Irresistible Force of the Nature – Tour de Waterfalls 2…

Hiya everyone and Sri is back with the 2nd of his new variety of trip reports, Waterfall Hunting. I guess you’ve enjoyed the 1st and hoping this too would arouse your interest and make you wanna pay a visit to these beautiful girls ASAP.

After our Hunt on 01 May, I was yearning to do more of them as the season is ideal for it. However, there was this nagging feeling in the back of my mind about visiting Batadomba Lena as well for the past year or so. My visits to Beli Lena, Pahiyangala and Alawala Pre-Historic caves stimulated this idea more and more so decided to get two birds with one stone.

Tony managed to get permission from his Royal Highness and joined me for the 2nd leg of Tour de Waterfalls with his ever so trusted bike which is as old as him. We met around 4.30am and hit the High Level Road and were on our way merrily. However come Godagama and Tony suddenly braked hard to avoid a ghost Tuk-tuk which drove across with no lights whatsoever. The result was the headlamp of our bike came off and was hanging from the wires as a result of the brake. Just imagine how old is the bike and Tony himself. I was worried right throughout that Tony might fall apart just like the bike.

We reached Pussalla just after Parakaduwa where we came across this nice eating place called Suwa Rasa Hala managed by the Ayurvedic Department of Sabaragamuwa Province. It’s on the right hand side of the main road bordered by a dozen or so Na Trees (Our National Tree). We sat down for a meal of very tasty Kola Kenda with real Kithul Jaggery which soon followed by a plateful of rice and curry stimulating our tasty buds to no end. They sell these organic and authentic SL foods such as Varieties of Rice, Garlic in Bee Honey, Ayurvedic Medicine, etc.

After a hearty meal which I had to restrain Tony with a difficulty, we headed towards Kuruwita where this majestic journey was about to begin.

Tour Highlights:

1. Batathota Cave aka Diva Guhawa, Erathna

2. Batadombalena Pre-Historic Cave

3. Elle Gedara Falls, Elle Gedara

4. Dumpus Falls, Gilimale

5. Mapalana aka Mapanana Falls, Mapalana, Sri Palabaddala

6. Haalmehi Falls, Sri Palabaddala

7. Kadurugal Dola Falls, Wewelwatte

8. Beruwatte Falls, Wewelwatte

9. Dehena Falls – Revisited, Amunuthenna

10. Hal Falls – Revisitied, Amunuthenna

11. Katu Kithul Falls – Revisited, Amunuthenna

12. Aanda Falls, Meegasthenna, Galabada

We reached Kuruwita and took the turn off towards Erathna where one of the many routes to Sacred Sri Pada.

Batathota Cave aka Diva Guhawa

Take the Kuruwita-Erathna Road and after about 10km you’ll get a turn off to your left with the signage. This will take you straight to the steps of Batathota Cave Temple. You have to climb about 500-600m to reach the cave with a gigantic Buddha Statue. Unfortunately the door was closed to the cave that held the statue as we reached the place around 8.00am.

There’s another cave complex called Sthreepura close by but the path is almost completely blocked by the overgrowth and we couldn’t find anyone interested in showing us the path. One of the electricians we met at the cave informed that the path hasn’t been used for a very long time and very much covered by the dense forest. Apparently it’s a very large complex with a tiny opening to go deep inside.

 

Simply delicious and healthy

We’re here and they’ve built steps plus a roof all the way…

Up we go

Ok, the long story cut short

The Sri Pada Mountain and Kunudiya Pawwa looking like Sigiriya in the distance

This was a mega-sized one

The statue is of Balangoda Ananda Maithree Thero

The giant Buddha Statue is inside but the door was locked unfortunately

The pond is being fed by constant dripping of water from the rocky ledge up… This statue of a massive frog is fitting the picture

Up close… must be looking gorgeous in the night when the lights are on

From the cave looking out

Never escape me

Just look at the headlamp. It fell off and we had to improvise. Guess it speaks itself for its age

Batadombalena Pre-Historic Cave

Take the Kuruwita-Erathna Road for about 2-3km and take a turn to the right at Ekneligoda Walauwa. It is Guruluwana Road and you’ll find a sign-posting put up giving the distance is 5km from there. You’ll have to keep an eye out for the head of the trail which has both an Archaeological Department signage and a name board announcing “Batadamobalena Road” which is not actually a road but a footpath through rubber and tea patches about 1km in length.

We saw a roadside falls which apparently also being called “Arambe Ella”. This had very little water and our friend Wije too had visited this recently and there had been a little bit more water (Wije’s Report here). However, the documented Arambe Ella which is more than 55m in height, is located somewhere in Masimbula on Rakwana-Godakawela Road.

