Proceeding on the Airport highway and taking the exit to Negombo and you travel until you pass Kochchikade Town and after going over the bridge (the area is famed for its terracotta tiles) you take a right turn on the B419 towards Dankotuwa. Proceed until you reach Pannala and take a left turn to the B356 and continue on this road till you reach Kuliyapitiya Town. After passing this town take the
road left towards Hettipola B243 until you reach a small township by the name of Moonamuldeniya. At this junction take a right turn towards Katupotha proceeding around five km on this road and as you pass the hamlet of Moragane you reach the entrance to the Balvenie Cottage. This area is part of an Ancient Kingdom of called Panduwasnuwara. This kingdom dates back to around 400 BC, and is considered the kingdom of the of King Panduwasudeva, the second king and the successor of Vijaya who founded the nation of Ceylon. The land has a long history, known as Angamuwa Estate and stories told by some of the village inhabitants & descendants are quite exhilarating and at the same time give a sense of awe of the glory days of the past. Our family came into possession of a small part of this land, known as block 1, of this enormous tract of land which in the past would have been over a thousand acres together. The original land was subdivided and sold or passed on to descendants depending upon their wishes as time passed by. Balvenie Cottage is the little weekend holiday/plantation home built by my daughter Julianne and her husband Senaka on the part of the land I had gifted to her. They have taken upon themselves to see my dream of making this the most fertile, arable and productive land in the area. The land borders the Atakotuwa Lake (wewa) and the water from this lake is used for cultivation by the paddy fields that surround this land. At a distance you will see hillocks of green giving Balvenie Cottage the aura of an enchanted hideaway from the bustle of city life. Panduwasnuwara - History & Legend
Proceeding past Balvenie Cottage and turning left and the next intersection and travelling a mere 3 Km you reach the ruins of Panduwasnuwara a place where ancient kings & nobility roamed. Panduwasnuwara is central to legends because of its name and peculiar archaeological monuments. The legend of Unmadha Chithra is central to the name of “Panduwasnuwara”. Unmada Chithra is the daughter of Panduwasdheva, a son of a brother of Vijaya and of Queen Baddhakachayana, a women of unmatched beauty. After the marriage of Baddhacachayana to the great king Panduwasudhewa, 10 sons and the daughter who inherited the beauty of Baddhakachayana were born unto them and was named Unmada Chitra. Both the king and the queen could not enjoy the pleasure of having this jewel of a small princess or show the world her beauty. Because legend has it that wise men told the king and queen that if the princes ever bore a son, he would go on to kill all his uncles and become the king of the whole country. The king as fair as he was inquired the opinion of his sons and finally decided to keep the princess in a one pillared palace called “ektamge” far away from human contact. Though there is no archaeological evidence to back the story, many believe that this is where the high tower stood that housed Unmada Chithra, a Princess of "maddening" beauty, to keep her away from the sight of men, in order to defy a prophecy. However, she fell in love with Deega Gamini who would visit her up in the tower using a secret ladder and soon she gave birth to a son. The boy grew up as a peasant to finally ascend to the throne as King Pandukhabaya thus fulfilling the prophecy. Legend, myth or not Panduwasnuwara, was the place where these royals roamed and the legends came into being. It is a place where history hides in the stone ruins of the past
