Asked, which one is the most beautiful of Sri Lanka’s numerous waterfalls, everyone will give you a different answer, depending on personal preferences. Our own preference is: various sights due to various cacades, bathing opportunity, jungle surrounding and solitude. This is why we think, that Mannakethi Ella can be recommend as one of the most charming waterfalls in Sri Lanka.

Although Mannakethi is situated in only 5 km distance from Kitulgala, which is Sri Lanka’s major tourist hub for adventure holidays, it is rarely visited. The main waterfall is 60m tall. A bassin at the bottom is safe for bathing, though currents are strong close to the foot of the falls. Mannakethi has another pool below a  wider waterfall consisting of several waterfalls, this upper level is just above this horsetail fall. Actually, Mannakethi consists of two waterfalls of quite different appearance, both are very picturesquely surrounded by rocks and dense vegetation.

The source of Mannakethi Fall is a river known as Girankitha Oya, which is a tributary of the Kelani Ganga.

See large photos of the two different waterfalls of Mannakethi Ella here...

Belilena, a cave complex near Kitulgala, is one of the important finding places of the prehistoric Balangoda culture in Sabaragamuwa Province. E.P. Deraniyagala, Sri Lanka’s most renowned anthropologist, found remnants from Sri Lanka’s stone age in Belilena during his excavations from 1978 till 1983. He discovered skeletal remains of ten human beings who lived more than 30.000 years ago. Belilena is declared an Archaeological Reserve. But not much is left from the Balangoda culture in situ. Nonetheless, Belilena is a rewarding destination due to ist natural beauty. It’s an entire group of caves, one of them behind a veil of a small waterfall.

Not many foreign tourists know Kuruwita, a small town just north of Ratnapura. To be honest, Kuruwita is not a must-see for first-time visitors of Sri Lanka. However, if you are travelling via Ratnapura, Kuruwita is well worth a stop. There are two very different major attractions in the immediate surroundings. To the southwest of the town is a typical Buddhist temple known  as Delgamuwa Raja Maha Viharaya. It is special in one respect: It was once Sri Lanka’s Tooth Temple, more precisely, it was the hiding place of the nation’s most sacred object of veneration when the Tooth Temple of the capital Kotte was threatened to be plundered by the Portuguese and when Kandy was bot yet a new Sinhalese capital with a new Tooth Temple.

Attraction number one of Kuruwita is a natural one. The waterfalls of Bopath Ella are to the northwest of Kuruwita town. This is one of the most enchanting waterfalls in Sri Lanka, attracting many visitors particularly in the weekends, most of them not foreigners but Sri Lankans from Colombo. Be aware, swimming below the waterfalls can be dangerous due to sudden floods after heavy rainfall. Deadly incidents occured.

More about Kuruwita...

The waterfall known as Kirindi Ella is the main attraction of Pelmadulla, which is 20 km to the west of Ratnapura. Kirindi Ella is picturesquely situated in a forest near a tea plantation 6.5 km and can be seen from a viewing platform after paying a small entry fee. At the base of the 116 m tall waterfall, the water plunges into a deep pool named Diyagathwala, which can be reached via a flight of stone steps. It is believed that a treasure trove is hidden at the bottom of the pool.

More about Kirindi Ella…

Laxapana Ella, also known as Lakshapana Falls, is somewhat the twin brother of the nearby Aberdeen Falls, a horsetail waterfall in a gorge, the bottom pool of which can be reached via a stairway. Legend has it that both waterfalls are connected by a tunnel. Wth 126 m in height, Laxapana Ellas is one of the Top 10 tallest waterfalls in Sri Lanka. It is situated between the Valleys of Kitulgala and Maskeliya and formed by the Maskeliya river, which is a tributary of the Kelani Ganga.

Find a list of waterfalls that are interesting for travellers here...

Close to the Ella-Wellawaya road (A23) in the Ella Gap is a popular waterfall, which is usually called Rawana Ella or Ravana Ella. But higher above it, there is smaller waterfall not visible from the road. In a narrow sense, only this less-known waterfall is Rawana Ella or Ravana Ella due to the close proximity of the Ravana cave, which is believed to have been one of the places where Lord Rama’s consort Sita was held in captivity by Lanka’s demon king Rawana. The correct name of the waterfall near the road is is “Bambaragama Ella“. It is devided into several cascades, summing up to a total height of about 25 meters. During the local wet season, the shape of the waterfall resembles that of an areca flower with withering petals. We were lucky to see the waterfall in full flood when visiting it the day before yesterday.

Bamarakiri Falls, also known as Bambarakiri Ella, is a picturesque waterfall in several cascades near Rattota in the northwest of Knuckle Range, it can be visited on the way from Kandy or Matale to Riverston or Wasgomuwa National Park. Bamarkiri Falls are not far from the car park. The pool below the suspension bridge and between the upper cascade and the talles fall seems to be inviting for a bath. But deadly incidents occured when people were swimming here.

Sri Lanka is the country of waterfalls. Particularly in the southwest of the central highlands, close to the monsoon lowlands, the density of waterfalls is extremely high. Some of them are easy to reach or can be seen from roads, others are hidden and require some hiking efforts. Aberdeen is a compromise, it’s neither well-known as those waterfalls such as Devon and St. Clair’s and Ramboda that are close to mainroads, nor is it difficult to find like Mannakethi. And visitors have a choice. They can drive to a close-by car park and take a stairway of only a few hundred meteres downwards to the foot of Aberdeen Falls. Or they can enjoy a 16km long half-day hiking tour of 16 km from Kitulgala up and down or start halfway to the falls at Dehnigatenna, from where the distance is 10 km up and down. Aberdeen Falls, though rarely visited, belong to the highest and most splendid waterfalls of Sri Lanka. More about Aberdeen Falls here...