 

The turn off towards Batadombalena from Erathna Road near Ekneligoda Walawwa

“Hey, Atha is here too”, Tony exclaimed

Ok, here’s the sign just passing that puppet to the left. This is at a bend so you’re bound to drive past so keep an eye out for this. The path is just beyond the board itself

Ok, here’s the landmark

The path uphill through rubber estate, bound to have many leeches

Nearly stepped on it

How many fingers does it have?

About 300m uphill, we got a clear view towards Kuruwita

Thick over hanging trees keep this wet

The path borders a rocky wall

One of the many cascaded that we came across

Beautiful, ain’t it?

A character from Hemingway’s book “Old Man & the Sea”

Sprinkling onto the rocks below

Just passed the forest patch and again into a rubber patch

There it is in the distance

Tiny water line coming from the top… must be grand when it’s in full flow

Doesn’t look like there’d been visitors recently

Almost there

Here it is with the usual deep pit

Cavernous cave

Nothing but empty hole

Hasn’t been attacked by Bats as it’s not in darkness

Ok, here’s a ghost of one of the Pre-Historic men captured on my lens

Ananda Lena, where monks meditated is to the left

Inside it and you can see the beds created using earth

The water kept constantly dripping from the top reminding us of Beli Lena

Batadombalena, finally visited

Dead tree arts

You too are gorgeous

Elle Gedara Falls

From Kuruwita, continue along the A4 towars Rathnapura passing Paradise, Kahengama and Batuhena. Just before the Amuthagoda Junction, there’s a left turn off towards Elle Gedara (Panukarapitiya-Palm Garden Road). Take this road for 2-2.5km and you’ll come to what we call a “Sapaththu Palama” and the waterfall is just to the right.

Just remember, to see the real falls you have to go about 50m uphill along the waterway. What you see from the road is just the Lower Elle Gedara Falls.

 

The board says you’re not supposed to do these but most of them do just that. Maybe they can’t figure out these are “Don’ts” not “Dos”

The shoe bridge I mentioned

Just getting to the lower falls

Here she is to the left

Up close

From the top looking down

Very nice

This is in the middle and we had to walk uphill to see the real falls

Climbing wasn’t an issue

Here she is

Very nice and the right amount of water

Closer

The base

The side angle

“Mata Mahalu Wayase – Beriya Wena Gayana Perase”

Curious fella

Dumpus Ella

From Rathnapura, take the Wewelwatte road and it’ll fork at Malwala. The left one going to Siripagama (Sri Palabaddala) while the right one towards Wewelwatte and Balangoda. Take the left towards Sri Palabaddala towards Gilimale. Passing the main bridge at Gilimale (more like an enclosed but a narrow one) head further towards Induruwa Bridge which is with no railings on either side just before the 9th-km post.

The falls is just to the left about 10-15m from the bridge. According to a bunch of village boys who were bathing, the base pool is very deep. One claimed nearly 40ft but Tony didn’t offer to go find it for himself so we’re stuck with the boy’s word.

 

The Induruwa bridge at Dumpus Falls

Wow

Gushing down

Extreme left corner

Managed to climb to a tiny rock to get this one

The top

Whoaaaaaahhh

The village boys were bathing towards the lower end but they had no trouble in swimming

Found this fella on our way back

“Hi Dude!”

The water goes downhill

Mapalana Falls

Go right up to Sri Palabaddala along the Siripagama Road. At the junction, the left one takes you to Siripagama while the right to Mapalana Village. The road is not in very good condition for a low-clearance vehicle. Mapalana Falls is located about 2km from Sri Palabaddala with a gigantic sign directing you.

There’s a footpath through a tea patch for about 100m to reach the base of the falls.

 

The board before the turn to the left along Sri Palabaddala-Mapalana Road

She’s tall

Wish there was more water though

The lower most part was herself a considerably high waterfall

The middle like mist

The top

This bit is barely visible from the base but looking from distance, like the road is clearly seen

Giant Nuga Tree providing the shade

The whole of Mapalana Falls

Towards the base

“Kollo meke usa” – Tony kept saying

Water, crystal clear

View from the road. Note the top most part is now very clearly visible

Haalmehi Falls

This is also located along Sri Palabaddala-Malapana Road about 800m before the Malapana Falls at a small bridge or what we call a “Bokkuwa”.

Take the footpath parallel to the river through a tea patch uphill for about 500m. It’s possible to tackle this along the river itself when it’s not raining or water levels are high. You will get straight to the falls.

