August 3-7, 2014

By Lalin Jirasinghe & Howard Martenstyn

Colombo

KKS

Record

1 5

Colombo to Kankesanthurai

FromThoppigala to

Colombo

03rd 07thColombo to KKS via Old Mannar

Road & Pooneryn

Thoppigala to Colombo via Mahiyangana, Kandy, Kurunegala & Negombo

430 329

Colombo

KKS

Day 1Colombo to KKS 430 km, 11 hrs

Departed Colombo at 5AM. Breakfast at Siebel’s, Palavi. Continued north along west coast passing Wilpattu NP, Mannar and then crossed onto Jaffna peninsular via Pooneryn. Lunch in Jaffna. 4PM Checked into Thal Sevana – luxury roomActivity: Sea swim.

Pooneryn

Mannar

Puttalam

Jaffna

Doric House

House of the first British Governor of Ceylon, Hon. Frederic North. Designed by Doric and built in 1804 to oversee the pearl fishery off Kondachchi Bay. The mansion had 4 small bedrooms on the ground floor with a flight of stairs at the centre & had one large dining hall with the governor’s bedroom on the first floor.

Arippu Fort

A small bastion fort built by the Portuguese and taken over by the Dutch in 1658. Robert Knox, an English captain that landed in Trincomalee in 1659 was taken captive by King Rajasinghe. He and his mate Stephen Rutland who were held in this fort escaped in 1679. Knox was eventually transported to Jakarta by the Dutch.Later, Governor Frederic North converted the fort into a bungalow for the officers supervising the pearl fishery nearby. The bungalow later became a rest house.

Mannar Fort

Built in 1560 on the island of Mannar by the Portuguese who surrendered to the Dutch on 22 February 1658. It was rebuilt by the Dutch in 1696. On 5 October 1795 the Dutch surrendered to the British.

The Fort has four bastions and it’s still in good condition although the building inside the fort have not been properly maintained. Currently the Sri Lankan Police occupy this fort.

Sangupiddy Bridge, Pooneryn

Sangupiddy Bridge (Changkupiddy Bridge) across Jaffna lagoon is located just north of Pooneryn.It is one of two road bridges that connects the Jaffna Peninsula with the mainland.

Thal Sevana

Luxury Room overlooking ocean

Thal Sevana Beachfront, KKS

SwimmingArea

KKS Lighthouse

Andakulumforest

Kokkuthuduwal

Nayarulagoon

KKS PPD

Manalkadu

Chundikulum

Nagarkovil

Mullaitivu

Chalei

Vellamullivaikkal

KKS – PPD to Kokkuthuduwal162 km, 8 hrs

Passed thru security zone to PPD starting point, then travelled along sandy beach & dunes to Nagarkovil. The trail continued along gravel roads, lagoon crossing, mudflats and jungle trails. Campsite on beachfront at Kokkuthuduwal camp. 25% of the route requires 4WD.Activity: Sea swim at Nayaru estuary.

…. KKS to PPD security zone

Point Pedro

PPD is the northern most point of Sri Lanka. Access to the area normalized after 2009. The 32m high lighthouse was built in 1916 & is now a naval base.

Gathering at PPD Starting Pt.

Manalkadu Dunes

A mini version of a desert beach with sparsely populated villagers along the coastline. Casuarinas trees help stabilize the dunes.

Nagarkovil

VellamullivaikkalLunch stop

Kokkuthuduwal

Kokkuthuduwal

Dehiwatte

Trincomalee

Kokkilai lagoon

Thiriyai

Kuchcheveli

Periyaulam

Kokkuthuduwalto Dehiwatte

146 km, 7½ hrs

Travelled along gravel roads, lagoon crossing, abandoned paddy fields, Pulmudai beach and a 7km beach run south of Yan Oya. Trails traversed jungle, fishing villagers, mangroves, & estuaries.Dehiwatte campsite located on bank of Mahaweli River by Somawathie Sanctuary. 25% of the route requires 4WD.Activity: Snorkelling and lunch at Fort Fredrick, Trincomalee.

Somawathie

Pulmudai

Nilaveli

TambalagamBay Koddiyar

Bay

Flag-Off: Stage 2

Lagoon crossing

Tambalagam Bay

Dehiwatte

Mahaweli ganga

DehiwatteDehiwatte to

Thoppigala94 km, 5½ hrs

Thoppigala

Welikanda

Verugal AruTravelled along tarred and gravel roads with a long stretch of gravel towards Welikanda & then onto Mavil Aru (Mother River) anikut. The closing of Mavil Aru sluice gates on 26th July 2006 was a turning point in the eastern military campaign. From here onwards the route traversed through jungles and mudflats to Thoppigala.5% of the route requires 4WD.Activity: Climbed Thoppigala for sunset.

TrikonamaduNatureReserve

Somapura

Passekuda

VadamunaiTank

SomawathieChaitiya

Sanctuary

Mavil Aru

Mavil Aru

Road blasted by LTTE during the battle to prevent troops from advancing towards Thoppigala

Mavil Aru to Toppigala jungle trail

Air Force Navy Army Police

‘Commemorative Monument’ 18th April 2013

Thoppigala

You are here

Thoppigala peak, aka Baron’s Cap is a large rock, 534m above sea level surrounded by jungle and rocky terrain. It was a centralized point of some of the fiercest battles with LTTE.

Thoppigala

Colombo

Kurunegala

Negombo

Kandy Mahiyangana

Maduru Oya

Day 5Thoppigala to Colombo

329 km, 10 hrs

Howard’s Cap

A.k.a. Baron’s Cap, Thoppigala, & Kudumbiimalai

Award Ceremony

En-route to Colombo …

Presəpicə

Mahiyangoda to Kandy Road