Ballys Magazine August 2017 Ballys Magazine January 2017 Published by Ballys | Page 29

THE DEPTHS OF COLOMBO'S NIGHT LIFE
December 2016 - January 2017
27
Bambarakanda Ella
She holds the proud record of the highest
waterfall in Sri Lanka. With a height of well
over 800ft, according to Wikipedia, she also
ranks 299th in the world list of waterfalls.
However, the list of waterfalls in the world
is far from comprehensive and these
rankings will no doubt change if and when a
comprehensive study is made.
Located off Kalupahana along the A4, one
needs to go along the Kalupahana-Ohiya
Road for about 7-8km before coming
to see this gorgeous and tall lady falling
majestically.Bambarakanda Holiday Resort is
an ideal place for accommodation and meals
should you be tempted to spend some time
close to this sensational beauty.
Unfortunately, diversion of water upstream
has caused her serious trouble greatly
reducing her flow of water. Except in heavy
rainy season that is from December to
February, it’s so hard to see a lot of water in
her. Generally, it’s just a thin streak of water
falling down but when the rains come, she
fattens up and falls majestically showing her
true colours.
She’s originated thanks to the KudaOya, one
of the tributaries of mighty Walawe River.
Laxapana Ella
She ranks 5th among the waterfalls in Sri Lanka and once again Wikipedia has got it wrong. With a
height of 400+ feet she’s a result of the MaskeliyaOya that joins after creatin g this sensual waterfall with
KehelgamuOya to form the Kelani River, one of the four major rivers in Sri Lanka.
She’s situated about 16km off Maskeliya along Norton Bridge Road in a village called KiriwanEliya. Going from
Avissawella, take the Hatton Road (A7) and then turn towards Hangarapitiya at Kalugala Junction. There are
four prominent hydro power plants (Laxapana, New Laxapana, Canyon &Polpitiya) located close to the fall
resulting a certain amount of water depletion.
She plunges straight down to a deep and rocky base creating a massive cloud of water drops that envelopes
the whole area. Laxapana name comes from “Laxa” meaning one hundred thousand and “Pahana aka
Pashana” meaning rocks. According to the folklore, The Lord Buddha stopped here to mend his saffron robe
on his way to the Sri Pada Mountain to preach Dhamma to God Saman.
Visit her during the South-West Monsoon season (May-September) to see her in full flow.
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