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The beautiful valley around Knuckles massif is called “Dumbara” because it’s always misty. The region is blessed with rich fauna and flora, nourished by intermittent rains and water cascading from surrounding streams.
The Knuckles mountain range (Dumbara Valley), called so because it resembles the knuckles of a clenched fist, consists of 35 peaks which rise above 900m, perhaps the highest aggregation of such peaks in a single mountain range.
The area above Knuckles Range was declared as a climatic reserve, a conservation forest and a National Biosphere Reserve for its unparalleled biodiversity.
The climate in the Dumbara Range varies from extremely wet to almost arid. The area is highly windy most of the period throughout the year.
Pitawala Pathana is a grass plain which spreads over an area of about 10 ha of a gently sloping rock slab covered with just a thin soil layer. The turf grass about 10 cm in height gives a velvety appearance to this sloping expanse of grassland. Isolated and scattered trees and shrubs could be seen. Many endemic plant and animal species are found.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), it is a rare type of grassland that evolved in response to a particular ecological condition and can be found nowhere else in the country. A semi-evergreen forest on somewhat deeper soil surrounds the grassland.
The Pitawala Plains ends in a sheer drop. It is certainly nerve-wracking to glimpse into the depths, hundreds of meters below similar to the world’s end point at Horton Plains. A gentle 750-meter hike from the ticket counter takes you to 2 viewpoints close to each other.
The ecology and dynamics of the grassland vegetation at Pitawala Pathana is worth examining. The open meadows hold the deepest secrets compared to any habitat in Sri Lanka. With an ecology expert, you can discover its biota including amphibians, small mammals, lizards, tree frogs and a few endemic plants. Due to extreme winds, only small plants survive the rocky flat terrain.
Pitawala Patana is home to two endemic species. One is a frog known as Dumbara Galpara Mediya and the other is Patan Ala, a type of grass. Many carnivorous plants on the plain trap unwary insects.
The soil in the plains is not very rich in nutrients and thus certain plants have adapted to find the required nutrients from insects. Kadulessa, one such carnivorous plant species, has a sticky serum that traps unwary insects.
From Colombo go to Kandy and then go to Matale on the A9 route. From there, turn to Raththota Road and come to Raththota town. Take the right turn from the three-way junction in Raththota town. It will lead you to Ilukkumbura – Puwakpitiya. the turn to Riverstan is at the 28th km post, and 3km down in Ilukkumbura road you can find Pitawala Pathana, and in about another kilometre’s distance is the Pitawala Pathana Mini World’s End.
Also See
- Attractions of Sri Lanka
- Heritage of Sri Lanka
- Waterfalls of Sri Lanka
- Nature and Wildlife of Sri Lanka
- Other Places of Interest Within Close Proximity
Map of the Pitawala Patana
The map above also shows other places of interest within a approximately 20 km radius of the current site. Click on any of the markers and the info box to take you to information of these sites
Zoom out the map to see more surrounding locations using the mouse scroll wheel or map controls.
Pitawala Patana and the Mini Worlds End Video
An informative video clip by Nade Gura Travel & Conservation Society
Traveling Directions to Pitawala Patana
| Route from Colombo to Pitawala Pathana | Route from Kurunegala town to Pitawala Pathana |
| Though : Peradeniya – Matale distance : 175 km Travel time : 4-5 hours Driving directions : see on google map | from : Dogangaslanda Road distance : 75 km Travel time : 1.5-2 hours Driving directions : see on google map |
| Route from Polonnaaruwa to Pitawala Pathana | |
| Though : Elahara – Bakamoona distance : 105 km Travel time : 2 hours Driving directions : see on google map |
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