Tissa-Badulla track

[Duncan]

this is from tissa to badulla and back. data logged in real time, not hand drawn... done in feb 2010

[Duncan]

you have to bare in mind that from sella kataragama, just after it, where the  galge road section is seen on GE as forest cleared section right upto buttala town, there are no shops, there are shops but none open for business for whole of 50km stretch, as we found out the hard way. so, if your buying refreshments, your last pitstop is sella kataragama, so i suggest u re supply for a 50km very lonely stretch of road and not even anyone to ask for help either incase of vehicle problems.

we went at 3AM on this road but this section is to be avoided if going by yourself in one vehicle due to un foreseeable problems u might face like breakdowns, flat tyres etc and especially at night as there can be wild elephants, as after all, this section is a part of Yala and elephants are a common sight on this road at night as told by the army guarding this section of road.

sella kataragama-galge-buttala section is also where some time ago, a bus was shot at by the LTTE and the bus had to drive at breakneck speed to kataragama hospital.

road is drivable by almost any vehicle but the galge buttala open forest section is a bit full of pot holes but now i dont know the state of this road section. elsewhere in sella kataragama, to and from buttala town either left towards wellawaya and up from wellawaya to badulla, is A grade road, B grade roads in badulla town itself, except for the section from Grand Ella Motel down to Rawana Falls is gravel and very slippery. 

as for fuel, last pit stop is kataragama, or in buttala town or wellawaya, from wellawaya upwards through ella,, next shed is in badulla, if going through passara, after buttala next shed is in passara, i counted 2 sheds there. am recalling this from memory on a trip done in feb 2010 so some details may vary slightly.

unleaded petrol/super diesel only in kataragama, elsewhere its normal fuel as observed during this trip.

[Sheham]

Hi Duncan

Thanks for a very detailed description, that will surely help many.

Kind Regards
Sheham

[Priyanjan]

Hello Duncan,

This is SUPER! As Sheham has mentioned, this information will help many travellers in the future.

Just an up-date on the stretch of road (A-23) running from Wellawaya through Ella to Kumbalwela Junction (on the Badulla-Bandarawela road). From Wellawaya up to a point which I would estimate to be about - say about 2-3 km (may be 4) prior to reaching Ella town is done-up and is now 'A' grade. From there up to Ella town and right up to the Kumbalwela Junction (on the Badulla-Bandarwela road) it is as it has been for years. 'B' grade but easily "driveable" / "travelable" in any vehicle. The gravel and slippery part you have mentioned was when that part of the stretch was under repair.

Once again, appreciate you uploading all the GPS data as well as the detailed information on these roads.

Best Regards,

Priyanjan.

[Duncan]

Hi Duncan

Thanks for a very detailed description, that will surely help many.

Kind Regards
Sheham

no prob dude, glad to be of some help. i did find a hiking trail like road in thanamalvilla when i was trying to find another road to bypass thanamalvilla town itself, did gps data log but something went wrong with the data, but i can re create it manually. i have also marked the important turns by using GE, and since i went on that road, i can advice which sections to avoid if driving in a vehicle, like i found out the hard way, damaged the paintwork as its thick jungle like. but, id advice against walking at night on these roads, but excellent for hiking tho. give me some time to sort out the data i collected and put to this pc, the gps data is on a laptop in the vehicle at the moment... i did take some geo tagged pics from my phone on this route, but most of them are blurred as its a phone and i was concentrating more on "not" getting lost. gps map for this section is blank so i went by just the markers i put on the map got off of GE. ill write up a description of it when i post the hand drawn kmz for that....





 

[Nuwan Kumaranayake]

Hi Friends,
I am planning to use B35 road Sellakatharagama to Buttala next week. Anyone know the current condition of this road? Is it carpeted nearly for 'Deyata Kirula' time? I am using a car and is it drivable through this road. Else I think I have to come to the Thanamalwila and then goto Buttala through Wellawaya.
Btw I am traveling from Horana to Monaragala (Ratnapura-> Pelmadulla-> Udawalawe-> kataragama-> Buttala-> Monaragala-> Siyambalanduwa), are there any other places to visit (except for well known places)?

Thanks in advance/
Nuwan

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