The valley of the Talatu Oya is one of those places that are both close yet unknown. Literally on the other side of the hill that lies to Kandy's south, Talatu Oya in relatively unknown because the road network is very circuitous.
The drainage is east, away from Hantane and toward the Mahaweli.
This is one of the few steeply terraced valleys close to Kandy, where most paddy lands are in long, narrow, almost level strips, or deniyas.
One branch of the valley enters over a cascading stream.
A bit of that stream.
Another branch enters through the slit.
A paddy nursery and fields awaiting transplanting.
Part of the irrigation system has been modernized.
Farmers complain that water is short, however, and some of the fields are now abandoned, like the one at the upper right here.
Many of the cultivators are sharecropping tenants. Here, one takes a sledgehammer to bring up field rocks.
Too old to grow vegetables. That was his explanation for choosing paddy, whose weeding requirements are minimal.
A potential tourist attraction? You could walk here from Kandy in an hour, yet nobody does.
Kandy's just on the other side of the hill. You can infer the location of the valley's road from the top of the cultivated area and the line of buildings, but it's a long way to Kandy by road.
