One day hike to Bathalegala

Christmas’ are usually meant to be spent at home – mostly eating. But when Naz called me up on Christmas Eve and said that he was on leave on the next day and if there was some place to travel to – I could not pass up on the chance. That particular Christmas also fell on a Poya day – so basically the whole country was on holiday mode regardless of religion.

We looked at a few options, especially where we could drive to in the morning and get back by evening without much trouble. After giving consideration to Yapahuwa, Kalutara and a few places in Kurunegala we zeroed in on Bathalegala which is located near Mawanella off the Colombo – Kandy road.

The Drive

The drive to Bathalegala, also known as Bible Rock, owing to the open book-like shape of the rock itself, would take about 2 hrs. We wanted to complete the climb before the sun started beating down on us and decided to leave at about 5am so that we’d arrive there at least by 7am. The drive itself was very enjoyable owing to the lack of traffic on the roads and the fact that most of the byroads were newly laid and in excellent condition.

To get to Bathalegala you need to travel 90KMs along the Colombo – Kandy road and take the Mawanella-Aranayaka Road for another 13KMs where you come to the base of the hill that the rock is situated on. It’s a fairly easy drive and public transportation is also available upto this point. From the base of this hill you can hire a tuk tuk to the base of the rock or just walk. Since we had Zoe (our trusty car), we decided to drive as far as we could. A word of warning though – this bit of the road is quite narrow and only one vehicle can pass through at certain points. We encountered a tuk that was going down the hill and ended up almost getting pushed off the road and into the jungle. So be careful!

After the slightly exciting drive we came to a small grocery shop, in front of which the start of the short trail is located. We parked right next to the shop, bought a few biscuits from them and started off on the hike.

The Hike up Bathalegala

The hike itself takes maybe 20 – 30 mins. It’s not particularly difficult except for a short stretch where you have to climb over a rock. There are steps most of the way. When we reached the top we came across a tree, underneath which there were signs of a campsite – probably set up by the locals. We moved left from here towards the south side of the rock and were greeted to a picturesque view of the Gampola-Aranayake area. It’s a great location to capture some amazing photographs. Towards the north of the rock is a small temple which you can visit.

Asupini Ella

After spending about half an hour exploring the top of the rock and taking in the breathtaking views, we decided to go back down. Since we had a lot of time left we looked up other attractions in the area and came across a waterfall named “Asupini Ella” located about 15 KMs south of Bathalegala. We actually got a glimpse of it while on top of the rock as well.

Asupini Ella is accessible through two roads – the Horewala-Deiyanwala Road which allows you to drive right next to it, and another which winds its way up along the waterfall which can only be accessed through a 4×4, motorbike or on foot. This is the path we took as it goes across the Asupini Ella viewpoint.

After a nice dip in the pool of water we started our trek back down to the car. On the way we stopped to have lunch and then drove back home. All in all – a good day spent.