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| Kothamale Dam. Photo credits: Hiru Piumwardena |
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.
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| 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.
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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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
(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
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