Rassagala

An odd-shaped peak, 1438m high, on the northwest ridge is known as Rassagala, and has various titles due to its peculiar shape. Locals name it Kinihira, Paththini Amma Kanda, and Wangedi Molgas Gala because it resembles the enormous mortar and pestle used in Sri Lankan kitchens from certain perspectives. This hard caprock top appears from afar to be an ancient castle intended to control its surrounds, which is why the mountain is known as Rakshagala, or "Rock of the Rakshasas."

It is said to have been been a stronghold of Ravana, the island's mythological Raksha king who kidnapped Rama's wife Sita and first hid her at Rakshagala in the Ramayana epic, and that a bed of gold still lies concealed someplace on the mountain. Raksha Gala's flat top, on the other hand, has its own forest, floating like an isolated green island shut off from the rest of the earth by vertical cliffs, like a lost world. Choose a dry day for this effort because the jungle is swarming with leeches during the rainy season. If you make it to the top of the lost planet, Sita's golden bed and a lengthy afternoon snooze may be waiting for you.

Location: Eastern Province, Sri Lanka

Height: 1438m