Madulsima - Pitamaruwa Mini World's End

Madulsima, also transcribed Madolsima, is a picturesque village, the surroundings of which encompass the remotest among Sri Lanka's five escarpments that are called "Mini World's End". The Pitamaruwa Mini World's End of Madulsima, within day excursion distance from Ella and Badulla, is a scenic view point rarely visited by foreign travelers, but it's pretty popular with Sri Lankan hikers and campers. The ending "ruwa" in the toponym "Pitamaruwa" indicates "beauty", there is a reason for it.

Seasons and best times to visit

In general, the month with the clearest views in the area of Madulsima is August. However, the Pitamaruwa Mini World's End is particularly famous for the cloud formations seen from above and sometimes blown over the ridges just below the view point. For enjoying this most amazing sight at Madulsima's Mini World's End, the best months are February and March.

Definitely the best time to visit the Mini World's End is the early morning. Most hikers go there for sunrise or soon afterwards to observe the spectacularly changing cloud formations. However, the late afternoon is also recommendable, particularly during the local dry season in the northern hemisphere summer time.

Pitamaruwa Mini World's End and nearby Madulsima Pathana

The hiking path from the small car park at the gravel road is only 1.5 km long (1 mile). The Pitamaruwa Mini-World's, marked by the hemispherical panoramic map, is nestled on a rock which has a more than 300 m (around 1000 feet) almost vertical escarpment to the east. The view point's elevation above sea level is 1388m (4554 feet).

view from the panoramic map to the neighbouring precipice further south

view from the same vantage point to the north

The even higher higher rock seen from here to the south surmounts the bottom of the escarpment by almost 450 m (around 1500 feet). The bottom of the valley, however, is more than 1000 m (around 3500 feet) below the peak of the said rock. (Please note, almost all other websites introducing Madulsima give completely different figures concerning altitudes, but they seem to have been copied from each other without doublechecking.)

Madulsima Pathana

Another great view point is Madulsima Pathana just 400 m further north, as the crow flies, but to be reached from a bend of the gravel road 1.3 km north of the said car park of Mini World's End. Walking distance from the bend to the vantage point of Madulsima Pathana is less than 1 km (0.6 miles).

There are several waterfalls in the area between Madulsima und Lunugala and Passara, namely Geradi Ella, Pessagama Ella and Bessama, Ella, the latter has a shallow but cold natural pool.

Accommodation & CampinG Option and Equipment

Camping at the site called Madulsima Mini World End Camping just at the Pitamaruwa Mini World's End requires a special permission. However, there are easier to arrange camping options in the surroundings, such as Hills Camping Ground 4 km (2.5 miles) and Madulsima Nature Camping 7 km (4.5 miles) further south.

Rathkele Pathana near Madulsima Mini World's End

We recommend Rathkele Pathana Camping Site, called Rathkala Camping Place in Google Earth. It's situated 4 km (2.5 miles) north of the Mini World's End car park by road. Rathkele Pathana, also known as Ragala Mountain, can be called an attraction in itself, as the precipice is an excellent vantage point and sunrise point, with views to the other precipitous edges of the spectacular north-south ridge in both directions.

camping site near the precipice of Rathkele Pathana

view from Rathkele Pathana Camping Site to Pitamaruwa

Be aware that due to the elevation the last hours of the night can get quite cold in Madulsima, temperatures below 10 degrees centigrade before sunrise are not rare events here. Moreover, the edge of the plateau is quite windy and sometimes stormy. A rain cover for the tents is recommendable, as weather conditions can change rapidly in this moutainous area. As there is no place to buy clean water and food far and wide, bring food and carry sufficient amounts of water with you. Leeches are not as abundant as in Knuckles Range or Sinharaja, however, leech protection is nonetheless recommendable.

For those preferring a room instead of a tent, simple accommodation can be arranged with the help of the manager of the Rathkele Pathana Camping Site. For guests who wish a star-categoy option, Madulsima Hobbit Resort is not far from Rathkele Pathana. It's located in only 1.3 km (0.8 miles) walking distance from the escarpment of Rathkele Pathana.

Location of Madulsima

Pitamaruwa Mini World's End and Rathkele Pathana belong to area of Roeberry Tea Estate. Madulsima village and its Pitamaruwa Mini World's End 15 km further north are situated in the southeastern part of Sri Lanka's central highlands, halfway between the Uva Basin around Welimada/Badulla to the west and the hills of Gal Oya National Park to the east.

Most visitors arrive via the B360 road from Passara, a town on the pass between Badulla and Moneragala. Driving distance from Passara to Pitamaruwa Mini World's End is 36 km (22 miles), the first part of the road to Madulsima village is 21 km long (13 miles). The road distance from the touist hub Ella is 67 km (42 miles), from the provincial capital Badulla 55 km (34 miles). For visitors arriving from the east via Bibile or Moneragala, there is a shortcut to the Mini World's End, viz. a steep and bumpy 15 km (10 miles) long gravel road starting in Lunugala at the eastern foot of the range.

The Madulsima-Lunugala Range is a series of parallel ridges stretching more than 30 kms (20 miles) from Passara in the south to Andaulpotha near Nagadeepaya Reservoir in the north, the latter belonging to the Bintenna plains around Mahiyangana. The range is bordered by the valleys of Kumbukkan Oya to the east, this river draining off southwards, and Loggal Oya (Loggala River) to the west, the latter streaming northwards to the said Bintenna region. With an elevation of 1490 m, the backyard mountain of Madulsima village is highest peak of the Madulsima-Lunugala Range, whereas Pitamaruwa has the second highest point of the range, at an altitude of 1480 m, it's just 400 m south of the Mini World's End. The main ridge, however, is on the opposite side of Madulsima village, stretching 12 km in an elevation between 1200 and 1300 m from Madulsima to the mountains called Lunagala and Thattagala near Passara, the latter two peaks being hiking destinations and great view points, too, whereas Kalugala is a popular hiking spot in the northern part of the range.

Administrationally, this entire area of the Madulsima-Lunugala Range is part of the Badulla District in the Uva Province, which is the southeasternmost of Sri Lanka's four purely inland provinces.

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