වවුල්පනේ හුණුගල් ගුහාව

Waulpane Cave


Useful Information

Location: Near Waulpane village
(6.425250, 80.733117)
Open: Booking required for trekking tours.
[2023]
Fee: free.
[2023]
Classification: SpeleologyKarst cave
Light: bring torch
Dimension: A=278 m asl.
Guided tours:
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address: Eco Team (Pvt) Ltd, No: 20/63, Fairfield Garden, Colombo 08, Sri Lanka, Tel: +94-70-222-8-222.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then.
Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1986 road to the village built.

Description

වවුල්පනේ හුණුගල් ගුහාව (Waulpane Limestone Cave) is also known as Wavula Pane (cave of bats). It is located at the eastern slopes of Rakwana Mountain Range, about 1.5 hours from Pallebedda. The cave is known for beautiful stalactites and stalagmites, and the wildlife which includes bats, cockroaches, amphibians, and fish. There are six different species of bats, their number is estimated, and we read a quarter million, half a million, and more than one million. It seems all those numbers are just fantasy, and there has never actually been research on that topic. The cave is a river cave and entered through the sink of the river. After following the underground river for 300 m, the cave is left through a second entrance, the resurgence.

This cave is on the list of day trip operators. The cave is very remote and hard to find, and such operators also provide the necessary caving equipment, so we recommend to take such a tour. If you go on your own you should bring rubber boots, helmet, headlamp, and a mask. Also, an old raincoat is recommended for the bat droppings.

This tour is definitely not for the faint-hearted. Caving in tropic regions offers special threats to your health. This cave is a river cave, and you wade through a river during most of the tour, which you would never intend to bathe in. Beneath the water there are bats, which could cause diseases like histoplasmosis. The cockroaches, ticks, and other insects feeding on the bat guano are not really dangerous, but probably a little disgusting. And there is the ammonia smell of the bat guano.

It seems the tour operator change rather frequently, and we are no able to keep up with the frequent changes. 10 years ago we listed two operators, but were confused that they did not give their address on their homepage. There was only a contact form, no name of the owner, no postal address, no phone number. Not exactly someone you want to trust with your life. Ten years later one of them is out of business, while the other seems to be quite competent and now has all necessary information on the website.