Wadakada Waterfall

Wadakada is a typical rural Sri Lankan village encompassed between two highways which connect Colombo to the city of Kurunegala. There lived a poet called Wadakada Navaratne who shared the unspoilt beauty and calmness in his village with many a stranger through his ever-remembered poems which begins to linger and echo in one's ears as one steps into this far away place.

St.Clair's Waterfall

These majestic "St.Clairs" falls are close to the main road from Avissawella to Nuwara-Eliya and can well be seen from the Main Line rail track close to Talawakelle. It falls down in two cascades and is an inviting site for regular bathers because it is fairly easily reacheable from a footpath ( actually there are many ) downhill through greeny tea shrubbery. Named after a British colonist, these are one of two waterfalls threatened by a proposed hydro-power scheme in the area.    

Rikille Ella

Bulathkohupitiya is a small town hidden among the mountains of the hill country. From there , a motorable road leads through hair pin bends to Dedugala. On the way can be seen this waterfall in a very serene landscape . Where it originates and whither it flows , unknown to me. In Sinhalese Rikilla means branch of a tree , and Rikille stands for its possesive noun.

Ravana Ella

Situated in the Dry zone off Welimada this beautiful water fall is a continuous stream of life to the villagers. It provides much needed water for the cultivation of vegetables, their main income. The life-line role of this tiny, yet beautiful waterfall is seen when we first arrived the village. While the surrounding mountains were dirty and dry this particular mountain was greenish and cultivated. According to villages the water of this stream has to be protected from smugglers day and night and for that they have " a shift duty". It is 40m (131ft) tall and in the Uduhawara village .

Mapanana Ella

Mapanana Falls" found at the foot of the "Sri Pada"( Adam's Peak ) range are one of the tallest and the most beautifully formed falls meandering its way down from a height about 150 meteres. Carrying cooly and crystal clear waters from the springs where they are born in the Peak Wilderness Sanctuary this fall is difficult to get near to due to many reasons,the hazard of sudden gushes of water during especially, rainy seasons,being one of them.During my visit there in '95 I also was prevented from wading upstream for the same reason by the villagers.The photo here appeared on The Lankadeepa,95-8-20 Sunday, by Kamilus Wanigasuriya.

Kirindi Oya Waterfall

The Kirindi Oya Falls is the third largest waterfall. It cascades down 200 metres. It can be seen when you go from Ratnapura to Pelmadulla and get on to the Katupitiya road which goes by a tea factory. You have to go along a foot path just beyond the tea factory and if you do not mind the wild grass and reeds, you could go quite close to the waterfall.

Dunhinda Waterfall

"Dunhinda" is one of the mostly spoken-about waterfalls in Sri Lanka. Although she couldn't come even close to the highest waterfalls of the planet in height she rivals many of them when it comes to the natural beauty that it bestows on the environment . Situated about 2 km distance from the main road which runs to Taldena from the remote city Badulla in the Uva Province this is easily accesible and frequently visited by local and foreign visitors. On the way can be seen the "Kuda Dunhinda" ( "Kuda" means small in Sinhala ) which is the prologue to its mighty brother . In native tongue "Dun" means mist or vapour which is the ideal explanation for a waterfall creating wreathes of mist on its way down.