10 July 2010

Thirty Kilometres


Ella – Wellawaya road (A23) is one of the most scenic roads in Sri Lanka.

Ella is situated in the eastern boundary of central highlands and Wellawaya belongs to the low country. The 30 kilometre route from Ella to Wellawaya will descend you nearly 3000 feet. This elevation difference will give you contrasting landscape from the start to end within short distance. The winding road will take you through one of the most beautiful and unique landscapes in Sri Lanka.

The first part of this route is the best part and you will get to see similar sceneries like in the above picture. More pictures of this route are uploaded here.

To see more scenic images, explore this wonderful site - Scenic Sunday.

32 comments:

Rick (Ratty) said...

It does really look like a very beautiful place. By the photo and your description, it must be a hiker's paradise.

rainfield61 said...

Your title is very interesting. How many thirty kilometers we have in our lifetime?

cat said...

I love how green the mountains are.

Sankara Subramanian C said...

Looks amazing! I will run out of superlatives if you keep posting such wonderful photos K!

magerata said...

Valuable information, KP. I am learning a lot about Magerata :). Looks like a very nice hike. If the drop is 3000 ft the climate should also change. Another question is why aren't there any dividers on the road?

Frieda said...

Beuatiful pictures of a beautiful place.

Kirigalpoththa said...

Ratty,
Yep, i didn mention that in the post but this area too is a hiker's paradise.

Rainfield,
Intersting question. If you have time to spare on nature you will have lots of thirty kilomtres in your life. :)

Cat,
These mountains have a very unique shade of green.

Sankara,
Thanks mate! You are doing the same with some fascinating posts of islands in Indian ocean.

Magerata,
Yes climat also changes rapidly. temperature also rises during the descend.
It is an old road but newly widened and re-done. So when i took the picture (a few months back) it didn't have the dividers.

Frieda,
Glad you like it. :)

Thanks all for your comments.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Hi K, I looked at all of the pictures and enjoyed see the road from Ella to Wellawaya... I can tell that you were going down-down-down... Gorgeous views and pictures.

Betsy

Anjana Gunawardena said...

Beautiful as always … great capture K

betchai said...

would be a very beautiful place to hike

Loshini said...

excellent natural lighting, no? :)

Amitha Amarasinghe said...

To add a few points to your excellent intro to 'Ella-Wellawaya' road; I believe this is an iconic route for anyone visiting Sri Lanka. You will experience the climate zone change so rapidly at one point of this route, from may be 18 Celsius to 35 Celsius within a matter of few minutes. What is that famous waterfall we see along this route?

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

Do you drive, or can you trek?

Amila Kanchana said...

Beautiful!Isn't that the way you get to see Rawana falls?

Kirigalpoththa said...

Betsy,
Yes, it is a great route and you are going down and down until you hit close to sea level. :)

Anjana,
Thanks a lot :)

Betchai,
Yep, it is a great area for hiking!

Loshini,
Yes, I did not need to adjust anything in my camera. Light was perfect.

Amitha,
Totally agree. Temperature also changes rapidly in this route. The waterfall is Ravana. :)

Ann,
I actually drove this stretch but you can do lot of hiking here. I will bring some interesting places which you will see only as a hiker in my next posts.

Amila,
Yep that is the road!

Thanks all for your wonderful comments!

NicoleB, Egypt said...

I'm again and again amazed by the beautiful nature you have there!
Lovely greeneries & mountains!

Kirigalpoththa said...

Thanks a lot Nicole! :)

George said...

These photographs are beautiful and the scenery is amazing. It's easy to see why you consider this to be the most scenic road in Sri Lanka.

Kirigalpoththa said...

Thanks George! :)

sbarrkum said...

KP,

I think the Beragala-Koslanda-Wellawaya road is much more scenic. The road is not good, narrow and pot holes.
Stop over for lunch at the only decent restaurant with a fantastic view of Diyaluma falls. 20 mins from Wellawaya, 45 mins from Beragala.

Kirigalpoththa said...

Sbarrkum,
I kind of agree with you.
Yes, Beragala-Wellawaya road also has similar quick change within a short distance and it is a very scenic road.
Diyaluma is a great sight but I am not aware of the restaurant you mentioned. Must check it out next time.
This one and this one was taken on that road :)

Thanks for your comments.

Knatolee said...

I can't wait to visit again!!!!

Kirigalpoththa said...

Knatolee,
Glad your previous visit to SL made you come again :)
Thanks for your comments.

Harshi said...

It looks like a great big rock covered in a plush carpet of green.. and a very scenic spot for hiking. The steepness here isn't too high for a beginner too.

You must've collected tons of info and pics by now to fill up dozen travel guides right? =D

Kirigalpoththa said...

Harumi,
Yes, there should be a rock underneath. That is why you do not see big trees on most part of the mountain. It is not too steep but still challenging to climb as there are no paths.
I have quite a collection but not enough yet :D

Jenn said...

A lovely scenic road indeed.

Carolyn Ford said...

That is a beautiful route to drive. How I would love to do just that!

EG CameraGirl said...

Very scenic. It is usually this green this time of year?

Hilda said...

That sounds like such a wonderful drive! Beautiful hills!

Janith said...

Beautiful captures K (including the ones on the Picasa album). I've never traveled the entire road I think, but have traveled from the Ella side down to Ravana falls a couple of times. The Ella motel offers a beautiful view of this area. The 'Ella gap' if I'm not mistaken. :)

stan said...

TT looks like some nice place for trekking!

Kirigalpoththa said...

Carolyn,
You'll surely like a drive on this road.

Eg Wow,
Yes you could see the same color all 365 days here.

Hilda,
Thanks a lot for your comments.

Chavie,
Yes this is Ella Gap. Ella Motel is one of my favourite rest houses. It is situated at a perfect location. Ella to Ravana falls section is the best part of this route.

Stan,
Yep, this is a great place for hiking.

Thanks all for your comments.