Waulpone, the ‘legendary Rock Cave’ with the unexpected archaeological evidence of a civilisation, tens of thousand years old, running back to the time of the “Balangoda Man” is again, in the grips of a new menace, the illegal gemming activities.

The ancient rock-caves with vast stretches of wilderness, set in a panoramic view, is fast losing its tourist – potentials and historical value, with the pleasing prospects of the environment, under the axe of the wood-cutter, the tools of gemmers and the dynamites of the treasure-hunters, according to reports. The stream that flows through the front entrance to the cave with the cool, silvery water providing a pleasant surprise to the way-weary visitors, has lost its charm through the indiscriminate mass gemming operations affecting the immediate environment and the bed of the stream, dug and overturned.