Lakegala

This is a super destination for hikers. Lakegala is situated in Knuckles Mountain Range close to a very remote village called Meemure. The above picture was taken from that village. As per the legend, Ravana, a mythical king of Sri Lanka used this mountain as a landing strip for his aircraft.

Once I tried this with a bunch of friends but failed just below 200 feet from the top. The last bit has an incline of around 70-80 degrees and climbing that stretch is really tricky.

You can read about that adventure through the blogs of Halik, Indi, Meg and Jerry.

Wellawaya

Wellawaya is a town in Monaragala District, with access roads to Arugam Bay, Thissamaharama, Haputhale and Ella. A2 main road, which starts from Colombo, ends at Wellawaya, after passing the entire southern coastal belt. A4 road to Batticaloa also goes pass Wellawaya.

It is a beautiful place as you can see the mountains of Haputhale and Ella from there. I posted about scenic Ella and Beragala roads sometime back.

This stretch of paddyfields were seen about 5 km from the town, on the way to Buduruwagala.

Steps

This picture of paddy fields were captured from the top of Alagalla.

Click the picture to see terraced paddy fields.

More interesting photos, taken during the climb are stored here.

To see more scenic images, explore this wonderful site - Scenic Sunday.

More Bird’s Eye Views

Last time I had a similar view up on the top of Sri Pada Mountain. This picture was taken on the way from Thalawakele to Punduluoya.

Towards Laxapana Continued

This was also taken on the way to Laxapana but before coming to this place.

Click the image and enlarge it for a better view. Then you will see Laxapana falls like a small white thread in the middle of the picture, with Saptha Kanya as the backdrop.

Towards Kudawa

This scenery was captured between Weddagala and Kudawa, on my way to Sinharaja rain forest.

Hope you can identify all the different types of palms in the picture.

Mirrors

This photo was taken close to Kalawana on Agalawaththa – Kalawana Road. These paddy fields in the distance really looked like large mirrors.

More from Etanwela

I am bringing you more photos of my much loved village in the Knuckles Region, Etanwela.

Please click here to view all!

Maragoda

This picture of paddyfields were taken from Maragoda area in Southern Province.

Bulathkohupitiya

This picture was taken close to Bulathkohupitiya on A21 road (Karawanella to Kegalle). This is a beautiful area in Kegalle District belongs to Sabaragamuwa Province.

More Paddy Fields

I like taking photographs of paddy fields. Above photo was taken at Kumbaloluwa village off Nittambuwa. Every paddy field has its unique beauty. You can compare above with paddy fields of Etanwela, Mellawa and Ampara to see this difference.

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.

Blue Mountains

This magnificent scenery was captured on the way to Belihuloya. The blue colored mountains faraway adds a serene beauty to the scenery along with the paddy field in the vicinity.

The good thing is that you can enjoy this scenery all the way from the roadside.

An Evening in a Paddyfield

The last time I posted a picture of a paddyfield in Mellawa. This post sums up the full set of pictures taken at the same place.

The entire area was completely green in colour. I was in the paddy field almost all the evening and it was such a joyful evening. The setting sun and the sky above the paddyfield was a great scenery too.

The inspiration came from this very interesting blog - Colors of Joy!

Paddy Fields of Mellawa

Recently I visited this beautiful village called Mellawa and it was a pleasant experience. You can reach this place, by turning towards Dankotuwa after passing the bridge of Kochchikade on the Puttalam Road. The paddy fields here are very beautiful and stretched far across the village.

Pannala area, which lies a bit further away from Dankotuwa, is quite famous for vast paddy fields and high crops.

Clouds Gathering over Paddy Fields

A walk through a paddy field, where ever in Sri Lanka is always refreshing.

Most of the paddy fields in Pallewela, Western Province are harvested as the festive season is just around the corner.

The month of April comes with evening showers full of thunder and lightening. This is ideal for next season of paddy as the rain brings water and lightening brings nitrates and nitrites to enrich soil.

Paddy Fields of Ampara

I have seen many paddy fields in the western parts of Sri Lanka but none so large as in Ampara District. You can see these fields stretch till the horizon. The cultivation is done using big scale machines nowadays and the crops are enough to feed millions.