Route Malabe->Avissawella->Hatton->Nanu Oya->Ambewela->Pattipola->Horton Plains and back on the same route.
Ginihiriya can be booked online on Wildlife Department Website.
If you plan to carry out a similar project, please get in touch with the Wildlife Department.
Ulex is fast becoming a great threat to the endemic plants and wildlife at HP so every little help is greatly appreciated.
Don't get caught to the bogus theories of importance of having Ulex in HP. Those arm-chair critics haven't even been to HP. The beauty of HP and the water catchment area are hugely affected by the fast spreading of Ulex.
You'll have to work with the HP Park officials if and when doing this work and adhere to the rules and regulations.
Help save the environment and minimize the usage of polythene and if used, put them away properly.
Don't throw garbage especially food remains here and there as they attract crows which is becoming another menace to the HP.
Special thanks to Yohan and Priyanjan for the initial recce done on the Ulex spread and equipment supplied to combat them.
Hi there, hope everything is well with you. Now that you've read the title of this article, there's no point in me trying to beat about the bush in a vain attempt to surprise you. I guess you've already see the video journey of this as well so let's get straight into business, shall we? If you've clicked on the link given on Ulex, you might have a fair idea as to what it really is. It's believed that this was introduced by the English or rather Scottish during the colonial period around 1800s as an ornamental plant in their gardens in and around Nuwara Eliya. After some time this got spread into Horton Plains, of course after Samuel Baker had killed all the elephants in the area.
Let me quote Wikipedia for what Ulex is just to give a brief introduction what it really is.
"Ulex (gorse, furze or whin) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The genus comprises about 20 species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. The species are native to parts of Western Europe and northwest Africa, with the majority of species in Iberia.
Gorse is closely related to the brooms, and like them, has green stems and very small leaves and is adapted to dry growing conditions. However it differs in its extreme thorniness, the shoots being modified into branched thorns 1–4 centimeters (0.39–1.57 in) long, which almost wholly replace the leaves as the plant's functioning photosynthetic organs. The leaves of young plants are trifoliate, but in mature plants they are reduced to scales or small spines. All the species have yellow flowers, generally showy, some with a very long flowering season.
The most widely familiar species is common gorse (Ulex europaeus), the only species native to much of western Europe, where it grows in sunny sites, usually on dry, sandy soils. It is also the largest species, reaching 2–3 meters (7–10 ft) in height; this compares with typically 20–40 centimetres (7.9–15.7 in) for Western Gorse (Ulex gallii). This latter species is characteristic of highly exposed Atlantic coastal heathland and montane habitats. In the eastern part of Great Britain, dwarf furze (Ulex minor) replaces western gorse. Ulex minor grows only about 30 centimeters (12 in) tall, a habit characteristic of sandy lowland heathland.
Common gorse flowers a little in late autumn and through the winter, coming into flower most strongly in spring. Western Gorse and Dwarf Furze flower in late summer (August-September in Ireland and Great Britain). Between the different species, some gorse is almost always in flower, hence the old country phrase: "When gorse is out of blossom, kissing's out of fashion". Gorse flowers have a distinctive coconut scent, experienced very strongly by some individuals, but weakly by others.
Ok, hope you've got a better idea now. Right, it's been a great threat for the Horton Plains ever since it got mixed up with the flora and fauna of HP. When I visited HP in 2000 (since then 21 times to date), there was no sign of Ulex even though I had no idea about its name the look of it must've made a big impression had it been there in abundance. However I first noticed this after about 5 years and since then heard that there were groups doing projects to control its growth to no avail as there was no consistency in those projects.
Before everything else, Ana and Dr. D went to DWL (Department of Wildlife) office to present our proposal and get their approval. Our proposal was received with positive attitude and was given the green light to go ahead. We received the approval in black and white and managed to find our lodgings in the good old Anderson Lodge aka Ginihiriya Bungalow. Ana managed to stay up till midnight and book the place despite that particular time was a busy and long weekend. The dates were fixed on 31 Jul to 02 Aug. the group consisted of 9 people (after a lot of shuffling) which I've mentioned above. We had to take two vehicles and used Ana's SUV and Atha's car and were all set for an early departure on the Esala Full Moon Poya Day.
