Walking through Haputhale Arboretum and hunting cascades at Dambetenna

Year and Month	October, 2014
Number of Days	Two Day Trip
Crew	One
Accommodation	N/A
Transport	Public transport, Trishaw
Activities	Waterfall Hunting, Scenery, Nature trail
Weather	Overcast conditions
Route	Monaragala -> Ella -> Bandarawela -> Haputale -> Dambetenna -> Haputale -> Monaragala
Tips, Notes and Special remark	Take a bottle of water Do not carry Plastic items (Minimize), Make sure you bring back everything you took. Don’t disturb wild life There are leeches, be ready to tackle them Ask directions from locals Rocks may be slippery Best season is after the monsoons
Related Resources	Trip report: In search of waterfalls in the Dambetenna & Upper Koslanda areas Forum post: A Walk Through Haputale Arboretum
Author	Ashan
Comments	Discuss this trip report, provide feedback or make suggestions at Lakdasun Forum on the thread Walking through Haputhale Arboretum and hunting cascades at Dambetenna

The map – Click to enlarge

The North – East monsoons were setting in almost after two years so it was time to hunt some cascades around Dambethenna. There was an old trip report from Priyanjan which guided me through this adventure. I took a bus from Haputhale towards Dambetenna and got off at the tea factory. From here onwards my guide was the kmz file given by Priyanjan in his trip report. Better to refer that otherwise you would not see or find these beauties. Taking the road in front of the factory and taking another left turn took me through line houses where I ended up following a road which connected to the Monarakanda estate road.

My first attraction was Lemasthota falls and to view it I had to descend through vegetable plots. After viewing this beauty I returned back to the road and continued uphill counting all those cascades which were rumbling down the opposite hill to feed Lemasthota oya. There were about 5 prominent cascades. I couldn’t enjoy them as I wished because the mist started engulfing the whole area within minutes and guess what it never went off. I went forward along the Monarakanda road and reached Dewatagala tower where I found a foot path which ran along the range. Unfortunately the mist intervened and obscured a bird’s eye view. I returned back on the same road and took off towards Haputhale.

Lemasthota falls dambetenna

close up

cascade number 1 at dambetenna

cascade number 2 at dambetenna

close up

cascade number 3 at dambetenna

cascade number 4 at dambetenna

mist is coming

seen nearby

cascade number 5 at dambetenna

Dambetenna

and it covered everything

engulfed

misty rd to monarakanda

lovely

religious place at devatagala

devatagala tower

devatagala range

slope towards monarakanda

another beauty

moss	lemasthota valley

finally it cleared off (cascade no 5)

past and present

common but a beauty

mixed vegetable plots

and also tea

After reaching Haputhale and having lunch I walked towards the Forest department office where I got permission to enter the Nature trail. Here is a detail post about the haputhale nature trail by Priyanjan. This seems to be a paradise for bird lovers and it’s a must visit place for them. The trail is well paved and there are benches set up at different locations. The path divides after few hundred meters and taking the right hand turn will get you back to the main trail after a lengthy walk. There were few leeches since this was the wet season so keep in mind about them too. If you wish you could enter the tea estate which lies close to the trail to have a splendid view towards down south. After spending around 2 ½ hours I exited the Arboretum and headed back towards Monaragala to end my day.