Fort Macdowall – outpost during Kandyan Wars – By Arundathie Abeysinghe Constructed by British Colonials in 1803 as a garrison during battles against Kandy and located en route to one of the most significant roads, Kandy to *Trincomalee, Fort Macdowall was an outpost during Kandyan Wars. Named after General Macdowall (Lieutenant General Hay MacDowall who led the missions against Kandy), 6th Commander of British Troops in *Ceylon, the Fort came under siege during the *Matale Rebellion as it is located in Matale. On 28 July 1848, during the Matale rebellion, Fort Macdowall came under siege by approximately 400 rebels led by Weera Puran Appu and Gongalegoda Banda (renowned as national heroes, at present). Rebels had set fire to a coffee storehouse in the vicinity and ransacked Matale *Kachcheri. Hence, on July 29, Lord Torrington, Governor of Ceylon has declared martial law to bring the situation under control and the British ...

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Rangala Natural Pool amidst spectacular landscape – By Arundathie Abeysinghe Situated in *Teldeniya in Kandy District, Rangala Natural Pool is situated amidst tea estates, fields, mountains and beautiful streams. It is an alluring natural pool. Rangala village is a spectacular hamlet and the pool can be easily accessed. Considered as one of the best natural pools in the *Knuckles area, some visitors have named the pool as a “theatrical pool” due to its shape. The river that flows through Rangala is the origin of this natural swimming pool. The deepest end of the pool is approximately nine meters (30 feet). Yet, there is one section of the pool which is over nine meters (30 feet) deep. It is not advisable to bathe in that area. There is a small bridge to indicate the location of the pool (over Kotaganga (“ganga” meaning river in Sinhala) that originates from Knuckles Mountain Range. ...

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Ulapane Upside Down Bridge with arch shaped structures – By Arundathie Abeysinghe Sri Lanka has an impressive array of bridges, some are well-known bridges utilized by people from the day of construction to date, whereas some are popular tourist attractions. Majority of the bridges were constructed during the British Colonial Era. *Nine Arch Bridge, *Demodara Bridge, *Kallady Bridge, *Mahakandarawa Stone Bridge, *Bogoda Wooden Bridge, *Adam’s Bridge and *Kunchikulam Suspension Bridge are some well-known bridges. Some of these bridges are situated off the beaten track and rarely visited by local as well as foreign tourists. During the British Colonial Era, the Colonials realized that the uplands of Sri Lanka were suitable for coffee, tea as well as rubber cultivations. Hence, they commenced a plantation economy in *Ceylon. By the mid-19th century, Ceylon Tea occupied a prominent place in the British market generating great wealth to a small class of British tea ...

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Two Sri Lankans in Victoria’s Cricket XI …Hallelujah! – By Michael Roberts Source : thuppahis Two players of Sri Lankan parentage are presently playing for Victoria in their Sheffield Shield game. The 31 year-old medium-pace bowler Ruwantha Prasad Kellepotha has joined  Chandrasinghe  in the Victorian Eleven Kellepotha is aged 31 years and was born in Kandy but educated at S. Thomas College, Matale. He is primarily a leg-break bowler. Ashley Philip Chandrasinghe is just about 21 years of age  … birthday coming up on December. He is primarily a left-hand opening batsman, thoug h he can bowl leg-breaks and googlies. His entry into the Victorian squad at sucha young age suggests great expectations in the Victorian cricket community. Russell Gould’s article below provides several interesting sidelights. Russell Gould: “New Victorian batting star reveals his links to Test star Usman Khawaja” ..…………  There’s already a buzz about Ashley Chandrasinghe after his debut century and if ...

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Gregory Lake – spectacular tourist attraction in ‘Little England’ By Arundathie Abeysinghe   Surrounded by spectacular vistas, breathtaking misty mountains and serene blue skies, Gregory Lake also known as Lake Gregory is a well-known tourist attraction as well as a location for recreational activities and water sports that has been in existence in *Nuwara Eliya from the British Colonial Era to date. Gregory Lake is the most prominent, scenic attraction and historical landmark in Nuwara Eliya town visited by local as well as foreign tourists. The Lake and its surroundings are crowded during April, the tourist season in Nuwara Eliya, although, some people, especially locals visit the area during the off season too. During the British Colonial Era, the Lake had been created with the objective of providing electricity to Nuwara Eliya town. To date, electricity to Nuwara Eliya town is generated from the water of the Lake. Yet, from ...

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Meemure – Paradise hamlet in Central Highlands By Arundathie Abeysinghe   Located about 324 meters above sea level among verdant vistas, cascading waterfalls, terraced paddy fields, misty spectacular mountains, Meemure is an isolated paradise hamlet in the *Central Province with a population of about 400 people, away from modern day civilization. With exceptional natural beauty, magnificent fragrant wild flowers, arecanut (Areca catechu) and kithul trees (Caryota urens), reed bushes and cattle grazing in home gardens, eco friendly houses made of clay and spear grass, boundaries of houses as well as lands demarcated by stone-ridges with stones piled neatly, wooden fences leading to large home-gardens with rock stones as steps to reach the houses, this highland hamlet is a serene paradise nestled among breathtaking mountains. One boundary of Meemure is marked by the gently flowing Karambaganga Ela (Ela meaning stream in Sinhala). The hamlet is encompassed by scenic pyramid shaped *Lakegala ...

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