DSJ Photography

16/05/2024

#අඹේවෙල

#அம்பேவளை

(Sinhala: අඹේවෙල,romanized: Am̆bēvela;Tamil: அம்பேவளை, romanized: Ampēvaḷai) is a village, and a hill station,
located in the Nuwara Eliya District of Sri Lanka.
The area is also sometimes called "Little New Zealand".
The town is approximately 17 km (11 mi) south-east of the district capital Nuwara Eliya.
Ambewela is also a service centre for the New Galway tea planting district.

Climate and vegetation

Due to the high altitude of 6,064 ft (1,848 m),
the mean annual temperature in the area is below 17.5 °C (63.5 °F),
while frost is common during winter. Ambewela is popular for being the highest (in altitude) and widest grassland in Sri Lanka.
Mammals such as the Sambar Deer and Leopard dominate the majority of the forest cover around the area.

Ambewela is situated en route to the Horton Plains National Park and is famous for scenic landscapes,
Rhododendron arboreum flowers, and the World's End, which is a 1,219 m (3,999 ft) deep cliff.
Similar to Horton Plains and Ohiya,
this site is also one of the Important Bird Areas of Sri Lanka, making the area a popular location for birdwatching as well

Importance and economic activities

The climatic and economic conditions in Ambewela make it an ideal location for dairy farming,
hence the country's only milk powder factory is situated in this area. The two animal husbandries,
Ambewela Farm and New Zealand Farm, have Ayrshire cattle and Friesian cows respectively

Potential for wind energy developments

The geographic location and altitude of Ambewela expose the site to strong Southwest Monsoons,
with winds occasionally reaching over 12 m/s (39 ft/s), making the area a favourable
location for wind farms and other wind energy developments.
As the site is only used for livestock development and similar activities,
the site is also an economical zone for erecting turbines,
since cattle usually are not affected by wind turbines.
These factors have attracted many local and international developers.

In 2003, the area was studied in a collaborative project between the Ceylon Electricity Board and NREL.
The study revealed that the wind resource at the site is favourable only during the Southwest Monsoon,
which is only a small period per year, and that the Northeast Monsoons does not reach the area due to its extreme altitude.

Transportation of equipment such as wind turbines is also a very significant challenge
due to the extreme logistical conditions to access the site.
The study revealed that transporting turbines larger than 600KW to the site would be a near-impossible task.
The study also revealed that ignoring this issue and constructing wind farms with turbines smaller
than 600KW would be extremely uneconomical to the developer

PHOROGRAPHT BY Dayan SankaJith

06/05/2024

ADISHAM BUNGALOW
The Adisham Bungalow was once the country house of Sir Thomas Lester Villiers, but today it houses the Adisham Monastery of the St. Benedict. Found just 3km away from Haputale town, the Adisham Bungalow is one of the most picturesque corners in the region.

The Legacy of a Colonial Planter
Constructed in 1931, the house was designed in the Tudor style and fashioned after the Leeds Castle in Kent- Sir Thomas Villiers even named it after the village he was born in and has all the trappings of what you would imagine an English mansion would have. The Bungalow has an impressive library which is filled from floor to ceiling with old dusty volumes that the planter held dear. Access to the whole house is limited and visitors are only allowed to see the library and living room, but there is an adjoining guest house where people are more than welcomed to stay.

Surrounded by Greenery
Sir Thomas Villiers spared no expense when it came to his home, but what’s even more splendid than the actual house is its surroundings. Adisham Bungalow is perched on the edge of a cliff which is flanked by a larger outcrop fringed with tall pine trees, which somehow dwarf the house. The country home also has a wonderful view of the Uva valley, as well as a beautiful garden and orchard that you can stroll through.

The Kiosk
Forming part of the main building, pop into the little kiosk selling a variety of fresh items from homemade jams to pickles and coffee liqueurs. Whether you’re taking an edible souvenir back home or need a refreshing juice, the kiosk makes organic, local products that taste great!

PHOTOGRAPHY BY📸 Dayan SankaJith

09/05/2023

16/04/2023

07/03/2023

or

Though not the highest mountain of Sri Lanka, the striking pyramid of Adam's Peak (7,360 ft) is certainly the most remarkable. A depression in the rocky summit resembles a huge footprint, which has been venerated as a sacred sigh from remote antiquity. This was identified by Buddhists as the Buddha's footprint, by Hindus as that of Shiva, and by Muslims as Adam's. Later the Portuguese attributed it to St. Thomas the Apostle.

The Mahawamsa tells how the sacred footprint was imprinted by the departing Buddha on his third visit to Lanka, but the site did not become an object of regular Buddhist pilgrimage until the Polonnaruwa period, when Vijayabahu I built resting houses for pilgrims and King Nissankamalla himself, in the year 1201, climbed to the top and worshipped the spot.

The Muslim tradition of a footprint of Adam, first of the prophets, goes back to gnostic sources as early as the Mahawamsa itself. According to the legend, Adam was hurled from Paradise for his disobedience and stood in penance for a thousand years on one foot at the top of Adam's Peak, after which he was reunited with Eve on Mt. Arafat overlooking Mecca. By the ninth century, this footprint was consequently considered one of the most sacred sites in the world.

📷 ᴄʀᴇᴅɪᴛ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ DSJ Photography

22/02/2023

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