We left Malabe at 8.00 a.m. The destination for the first day was “Olu Ella inn” which is located 15.5km from Yatiyanthota town on the Yatiyanthota – Seeforth road. At around 9.30 in the morning we were stopped by the stunning scenery of the Kelani River at the Karawanella bridge on the A7.

Stunning scenary of Kelani river and the mountains from the Karawanella bridge on the A7 high way

View of the sky, clouds, mountians and the river at Karawanella

After spending about half an hour on the bridge, enjoying the scenery we continued our drive along the A7 towards Yatiyanthota. Just after crossing the bridge over “WE Oya (Wea Oya)” we turned left towards Yatiyanthota town. From the immediate “T junction” we turned left on to the Yatoyanthota – Seeforth road.

The road was narrow but was in good condition. It winds through rubber plantations and forest patches along the bank of the “We Oya”, a tributary of Kelani River. The drive was quite scenic and interesting.

Beatiful Scenary on Yatiyanthota - Seeforth road around Malalpola	Clouds hugging the mountains
A seasonal waterfall?	Road through the rubber plantaions

Enjoying the views, we drove 15.5km from Yatiyanthota to reach our destination of the first day, the Olu Ella Inn. Thanks to the information posted by NG, it was quite straightforward to find the place.

"Olu ella Inn" sign board with absolutely nothing visible on either sides of the raod 🙂

Olu Ella Inn - the path that leads down and over a very long concrete foot bridge took us here

Before lunch, we had a nice cool bath in the river (we Oya) which boarders Olu Ella Inn. There is a extended shallow area with sand bottom right in front of the guest house. perfect place to bath in the river!

As the rain started falling down, we were restricted to the rooms for the rest of the day. So we made maximum use of the “free time” which we rarely get on our “holidays” 🙂

Next day we woke up early in the morning. The rain has stopped and all the signs of a perfect morning were there. We walked further along the main road to see the “Olu Ella” water fall which is apparently the 5th highest in Sri Lanka.

To reach the waterfall, we walked about 500m towards Seeforth from the guest house. The waterfall is right by the road at the 16km post, where there is a wooden bridge over the stream.

The wooden bridge at Olu Ella Falls	The bridge is located just passing the 16th km post on B482
Olu Ella - The section above the bridge	Olu Ella - The section below the bridge

we spent some more time exploring the area. The early morning views were stunning. Weather was quite dynamic too. Bright sun lit mountains and clear skies were so beautiful, and suddenly, thick mist encapsulated the whole area for several minutes without any warning!

Clear Skies and brightly lit mountains	View of "We Oya" and surrounding mountains from the foot bridge leading to Olu Ella Inn
More stunning scenary	Bathing spot in front of Olu Ella Inn
Thick mist encapsulated the whole area for several minutes	Misty "we Oya" seen from the foot bridge

During the hour or so I spent wondering around Olu Ella inn, I was able to see many species of birds. The highlight of the sightings was an Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher which I managed to observe for quite some time while it was busy hunting on the river bank.

After breakfast we packed our bags and left Olu Ella inn. The planned route of the tour was to reach Nawalapitiya – Ginigathhena road through Seeforth from where we were and then return to Malabe via Ginigathhena, Awissawella.

Before we left, Mr. Naragala, the manager of the Olu Ella Inn, told us about the “Weweltalawa” division situated at a unique plateau on top of mountains which can be reached through the Halgolla Estate. He also mentioned that the same road can take us all the way up to the Yatiyanthota ITN/SLBC broadcasting tower. Perfect! we thought, and we drove about 1.5km from the guest house towards Yatiyanthota where we found the estate road to Wewelthalawa in front of the Halgolla factory.

The estate factory - 1.5km towards Yatiyanthota from Olu Ella Inn

Sign Board at the turn off - Note that the road goes all the way to the ITN/SLBC towers

The track was narrow, but well paved. From the very beginning, it was a steep ascend through the estate. We drove up hills through the hair-pin bends. Every minute the scenery was improving! As we reached upper parts of the mountains the forest was mostly intact. There were notice boards everywhere indicating that the forest is protected as it is a main catchment area of the “We Oya”.

We drove 8km, along the track, gaining about 600m in elevation. Finally the track climbed over the huge rock on the top, and there was a vast flat land in front of us! We had reached the “Wewelthalawa division”. We could see the ITN tower at a distant summit behind the village, but the time was not enough to go all the way there.

With every km we climbed, the view improved!	View from a bend closer to the top
Final ascend through the boulders. Note the cable cart used to take tea leaves from the weweltalawa to the factory below	The "Dripping Rock" - The wet platue on top keeps this gigantic rock constantly wet and dripping!
The "Dripping roack" is a place of worship. There is a shrine there.	Passing the dripping roack on the way back from Weweltalawa. Water droplets from the roack constantly wets this stretch of the road.
Weweltalawa division. Note the shed where cable carts terminate and the ITN tower in the background	School at Weweltalawa. The ITN/SLBC tower in the distant hill is about 5km from here.

By 11.30 a.m, we were back on the main road and started driving towards Seeforth. The road up to Seeforth was narrow but in good condition. There were a lot of interesting things to see too…

Drying clove and other spices along the road was a common scene. The colours were attractivie and the scent was strong!

Strange in this day and age, isn't it? 🙂

As we drove further, at one point, the road condition suddenly became really bad! There were large pot holes and we were driving along stretches where tar is almost absent! A little bit of fact-finding revealed that we have reched “Seeforth” and Seeforth belongs to a different local authority. May be they believe in gravel roads as opposed to the paved ones!

From Seeforth, the road was in really bad shape until we reached Nagastenna Estate. There were several stretched in the estate which were well paved but mostly it was either an unpaved jeep track or badly damaged pavement. By the time we reached this area, the weather has also changed. Rain clouds dominated the landscape. So there weren’t many photo opportunities. The surrounding looked great and would have been quite beautiful in a clear day.

Passing Nagastenna Division, we continued through abandoned tea plots, stretches of pines, bushes and forests mostly with occasional human settlements such as the “Galamuduna Colony” until we reached the B119, where we took the right turn towards Gingathhena and returned home via Kithulgala, Awissawella.

Scenary was dull due to the weather condition

Entering Nagastenna Division. Note the distances to Colombo and Kandy (via Nawalapitiya)	A rough wooden bridge, drving over it was a bit scary!
What a location to build a house!	Bumpy jeep track through the pine forest
Occasional signs of human inhabitation	Final stretch before the B119, where you retun to luxury driving on the carpet