In search for vanished trails

  It was around 7pm on the 08^th of February 2013 when I came out of my boarding place at Eliyakanda junction in order to take a bus to Matara town. A bag pack hung over my shoulders and my mind was free as a bird. A 5minits drive in the bus and I was at Matara bus stand along with a few of my batch mates – Uthpalavi, Poshitha, Rusiru, Eranga, Subhash and Lahiru. It was the end of our 2^nd year’s 2^nd semester and the beginning of the semester vacation. After pouring everything by hearted into the long lasted semester exams’ answer sheets, our minds and hearts felt much lighter than ever. We waited for the CTB bus which runs from Ambalangoda to Ampara to reach us. As we had booked our seats in advance, we didn’t worry about the huge crowd who were also awaiting for the bus. Our plan was to travel to Ampara by this bus, spend the night at Lahiru’s place and on the next morning, go on the adventurous hike at Rajagalathanne.

  The bus was late for about a half an hour, but it finally came. The seven of us sat on the back seat so that we had the space to ourselves. Through the dark winding roads, we drove passing Tangalle and Hambanthota. As we reached Katharagama we decided to have our snack. A very spicy “seeni sambal” was prepared by myself, Uthpalavi and Poshitha at my boarding place. The boys brought loaves of bread to eat with. Everybody seemed ok with the food except Eranga, who struggled severely to hide tears falling down from his eyes due to the spiciness. He must have emptied several bottles of water when he was done eating. The bus drove through Katharagama Buttala road, then towards Siyambalanduwa. Fortunately or unfortunately we did not meet any elephants on the way. According to Lahiru they are used to roam on these roads at night.

On the way

At Matara bus stand

  It was about 2am when we finally reached to our destination – Ampara. Lahiru’s vehicle was there to pick us, and we were taken to his home at Gonagolla which was another 18km drive. We faintly washed ourselves and went to sleep, dreaming about tomorrow’s adventure to come.

  The next morning after stuffing ourselves with the delicious breakfast prepared by Lahiru’s mother, we set course to Rajagalathanne. It was situated about 6kms north to Gonagolla. Lahiru drove us on his van through the Ampara – Uhana – Mahaoya highway. As usual in any trip, the atmosphere filled with songs sung by us. Chatting, laughing and taking selfies and photographs were other stuff we did throughout the drive. Finally we reached our destination. The environment was calm and quiet. The forestry view enhanced our enthusiasm to move forward. Only two security officers were to be seen at the entrance. The premises were named as a property of the Department of Archeology. According to our ancient tradition and beliefs, we hung a branch of leaves (“kola aththa”) on a nearby tree and with Lahiru on front, we commenced our adventurous hike.

  Rajagala also referred to as Rassagala – a land consisting of jungles and mountains which spread across about 1025 acres - is identified as an ancient monastery belonging to Sri Lanka’s prehistoric era.  According to Archeologists, people of the Raksha tribe must have lived in this area, hence explaining the name Rassagala. The history of this place is not definite, but monks are believed to have inhabited it around the 10^th to 3^rd centuries BC. According to Lahiru, several prehistoric artifacts were awaiting deep in this forest to be explored by us. Thus picturing and wondering about how this place would have looked like during the ancient days and what hidden treasures awaited deep in the forest, one after another we climbed the first set of boulders which seperated the two worlds apart – the modern noisy one and the ancient serene one.

In the forest

  It felt like we had passed a doorway into the historical era. Rocks and flat stones which laid one above the other created a footpath which led us upwards on to the mountain. Large rocks leaned from either side of the path. Huge trees along with various sizes of creepers hanging from them were seen everywhere around us. We slowly walked upwards along the rocky path. At some points we had to slide through very narrow places between huge rocks. Small steps were carved in several of the rocks which could not be moved away from the path. To our amusement we saw elephant droppings lying here and there, even at places we could hardly imagine that such a gigantic creature could walk or move. The scene somehow gave a minor shock to our hearts. We hoped that luckily we would not meet any of them on the way. After climbing for some distance, we could see the view of the vast area covered with tree tops below us. Small natural ponds were formed at places where water had gathered between valleys of rocks. Water lilies grew in them, enhancing the view to be much more enchanting. Time by time we rested on the flat rocks which cooled our bodies when touched. Due to the calm weather in the forest, we did not feel a lot of tiredness. Leaning onto branches of trees and supporting each other on the way, the seven of us climbed the steep rocks one by one. The forest floor was covered with a brown carpet of dried leaves. Small water streams flowed downwards here and there. The water was so clean that we could see our own feet touching the bottom of the stream. It was also so cold that the feeling was sensational and all the tiredness was vanished away when touched.

  We hiked for several hours and finally reached one peak of the mountain. Proud and happy about the achievement we spent some time posing for photographs and enjoying the natural beauty all around us. Nearby, we saw the first ancient artifact that we came upon in our adventure – a “Sthupa”. “It is believed that this is a remaining part of a Sthupa containing relics of Arahath Mihindu Thera” explained Lahiru, who was our guide at this moment. As mentioned by Archeologists, a simple stone inscription – “Sel Lipi” – which could be seen lying nearby it, testified what he just said. However not much of conservation or excavation work was seen on this site at that moment. We were lucky enough to have a photographer who was so keen on capturing every moment someone made a turn. Eranga with his camera or mobile phone made a genuine effort in taking pictures of us all.

