This morning we were on the Badulla Road. Yet, it wasn’t long before we stopped at Hakgala Botanical Gardens. A huge bus-full of young monks were almost ready to depart. They’d obviously started on their journey, earlier than we did. Although probably not the most prolific time of the year, there were enough blossoms in the garden to keep everyone happy. The roots of huge trees from California and Japan must have been planted a very long time ago. In addition, lots of small flowers were budding and there was an exceptionally large rose garden. As we walked about, I couldn’t help but think of the numerous old movie songs that must’ve been filmed here.
This reason for our current trip is mostly for the thrill of the scenery. It is surely in abundance! We’d left jungle but now were in areas of difficult yet determined farming. All types of vegetables can be grown in the cold air here. We passed terraced fields of carrots, potatoes, leeks, lettuce, cabbage, beans, and beets. Jay and I both love taking road trips. The major goal is not the destination but in the getting there. Not all people share our love of the highway.
In today’s case the first major, urban center along the path was Badulla. We stopped at a famous temple in the city. It is relatively well-known here because the Buddha, on the way to Kalenyia, stopped here and meditated.
Later in the afternoon, we took a hike to Dunhinda Falls. The path was relatively flat during the first half but we started climbing down during the rest of the hour. The falls were impressive although the water wasn’t at its highest volume at this time of the year. The hike back was a lot harder.
Next, on the way to our eventual place for the night, we decided to take a five kilometre side-trip to Ella Falls. The town of Ella is Sri Lanka’s highest. It is 1041 metres above mean sea level. The falls required a few kilometres of travel on a very dangerous road. I peeked from the van’s window and, on occasion, looked down at nothing but air for thousands of feet.
It was getting dark by the time we found a rest house on the way out of Bandarawella.