Kiripokunahela:

The place that time forgot

Story and pictures by Mahil Wijesinghe

Kiripokunahela, another magnificent archaeological site in the Southeast, was the next port of call on the Kumana tour. Near inaccessible because of the jungle overgrowth, Kiripokunahela lies on flat-topped rocky boulder, nearly 260 feet above the Kumana jungle. The site is located about three kilometres east of Babaragasthalawa and eight kilometres from main park office at Okanda.

The jungle terrain and its location within the Kumana National Park make it one of the least visited archaeological sites. Not surprisingly, it is not included in any of the safari itineraries of the Park, and the Park officials rarely give permission to visit the site, since there is no motorable access way and it is too risky to walk the one and half kilometres in the thick jungle.

Initially, we too were denied permission. However, our persuasive ways and a written assurance that we were well aware of the risks we were taking, got us the green light, along with two armed trackers to accompany us.

Entry to the site is through a side path, off a well-trodden track. The path is overgrown and potholed. Adding to the sense of adventure and danger was the sight of a cluster of small tanks with their grass damaged by wild elephants.

A one hour's bumpy ride into the thick jungle brought us to the edge of a muddy plain. This was our destination - Kiripokunahela - literally a massive rock boulder looming over us. There is no sign of any footpath leading to the boulder, or over it to the archaeological site. But we were curious to find out what was at the top.

Thick jungle

Following the two trackers, we cut through shrub bushes and stumbled up a dark, nearly four metres long canoe shaped waterhole with greenish water. This was Kiripokuna, which lies about one and half kilometres to the north of Kiripokunahela. Wild animals, we were told, flock here during the drought.

From Kiripokuna pool to the flat-topped rock boulder of Kiripokunahela is a one kilometre walk. In the pathless thick jungle, it takes more than half an hour to cover the distance. But the effort is worth it.

We climbed the boulder and stepped on the flat-topped surface, which is nearly three hectares in size. On one side is a unique oval shaped rock, the floor is smooth with small stones slabs. The face of the rock massif has grooves etched around it, preventing rain water from flowing into the cave. On top of the rock surface, just below the massif, are several lines of Brahmi inscriptions. And in front of the rock is a small waterhole. Beneath the rock we could see the remnants of an ancient brick wall.

The most striking feature of the main drip-ledged cave of Kiripokunahela is the primitive drawings, one of which in stark white depicts a leopard leaping on a man astride an elephant. The early inhabitants are believed to have used a thick white paste, probably lime on to draw the figures. There were hints of under another faded painting of animals and people under the main drawing. There are no indications as to who did these drawings or to which period they belonged to, but given the fact that it is in Kiripokunahela, it gives a sense of the early inhabitants in the country.

Crumbling Dagoba

As we walked around the rock surface, one of the tracker showed another huge rock boulder, which had been linked with Kiripokunahela. It lies just 200 metres east of Kiripokunahela and boasts of a cluster of fascinating drip-ledged caves and a rock cut flight of steps that lead to the remains of a crumbling Dagoba.

Strangely, we noticed the flight of steps start from the middle of the rock and not from the bottom, which meant, we had to hold on to the trees and literally crawl to the step, to reach the summit and get a glimpse of the Dagoba, built with bricks and stone slabs.

It is interesting that no one seems to know much about the origin of this enchanting archaeological site. But considering the rest of the archaeological finds spread across Kumana, we could only assume that this too had also been a prominent Buddhist monastic complex in the 2nd and 3rd Century BC.