05 October 2009

Etanwela Village


I know for a fact that the best scenic places on earth exist in the most remote locations. Recently I visited such a place in the Knuckles Mountains and experienced a truly inspiring journey to one of the most secluded locations in Sri Lanka.

The ‘Etanwela’ village is one of the few villages situated within Knuckles mountain region. The entire village is in a valley surrounded by mountains. Some of the best hiking venues in the Knuckles Mountains are located close to this village. Riverston, Pitawalapathana, Maningala and Kalupahana are some of them.

You can reach Etanwela via Raththota – Pallegama Road. The village is situated about 2000 feet above sea level and is home to 46 families. They have plenty of paddy fields, vegetable cultivation and cattle. In addition there is a village temple, a school and houses with basic facilities. The village is self sufficient, although a city dweller might not find many luxuries he enjoys in the town.

It is worth to note that, Mr. Dissanayake, elderly villager who himself worked as a district officer for the Department of Agriculture helped me and the team in finding the exact route to reach some of the significant locations surrounding this village.

As you can see from the picture above, the view from the village is spectacular. This is one of the places where I can appreciate the simple way of life.

36 comments:

Nicole said...

That most def.looks like an awesome place to go for a hike and take great pics.
I admit, I already miss the green :)

Kirigalpoththa said...

Hi Nicole,
Yep it was a great journey i had last weekend. The village is a great place for a hiker. Now I'm back in town...wish i could go there again at this instance.. :)
Thanks for your comments!

Janith said...

wow, really looks like a lovely idyllic village! a perfect place to live, without all the troubles of today's world... :)

and on the topic of the Knuckles range, I saw that some of our bloggers went there on a hike too... :D

DrKong said...

i wish to hike at place like that someday...
amazing with unique traditional settlement.

Kirigalpoththa said...

Chavie,
You said it well..It is an idyllic village. Hope I could live in that village..atleast when i am old and retired :)
Thanks for the link and great to see our fellow bloggers enjoying hiking in the Knuckles!

Kengkaru Kong,
I think New Zealand has some great places for hiking. Hope you could do one like this very soon.

Thanks both of you for your comments!!

George said...

What a beautiful place to visit. How could you bring yourself to leave? I hope you will show more pictures from this area.

Kirigalpoththa said...

George,
It was very hard to leave that place..
Definitly I'll bring more pictures of this place in the coming weeks. Still figuring out the photos :)
Thanks for your comments!

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Hi K, I agree that some of the best places are the remote--less advertised ones. We have a small little 'valley' surrounded by mountains near us--and it's called Grassy Cove. I'd LOVE to have a mountain cabin in the 'cove'... Your photo is marvelous. What a beautiful place.
Betsy

poefusion said...

what a peaceful looking place. one could go hiking for hours and never get bored. beautiful photo. have a great day.

rainfield61 said...

The best and most beautiful place is not that money can buy. We can only witness it after a lot of hard work.

Dominic Sansoni said...

Wow! Must find the time to go for a walk. Thanks so much

Tes said...

Hey K! Wow, good thing I clicked it to enlarge or I would not have seen the rice paddies. Lovely photo!

Kirigalpoththa said...

Betsy,
Agree with you..Hope you would be able to have a mountain cabin in the 'Cove' soon :)

Michelle,
True. We walked whole day in this region and never felt tired.

Rainfield,
Yep, we climbed a mountain close by and had some amazing views from the top. I'll upload those pictures soon.

Dominic,
You would really like this place and you should go there! Let me know if you need detailed directions to the village and nearby places like Maningala, Illukkumbura, Pitawalapathana, Ranninda etc..

Tes,
Yep, those step paddyfields are lovely! I will upload more of those soon :)

Thanks all for your comments!!

Tammie Lee said...

It looks so beautiful here. I can see why you enjoyed your time there!
Spirithelpers

Angel.Pearls said...

Beautiful place -I'd like to visit SriLanka one day..Have a great week//Eva

Angel said...

Such beauty!

Anonymous said...

Looks heavenly. So pleased to find a Sri Lankan village that is self sufficient. A very rare commodity these days.

Kirigalpoththa said...

Tammie Lee,
Yep the picture tells the story!

Angel.Pearls,
If you vist here do not forget to visit this village.

Angel,
Thanks for your comments!

Anonymous,
Yep agree with you.

Carol said...

Very idyllic in setting and care of the land... many lessons to learn from simplicity and those that live a simple life. So glad you visited Flower Hill and brought me to Sri Lanka! I will enjoy returning often in this way. Carol

Regina said...

Great view!

Kirigalpoththa said...

Carol,
Yes I learnt quite a lot about how to live a simple life from these villagers.
Thanks for visiting my blog and for your comments!

Regina,
Thanks a lot!

Linnea said...

You sure get around! What a secluded looking place to hike through. Let's hope it can stay pristine like this!

Kirigalpoththa said...

Linnea,
My hope is also that.. Hope the it'll stay like this for ever :)
Thanks for your comments!!

annalarssonphotography said...

Gorgeous view!
I would love to visit this place sometime :)

Anonymous said...

A beautiful lush country - thanks for sharing! Long may it remain unspoilt :)

foto CHIP said...

That is a beautiful scenery! Lovely nature :)

Kirigalpoththa said...

Vita,
You'll surely enjoy this place!

Kitty,
You are most welcome!

Foto CHIP,
Thanks for your commnets!

Budget Traveler said...

When I saw the photo..at first I thought that it was taken in Thailand..:) I'm sure Sri Lanka must be a beautiful place too.

Kirigalpoththa said...

Budget Traveler,
I have seen quite a lot of similarities between Thailand and Sri Lanka when it comes to vegetation, geography and climate.
Thanks for dropping by and hope you would be able to visit Sri Lanka soon!

eileeninmd said...

Looks like a beautiful place to hike, I love all the green scenery. Thanks for sharing yoru scene.

Kirigalpoththa said...

Eileeninmd,
You are most welcome and yep it is one of the best places I hiked :)

Tammie Lee said...

this looks and sounds like a wonderful place to experience.
Spirithelpers

Kirigalpoththa said...

Tammie,
Thanks a lot for your comments!

Tes said...

Hello K! I love quiet villages. Looks so peaceful and relaxing there. Looks like a good place to hike and unwind.

Nice shot!

Unknown said...

Very pretty indeed!

Kirigalpoththa said...

Tes,
It is a very peaceful and relaxing place!
Thanks very much for your comments!

Stine in Ontario,
Thanks very much for dropping by and for your comments!