Seven waterfalls (ඇලි හත) is a collection of seven waterfalls at the upstream of Seethawaka ganga (tributary is called Naya ganga). Even though the access route is from Deraniyagala, seven falls belongs to Nuwaraeliya district and also all seven falls are inside the peak wilderness sanctuary. This exciting adventure will take you out of busy homosapiens to calm and cool virgin green forest with pure water streams.

This story begins by year 1992, when I was around 10 years old I could barely remember one of my uncles told a story about hiking “Eli hatha” which was an epic adventurous tour with full of fear, courage and excitement.

The idea of hiking Eli Hatha was deep inside my mind for years and years which came out to real in 2006 with the help of my friends.

We (the crew) came to Deraniyagala by the day before the hike. The first bus from Deraniyagala to udamaliboda starts at 6.15 a.m. It was 8 people and backpacks filled with food. We came to Udamaliboda around 7.30 a.m. It was a bright sunny morning with no sign of rain clouds. But rains can be expected at any time since it (April) was the starting period of showers.

Bus is Ready for departure at Udamaliboda final bus stop (samupakara Handiya)

From Udamaliboda we headed to the first fall. Directions were found with the help of local residents. In first 15 – 30 minutes of walking you will find the intersection for Adams peak trail (Uda Maliboda). After one to one and half hours walking the first glimpse of the first fall can be observed. Crew members were got excited with the beauty of first fall.

Starting

Water

Before starting the hike let’s look at the 1:50000 map for the seven falls.

1:50000 map for the seven falls (Click map to enlarge)

First glimpse of the fall one

A mini hydro project is undergoing around first and the second falls. You can take the trail made by those workers up to the 2nd waterfall.

After the second fall you have to find your way. We always tried to hike along the stream. Sometimes we had to go through the forest, but didn’t go away far from the stream.

Fall number 1

Fall number 2

Fall number 3 was hard to access; therefore we decided to proceed to number 4

Fall number 3	Fall number 4
Rocks are rocking	Green
Line of thirst	Cascades

Fall number 5 - Hiking all the way up to fall number 5 is not difficult

Falling (Fall number 6 and 7)

The most tricky and difficult part was climbing from 6 to top. And it’s very hard to access fall number 7. We climbed these two falls at once from the left side of the stream.

At the top, the stream becomes calm and quit. We decided to camp at the top
Warning: it’s too too risky to camp on the stream in any season.

Morning

Cascades at the top of the seventh fall

Hiking down

In the second day we started coming back. We took the same route used for climbing up for all the way back. Coming back from seven to five is bit difficult. It just took four to five hours to reach the fall 1(starting point). According to the previous report on eli hatha there is an another footpath. You can decide which way you could take depending on the crew and the time factor.

We did not know anything about the trail which has mentioned in his report. And also there were no guides with us.

Bambaragala will be on your left at the top of the seventh fall

Silence

All the way back

Return back:
The bus service from Udamaliboda to Deraniyagala in the late afternoon could not be guaranteed. If you are seeking public transportation, there will be tea transporters and minivans which could help you reach Deraniyagala. A minivan would be the best option from Udamaliboda to Deraniyagala. The last CTB bus leaves from Deraniyagala to Awissawella at 8.00 pm. If you miss the 8.00 O’clock bus you need to hire a van up to Avissawella.

This was a trip we went to see the waterfalls near Sinharaja border. The crew is consisting of different age groups. We leave Colombo in morning and reach Neluwa in afternoon. First we went to see the “Kosmulla Dhuwili Ella”. For this you have to take left turn at bridge over Gin River about a kilometer before Neluwa town. This waterfall has three levels and there are steps leading to top of the waterfall. So we climbed to the top.

First level of Kosmulla Dhuwili Ella

Kosmulla Dhuwili Ella from the top

We had our lunch near the waterfall. Next we came back to Neluwa and went to Deniyaya. Then through Pallegama we went to Mederipitiya. From there onwards we had to walk about three kilometers along a foot path and crossed Gin River to reach Pitadeniya Conservation Centre. We stayed night there.

Board near Ticketing counter

Map of the area (Click Image to Enlarge)

Next day early morning we get up and had a bird watching session. We were able to see many birds in Sinharaja forest.

Bee-eater	Bird with the nest
Another bird with the nest	Pitadeniya Conservation Centre

After having breakfast we started to walk to Lankagama. There’s foot path going to Lankagama from Pitadeniya Conservation Centre. We walk through the path watching the beautiful surrounding. We first reach the “Brahmana Ella”. There’s trail that goes up to other waterfalls. Within a one kilometers we were able to see another four waterfalls. By name “Thattu Ella”, “Dhuwili Ella”, “Gal-Oruwa Ella” and “Ura-wetuna Ella”.