I was wondering why this was called Haalmehi Falls coz it means Sprats but nobody was nearby to ask. Then Tony offered the explanation saying compared to the gigantic Mapalana Falls, this one looks very tiny and like a Sprat thus the name.

Just be careful coz not many people know about this falls or they simply don’t consider this to be a falls as they keep seen the mighty Mapalana day and night. We were lucky to find that one person who knew it by name.

 

Tony pointing at the path. Note the tiny bridge

The pool at the bridge and the path is to your left

Climbing along the river coz there wasn’t much water

Plenty of water holes like these

Not so far away from the road

Gotta get closer to get an unobstructed view

Here she is, well compared to her big sister, she’s really like a Sprat

Again, not a lot of water

Right at the top

Hitting the base rock

The path we came to the base

Kadurugal Dola Falls

This is located around 26th-km post along Wewelwatte Road from Ratnapura at a large bridge. You have to go towards the left through a footpath to see this falls. This is not actually a documented one but all the same creates a nice waterfall.

Madanagiri Falls is from the same water source somewhere uphill and difficult to reach. However you can see her about 200-300m further towards Wewelwatte from the main road.

 

Last time it was nothing but water all over but not this time

It was a steep climb around rocks to get a view of this

Looks like a tail

Close view

The water coming from above but not much left

I had to climb all the way and Tony decided to stay safely at the bottom picturing tiny cascades. You can barely see the bridge in the distance

Kadurugal Dola on 04 Aug 2013

Just see the amount of water at that time.

 

It was fiercely gushing down

It’d have been a majestic scene

Beruwatte Falls

This is about 2km from Wewelwatte towards Balangoda. You’ll see a faded sign giving the distance 2km on your way just before Wewelwatte Town. From Wewelwatte Town, the left road takes you towards Alupola Estate where the famous Alupola Ella is located and the straight road goes to Balangoda and about 1.5-2km away is the Beruwatte Falls. Along the way, you’ll get a clear view of the distant Alupola falls to the left just and you get a view of Beruwatte falls when going towards Alupola Ella.

You’ll meet a house onto your right just by the road with a kitchen built of earth (Katu Mati Gahapu Kussiyak) and just next to it is a footpath towards the falls about 400m away.

 

Here’s the landmark

There she is

Portrait

She had the most water of the day

The top

And the bottom

Like all the others, base pool looks very deep

There it is

Time to say good-bye

Dehena Falls

This falls is located at Amunuthenna along the Wewelwatte Road. This is just by the road and you can’t miss it. We saw this in full flow on 04 Aug 2013. You can see the comparison looking at the pics.

 

Dehena Ella, very tall but very little water

Up close

As usual the top

The middle

Here’s the info… 243ft in height

Dehena Ella on 04 Aug 2013

What a vast difference?

 

What do you think?

This was taken from the side as it was so hard to stay in front

Hal Ella

This one is also just by the roadside before Dehena Ella when coming from Ratnapura. As I’ve mentioned before, we saw plenty of water on 04 Aug 2013 but this time there was barely any water. Water was dribbling down along the rocky surface and it really was an abysmal view.

Just remember this has two waterfalls either side. The one on the right is called Hal Ella while the one on the left has no name.

 

This is Hal Ella which is the right one of the couple. Just no water

The left part but no name

Pics taken on 04 Aug 2013

You can see the difference for yourself.

 

Here both the falls together

Hal Ella

Other one to the left

Katu Kitul Ella

This one lies just before the Hal Ella, about 50m before when coming from Ratnapura along the same Wewelwatte Road. As Hal Ella, there was hardly any water to see.

 

50m or so beyond is Katu Kitul Ella, no water

Katu Kitul Ella too on 04 Aug 2013

She too was no different with plenty of water then.

 

It was all about water then

Aanda Falls

This is also found along Wewelwatte Road and when coming from Ratnapura around 12km later you’ll meet a huge bridge with 12/1 sign painted on it by the RDA in Meegasthenna. This is just before the Galabada Village.

There’s a footpath to the falls which is roughly 200m to the left just before the bridge. This is also visible from the road passing the bridge.

 

The path near the 12/1 painted bridge at Meegasthenna before Galabada

Here’s the footpath

I guess you call this slow shutter but I call it point-n-shoot

Makeshift shower

There she is

Closer

The bottom

Wish there was more water

Does she look like an Eel?

Well folks, this is the second of my Waterfall Hunting journeys and hopefully there will be a few more for you to see.

Do check my Video Journey too below for more real-like experience.

Video Journey of Siripagama and Wewelwatte Waterfalls.

Keep tuned in (just like most of the FM channels would say).

Take care and keep travelling…