MEEMURE

Meemure is a fascinating and isolated village located on the foot hills nestled in the Knuckles mountain range near the border between Kandy District and Matale District. It is one of the most remote villages in Sri Lanka and came to prominence after the Sinhala film “Sooriya Arana” directed by Somaratne Dissanayake. On one side of the village is the pyramid shaped granite mountain called Lakegala and west of the village is the Knuckles range consisting of about 34 peaks. There is no cellular service available in the village, although a CDMA telephone service is available. There is no direct mail delivery to the village and a villager journeys each day to Thapal Junction to exchange incoming and outgoing postal mail with a postman. Meemure has a population of about 400 and the residents of the village depend on several staple crops including pepper, cardamom, paddy and ginger.

Meemure is approximately a 7 hour drive from Colombo, in an off road vehicle. The main route is via Kandy city which is 116 km away from Colombo. Then Kandy-Mahiyangana Road (A26) towards Mahiyangana. Turn Left from Hunnasgiriya Junction which is 35 km away from Kandy and go towards the Loolwatte Village which is 15 km away from Hunnasgiriya Junction. From Loolwatte it is about another 15 km to the Meemure Village. The nearest Police station is Teldeniya Police.

We approached Meemure from Hunnasgiriya by travelling to Corbet’s Gap, a steep uphill stretch of about 17km and then downhill along very steep slopes for another 17km to reach the village. The road was very narrow and in disrepair. At certain sections of the road we had to fill in the potholes with rock to make it safe for the vehicle to drive through. It took us nearly three hours to get to Meemure from Hunnasgiriya, a mere 34 kilometers. Although the route to Meemure was difficult we were rewarded by the rich diversity along the route which was breathtaking. Equally important was the place that we stayed in Hunnasgiriya, a 100 year old cottage called Rajagala residence now operated by a person named Tilak Dissanayake, where the former owner was an English tea planter by the name of Johnston.

On the way to Meemure from Colombo are a number of sites, including Hulu Ganga (River), Victoria Reservoir, Teldeniya New Town (Teldeniya was flooded in filling the Reservoir behind the Victoria Dam, Mahaweli Project), Dothalugala Forest and Botanical Garden, Mini Worlds End and Corbet’s Gap (Attala Mottuwa) a very high point in the journey with strong winds. Meemure and Lakegala Mountain is where, according to legend, King Rawana lifted his Air Plane called the “Dhandu Monara”.

From Hunnasgiriya to Meemure the road trip takes one through the following villages/towns, Navanagala, Meenagola, Deanstan, Kobonila, Loolwatte, Corbet’s gap, Kaikawala. Part of the way is through scenic tea estates and the other through beautiful rainforest. It is only a distance of 30 km but takes about 3hours due to small roads, potholes and disrepair. At Deanstan, one could do a small hike to the mini World’s End with two places to enjoy the wonderful views. The views offer some spectacular sights over the Dumbara valley.

I hope these images of Meemure and the surrounding areas and the opportunity to visit the historic Rajagala residence will stimulate your interest to include a visit to this beautiful area of Sri Lanka on your next visit home.