As usual we left at 3am and drove towards Hatton. I was with Atha, Prasa and Sachi in the lead vehicle while Ana and the others trailed us about 15 minutes behind. The roads were empty except for a vehicle or two that were carrying the enthusiastic travellers to their holiday destinations. However the Sri Lankan tourists don't even bother hitting the road till late in the morning. The dawn arrived slowly when we reached Hatton but we didn't stop for a break. Even the beauty of Devon or the sorrow look of St. Claire couldn't yield enough strength for us to pull over.
Mobile phones kept us in contact and we drove through Nanu Oya and Meepilimana before arriving at the Kande Ela. This was our rendezvous point for breakfast. While Ana and the gang were coming, we used the time for a comfy break and enjoy the breath-taking scenery unfolding before our eyes. Morning air revived our parched lungs having been battered by the poisonous fumes in Colombo. My tummy was growling signaling he couldn't wait any longer for breakfast but we had very little choice but to wait for Ana.
After a strong cup of instant coffee, we resumed our journey. By now the sun was up and about we could enjoy the lush greenery of the Ambewela farm and surrounding. Windmills of the Ambewela farm kept circling in a slow pace generating more clean energy for the national grid. If only we could harvest the energy generated from the wind, sea waves and the sun, there wouldn't be any need for killing the beautiful waterfalls, dangerous atomic power or harmful burning of coals and fossil fuels. If only the super powers put in more resources to experiment on them than arming with more nuclear missiles for the so-called WWIII. I know it's just wishful thinking but I'm not gonna stop dreaming all the same.
Passing Ambewela and Pattipola stations which have given us sweet memories, we entered the forestry road towards HP. Still the road was pretty much isolated saying two things. The first that those who wanted to see the true beauty (I can safely say almost all of them are foreigners) of the morning had already reached the HP and the later comers are still struggling to get up from their warm beds (almost all of them are Sri Lankans). We reached the gate and went into to buy the tickets for our vehicles.
Afterwards we met the park warden at the gate and went into talk to him. Unfortunately neither us nor Wildlife HQ forgot to inform the HP park that we were coming despite having granted permission in black and white. We were of course not aware of the fact that we had to inform them and were under the impression a copy of the permission would've been sent to HP. Well we should've anticipated the typical government work pattern and found the park warden was not expecting us. He said that only a fraction of the number of groups that offer to come clear the Ulex turn up so they're kind of skeptical and wary of such requests. Again typical habits of our fellow countrymen. He said he could've arranged a few of the workers in advance as this was a busy weekend and the HP is usually bustling with tourists both local and foreign during weekends especially at long ones. We were inexperienced gardeners to be honest and couldn't remember when we used one of the gardening tools so it required a bit of getting used to as well. To make matters worse, Ulex has these vicious thorns that rip at your flesh so we need to learn how to get at them without injuring ourselves as well.
We felt a pang of disappointment go over us but the park warden asked us to go report to the Farr Inn and find what we could do. So with very little hope we reached the Farr Inn and met our initial contact person, Sameera the assistant park warden. There were hundreds of vehicles already parked and we had a tough time finding parking but Sameera allowed us use their official car park. He welcomes us warmly and promised to allocate one of the rangers and two workers. Finally some good news so we got ourselves organized wearing long-sleeved t-shirts and cargo pants to protect us from the prickly thorns and used hat to shield from the sun. Most importantly Atha had brought thick gloves to use which came in real handy. We got together and marched towards the site where we were to combat these detrimental invasive plants.
We were given the left flank of the trailhead towards KGP to clear and chose a stretch about 60-70ft long and decided to go deep into the forest clearing them. We had a couple of machetes to hack the branches, long-handled Kethi to get at the base of the plant from a safe distance and spikes to remove the roots. We then used the rakes to collect and put the branches away. Everyone got their own job and we were asked by the ranger Harsha to pile them up on the right flank of the trail to for them to wither so that their workers can easily remove them. There are no leaves in Ulex but thorns. It's full of green thorns and there's a beautiful yellow flower. A plant can grow as tall as 6-8 feet and is a thick gorse bush with a diameter as large as 12ft in some cases. There's no room for any other plant especially the grass which is favored by the Sambar.
