Our journey started from around 4.30 in the morning and we proceeded to Rathnapura where had the breakfast. After the breakfast we went to the Rathnapura Maha Saman Dewalaya.

Rathnapura Maha Saman Dewalaya

Rathnapura Maha Saman Dewalaya

We spent a little time there and hit a road again. We went along A4 highway until we came to the Kalupahana junction and took a left turn towards the Bamabarakanda. After proceeding about 4.5 km we had the 1st sight of the Bambarakanda fall at a distance.

View of the waterfall from the road

Then we went to the Bambarakanda Rest and started our hike to the Bambarakanda falls. We took the directions from the caretaker lady at the Bambarakanda Rest. It was not a long and tiring hike, and at the end it was a pleasant surprise to see the natural base pool and have a cool bath, a direct shower from Sri Lanka’s highest waterfall. 🙂

Wild flowers on the way to the waterfall
The base pool at the waterfall where you can have a direct shower from the waterfall (very exciting experience and no danger at all)	This is what you will see when look up from the bottom of the waterfall

After having a nice cool dip in the water we decided to head back to our lodging place to watch the WC final match.

Climbing down from the waterfall

The view of the waterfall from the dining hall of Bambarakanda Rest

On the next day morning we started our journey to the Lanka Ella and to the top of Bambarakanda. We took directions from the caretaker lady at Bambarakanda Rest. Now this was a bit harder journey compared to the previous day’s one, but still wasn’t too difficult.

Through the pine forest…	Be cautious when you walk through the pine forest as the dry pine leaves can be very slippery….it’s very steep and rocky, can be dangerous if you slip.
Out of the pine forest and through the grass lands…	On the way to Lanka Ella
Two slopes…two shades….	Ahhh… the 1st sight of Lanka Ella…
The spectacular “Lanka Ella”	The base pool at Lanka Ella which is shaped like the map of Sri Lanka (Avoid getting into this pool at any cost… heard it is very deep and dangerous. According to the villagers no one have returned from it)
Yet another unique creation of mother nature…

After spending some time at the Lanka Ella we headed to the top of Bambarakanda falls. We had to return through the path we took to Lanka Ella some distance, turn left and climb more through the pine forest. Now this was the hardest part of the hike, but still not too tough. After climbing uphill we were at the summit level of the waterfall

The side view of the Bambarakanda Falls	The waterfall and the natural pool on top of the Bambarakanda falls
Getting ready for going down 790 feet - The cascading point of Sri Lanka’s highest waterfall… (Going to the edge would be dangerous, so mind your step)	View from top of the waterfall towards Haputhale mountain range

Spending some time at the top of Bambarakanda we decided to go for a bath. This time we went to a place which we were told by our lodge’s caretaker lady, a natural pool kind of a place down the stream. This meant we had to climb down the hill and go through the village…

Through the village and paddy fields…
The bathing place… Didn’t look exactly like how it was described by that lady… but still it was a beautiful place to have a dip.	Flowing down to join the “Walawe” river…