| Year and Month | October, 2013 |
| Number of Days | Two Day Trip |
| Crew | 8 (Me, Ashan, Sri, Harinda, Sheham, Chamil, Chinthaka, Thilina) |
| Accommodation | Friend’s Place in Nuwara Eliya |
| Transport | Hired Van |
| Activities | Waterfall Hunt, Photography |
| Weather | Overcast & Misty. Rained in the afternoons |
| Route |
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| Tips, Notes and Special remark |
** Special Thanks to ** Niroshan |
| Related Resources | Trip Report: Unfamiliar cascades of Hanguranketha and Walapane area |
| Author | KasunDes |
| Comments | Discuss this trip report, provide feedback or make suggestions at Lakdasun Forum on the thread |
The long awaited long weekend came after 3 months, so did the rain. All our plans to go camping in Kumana went wrong as heavy showers hit the area and had to make our minds to abandon the trip at the last moment. It wasn’t easy for missing the weekend and we wanted to go somewhere so badly but the weather forecast wasn’t good anywhere we checked for. At the last moment we decided to do something that can be done in the rain, let it be a waterfall hunt. Within one and half days everything was ready. Sri and Harinda who also had lost after their initial plans were affected by the rain joined in and Ashan returned from his marathon rail hike to join us.
We continued passing Hanguranketha in our quest to visit some little known waterfalls we got to know thanks to Niroshan. But our journey was badly affected first by our delayed start and then by the terrible road condition past Hanguranketha. The road is under construction and is in a terrible state.
We stopped at the first waterfall we were hoping to see, Katugashinna Falls with a glimmer hope as Niroshan said the fall is switched on during the rain only. But sadly the waterfall was switched off even though it had rained for some days. Let me explain the operating procedure of this waterfall: the stream is dammed on top of the waterfall for a mini hydro project or something and they release water to the fall only when it overflows. So our first visit was unsuccessful and continued the journey.
Heeran Ella
Heeran ella falls have two parts as upper heeran ella and lower heeran ella. These waterfalls are formed of the Mul Oya which later flows into the Mahaweli river.
Proceed along Hewaheta road from Rikillagaskada town towards Wegama temple. Take a right turn near the name board of Poramadalawa MMV and continue, get direction from the locals to the Wegama temple. The last bit towards the temple can only be done by a 4×4 vehicle. So we stopped our van and walked about 500m towards the temple.
The path to the waterfall can be seen after the temple. There is an irrigation canal and a footpath along it. This footpath goes straight to lower heeran ella which is commonly called as Heeran ella. There is another footpath to upper fall along the huge waterline built for a mini hydro project which eventually will kill these two waterfalls in near future.
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  Beautiful Ekiriya villa |
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  Heeran Ella seen from the footpath |
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  Cascades of Mul Oya |
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  Heeran Ella |
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  Lower cascades of heeran ella |
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  Village scenery |
Penapus Ella/Beeri Ella
We returned to the junction where we turned off to the temple and went further from Rikillagaskada till we reached the Kithulpe bridge. There is a footpath right before the bridge which also goes along a water diversion. After walking along for about 500m we went down a little forest patch to reach the waterfall.
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  Trying to hide |
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  Path to Penapus Ella |
Penapus Ella which is also known as Beeri ella and Dunhida Ella among the locals is a very beautiful and little known waterfall. However there is a mini hydro project undergoing and it could be the end of this beauty as well.
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  Penapus Ella also called Berri ella |
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  Beautiful penapus fall |
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  Upper cascades of Penapus falls |
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  Near Kithulpe bridge |
Kabaragala Falls
Next on our list was Kabaragala falls in Elamulla area. To reach this waterfall take Mandaram Nuwara road just before the bridge near Padiyapelella town and take a right turn toward the Elamulla power plant passing Elamulla town.
Mandaram Nuwara road is a very scenic one. It had rained for about an hour just before we went and there were a plenty of cascades along the road making it even more scenic. Mandaram Nuwara area under the mist covered Piduruthalagala could be seen far away through a gap. It was a great view.
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  A roadside beauty on the mandaramnuwara road |
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  Misty mandaram nuwara |
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  another seasonal fall |
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  Towards Piduruthalagala |
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  Mandaram Nuwara road |
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  This was seen far away on a mountain slope. not sure if it is seasonal, but it should be very tall |
The last bit of the road to Elamulla power plant in hard to be done in an ordinary vehicle, so we decided to walk. It was a pleasant walk through cultivated lands enjoying the seasonal waterfalls flowing down each and every hill and the mighty Piduruthalagala range.
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  Piduruthalagala range |
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  shades of green |
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  Mountainous forest |
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  one of the many kabaragala cascades |
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  on the way to power plant |
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  another seasonal beauty |
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  they were everywhere |
However as we reached the power plant our hopes started to get thin once again. The stream was flowing furiously and we could see a large cloud of mist in the place where the waterfall is situated. People at the power plant did not recommend going near the waterfall and we neither wanted to take a risk after seeing the rapids of the stream. So instead, we had a little tour inside the power plant and returned.
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  Furiously flowing stream |
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  Mist created by the Kabaragal fall |
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  Another roadside beauty |
It was around 4pm when we hit the road again. It started raining and the mist came down so the dark fell early. We had to continue slowly along the muddy broken road and had no time for visiting the most anticipated Kurundu Oya Falls. Our slow and blind journey continued towards Nuwara Eliya.
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  Nuwara Eliya lit up |
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  The Grand Hotel and the dhost we captured |
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  Grand Hotel |
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  Magasthota |
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  Gregory Lake |
The next day was also overcast. Our plan was to see the waterfalls along the A5 and to visit Dunsinan-Sheen falls if possible which we had to omit immediately thanks to as usual delayed start.
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  Gregory lake and Magasthota covered by mist |
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  Gregory Lake |
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  Peach flowers |
All the waterfalls along the A5 were on the full flow and there many seasonal waterfalls and countless cascades also. We returned to Colombo enjoying these full flowing beauties.
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  we named it as strawberry falls |
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  Devathura upper cascades |
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  Peacock hill |
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  Palagolla kandura |
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  Palagolla Kandura fall |
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  A beautiful roadside seasonal fall |
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  Devathura Oya |
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  A roadside cascade in full flow |
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  Poona Oya fall |
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  Towards Kothlame |
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  A glimpse of upper ramboda fall |
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  Middle ramboda |
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  Cascading point of lower ramboda |
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  Kothmaley Valley |
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  Inside ramboda tunnel. didn’t come out what I was looking for but else came something better |
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  Devathura fall |
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  Devathura fall |
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  Middle cascade of devathura fall |
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  Gerandi ella |
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  helboda fall |
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  Helboda falls |
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  Delta Falls |
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Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  Crested Hawk Eagle captured at Mawanella |
Thank you for reading.