WALPOLAMULLA TRAIL IN THE KNUCKLES RANGE

Walpolamulla was a village hidden deep within the Knuckles Rainforest.

- BY LT COL. CHANDANA WEERAKOON Photography by Major Ivor Jayasundara

Nearby village is Ethanwala which is about five kilometres away through the forest and the Office of the Wildlife Department is located there.Today, Walpolamulla village no longer exists except one family running a small campsite on their land. The village was relocated outside the forest around 25 years ago. Some moved to Ethanwala, while others settled in villages like Mahalakotuwa, Ratninda, and Narangamuwa.

Walpolamulla was a very prosperous village. Its paddy fields were extremely fertile. The sun rose over the Kalupahana mountain. The area had many streams and a tank. The village never lacked rice, vegetables, or fruits. Every house had fruit-bearing trees like oranges, limes, and mangoes and was complete with a traditional rice storage shed. It was a self-sufficient village where people lived with minimal needs. For them, walking 16 kilometres was as easy as a game; they walked to Ethanwela school every day and it took only thirty minutes to complete the journey. The villagers were very healthy; instead of chewing betel, they chewed Miristhala leaves. Diseases like flu or tooth decay were nonexistent. Their food was free from toxins—simple meals of rice, greens, and occasionally wild meat or fish.

They could find various wild yams, jackfruit, breadfruit, turmeric, and pulses like Thumba Karavila. The entire area around the village was covered in dense primary forest. Wild animals like elephants, leopards, bears, sambars, and wild boar lived there, along with porcupines, pangolins, civets, mongooses, and a wide variety of birds and butterflies. Trees like Galkesel, Gal Siyambala, Malaboda, Etamba, Milla, Kahamilla, Thimbiri, Balukeena, and Keena surrounded the area and various timber producing trees. Black pepper was cultivated as an undergrowth crop. The pepper grown there was pungent and of high quality. The Veddas used this pepper.