Conquering the Buluthota Pass on 3 wheels

Year and Month	January, 2013
Number of Days	One Day Trip
Crew	4 (between 3 – 35 years)
Accommodation	N/A – Returned on the same day
Transport	Bajaj 3 wheeler
Activities	Enjoying nature’s beauty
Weather	Excellent – Not a spot of rain despite light cloud cover. Very cool breeze right throughout and misty conditions on the A17 towards the afternoon
Route	Colombo -> Kuruvita (detour to Bopath Ella) -> Pelmadulla (detour to Kirindi Ella) -> Madampe -> Rakwana -> Deniyaya -> Galle -> Colombo
Tips, Notes and Special remark	Take only pictures, leave only footprints. Apologies for the picture quality, all pictures were taken from our mobile phone cameras Thank you to Lakdasun and its members. The information provided on the site was very valuable in planning this trip
Author	Niran123
Comments	Discuss this trip report, provide feedback or make suggestions at Lakdasun Forum on the thread Conquering the Buluthota Pass on 3 wheels

It has long been one of my dreams to travel along the A17 but every time we tried to organize this for one reason or other it didn’t take place.

This time it was a spur of the moment thought that triggered this off and less than 24 hours later we were on the A17. :-)

To make things more adventurous we decided to take the journey using a 3 wheeler. Suraj with his tuk tuk has been our trusted accomplice on previous trips and we roped him in this time as well.

We left home at 6 am – amazingly sharp on schedule. My daughter who usually is sleepy even at 8 am was up at 4:30 am! :-)

Our first planned stop was to be at Kirindi Ella, however upon reaching Kuruwita we decided to have a brief stopover at Bopath Ella. My daughter though had other plans and once she stepped into the water, our visit was anything but brief. :-)

Front view of Bopath Ella as seen from the entrance

No matter how long you stare at it, the beauty of mother nature’s creations never fail to take your breath away

We just couldn’t get her away from the water :-)

Next on our itinerary was to visit Kirindi Ella falls. This was a first for me. I have passed Pelmadulla numerous times but didn’t know that Kirindi Ella was so close. We turned off to the Kuttapitiya road just before Pelmadulla. The road was in super condition for the first 3 Kms but deteriorated thereafter. One stretch of the road must have been partially impassable a few hours ago due to a landslide but the clearing crew were already present and we were able to pass once they had cleared the boulders that had fallen on the road.

The access steps to the waterfall had not been maintained recently and signs were that only few people had come this way over the past few weeks. Hopefully once the rain seizes and once the road repairs are complete they will start maintaining this once again.

Kirindi Ella didn’t disappoint. I had only experienced her beauty through photos and seeing the real deal was quite awe inspiring. Pictures may speak a thousand words but nothing compares to seeing natures beauty with your naked eye.

Kirindi Ella access point and steps leading down to the waterfall

Kirindi Ella in all her glory as seen from the observation platform

I dearly wished that we had enough time to go down to the base of the fall but that had to wait for another day.

With the two detours out of the way, the main item of the day which was to travel along the A17 and especially the Buluthota pass between Rakwana and Deniyaya was next on the itinerary.

All I had read and heard about the A17 had my expectations soaring and boy I was certainly not disappointed. The hardest part of the trip was that we couldn’t even travel for a few meters without stopping to take more photos. I dearly missed having a camera with me but if I did have one I would probably still be on the A17 clicking away. :-)

I just don’t have the words to describe the journey, simply speechless. These pictures will have to relate the story by themselves.