You'll surprise at the number of invasive plants in HP. Did you know that beautiful red flowers known as "Ashoka" plants are an invasive species? We didn't and there are other plants such as "Maha Bovitiya" with a gorgeous purple flower and "Butter Cup" with that tiny yellow flower. Even the tiny plant with a beautiful white flower known as "Sudu Binara" is also an invasive plant. I took a picture of it during my last hike to KGP last April. It's not all and there's another fern like plant known as "Werella" which is the second largest invasive species found at HP after Ulex. Even the thick bushy grass found on the open plains is an invasive species and it grows so fast over the tiny green grass eaten by the Sambar reducing their grazing lands.
"Oh my gosh, then what's left of HP if we discount these invasive plants?" is sure to be your question and it was mine too. There had been no or very little conservation efforts at our national parks allowing them to be grabbed by these invasive plants and the situation has become critical and done an irreparable damage already. So we need to act and act fast before they are fully covered with these useless invasive plants killing all the endemic plants and wildlife. Not only that, we'll soon run out of the water sources at this rate as many of these invasive plants use a large volume of water. HP is one if not the largest of the catchment area of Sri Lanka that feed many rivers constantly throughout the year. We need to protect it like our eyes and lives.
Ok, now my team is busily hacking at the Ulex with the help of Harsha, one of the rangers and two workers Kannan and Naga. Even Sameera came in and helped clear some of the bushes despite his busy schedule at the office. He said that there are over 600 vehicles coming to HP at busy days and one day they'd recorded more than 700. That's a lot of them and I wonder if the HP can withstand that much abuse from them. Tony teamed up with Atha and Kannan and got things going while Sheham, Harsha and Saching started in the middle while Prasa, Pritz and Naga started proceedings from the end. Ana, D and I kept helping clear the cut and uprooted plants and pile them on the right flank. Ok here are some pictures for you.
After about an hour and a half, we stopped for a tea break. None of us had used a gardening tool in the recent past so it was like an alien experience for us. Fortunately the gloves kept us from getting boils in our palms. Nevertheless the Ulex thorns managed to penetrate our clothing and gloves and prick us every now and then making us wince with pain. Our fingers and hands are better at tapping away at computers rather than hacking away at rugged plants such as Ulex. We soon got the hang of the techniques employed by Naga and Kannan and cleared quite a large area. You need to have long handled Kethi and attacked at the base of the trunk from a safe distance and cut it and fell the tree. Then comes the clearing crew and take the tree from the trunk or use a rake to drag it way. Sometimes you have to cut the branches first before getting at the base.
Then we used spikes to get at the roots. Ulex has a very complex set of roots spreading all over and it took a tedious effort to get them off the earth further reducing its regrowth capabilities. After a short tea break and a bit of chit chat we got back on the job. The sun made it real tough for us and we had to take constant breaks. Naga and Kannan were unfazed by the unforgiving conditions and kept on going. Here are some more pictures.
Can you see the edge is free of Ulex now?
After about another one and half hour we stopped work for the day. We had gone about 15ft into the forest and had cleared a considerably larger area. We realized the difference of the look comparing before and after the clearing. Feeling happy we stocked our equipment in the storage and bid farewell to our friends and Sameera promising to get back on the following day at 7am. The circular trail was full of people and the car park was extended along the roads of Pattipola and Ohiya with a long line parked either side. We had a tough time getting out of the parking lot and managed to get on the road. Unlike Pattipola road, Ohiya was very calm and had very few vehicles. Pattipola looked busier than the 4-lane Galle Road. This was heading for a major issue that I can tell you for free.
What a difference from the morning?