At the peek

The Stupa

  We cherished the entire set of mind relaxing scenery of this site and then started our journey again, this time not upwards, but on a horizontal path between small bushes and plants. We walked for several minutes and came to an area where the environment was totally different from the previous one. The former site was sunny, open and had small bushes around. But now the forest was thick and a bit dark with tall trees grown everywhere and consisted of many labyrinths of caves which had odd but amazing shapes. These caves were said to be used as “Aramas” or dens which were houses for monks. They were said to meditate under these caves. The environment was amazingly silent and ideal for the purpose. Walls cut by stones lay here and there testifying that these caves must have been separated into rooms. A few feet further there was a ruin which could be related to a temple or some type of residence. A “korawakgala” (stone balustrade), “muragala” (guard stone) and a “sandakadapahana” (moonstone) laid there among the left over pillars, proudly resembling the inconceivable ancient architecture of Sri Lanka. A stone inscription was nearby, probably stating about the donor and resident of this particular mansion which once would have magnificently stood up spreading over this area.

  What interested us mostly were a couple of perfectly shaped large stone-made pots also known as “kataram” which lay on the floor nearby. “These must have been used to store water to be used by the monks who meditated in those caves”, was our conclusion. It was sad to see that some edges of the pots were damaged maybe due to natural causes or unfortunately due to human behavior. Although the ruins lay on the floor, some half buried, in our minds, we straightened them up and tried to build the majestic city which once have had been on this land.

Labyrinth of caves

Ruins

Muragala

Kataram

  Leaving the artifacts lying there alone, so that they could express their ancient story to some other traveler who happens to pass by, we started walking again. This time we ended up near a stream more like a river where water flew downwards through caves and rocks making it colder, cleaner and fresher. The sound of water hitting the rocks, the shake of the leaves on trees, the songs of the birds singing was mesmerizing. We felt the cold water by washing our hands and faces. A new life sprung to us. There were some soft drinks in our bags. We refreshed ourselves by emptying them into our throats. We had to make an extra effort to grab the bottles from Rusiru, who was anytime ready to fill his stomach with whatever food or drink available. The empty bottles were refilled with cold water from the stream. Since everybody was refreshed we started our journey again climbing upwards from rock to rock and sliding downwards when necessary.

  We came to an area where huge boulders forming caves raised up magnificently through the forest trees. These caves were somehow different in shape from the ones we saw previously. Several ancient pillars were to be seen nearby these rocks. Ancient writings were carved on the upper part of the boulders. They normally stated the donor of the cave. On top of the writings, the rock was horizontally carved inwards, forming a small fold which was intended to avoid rain water to flow down the rock into the cave. Some caves were separated with brick and clay walls forming small rooms within. There was so much to admire about the knowledge and creativity of our ancestors. But it was unfortunate to see that some of these caves and ruins were severely damaged due to local treasure hunters. A nation should be proud and protect historical left overs instead of damaging them for greed.

Resting by the stream

Writings on rock

  Next we came upon the cave which was famous due to the existence of a stone doorway – “uluwassa”- leading to it which was still intact. It also consisted of a door-frame which was built by placing stone slabs one on another, performing a balancing act. Unlike in the modern days they were not glued together using cement or clay, but they lay there just as they would have been 2000 years ago. A few feet ahead we came to a vast open area where so many ruins were to be seen. Faintly carved stone pillars lay horizontally some half buried in the ground. The site made us feel that once these premises would have looked magnificent and serene.  The usual “korawakgala”, “muragala” and “sandakadapahana” could be seen here also. The trees were a bit different from those which we had passed throughout the journey. There were so many creepers hanging from tree to tree. They were so thick that some of us climbed on to them for a swing, which resembled Tarzan’s adventures. Everybody had fun by hanging on them and remembering childhood activities. I could not help wondering what would have been there 2000 years ago on the exact location where I was standing at the moment. We spent some time there and left the premises in search for other adventures yet to come. After climbing another several rocks, leaning to a few creepers and trees and walking along water streams, again we came to an open area where a gigantic Buddha statue made of rock was laying on the ground. Rumors say that the statue has not been fully completed and feature enhancement was left to be done. However it still perfectly resembled the serenity and tranquility of Lord Buddha. We admired the hard work. How the statue ended up all alone in the middle of the forest was unknown.

The stone "Uluwassa"

Remembering childhood adventures

"sandakadapahana" and "korawakgala"

The abandoned Buddha statue

  The hike wasn’t over yet. Lahiru’s aim was to make sure that we all reached the highest peak of the mountain. Thus he led us further through more bushes and rocks. We finally came to the bottom of the last rock to be climbed. To our relief, steps were carved in this rock, making it easy for us to climb the nearly 90 degree steep path. One after another we slowly made it to the top. The view was mind blowing! We were at the same level with the horizon which separated the green color carpet of bushy tree tops from the clear blue sky. The wind hummed like it was narrating the story of the ancient days. Water was collected in cavities on the rock forming small water holes which enhanced the beauty of the paradise. We felt like we had entered into another world so far from earth. Elephant droppings were lying here and there on the floor. It was proof that we were not the only ones who had hiked to the peak of Rajagala recently.

On the way

The final climb

The view from top

Paradise

  Time was flying and we definitely had to be at the bottom of the mountain before darkness started to fall, otherwise we would be meeting with the owner of the droppings and we didn’t want that to happen. Thus we rested for a very short time and after having one final glance at the wonderful heaven on earth we set course back to the bottom. Although the quiet forest was shady and mind relaxing and all, we were exhausted when reached to the place where we had hung the branch of the tree. The time was around 4pm. We all got into the van and reminding about the wonderful experience in the ancient monastery hidden inside the forest all alone from the rest of the world, and drove through the roads to Lahiru’s home.