Travel Sri Lanka ( waterfalls)

Dunhinda Waterfall

"Dunhinda" is one of the mostly spoken-about waterfalls in Sri Lanka. Although she couldn't come even close to the highest waterfalls of the planet in height she rivals many of them when it comes to the natural beauty that it bestows on the environment . Situated about 2 km distance from the main road which runs to Taldena from the remote city Badulla in the Uva Province this is easily accesible and frequently visited by local and foreign visitors. On the way can be seen the "Kuda Dunhinda" ( "Kuda" means small in Sinhala ) which is the prologue to its mighty brother . In native tongue "Dun" means mist or vapour which is the ideal explanation for a waterfall creating wreathes of mist on its way down.

Devon Waterfalls
With a peculiar appearance imparted to it by its formation in three continuous cascades this waterfall christened "Devon Falls" pours down to the valley beneath not a long distance away from its brother the "St. Clairs". On the main road opposite to it there is situated a modern tea centre finding its abode thankful to this "Veil ( Bridal ) of the Vale ( i.e. valley )". Driving from Colombo, the capital, via Avissawella one suddenly catches this unearthly sight which is to be soon enhanced by the grandeur of the "St. Clairs". This beauty too is endangered by the above-mentioned power plant beast

Bambarakanda Waterfall
Sri Lanka is blessed with over one hundred waterfalls. The tallest is the Bambarakande Falls which cascades down 263 metres like liquid light. It is only four miles away from the Colombo-Bandarawela road in a forest glade, but it is not visited often, though well worth the trip.

Bambarakande is taller than the famous Diyaluma falls which is only 220 metres but thought to be the tallest waterfall in Sri Lanka. The Diyaluma or Diya Haluma collects its water from the Poonagala Oya in the vicinity of Koslanda and Wellawaya. Located six miles from Koslanda and 13 miles from Wellawaya, its waters originate from the Mahakande Pass in Koslanda. You can see this waterfall if you stop a while on your way to Haputale and detour.

Due to the geological formation of Sri Lanka, the central highlands are surrounded by peneplains, plateaus and valleys. Rainfall sends a large volume of water hurtling down the precipitous edges of the highland mass. The up thrust millions of years ago has caused several peneplains to form, the highest being well over 6000 ft. It is in this area that the water is collected when there are showers and flows down along tributaries down the mountain slopes.

Bopath Ella Waterfall
"Bopath Ella", not like many of the others of her kind , finds her abode in a busy surrounding in the village called Devipahala off Kuruwita on A4 High Level road close to Ratnapura. Being within 3 hours driving distance from the capital, it thus claims the honour of having the highest turn-over of enthusiasts seeking respite from the grimy and monotonous town life .Nevertheless, it has the notorious reputation of devouring its visitors off and on who , attracted by the surroundings ,indulge in over-enjoyment .Here again, the falls take the shape of a "Bo" leave ( "Bo" tree is a sacred tree here ) from which the name has been derived.

Olu Ella Waterfall
This is situated in a remote village called Malalpola off Yatiyantota on the High Level road from Avissawella to Nuwara-Eliya. Dancing its way through several cascades before finding its way under a wooden bridge along the road, this waterfall adds to the rustic scenery of the village . Not very famous among the people here, it still attracts a considerable number of people going there informed by locals. During the periods when the foliage gets covered by lush greenary and the air gets cooly one is greeted with a momentary drizzle when traversing the wooden planks of the bridge.

Rawana Ella Waterfall
Situated in the Dry zone off Welimada this beautiful water fall is a continuous stream of life to the villagers. It provides much needed water for the cultivation of vegetables, their main income. The life-line role of this tiny, yet beautiful waterfall is seen when we first arrived the village. While the surrounding mountains were dirty and dry this particular mountain was greenish and cultivated. According to villages the water of this stream has to be protected from smugglers day and night and for that they have " a shift duty". It is 40m (131ft) tall and in the Uduhawara village .

St. Clair's Waterfall
These majestic "St.Clairs" falls are close to the main road from Avissawella to Nuwara-Eliya and can well be seen from the Main Line rail track close to Talawakelle. It falls down in two cascades and is an inviting site for regular bathers because it is fairly easily reacheable from a footpath ( actually there are many ) downhill through greeny tea shrubbery. Named after a British colonist, these are one of two waterfalls threatened by a proposed hydro-power scheme in the area.

Ramboda Ella Waterfall
A gigantic water fall having three parts and very close to the 53km post along the above A-5 trunk road. The first part is above the road in the jungle (100m), second part is close to the road (3m) and the third part (100m)is below the road.

Traveler should descends to the "Ramboda basin", where the famous "Ramboda Inn" situated from where he can see the whole fall. When we were there the upper part was covered with a fog and what you see in the picture was the third part. If look carefully, one can notice a bus on the bridge over the A-5 road at the top of the photo.

Kalupahana Falls
Having several necklaces the 14m high Kalupahana Falls is situated in Dumbara Jungles in Kalupahana Mountain, Kandy District.

A sodality of falls cascading in several necklaces. The milieu of the fall comprising Pigmy Jungle is enshrouded in mist and darkness; aptly speaking its name 'Kalupahana' is Black Lantern. A lizard species, Dumbara Katussa, is found here. In addition, a snail belonging to 'Moluska' species is also found. Naturalized plants include different varieties of orchids provide more pleasure to the visitors. Spice varieties viz Ensal/Cloves and Nutmeg were introduced in 1940's. These days the consociation covers an extent of 4550 hectares, which is 1/3 of the Nuckles Forest. This area supplies about 45% of the islands spice output. However, as an outcome of this, about 600 hectares of jungle had been cleared resulting in adverse impact on the rain cycle. The depletion of the water table and threat of drying up of confined aquifers looms large. There is an outcry to spare this area from the cultivation of the spice nutmeg.

To get the Water Falls there are two routes. One is from Matale - Pannvila via Bambarella come to Ratnagiriya. From there, trek for 8km through the Dumbara Jungles and the Water Falls could be seen to the right. The other is coming to Illukumbura, 35 km from Matale and via Pitawala, Attanwala & Walpolamulla it is possible to reach the fall. The 7km track is through difficult terrain. This is ideal for eco-tourism and serves to enhance the knowledge of eco-tourists. On the way, one can also view the Dumbara Dooli Falls.