We arrived at the familiar Ginihiriya Bungalow and found Abeysinghe busily clearing the bungalow. We settled in and had hot water baths thanks to the solar powered units. After a snack lunch of breakfast leftovers, we took a small nap. Our bodies were used to trekking but not for gardening work so they ached all over. Later Park Warden and Sameera visited us to inquire about the day's events. We then explained them of our plans and they seemed pleased enough. Initially the park warden seemed quite wary of us being able to do any work at all as our group consisted of many rotund bodies that didn't quite convince of being able to walk half a km let alone cut down Ulex. Now after talking with Sameera he had apparently a different view and was friendlier than before. He then left saying he was going for vacation leaving Sameera in charge and we promised to resume our work the following morning.
In the afternoon, after a hot cup of tea we took a short walk along the road. We couldn't do much as the clouds gathered and we heard distant thunder making us swiftly turn around and head back to the bungalow. There was a new visitor at the bungalow, a little monkey on the roof looking curiously at us. There was a family of mongoose and a jungle fowl towards the back of the bungalow as well. However those black monkeys we saw last time were not there. Maha Bovitiya was as usual full of gorgeous purple flowers and we didn't even feel this was an invasive plant.
Can you see the KGB in the distance?
We passed time playing cards and having a chit-chat until the dinner was served at 7pm. Gosh, it was one of the best meals I'd ever had and we ate like refugees from South Sudan. Abeysinghe can cook like a dream and when it coupled with the cold climate at HP, you can kill rice as the old folk saying goes. The moon looked exactly described in fairy tales like a golden plate full of glowing gold ore. The shape of the rabbit was prominent and we saw the moon rising up through the branches of trees. We wanted to stay up and enjoy the beauty but the temperature dropped to 12 Celsius warning if we stayed out any longer, it's gonna be a painful experience. So we got back indoors and were under covers by 8.30pm.
I slept like a log until a distant roar woke me up around 1.30am and was wondering if the leopard had taken another prey. HP officials said that the previous night a leopard had killed a wild boar and tried to take it up a tree while they watched behind the Farr Inn. About two days ago Harsha had seen a leopard with two cubs strolling away in front of their quarters near the dormitory while he was polishing his shoes around 6.30am. The stretch between the Pattipola ticket counter and Maha Eliya bungalow is famous for leopard sightings. "You won't get to see any of them in the dark" I muttered to my curious self and went back to sleep until as usual Ana and others' shuffling around woke me around 5am.
I went out to see the moon in its final descent following the trajectory of the sun. He looked bigger than ever probably due to us being closer to him than those who at mean sea level. I managed to take a couple of pictures before we all washed and sat down for another hearty meal. I was surprised to have found room after the heavy dinner. We then all packed into Ana's SUV leaving the car to take a break and headed for HP to commence our second day's work.
We arrived back at HP to find already a lot of vehicles parked. Sameera was already at office so we got the storeroom opened and collected our equipment and went towards our clearing area while we waited for two helpers from yesterday Naga and Kannan to come.
We started our work and now that we've got the hang of it, we made good progress clearing deeper into the forest patch. The area slowly became clear of the thorny Ulex leaving only the occasional Ashoka plants among the grassy undergrowth. It'd gone 8.30am when Kannan and Naga appeared by then we had made good progress and deep inroads.
Ok, I'll let you see the pictures of how we got on about the job than reading through it. Here they are till we finished the work for the day around half past 12 noon. When we checked at the end we had cleared a strip of about 60-70ft by 40-50ft so roughly around 3000 square feet. Compared to the whole of the area covered with Ulex, this is nothing but hopefully after reading my account, there'll be more nature lovers coming into join the attack against Ulex. Come take this baton from where we ended and take it all the way to the finishing line.
Can you see the area clear of Ulex now?
It was a far busier day at HP than yesterday. The vehicle line stretched as far as the Pattipola entrance and people got stuck in the middle of the road with no means of going here or there. I guess there has to be a proper planning of the vehicles and more space for parking especially at busy periods like these. Getting tickets from Pattipola counter is worse than a nightmare as only one counter was working and people parked their vehicles wherever they wanted blocking all the others adding more to the chaos. There were so many 2-doors Leyland buses too and I wonder how on earth they maneuvered around the narrow road with sharp bends. Heavily understaffed HP could do very little but ride with the flow.
