Kotmale Dam - A Magnificent Feat

Kothamale Dam. Photo credits: Hiru Piumwardena

What's the best kind of trip for someone on a budget?

A free one!

Feel free to judge my money-mindedness, but as the tagline says, I'm dollar-less. So I will take any chance possible to go tripping around Sri Lanka with a generous benefactor :D The generous benefactor I'm referring to is - of course - my family. 

Kotmale Mahaweli Maha Seya

Out of the blue, my mother announced that she would like to see the Kotmale Mahaweli Maha Seya. It's a stupa only second in height to Ruwanweliseya in A'pura. It began construction in the 1980's, but like many things Sri Lankan, it was late. Very late.

Fast forward a decade or two and the project is still not complete. That's when the former regime restarted and the current regime finished building it. If it weren't for the barren plateau on which the stupa stands (they cut all the trees) it would actually be a peaceful spot. As it is, it is a monstrous white stupa, a stunning feat of acoustic engineering.

Let me backtrack a bit to the "trip" part of this.

Kandy-Kotmale via Google Maps

It took us about 2 hours from Kandy to reach the dam and if you are coming from Colombo I'd suggest you come to Kandy by train (train schedule and prices here. Prices are subject to change) and then hire a vehicle to go to Kotmale. You could take the bus up there, but they are few and far between so just hire a vehicle - it's worth it.

The drive alone would be worth the trip. It is GORGEOUS. Check my Instagram. There is so much greenery that you forget for a minute the politicians ruining our planet. We went through the University of Peradeniya and then higher and higher through the hill country where there is less man, more nature.

You need a ticket (LKR 30) to get onto the bund/crest of the dam and the ticket counter is about 500m further on from the dam so it's easier to see the stupa which is further ahead (no tickets required - yet), come down and buy the ticket to check out the dam from a higher vantage point and then walk the dam crest. Saves time that way. 

The Kotmale Seya is very interesting. The outer shell actually encases a smaller stupa inside. You can walk right inside the seya. This is very unusual; the inside of a stupa is usually sealed with some treasure and never hollow but here, that's part of the draw. The acoustics are such that someone speaking at the entrance to the outer stupa sounds like they are standing right behind your ear and it is creepy AF.

Very reminiscent of  Ruwanweliseya

We wandered around, marveled at the engineering and then hurried down to the viewing platform for the dam. For 30 rupees you get an unfettered view of the Kotmale Dam in all its gloriousness. 

Credits: Hiru Piumwardena

Need I say more?

There are ice cream vendors around so we had a taste of that and then drove down to the actual dam. 

Now, I usually play it cool when it comes to these things but I couldn't keep my head when I walked onto Kotmale. They diverted the Kotmala river (which later joins Mahaweli river) into a tunnel that run right through the Atabage mountains into a hydroelectric power plant much further down. Apparently the walls of said tunnel are over 1m thick. Imagine that!

We must have lingered on that crest for about an hour because neither of us wanted to leave. It's one thing to learn about the great heritage of irrigation technology in ancient Sri Lanka but it's another to see it come to life before your very eyes. Moana, I know how you feel.

We had lunch around 4.00 (???) at the Kothmale Holiday Resort. For LKR 2500 we got more fried rice and noodles than 4 of us could manage.
 

Kothmale Holiday Resort and its resident doggie

This isn't a budget trip by any means. After all, I only footed the LKR 120 for our viewing tickets. But it's a nice day outing for those of you in Kandy wondering where to go without planning too much. This is where. 

(Approx.) Time Taken: 1 day
(Approx.) Total Cost  : LKR 1000 per person (with ice cream and petrol costs) 
Satisfaction                 : 5/5

*All pictures are subject to Copyright © Asuka Randeniye 2017 

Fever-Ridden Idalgashinna Part 2

Idalgashinna Station around 5.30AM

Any guesses what Universe sign #4 was?

I whipped around to see a curtain of rain come pelting towards us.

"RUN!!!" my boyfriend yelled, and started pulling me towards the tiny ATM cubicle. We made it in the nick of time - my bag caught a bit of the spatter but I was mostly dry.

Oh and we didn't bring umbrellas or raincoats with us. Smart huh?

The train was due to leave in 10 minutes and we were stuck there unable to move, no money on our hands and with the entire universe telling us not to go. What do we smart-alecs do?

