Yahangala: The Bed Rock Mountain

Little Everest in Sri Lanka, Yahangala

Yahangala is the place where the great king Ravana is sleeping until he wakes up again. The god “Galē Bandāra” is also believed to be protecting this place. This is a place travelers have to come with good intention, because there were enough incidents that the environment or some spiritual powers has been punished travelers who came with bad intention. (elephant attack, wasp, all kinds of venomous snake bites and getting lost). As long you love the flora and fauna and leave only foot prints behind, you are good to go.

Based on publication “Sigiriya and Beyond“, the site is accessed through Ranaviru Shokarathne Mawatha near the 29th kilometer post on the Galewela – Andiyagala road. 4.5 km along this remote road you will reach a small temple at the base of the rock. It is also possible to reach this site by taking the by road from Bulanawewa from the Bulanawewa Temple on the Galewela – Andiyagala road.

A long inscription found at the bottom of the rock has been placed in 2nd century AD by professor Paranawithana. His interpretation of the inscription has led to suggest that the patron of this ancient monastery has come from kingdom of Sumatra.

In addition to the ruins of this ancient monastery the site gives an excellent 360 degree view of the surrounding area.

It is advised to speak to a priest and make your intentions known before attempting to climb the rock. With treasure looters destroying every bit of heritage, as in many remote ruined areas, the villagers are always vigilant and wary of outsiders roaming around thus gaining their trust is important before embarking on such a journey.

Direction form Kehelpothdoruwegala to Yahangala

It’s better to ask local help to choose the path because the popular (and easier) trail is Yahangala. Even some local people are not aware of Kehelpathdoruwa. They might direct you to the Yahangala directly, so be careful. We decided on Kehelpathdoruwa, since it has better scenery and its elevation is higher than that of Yahangala (1300m approx.). So yeah, we chose the hard way.

It’s always better to start as early as possible, because mist is so thick in this area. It is very difficult to predict the next step, as trails get blurred in seconds. I’d advise you to stay where are, if you got lost in this kind of a thick fog, specially on peaks. There are no man-made trails to Kehelpathdoruwa you can follow, except for game trails. You will possibly be your own; a GPS tracking device and a compass will come in handy because the complete landscape is misty 2/3 of the day.

Reaching to the Kehelapthdoruwa was an extreme sport, because elevation kept getting rapidly increasing from where it began. You can identify Kehelpathdoruwa with the mark of massive divided rocks (yes, it’s a climb). Source: www.hikershavensl.wordpress.com

We all sipped into a few drops of water as we spent some time on the mountain tops, regaining our breath back, only knowing we had to get down, get down safe. Climbing down has always been the tougher one for me but may be not this time even though our muscles were very week and at times they fail to respond in giving the support needed, we managed to climb down safe. Not forgetting that I did have a moment where my heart simply skipped a beat as I slipped down but I bolted my arm up helplessly to grab anything around it, happy to know it hooked itself to a crack along the rocks that kept me from snowballing down the mountain.

No adventure comes easy, this was not the easiest, as much as I know the dangers, would love to go again, again to Yahangala, to the wilderness!

Travel at Glance

Direction : Kandy -> Madawala ->Theldeniya->Hunnasgiriya-> Kalugala -> Yahangala (60KM)
Transport : Bike / Taxi / Public Transport
Travel Time: (form Kandy 1.5 hrs)
Accommodation: Hritance Kandalama / Find Hotels nearby
Activities: Photography / Nature Trails / /Lake/ Hiking / Sirgirya