We got back to the bungalow and devoured our lunch and instead of taking a nap decided to take a walk towards the Ohiya entrance. Ohiya was very calm and nice compared to the maddening Pattipola entrance. We found a green lizard (in fact a Black-Lipped Lizzard aka Calotes Nigrilabris, a species endemic to Sri Lanka) overrun by one of the speeding vehicles closer to Ohiya entrance and she had three of her eggs popped out of her belly and broken. It was a very sad seen but there was very little we could do about her. Afterwards we walked back to the bungalow and as usual passed time till dinner.
The following day morning Ana and his team would leave for Colombo while Atha, Prasa, Sachin and I did the circular trail. Oh I forgot to tell you before that Sachin hadn't been to HP before so we decided to reward him with the circular trail and I too hadn't done it for a long time. So it'll be tomorrow morning and we're gonna sleep now. Good night!
We got up as usual in the morning and got ready to leave. The jungle fowl that roams the ground came to see us off and bid a warm farewell but asked for us to visit again. The long lost black monkeys appeared after they heard we were at Ginihiriya so came in a big group to say hello. They were very sad to see us go on the same day though. After a hearty breakfast we bid farewell to Abeysinghe and left. In the meantime we said goodbye to Ana and the crew as well coz we'd be waiting a little longer than them at this wonderful place. So they left us and we drove slowly towards the Farr Inn but not before you see these pictures.
We were treated with beautiful clear views and found a group of Sambar (many females and one male) grazing lazily at the dew-covered young blades of grass. We enjoyed their company a lot and spent about 15 minutes watching them. Here you too take a piece of our encounter.
We started our trail and walked through the rigorous checking procedure which is really good. We walked happily but already a lot of people had entered the park but alas no Sri Lankans apart from us. That was something unique about us I guess. We entered the Red Bridge area and found Ulex has invaded this area as well and spreading menacingly. It proved what we achieved is just a mere triumph compared to the extent of its invasion. A lot of work still to be done and hopefully HP will get more support in the future.
We arrived at the trail separation point and headed straight downhill towards the Baker's Falls or Gonagala Ella in Sinhala. I'd rather call it Gonagala Ella than a killer's name but as it's the most commonly known name, I'll just let it go. After descending along the paved path, we reached another significant place known as Chimney Pond. There's a campsite also next to it with a built in toilet. There was a group of campers already up and waiting for the sun to appear to get out of their comfy and warm tents. There was a thin layer of mist hung in the air and the sky looked laden with heavy clouds threatening to come crashing down. We had no protection if it rained but it held and soon the clear blue skies appeared ahead with sun coming up beating the clouds to a thin pulp. Some pictures anyone?
Afterwards, it was a straight run toward the forest patch where Gonagala Ella stays hidden. The water stream that feeds the Belihul Oya ran parallel to the path on our right. There were quite a number of foreigners either coming from Gonagala Ella having done the circular trail from the other side or some went past us at a faster pace. We just took it nice and slow savoring the beauty unraveling before us. The greenery took many shades and met with the tree line before giving way to the sky full of white clouds. Morning air chilled our bare skin but it brought a nice aroma of the grasslands.
Finally we arrived at the Gonagala Ella and went down the concreted path towards the falls. The path now is fully built of concrete steps in order to avoid it being washed down in the rains. There was a good amount of water but I've seen her rich and more beautiful. However being satisfied with what we saw, we got down to the base of her where all of the falls could be seen. Thanks to the steps taken by the HP officials we saw very little garbage strewn about so hats off to their tough but necessary steps to protect this place. Still some ignorant travellers had been careless to leave some garbage and plastic bottles behind.
I can remember it used to be that they'd allow a water bottle to be taken into the park but would put a note against the guests name so that when they return they have to show it to the officers at the gate otherwise there was a fine to be paid. It looks as if this was no longer in place probably due to the large volume of travellers. There were garbage pits full of plastic bottles which meant this was no longer the case. I hope they'd reintroduce it to avoid people being careless. Just before getting out of the forest patch we saw a wood pigeon but couldn't get a better view.
The clear blue skies offered grandeur views than I've ever seen before. It felt like a lifetime since I've been on this trail but I could remember every spot as they're etched in my brain. We kept walking passing many tourists on our way. The open terrain with its uneven shapes full of many different shades of green and yellow looked splendid. The dew on the blades of grass glittered like silver against the rays.