Brahmana Ella	Thattu Ella
Dhuwili Ella - Lankagama	Gal-Oruwa Ella

Then we came back to Pitadeniya Conservation Centre and had our lunch. Next we cross Gin River and took left turn to towards Lankagama and took right turn to reach the “Kekuna Ella” and “PathanOya Ella“. Next day while us returning we went to see the “Hathmale Ella” near Pallegama.

Ura-wetuna Ella	Kekuna Ella
Pathan-Oya Ella	Hathmale Ella

We started form the suburbs of Colombo at about 4.00 in the morning. The crew was eight in two Land Cruiser BJ43 jeeps. I was driving mine and Hari was driving his, both jeeps were packed with gear and rations for two nights camping.

The drive to Vilpattu was quite effortless. It was early morning and road up to Puttlam is in great shape. With just two stops, one for fuel and the other for breakfast, we were at the park entrance well before noon.

I’m a big fan of Vipattu. One reason I love it because of its shear size. The camp site we reserved is known as the “Kali-Villu” which is 40km in side the park from the entrance. For a country that is just 400km long from the top to bottom, that is quite a bit of a distance away from civilization!

The main points of interest inside the park. Note how far they are from the entrance!

After completing the formalities we started our journey to the camp site at around 10.00 a.m. Just half and hour later, may be after driving about 15km, an unexpected happened. Hari had a flat tire. Changing the tire was not a big deal but now we are down to just one spare for both jeeps with a lot of driving to be done in the wild!

From there the rest of the journey to Kali Villu camp site was incident free but full of excitements. The leopard mother with two cubs that we met on the way was the highlight of the journey.

Changing the flat. Having to rely on just one spare is not a good thing

Mother leapard and the two cubs was the first sighting of the day

At the camp site we settled for lunch and relaxed a bit before the late afternoon drive to explore more of this magnificent park.

The camp site “Kali-Villu” did not excite us that much. Located at the edge of one of the larger lakes, their location wasn’t too great. Access to water was not easy either. The sandy camp ground and strong winds made it even more hostile.

Sandy and hot Kali Villu Camp site - not the greatest in the park

eventhough the large waterbody was right next to us, we had to dig a small well for easier access

The afternoon game drive was quite exciting. As per the planned trek, we had to cross a section of flooded trail where Hari got stuck unexpectedly. Little bit of winching took him out without much of a hassle.

After the inter monsoon rains, the park was some what flooded.

Hari's jeep got stuck but a little bit of winching got him out without much trouble

After driving few more minutes around the lake we came across what we were looking for, the spotted, illusive king of the beasts. The first encounter was when it was basking in sun close to Borupan Villuwa. Harith managed to get few great shots of it in evening light. As we were watching it started to move in to the forest. We decided to follow him at a distance. It walked along the jeep track occasionally stopping and sting for few minutes staring at us.  Finally it settled on a grass patch allowing us to take some great shots.

We first spotted it while it was basking in sun	The beast started to move as soon as it spotted us. It slowly got on to the jeep track
It sat on the jeep track and gave a nasty look at us "who is following me?"	It finally settled on grass nicely posing for the camera

After an unforgettable afternoon at Vilpattu we settled on our camp site to spend the night. Even with the diffifulties of sand and wind we managed to get a good night sleep and woke up to another bright, sunny and beautiful morning at Vilpattu.

The seond day was not as exciting as the first day. While we enjoyed the beautiful scenary and observed some birds there wasn’t anything exceptional. May be the camping lunch prepared by Laleendra was the highlight of the day.

A purple Heron about to take off	Purple water flowers adding a magical touch to the beautiful landscapes of the park
Camping lunch prepared by Laleendra was the highlight of the second day	Sun set over the forest was remarkably beautiful on the second day

Unsatisfied with our camp site, we were also looking for alternatives. Our guide brought us good news. One of the better camp sites, “Mara Vila” was vacant for that night. So we immediately decided to shift. The new camp site was great. It had easy access to water, plenty of shade, and slid ground to pitch our tents. It even had a tree house (rather a sleeping platform on a tree).

The tree platform at Mara Vila Camp site. This camp site was much better than the Kali Villuwa

The day to came to an end with unsetting behind the trees creating a magical feeling and another peaceful night under the stars approached us.

The last and the third day dawned with more excitements. We packed our stuff and left the camp site quite early.

It was a long journey back to the civilization but it was again an eventful one. We managed to take some nice shots of a bee-eater and watch two leopard cubs playing for about an hour. By 12.00 noon we were outside the park and were heading back to Colombo with sweet memories of three days at Vilpattu National Park.

About to leave the camp site.	Green Bee eater was the first photo opprtunity of the day.
One of the most unforgettable moments of the trip. We were lucky to observe these playful leopard cubs while thier mother is away	Heading back with memories of three days at Vilpattu National Park