Ranamure is one of the remotest villages in Sri Lanka. But it is also one of the most beautiful environments in Sri Lanka.
Some Facts about the village:
Ranamure is located in a remote part of Matale District in Central Province.
The village situated about 1200 feet above from mean sea level. So it’s a mountain village and covered by mountains all around.
It has a very cool climate and frequent rains.
Best to visit: Late December to Early March( tip. try to contact a villager via phone(could be very hard due to no signal reception in the area) and get a weather update before go)
All villagers are farmers –
Paddy farming
Vegetable and fruits farming
Kithull trickle and Jagare making are few of their main revenue generation schemes.
They are simple and kind but very hard-working people.
This part of the country is not a popular tourist destination even for locals. I heard about this little pardise some time ago and was determined to explore it and show it to the world. Sri Lanka is not all about Sun, Sand, Sea and Surf. Sri Lanka has amazing countryside’s with beautiful people with big hearts.
We started our Journy early in the morning from Colombo. As It is a 4hr drive.
Route:
Along the way we made few detours to see attractions along the way, therefore by the time we reach the remote village Ranamure it was close to 3pm in the evening.
We met out Village contact, Muthubanda at the end of the road where there is a small shop.
From there it was a difficult route. Last part we had to make a steep climb along a step path with all our bags and supplies. But it was a beautiful experience from the get go.
Birds are singing all-around. Crickets are playing the beats to that music. Water flowing sound from the so many little creaks were just like background music in the year.
After a 45min walk in the jungle road, we arrived at Muthbundas humble Village home.
Interesting fact: these traditional houses are not built with bricks and cement. They are made with Mudballs, cow dung and wood from the forest.
We were so tired from the hike, so we kept our bags and directly go to take a bath in the Creek by Muthu’s house.
It was a bath from heaven for our tired bodies. The water was cool and clear.
And there was a fish therapy for free. There was a bunch of little fish who was very keen on cleaning our feet. It was very funny and interesting feeling.
After a long bath we headed back to the house. There was hot tea and Coconut Roti with sambal ready for us. We ate plenty of Roti and drink ginger tea. Then we went for a little nap as we were tired.
In the night there were some other villagers who wanted to join us and sing. So we had a music session with with Village made Kithul Toddy.
Note: Kithul Toddy is an alcoholic drink made out of the Kithul tree. Which can also be used to make Kithul trickle and Kithul Jagare. Kithul trickle and Jagare are very sweet and used on a lot of local sweets and food recipes.
We had a great time singing songs, playing music, and having a delicious dinner at the same time. Freshly brewed Kithul Toddy flowed through the night as well.
Our Next day plan was to visit Mathalagala mountain plains where villagers used to keep their cattle.
.