by: Dimantha Thenuwara
Today we are stepping into a high-sensitive rainforest which is a world heritage. The danger is from the wild animals living in the deep trenches hidden by the dry tree branches. The first step to the forest was taken only with faith in the abilities and the members of the group, so this is what is called an extreme adventure. Therefore, after entering the forest, oneself is responsible for every step they take, alert of danger. If something happens, they have no choice but to depend on themselves. Reaching a rescue team in case of an emergency is possible only in rare locations where mobile signals are available.
I was contemplating these factors on this beautiful bright day at the face of our chosen entrance to Sinharaja. This sent a subtle chill of fear along my spine as well as spike of adrenaline down my throat making my heartbeat faster with excitement. Isn’t this the adventure worth living for?
I looked at Captain Randy’s solemn face only to see the same shadow of excitement I felt, this was the first time we met after our phone conversations. Captain Randy was one of the most prestigious senior commando officers of the Sri Lanka Army. In my mind, I was thanking my good fate and the good old friend who had introduced me to him several weeks ago. Captain Randy not only gave his inspirational guidance and insight to my journey, but also introduced me two other important people without whom my journey would not have been this much successful. Namely, these two people were the retired Commando Officer, Major (R) Siranjeewa and retired Commando Member A. Arampaththa. For a long time, I have been amazed by how little the world knew about the beauty, mystery, and adventure that the Sinharaja Forest holds and was determined to showcase at least what is humanly possible to show through such a journey.
This journey I planned requires a high level of endurance, jungle survival skills and map-reading skills.
Major (R) Siranjeewa is at his 55 but still maintains his physical and mental strength as he was serving the country in deep jungle warfare. He was a member of the Long-Range Patrol and a highly skilled para trooper who performed 14,000 feet jumps. One of his major achievements was the jump he performed with Teesha, the war dog flew 4000 feet through the air in the arms of master-parachutist Major (R) Siranjeewa, earning the Commando officer an Asian record for his jump. A. Arampaththa was also a retired Commando member who was actively engaged in North-East Long-Range Patrol missions and then served as a trainer in the Commando training school where elites are born at the point of his retirement.
When I heard that Major Siranjeewa was writing a narrative of this journey from his perspective, and he is portraying me as the protagonist to this story I was so honoured. I always had a deep-seated dependability in my character owing to the fact that I was extremely pampered and did not undergo any hardships in my early childhood (many fond memories of my parents fill my heart now, especially of my father). It was on one judgement day of my life that I was forced to strip out of my character and summon all the courage I may have had hidden in my character. On 26th of December, we were on a trip to Paraliya, a city in the southern coast of Sri Lanka) when the fatal Tsunami hit the train by which we were taking. On this fatal day, I lost my father who always stood with me giving me strength. I do not know how I pulled my mother out saving her life, but a part of my heart died that day along with my father. Though I was alright physically, miraculously somehow, when others suffered fatal injuries. Mentally, I was out of my senses for two weeks. When I woke up, I had become a different person. Maybe this fatal day has shaped me into the person already to take on such strenuous journeys. As Major (R) Siranjeewa mentioned in one of his articles, it is true that my ultimate objective is to summit the savage mountain, the K2 in Pakistan which is an extremely deadly trek which recorded more than 20% of mortality rate among climbers.
I decided to leave the commercial city of Sri Lanka and reach the far rural village of Lankagama to explore the mysteries of the largest tropical rainforest of the country. We managed to reach Lankagama on Thursday, 15th December 2022 at 2.59 AM and I must say the village family who welcomed us was exceptionally kind and generous. They were not hesitant for a second to offer us all the basic facilities. Especially, they were so hospitable that they offered us a hot ginger tea at 3.10 AM in the morning. We knew that it was going to be a long day as we have done our homework before the expedition based on the available terrain maps. After two hours of sleep, we stated to lay down all our gear and started to prepare our packs just as we planned and at 6.05 AM our breakfast was ready.
It was Thursday, 15th December 2022 at 6.22 AM. We took our first step of the expedition, and I felt very confident and energetic, I was sure that we all felt the same and saw the same from my team including my colleague from the Village who has a very positive attitude.