The path looked well-used and at places had eroded due to the water flowing along it creating deep craters. For the first time we saw a dog about 1km before the HP walking along the grass banks sniffing at this and that. Oh my gosh, what this is all coming to? First crows and now a dog at HP? How on earth it came all this way was a mystery to us all. Had it walked along the Non Pareil Trail from Nagrak or taken another path was a puzzle? We just carried on and reached the mighty drop of World's End and all the fairy tales like stories came flooding back to me which I'd heard when I was a kid. Some of those stories said that one could see the Balangoda town from World's End but now I've been to it and Nagrak division; find them to be just fairy tales nothing else.
We arrived at the beautifully cleared location and could see as far as the eye could see. Somewhat dried up Samanalawewa Reservoir looked just like some endemic species of a butterfly and the water looked emerald green. Gon Molliya Range in front looked dark green and we could see the Non Pareil Estate below very clear. The estate road winding up towards Nagrak Bungalow looked like a long recoiling snake.
There was a group of Chinese tourists posing quite dangerously closer to the edge and I remembered the Dutch bloke who fell last February but miraculously survived until he was rescued by a group of Sinha Regiment soldiers on a training. I've been to HP now 21 times and must've been to the World's End at least two third of the times but this was by far the best clear view. It was a treat to the eye and we enjoyed it to the fullest. Ok while you enjoy these beautiful pictures, we're gonna start walking towards the Mini World's End.
We started walking and met the first batch of local tourists coming towards the World's End. So they're up and kicking at last. The path was sheltered somewhat from the trees and we saw the old man's beard clinging onto the branches lovingly. It's about 1.75km between the two drops and we reached there in about an hour. The view was still breath-taking and we saw the drop beyond the Gon Molliya towards Wangedigala too. So now that we've been either side of the Gon Molliya Range at Bambarakanda and Nagrak, the only place to go is the Gon Molliya itself.
We saw the old path that ran over the edge between the two drops now blocked and it's been blocked for the past 10 years or so when a foreigner (if I'm not mistaken) fell through the bamboo cover into the gorge. Since then this was covered and it is a real pity as this was probably the most scenic trails in the whole world and on a clear day like this it'd have been spectacular. The first time I came to HP in 2000, we took the left hand trail at the fork and reached the Mini World's End. Not knowing that this was the Mini World's End (there were no sign boards then) we turned back (again not knowing this was a circular trail) and returned to the Farr Inn boasting to my school friends that we went to the World's End. However in 2001, we returned to find that we were badly misled and even took the overhead path along the edge and that was an experience I've in my mind forever. I was lucky to use that trail for 2 times and wish we could do it more.
Feeling mesmerized by the sheer beauty, we walked on and after about another hour reached the Farr Inn. Seeing the Ulex on the side of the trail made me wanna stay long and cut them down but I had to be realistic. So we returned and went to speak to Sameera. Both he and Harsha came to bid us farewell and we promised to look him up if we came again.
We got back on the road and drove towards Pattipola where we ate delicious Roti with Lunu Miris and Wadei. We felt stupid not to have packed some of the breakfast but it was too late by then. Finally having driven through many towns, we reached Colombo around 8pm about 5 hours after our friends. Well it took us about 5 hours to do the circular trail.
So folks you'd surely wanna see some of the Panos, wouldn't you? I'm not gonna disappoint you. Here they are.
Well that's about it from me and this was the first conservation effort we carried out as a group. Of course we did one before at the last Lakdasun gathering at Muthurajawela last March. Hope you guys enjoyed our project and this will inspire you to do more in the future for the benefit of our forests and national parks.
This is Sri saying goodbye and request you to join in the conservation efforts as often as possible. Remember don't wait for that ideal moment when you get all your friends to join you or wait for the perfect weather or other things. Just get together whoever wants to join and do whatever you can no matter how little it really is. This world needs doers not armchair critics who try to turn things around in their headaches. Contribute to this environment not only with your theories but also with actions that will go a long way.