Climbing up a wild stream, trekking for kilometres along winding roads with only the directions of the occasional human being among a mass of emptiness to guide us, we arrived at an unknown little waterfall that provided us with some great stories to bring back and also some leeches and indigestion for a lucky few of us.

Our original intention was to visit the Monte Fano seminary. Sri Lankas oldest centre of teaching for the Catholic clergy. The current head bishop of the island studied there somewhere in the fifties.

We got to the seminary by tuk tuk from Kandy town, near the lake. Although its possible to get there by bus as well, we were a little posh into the beginning of our journey.  You’ve got to be careful if you are entering Ampitiya town by bus because it is so small you might miss it. There’s no actual townthere. A scattering of shops (mostly restaurants, which is a bit weird now that I think about it) is strewn along a distance of a kilometre or so; thickest at the turn off into the seminary, which lies up a hill or rather, a mountain.

Best to ask directions and ensure the konda knows where you’re headed when you’re going. Tuk tuk should cost you a maximum of 200 rupees. DON’T take tuk tuks from ‘stands’ as they will look at your shorts and rubbers and assume you are posh and charge you almost twice as much as a reasonable rip off should cost.

The Seminary

The Seminary is Big. It’ll take you by surprise when you arrive at it. It’s lush and green and the buildings have a very wholesome looking ‘churchy’ feel that reminds you of Angels and Demons. Its got huge well-kept gardens and a vast amount of  well maintained surrounding land and forest area. The Vatican sponsors it well.

It is not known as a popular tourist spot. The administration prefers it low key. When we got there the place was shut down, the inhabitants having gone off on holiday; but we spoke to the ‘guard’ (an old gentleman in a sarong) and he showed us around.

They have rows of cages with eagles in them. And big ones too. After snapping up some choice pics of the buildings we headed off to the top of the hill to catch the famous view of the Mahaweli river snaking along in the distance. Here we got slightly intoxicated. and not just from the view.  Our guide, being too frail to climb mountains, only turned up a good while later when we showed no signs of returning.

The Bathing Spot

Next it was off to find a ‘bathing spot’. Cos no real Sinhalaya goes anywhere without enjoying a bath native style. Something you have to try before that is the food at the bakery down the main street at Ampitiya. They bring it in freshly baked at about 2 pm and it is literally to die for(Not really, but you get the gist). Lunch is available at a decent restaurant close by. It was 110 rupees per person, with your own dining table with a cool view of the surrounding greenery. A kathakali dancer or some Hindu god stares at you ominously from the far wall as you dine. It is best to avoid catching the painting’s eye.

The first thing to do when looking for a bathing spot is to ask a three wheel driver. After that, ask another three wheel driver (far away from the first one). Then check again with a shop keeper. The key to quality directions is one word: verification.

One may assume that, being natives and all, they’d all know the exact whereabouts of where everything is but a good example to the contrary is our search for a bathing spot; each person gave us little tidbits of information which we pieced together to arrive at a reasonably accurate estimate of where it is, how far away it is, how we get there, is it worth the effort etc. Such accuracy requires a fair bit of industry and diligence to accomplish.

We got conflicting directions telling us that it was 5, 8 and 13 kms away. We were told that there would be a bus along eventually though, and that’s what happened. In the meanwhile we were treated to some local hospitality at a roadside kade. After some refreshing king coconut we sat talking to the shop owners brother who obliged by taking our picture and asking after our lives in Colombo, whilst sharing a wealth of local information.

Gaalthanna, the stream lies some 10 kms or so off Ampitiya. The bus materialized about a half hour later so we were saved an extra long trek. But the surrounding countryside is worth taking in.

We asked the bus driver to drop us off at Gaalthanna. We had to walk across some irrigation constructions around the curve of a hill until we came to the mouth of a natural stream. Then as per our directions, which we almost got wrong, we started the slippery climb up the rocky stream to locate the bathing spot.

After about a 20 minute climb we came to it. It lies in a secluded spot that is unreachable by any other route. The water falls off a rock that is about 15 feet tall. the water is about three to four feet deep and there is a big grasy bank on which we kept our backpacks and used to relaxed on.

We headed back to Kandy a little after an hour or two. After walking back down the road taking in the surrounding view we were again met with a bus. And were back in the city within an hour. It was around 6 pm. Luckily for us there was a Dansala or an alms giving of food (due to it being the time of the perehara) so we feasted on some vegetarian rice and curry before heading back to Colombo.

The Train

The train to Kandy in the morning was the Intercity Express. It leaves the Fort Railway station at 7.a.m. sharp. You can buy first class tickets but you will have to book them in advance. they cost something like Rs. 340. We managed to get second class tickets. It takes roughly 2.5 to 3 hours to reach Kandy by the Intercity, which is probably one of the quickest ways to get there.

The view, as always, is best from the foot board. Some brilliant scenery along the way if you keep an eye out during the latter half of the journey.

Some things to be careful with. The Railway service, like all other government services, can sometimes get petty and idiotic. So they will not allow any one person standing in line to buy more than five tickets. We managed to ask the next chap in line for his obliging help when confronted by it, but its best to have a few people standing in line when you purchase tickets.

Also, the tickets you get are numbered according to the seats. You will have to ensure that all your tickets are numbered together by specifically mentioning that to the chap at the counter, cos their particular about these things. Best is to book the tickets well in advance if you’re the pre-planning type of person. But we Sinhalaya’s being more into spontaneous wanderings, crossed that bridge when we got to it rather than going looking for the bridge.

Train ride is fun. Second class is sitting only. But it doesn’t mean you cant stand at all, it just means they only allow people who have a ticket and a seat. Scream in the tunnels and bring along water and biscuits. And a camera.

You can also take the bus. Which is what we did on the way back. It costs exactly the same as a second class ticket, which is Rs. 220. An A/C bus will usually be at Kandy town, a slight distance away from the regular bus stand. Ask around and you will find it easily.

The journey left us exhausted yet satisfied. The true Sinhalaya travels not for the sake of touristy satisfaction to well worn destinations in order to experience things that are perfectly predictable. No. Given the opportunity, the Sinhalaya travels to gain new experience; to be confronted by things not been confronted with before, to encounter challenges and overcome them, to live the life of storybook adventure at least during those few moments when you’re dead tired and everything is uncertain and all you want to do is head back home, thinking of your bed.

But your bed is your enemy. The open air is your friend. Stick with us at Sinhalaya travels as we take you through accounts of more of our journeys into the wilder generally unknowns of Sri Lanka.