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DateLine Sunday, 1 June 2008

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Nature’s cascading beauties

Among nature’s most breathtaking sights are gushing, frothing, foaming waterfalls that wind their way through lush green foliage.

Viewed from a distance, these cascading water bodies create captivating images; they resemble giant silvery snakes gliding down mountainsides, dazzling white streamers dancing in the wind and lilly-white veils flowing with the gentle breeze. Whether big or small, all waterfalls are fascinating and many of them are picturesque.

Our motherland is dotted with a large number of these natural beauties and today we feature a select number of them from different parts of the country, some of which may not be very familiar to you as they are small, wayside or forest falls.

Bopath Falls (Ella)

Most of you must have visited this beautiful bo-leaf shaped waterfall which is only 86km from Colombo, located five km off the Hikgashena turn-off on the Colombo-Ratnapura (A-4) trunk road.

This waterfall which is 30 metres (99ft) in height rises from Kuru Ganga (a tributary of the Kalu Ganga) and flows through jungle and scrubland over an angular rock bed. As it comes down in three cascades, it creates a bo-leaf shaped area, inspiring its name. The area where the waterfall joins the river is very broad, sandy and shallow.

Bambarakanda Falls

Even though the Diyaluma Falls is very famous and accepted by many as the highest waterfall in the country, Bambarakanda Falls records a height of 790ft (on the nearby signboard) and 795ft in the road map published by the Surveyor General’s Department. Some claim it’s 863ft high and therefore in reality it is the highest waterfall in the country.

It is located in the Kalupahana area on the Colombo-Bandarawela main road.

The thin stream of water which plunges over a rock slab like a thin silver rope, splits into two at 1/4 of its length.

Perhaps, some of the reasons this may not be as popular as the Diyaluma falls are the lack of beauty, its location and the limited water as it flows down the rock slab.

Ritigaha Oya Falls

A beautiful, broad waterfall located about eight Km down the Bulathkohupitiya-Dedugala road, it has been renamed as Nalagana Ella today. The fall which is about 40 mts (132ft) in height is formed by the Ritigaha Oya, a tributary of the Kelani River.

Flowing parallel to the above mentioned road though not visible most of the time due to the trees and shrubs, it comes down like a veil over a broad granite rock bed into a deep pool situated on a steep slope about eight km from Bulathkohupitiya.

Pulun Falls

Located about 15 km from the Ratnapura town on the Colombo-Ratnapura-Batticaloa trunk road, this 286ft waterfall is picturesque. Due to its resemblance to cotton (pulun in Sinhala), as it plunges from the rock wall breaking into a thin spray, it has been popularly named as the Pulun Ella.

The upper cascade of the fall plunges into a pool of water, rushes from the jungle and overflows to form the lower cascade. The lower cascade which is double the height of the upper one, plunges on to the left and right, spreading across a wide area to creates a picturesque sight.

Lakshapana Falls

Flowing from an altitude of 115 metres (379ft) the Lakshapana Falls which is located close to the Aberdeen Falls around the Norton Bridge town is believed to be the seventh highest fall in the country.

Originating from the Maskeli Oya, it flows over a lengthy rockbed horizontally and plunges into a pool. Then in three equal string-like formations through the hard rock, the water flows vertically down along the hard rock wall, merging into one at the bottom.

Devon Falls

It is a beautiful roadside waterfall which has become very popular due to its location. At 323ft, the Devon falls is set opposite the valley on the Avissawella-Hatton-Nuwara Eliya main road.

The brook flows over a narrow bottleneck rock ledge, and falls vertically over the same rock wall in a single cascade. It eventually joins the Kotmale Oya, a tributary of the Mahaweli River.

The waterfall gets its name from the tea estate in its vicinity which had been named after Devon, a pioneer coffee planter in the hill country.

Helboda Falls

A beautiful wayside waterfall, it is the first among a series of such falls you’ll encounter on the Gampola - Nuwara Eliya (A-5) main road.

More than 23 feet high, it rises in the hills (north of the road) which belongs to the chain of Dolosbage Mountains. The water cascades through a narrow gap over a hard rock which seems to be carved into tiny steps. It flows under the bridge and joins the Mahaweli River.