We run. In fact, we ran through the rain into the station and didn't stop till we got to the train. Remember, this is Sri Lanka and the Fort Railway station has a leaky roof, so we weren't completely safe till we were inside the train.

The train rumbled and clanked its way out of the station at 8.00PM precisely (surprise, coz SL time is a legit thing) and frankly, I don't remember much of the night except dinner - I am never having that particular flavour of instant noodles again.

*

Taken within 15 minutes of each other @ Idalgashinna

Idalgashinna Hill

Dawn was breaking. It was still too dark to see around when we got off Idalgashinna station around 5.30 AM. It was also like Jack Frost and Elsa were on a date. The guard took pity on us and opened up a small side room with a wooden bench reminiscent of prison so that we could get some shut eye. Idk how those blood-sucking little things survive up there in the cold but we didn't get a wink of sleep; mosquitoes saw to that.

My boyfriend and I alternated taking pictures of the sunrise and the surroundings until the first nearby shop opened. Blessed, blessed tea! Oh how thy steam rises to greet the crisp morning... and I could go on. Ode to Tea aside, we also made a new friend ----> 

The tea cost us LKR50 total. Gotta love the තේ කඩේ.

She got half of our breakfast (of course) and then decided to follow us towards the Idalgashinna trail behind the station. Once we started climbing, she took the lead. She was upfront most of the time and often found us paths that could be climbed (by humans) without breaking a leg. 

Summit through the tea bushes

The view. Was. Gorgeous. Perhaps it was the fact that we weren't rushing to summit, or the fact that we weren't in a hurry, or simply that it wasn't too tall and intimidating, but that hike was the most enjoyable for me so far. We started off on a small, badly tarred road that ran through small, brightly coloured houses where estate workers were heading off for their morning shift. Then the road ended and we moved through the actual tea plantation, sometimes creating new paths with the aid of our canine guide. 

Via theamazingamazonia.wordpress.com

We finally topped the bit with the tea bushes and gazed at the summit of Idalgashinna hill. At some distant point in history, someone had planted pine trees on it and there was no other growth anywhere near it. Pine trees were rashly planted as part of a poorly-planned reforestation scheme all over upcountry hills. They look pretty, but the pine needles (leaves) don't degrade for years and therefore covers the ground like a blanket; no sun or rain gets to the ground and this prevents undergrowth and interferes with the canopic-structure of the ideal tropical rain forest. Plus, pine trees are highly flammable and most forest fires start around pine tree groves when the weather has been too dry.

I'd been having trouble breathing (again) but I took things easy and had managed to climb up so far by taking frequent breaks. The trail led to a long-dry water way strewn with rocks which was easier to grip and we started climbing again. Everything was fine until I hit the pine patch.

The ground turned as slippery and as deadly as quicksand. We were miles above solid ground and one false step meant a broken arm or leg - at best. But even my brand new hiking shoes were slipping and I suddenly started feeling dizzy, short of breath and broke out in a cold sweat.

Welcome to my panic attack.

My teeth were chattering and I started having vivid death scenarios. It took all my willpower to suppress it and tell my boyfriend that I couldn't climb further. I could see the summit a few feet ahead of my head, but I couldn't get my feet to move.

View from the top; there was a cloud forest!

#bosslady

Again, I cannot emphasize the importance of hiking with someone you trust. My panic attack virtually crippled me. I managed to keep it in check till we climbed down from the pine grove and back onto firm rock, but then I started shivering, my face started burning and sweating (despite the cold) and I constantly felt nauseated. My boyfriend helped me down inch by inch and the only thing that kept me going then was the thought of sleeping in the train on the way to lunch in Ella.

I didn't know it at the time, but I was burning up with fever. If you followed my Instagram then you know what happened next: as soon as we came to the station, I collapsed on a bench, so we scrapped the plans to go to Ella and hopped on the next train home. It was a loooong ride. 

We also had to forget the ticket we'd already booked on the sleeper compartment and get a new one back on the next available train. It cost us approx. LKR 300 to come to Kandy, where I went home to mummy.

Took me a week to recover from that bug and it put me off hikes for a while. But I'm up and raring to go now! So look out for more posts. Follow me on Insta, Twitter or Facebook to find out when and where #budgetingto next and feel free to come along for the ride :)

(Approx.) Time Taken: 1 and a half days
(Approx.) Total Cost  : LKR 2000 per person
Satisfaction                 : 4/5

*All pictures are subject to copyright © Asuka Randeniye 2017