As of the plan, our first way point was the Lion Rock and so far, we saw no challenges to reach the point as we had planned. We were on the Lion Rock at about 9.10 AM with a 10 minute delay compared to our initial plan but it was an error we could correct Because we took only 20 minute break as opposed to the 30 minute break we had planned.
During this expedition, Lankagama is a village that draws my attention due to one of the folklores I heard at the top of Lion Rock situated approximately to middle of the jungle. It is the story of a Lion and his Kingdom; it is the legacy of the last lion who lived in the soils of Sri Lanka.
The devoted villagers used to cross the deep jungle to pilgrim the sacred mountain, Sri Pada, but it was extremely challenging due to the threat of being attacked by the Lion who lived in Sinharaja (Sinha: Lion, Raja: King; implies Kingdom of Lion or Lion King) rainforest and marked his territory. The ruler of the area announced the news that they were looking for a volunteer to kill the lion for the safety of the devotees. Hearing this, a strong man called Lankanatha volunteered and accepted the task. He is referred to as a giant due to his physical build and strength. The giant, Lankanatha collected stones in his loin cloth and killed the Lion. The area from which he collected stones still remains covered in the deep dark jungle covering its own mysteries. Eventually, as a recognition to his service, the village is named as Lankagama and still the villagers believe that they are the successors of giant Lankanatha.
It was the time to the next phase of the plan which was to reach the second way point that was not been explored by many. I would prefer to keep the location unnamed to protect its own heritage and gifts of nature, but it was one of the peaks of Sinharaja forest reserve. However, on our way down, we had to cross a deep jungle and rocky terrain which gave us a different dreadful feeling but none of us were able to explain what it was or why we felt it. I was curious and questioned this from a monk I met after the journey who was living in the Sir Pada Adawiya for many years, and now living in a bordering village. I was told that some terrains are under the Devil's claw and the monk was not interested to talk on the same subject any longer. This was a terrain that no human has travelled in the recent past, at least for a decade or two. The terrain was extremely dark, misty, and indescribable. However, I would like not to write a lot about the experience, but we had to station for 10 minutes in the same terrain due to heavy rain falls. Further, it is very important that please do not try this on your own unless you and your team are specially trained as these terrains are not touched by a human footprint and it is the dense deep dark jungle with a lot of hazards which can cause you serious injuries.
It was 3.45 PM when we decided move on even under the heavy rain fall but we had to change the route towards another bordering village where villagers have a very simple and peaceful lifestyle. As we started to move towards the village at 3:55 PM, our main challenge was to find the route as soon as possible. I must mention, thanks to training my team had, we were able to find the route approximately at 4.30 PM and continued to walk towards the next way point. We were purely dependent on point-to-point navigation which was extremely challenging in such a terrain which was covered with dense upper canopy (Overstory). However, we reached an extremely muddy terrain, and it was extremely hard to walk as every step sunk right below the knee. However, we managed to pass the terrain and reached a terrain which was covered in thick floor layer and scrub around 7.30 PM and it was deep dark, this was the border of the Sinharaja Tropical Rain Forest bordering to a village.
Co-existence Between Humans and Nature from Generation to Generation The bordering villagers are connected and continue to co-exist with the Sinharaja rainforest from ancient ages. One of the unforgettable experiences was that a curry cooked out of fallen nuts called Beraliya (Shorea megistophylla); these nuts are collected during the season and dried in sunlight and mild breeze which is later used as the main substance to make a mouth-watering curry. Further, the villagers make Kithul Toddy and Hakuru which are two of the main sources of income of rural villages, they own Kithul trees from generation to generations as a tradition but there were no borders or fences like in our urban culture. No other villager is harvests from a tree that does not belong to them even if it is not harvested by the owning family. They live an exceptionally relaxed life yet hard as they must travel miles to reach a Primary Hospital even in case of an emergency. Nevertheless, these villagers are warm and welcoming towards us from the bottom of their heart.
I witnessed the story and explored the deep jungle around which all these interesting folklores have been woven around. Further, it is a jungle that hides mysteries of nature and I witnessed it, some areas are extremely dreadful, indescribable, extremely rocky and challenging. There are more than ten water ways to cross, and you must be ready to cross water streams and walk through rocky, dreadful, muddy terrains with wet boots. It is a journey for highly experienced extreme adventurers, and I do not recommend this to any beginner level adventures or regular travelers due its unpredictable nature.
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