found another beautiful waterfall on the way to Lanka Ella.

We leave from Lanka Ella and walk through the jungle to Kalupahana- Ohiya Jeep Track. It’s a damaged road which not maintain in long time. You cannot drive normal vehicle on the road & four wheels vehicle is mandatory with experienced four wheels driver.

We passed more than 20 km on and off road and reach to the most famous place in this road. Its “V” cut and “Devil’s Stairs”

We changed our path near the “Devil’s Stairs” and climb the mountain again and walk toward to horton plains. There is a small jeep track to there. Some places on the road suddenly clouded and you can’t see even a friend very closer to you. We reach to Ohiya with passing more than 35 km from Kalupahana and it’s around 4.30 p.m. (24^th November 2012)

We found a rest house in Ohiya. It’s the house of Mr. Prasanna which located 1.5 km away from Ohiya railway station. Mr. Prasanna is a person who well aware about the hospitality. There are five rooms available in“Prasanna Rest House”with good condition.

We get up early in the morning on next day (25^thNovember 2012) and plan to finish our journey through “Udarata Menike” train. We decided to get this route because of the beauty of it. Also we can engage more with“Kandurata Asiriya”