White Waters, here we come again...

Some last minute tips by Channa Kasun briefing us about the rocky ride ahead... White waters... here we come again... Refreshingly cold white water of the Kelani River Conquring the White Waters... facing the challenges with a smile... theres nothing to hold on to... almost through... OK it's done, where's the next? Hey theres the camera.. say cheese..

Well, when Rasika & Susantha said they want to have a very exciting time when they came home for this holiday , I couldn’t think of any thing else other than White Water Rafting. So here we go again… back to Kithulgala for White Water Rafting in the Kelani river. Also my cousine sister & her husband joined us. Kitulgala is situated about 80km from Colombo on the A7 road to Nuwara Eliya via Avissawell . We stayed at the Kithulgala Rest House as we did the last time. But we arranged the White Water Rafting with Rafters Retreat in advance. Rafters Retreat is situated just next to Kithulgala Rest House. It is a magnificent old mansion. Channa reviewed us on the finer details of the rocky ride. Then with Kasun we went to Yatiberiya, where the raft was launched, and again another 2hrs of adventure we got. There are 7 rapids ranging from grade 2 to 3 to be conquered & ideally suited for beginners as well. My wife did not join in the ride. But she was more than happy to capture the moments, which we felt really a necessity during the first time we did White Water Rafting. Channa was more than happy to help us in this deed. After dropping the raft & us at the place where we launched the raft, my wife was able to take pictures of our joyous ride from two places where the rapids could be seen from the banks.

Also see White Waters at Kitulgala

White Waters at Kitulgala

It was another offweekend for us. As we figured out that me & my wife would not have another long weekend off for a while, we thought of going to Kithulgala for a change We just managed to book a room at Kitulgala Rest House, jam packed with honeymooners after the auspicious days full of weddings.When Thushara (Sister-in-law) got to know this she suggested "a trip to Kitulgala is nothing without White Water Rafting" - thanks sis
^ Raft for the bumpy ride	When we arrived @ Kithulgala Rest House, we had not made our minds yet to go on White Water Rafting. But after a chat with hotel manager, we thought of giving it a try in the Kelaniya River & our Hotel Manger was good enough to arrange it for us.
^ Final Check by Shiran & Wanasingha. Roshan in the distance	We were to do White Water Rafting with guys from Ceylon Adventure Sports (Pvt) Ltd. Mr.Wanasingha came over to the Rest house to pick us up. We went to their office at Batakitta.
^ Final check on the raft!!	Then along with the air filled rafts we went to the place where White Water Rafting starts, Yatiberiya. Still we were in two minds when we reached the waters edge. But now it was too late for us to turn about. Both of us couldn’t swim. But with life jackets worn, we were confident.
^ Shiran instructing us...	Shiran gave us the instructions on how to row, as only two of them came with us – Shiran & Roshan – we need to row as well. I was really worried that I had to give up my camera as it was not water proof.
^ "Right Forward...." commands Roshan	From here on… it was Wanasingha who was behind the lens. The rivers are graded according to rapids from grade 2 to 6. The Kelani River in which we are rafting was graded 2 – 3, ideal for beginners like us & has 7 rapids.

It didn’t take long for the water to run over our heads. I never imagined earlier that boats could travel under water as well J . But I missed a lot of snaps, as I couldn’t take my camera along.It was an unforgettable experience….

Other places for White Water Rafting in Sri Lanka are,

• Sitawaka river off Avissawella – Grade 3 to 4
• Kotmale river – near Hatton - Nuwara Eliya road – Grade 4 to 5
• Mahaweli River – from Ulapane and heads down to Gampola – Grade 2 to 5

Here are few links if you are interseted to do White Water Rafting in Sri Lanka, I found during my surfing...

• Travel Sri Lanka
• Boutique Sri Lanka
• Jetwing Eco holidays
• Rafters Retreat