More paintings by Nihal D Amarasekera

More paintings by Nihal D Amarasekera

The Kingdom of Yapahuwa

Yapahuwa was the capital of our country in the mid part of the 13^th century, ruled by King Buvanekabahu I. Yapahuwa then was his palace and fortress. He kept the Sacred Tooth Relic in Yapahuwa. Before all that, it was a Buddhist monastery. The Yapahuwa Rajamaha Vihara was built later during the Kandyan period.

During my internship in Kurunegala, I made many trips to Yapahuwa and enjoyed the lovely views from the top of the rock. Peace, calm and serenity of the surrounding wilderness attracts many tourists and pilgrims. The sculptures at Yapahuwa of people and lions are so beautifully done. Writing this short note brings back many happy memories of times past.

Cape Horn, steep rocky headland on Hornos Island, Tierra del Fuego Archipelago, southern Chile. Cape Horn indeed is a place of outstanding natural beauty. Its charm and allure hides the dangers of the waters surrounding the rocks and islands of the area. 

The closest I have been to was on a trip to Chile when we visited Torres Del Pine and Punta Arenas to see the icebergs. Cape Horn is the southern most point in South America. Over the centuries, sailors have known of the treacherous waters, strong winds and icebergs around Cape Horn, calling it the sailor’s graveyard.  Thankfully, after the completion of the Panama Canal in 1914 ships could avoid the treacherous waters and the inherent dangers of Cape Horn.

Cape of Good Hope is considered as the southern most point of South Africa. Hence It enjoys the benefits of tourism, but in reality it is Cape Agulhas the southern most point where the currents of the Atlantic and Indian oceans meet. 

I visited Cape of Good Hope many years ago on a trip to Cape Town. The area is inhabited by gangs of baboons that are a menace to the tourists stealing bags and entering cars in the park.

The waters around the Cape are well known to sailors as being treacherous and a serious danger to ships. After the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 ships avoided the long journey around the Cape and its dangers.

Horton Plains is a grassland and forest not far from Nuwara Eliya, now made into a National Park. The area is named after  Sir Robert Wilmot-Horton, the British governor of Ceylon from 1831 to 1837. 

There is a famous tourist trail which takes one to “Worlds End”, a sheer drop with outstanding views once the mist has cleared. The journey takes one to the Baker’s Falls, a stunning view of cascading water. Horton plains is a place of outstanding natural beauty never to be missed on a journey to the Central Hills of Sri Lanka.

Dunhinda falls is one of the most enchanting falls in the central hills of Sri Lanka. It is 5 km from Badulla and is 64 metres high. This cascading water is from a river called the Badulu oya that originates from the Namunukula range. 

The falls lie in an area inhabited by the indigenous people of our country, the Veddahs.  During the reign of King Rajasinghe a cluster of ferns blocked the water at the top of the falls which resulted in catastrophic flooding of Badulla. The king delegated a man called Ranhavadidaraya to clear the obstruction. He took 3 months to complete this task which resulted in the same cluster of ferns blocking the river further downstream in Pussellawa.

Locals believe that King Kumarasinghe’s treasure is buried in the pool at the bottom of the falls and every year the pool takes a human sacrifice.

Dunhinda is popular with tourists. The water at the bottom of the falls is very deep. Together with the dense spray, clouds of mist and strong currents the water is rather treacherous for swimming. Tourists are dissuaded from jumping in for a swim.

Scotland - Two paintings

Wales - Two paintings