View from the Edge

This view was captured from top of Diyaluma after reaching the edge of bedrock.

Towards the Edge

This photo was taken, while we walking towards the edge of Diyaluma Waterfall.
A breathtaking view of Koslanda can be seen from the edge of the waterfall.

Edge

Above photo was taken from the edge of the hard rock on top of Diyaluma. A few feet away, there is a vertical drop and water falls about 700 feet and goes under the bridge of Beragala - Wellawaya Road. You can see the road below and a van travelling on the road like a dot.

Top of Diyaluma

We recently had a great hiking adventure closer to Diyaluma waterfall. We camped near Uda (Upper) Diyaluma waterfall. Above picture was taken from top of Diyaluma and you can see the silvery line of water falling from the edge of the cliff.

Diyaluma

Diyaluma is the second tallest waterfall in Sri Lanka. At over 700 feet, it is second only to Bambarakanda.

The road to Diyaluma, is as beautiful as the waterfall. The waterfall is formed by Poonagala Oya, a tributary of Kirindi Oya, which meets the sea at Bundala.

There are many hiking routes and camping locations beyond the waterfall and you can climb to the top of the waterfall as well. But you need to be careful, as this area belongs to the wild. There is a high chance of close encounters with a herd of wild elephants along these tracks.

Uda Diyaluma

Diyaluma is the second tallest waterfall in Sri Lanka after Bambarakanda. Remember I told you that, there are many hiking routes in an around this area.

You can discover many smaller waterfalls on top of Diyaluma formed by Poonagala Oya. This is one of the more beautiful ones situated just above Diyaluma. We call it Uda (Upper) Diyaluma Falls.

Mohini

This 100 feet waterfall is known as Mohini Falls. It is situated 2km from Nallathanni, on the way to Sri Pada.

The water cascades like flowing hair of a woman. As per the folklore, Mohini is a female non-human spirit (ghost) who target men.

A few men would dare to walk near the falls alone, after dusk.

Crying Demon

This 60m waterfall is situated above Sama Chetiya (Peace pagoda) of Nallathanni Sri Pada route. The name of the falls is 'Yaka Handu Ella'. It translated to 'waterfall of the crying demon'. I have no idea how it got its name.

I took a photo of the same falls sometime back from the top of Adam's peak.

Off Season

Sri pada season is from December to April each year. Any other period is off season and not many people go there. The weather is not suitable and temple at the top of the mountain is closed and open for few hours during full moon poya days only.

Yet, travelling during off season has other virtues.

This picture was taken in June this year, which had one of the highest level of rainfall, compared to last few years. The result is so many waterefalls that you would not see on other times.

I saw this anonymous quintuplet on the way to Sri pada just after this bend.

Makara Thorana to Sama Vihara

This is the path from Makara Thorana to Sama Chethiya on the way to Sri Pada peak (Nallathanni Route). When you take the bend, you will see four more water falls.

Surathalee

This waterfall, known as Surathalee Ella, was seen on the way from Beragala to Balangoda. It is a delightful sight on the A4 road.

More from Sara

I am attaching complete set of photos from Sara Ella (Falls), here.

One of the most remarkable things about the falls is that you can go inside the rock (a cave) and stay underneath the falls. Have a look at this picture, and you can see the cave with people underneath the falls. The cave is quite spacious and about 20 people can be accommodated there.

Sera

This beauty was found in the northern part of Knuckles Range about 8km from Illukkumbura. The falls is known as Sera Ella and it is one of the many scenic places belongs to Thelgamu Oya.

There is a road that goes very close to this falls and you have to walk about 300m down a foot path to reach there. We did it in the hard way as we walked along Thelgamu Oya and on the way we found another waterfall (Upper Sera Ella / Small Sera Ella) and passed many attractive places down the stream.

All these butterflies were found during that jaunt.

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

More from Thelgamu Oya

This is a picture taken of Thelgamu Oya of Knuckles Range recently.

The earlier picture, I posted was taken at the border of Rathninda and Etanwela villages some time back.

The above picture was taken about 10km further down from Rathninda, just below Sera Ella waterfall.

Little Haven

When I visited Bambarakiri Ella last year, I missed this smaller waterfall named as Punchi Bambarakiri Ella. So, this time when I came to Knuckles Range I made sure I see both.

I crossed the suspension bridge and saw the bigger falls and then walked further steps down and came to this little haven. It is a small waterfall, nevertheless an excellent place.

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

On the Way to the Falls

This scenery was captured on my way to Dunsinane Sheen Waterfall. Click the image for better resolution.

Devon

Devon is another famous waterfall in Sri Lanka.

It is situated close to St. Clair Waterfall of Thalawakele. In fact like St. Clair, you can view this picturesque sight from A7 road (Avissawella – Nuwara Eliya).

The fall is more than 300 feet high and it is formed of a tributary of River Mahaweli, known as Kothmale Oya.

The Goddess of Knowledge

This is the upper part of Dunsinane Sheen Waterfall taken from the top of the bridge. There is a Hindu temple (Kovil) built just adjacent to the falls and the most interesting part is the statue of Goddess Sarasvathi, in front of the falls. The small but intricate statue brings a sacred value to this awesome scenery.

Anyone who is interested to know how this waterfall got its Scottish name, you may refer to this interesting article.

Dunsinane Sheen Waterfall

This lovely waterfall is situated close to a little town known as Punduluoya. To reach here, I traveled from Thalawakele to Thavalamthenne (New Kothmale Town) and turned towards Dunsinane Estate after Punduluoya.

For some reason I liked the long name of the waterfall and wanted to visit this place. Usually long names are customary in Sri Lanka. There is another estate known as Sheen Estate in the same area. So may be it was named after both estates.

The fall has two sections – above the road and below the road. The combination of two waterfalls creates one of the most spectacular sceneries in Sri Lanka.

Paradise for a Hiker

This picture was taken close to Haldummulla on A4 road. The two pointed mountains on the left are known as Balathoduwa and Gonmolli Kanda. Both are over 2000 metres high. The plateau on your right is Horton Plains and the valley in between is where you find Bambarakanda waterfall.

Balathoduwa and Gonmolli Kanda are visible from World’s End, if it is a clear day without heavy mist. If you look closer in the picture, you may see a smaller mountain in front of Balathoduwa. It is known as Wangedigala belonging to the same mountain range. It was used as a watch tower in the ancient times.

I wanted to show this picture because, what lies in front of you is a paradise for a hiker!

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