The Nil-diya Pokuna (Pond of Blue water) Exploration at Karandagolla in Ella was the Day-2 of our 3-day back-to back hike series. This mysterious 'Nil-Diya Pokuna' is a pond of crystal-clear fresh water, which is inside a large cave, more than 500 meters under-&-away from Earth's surface.
According to the legends. emperor 'Rawana' of 'Lankapura' had kidnapped an Indian princess named 'Seetha', and kept her hidden for well over a decade. A monkey-man named 'Hanuman' (who was a friend of Seetha's Husband) had wondered all-over Lankapura in search of a clue about Seetha. Therefore, Rawana had ordered Seetha to be kept in an under-ground cave. Thus been under-ground for year, and not getting contact of Sun-light, Seetha is said to have lost her complexion and also suffered from a skin-disease. Then, Rawana is said to have built a network of cave-ways so that Seetha could be moved from place to place, and also she could spend some time in Rawana's Royal gardens, and bathe in nearby waterfalls. The Ella-Karandagolla mountain range is believed to be where Seetha was hidden, with many cave entrances all-around it. One such cave-entrance is found through the 'Rawana Guhawa' (Rawana-Cave) near the famous 'Rawna-ella' (Rawana-waterfall). Some believe that the mysterious 'Nil-diya' pond may also be a pond that was used by princess Seetha. [the famous Indian epic 'Ramayanaya' gives a well illustrated account of Rawana's Lankapura kingdom and how princess Seetha was kept hidden in it].
We engaged 'Maththananda' of Karandagolla (0726 108 392) as our guide for the exploration, and spent the previous night at his house. Meththananda (Meththa) is one of the first to discover these cave ways and the mysterious under-ground pond.
On the 31st of December, 2016 morning, we left meththa's house around 8.15 am in three-wheeler's, after having some breakfast. We traveled towards Ella from Kanandagolla, and turned Left at the 'Iskola-handiya' (school-junction). Then going up-hill for another few kilometers, we reached the jungle trail leading to the cave entrance. This entrance to the 'Nildiya-pokuna' cave, known as the 'Hulan-guhawa' (wind-cave), is not the famous entrance used by earlier explorers of the Nil-diya-pokuna. The Earlier entrance is said to have been abandoned as it is too risky, said Meththa. The 'Hulan-Guhawa' entrance itself is mysterious, as a constant flow of wind keeps blowing out of it. This wind blowing could be experienced till only about a depth of 3-4 meters into the cave. Thereafter the wind pressure gets normal.
We started descending in to the cave around 9.00 am. The initial drop was steep and we had to use a rope to climb down. Once creeping and crawling for a few minutes, we reached a tunnel way that we could stand and walk. Yet the floor was so slippery with Bat's poo, most of us just opted to sit and slide on it. Then we entered a large dome like cave, which may have been of the size of a soccer-stadium. Crossing through it and going further down, we reached the pond. It was around 10.15 am when we reached it.The pond itself is in a cave dome about 30 m wide. The pond is believed to spread beyond the cave walls, and its total capacity is hard to assume.
Swimming and bathing in the pond for about half-an-hour, we started our return journey, as we had planned to take a detour to see the so-called 'Room-Like-Space' which is also believed to have been used by princess Seetha.
The path to the Room-like-spaces was a bit dangerous looking, and demanded extreme body flexibility and concentration. So a few of us decided to stay-back, and allow the others to go on. According to what they described, this hall like space has had many calcium crystals formed on the under-side of its roof, which suggest that water would be seeping into it from above. The chimney like formations gives a clue that the process would have been happening for over thousands of years.
Finally, around 2.00 pm, we came back out on to Earth's surface, ending a five hour caving hike.
WHAT A WAY WAS IT TO END THE YEAR 2016 !
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sleeping the previous night
at Meththananda's house in Karandagolla |
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| planning the day's activities..... |
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| Methananda (on the extreme Left) leading the way |
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| through the jungle to the cave entrance |
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| the 'Hulan-Guhawa' cave entrance |
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| final preparations before descending down... |
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| sitting & sliding... on 'Bat-poo' |
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| exploring on the way down... |
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| inside the large 'dome-like' cave.... |
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| ....may be big enough to fit-in a soccer stadium ? |
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| the pond is further down... |
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| at the edge of the Blue waters... |
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| entering the water with caution... |
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| bating in the crystal clear 'blue' water.... |
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| reaching the 'bottom-less far end' of the pond |
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| the pathway leading to the 'room-like-space' |
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the face-mask proved to be very useful...
as tiny insects that became attracted to the head-torch tend to end-up in our mouths |
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| back on the way towards the entrance |
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| one-by-one coming out-of the 'Hulan-Guhawa' |
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| Meththa... with his two assistants |
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| Finally..... back on the road |
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| the Team (from Left to Right) ; Amila, Kalhara, Chamitha, Meththa (in front). Dinuka, Chinthaka, Chalitha, Cabe, Pradeepa, Ochala, Tharaka, Kumari & Aruna |
