The beautiful and famous Diyaluma falls is situated in the quiet town of Koslanda in Badulla district, Sri Lanka. Being 220m tall, she is the fourth highest waterfall in Sri Lanka and ranked as 361st in the world in terms of the height.
About the destination
Punagala Oya, a tributary of Kuda Oya flows along the Koslanda plateau and plunges down in a single drop in a horsetail shape to create this magnificent beauty. This waterbody crosses the main road and joins Kirindi Oya later. In Sinhalese, Diyaluma/Diya Haluma means “the rapid flow of water” and during the rainy season, she provides a spectacular sight to the passer-by travellers of Colombo – Badulla highway.
There are a couple of folklores around Diyaluma falls. The most famous one is about the King and the young woman from a lower cast. They were in love and when King’s family got to know about their affair, they got angry and restricted him from seeing the young woman. As a result, they decided to run away. At the site where the fall is situated now, they began to climb up the rocky surface using creepers. Though the king made it, the young woman fell and met her death because her creeper was tangled with a rock. Heartbroken, the king cried and cried with agony and seeing this, a deity collected his tears and made them into a waterfall where it stands today.
The tragic story of Ashna and Harris is still being told by the villagers of the area. In 1910, two tourists, Ashna and Harris began climbing up the fall in front of the villagers. When Ashna climbed up first and started to climb down, Haris’s pride was injured and he cut Ashna’s rope and then cut his own, plunging them both to their deaths. Though these incidents have made the fall famous and over the years, many people were successful in climbing up the waterfall afterwards.
A famous hike in the present time is to see the waterfalls situated above Diyaluma falls, particularly the Upper Diyaluma waterfall. Travellers love to reach the mouth of the waterfall and take beautiful photos with the breathtaking views of Koslanda valley. Though this is a risky thing to do in the rainy season, you can always choose to have a dip in the pools beneath the waterfall and enjoy your day.
Reaching the destination
From Colombo
Take the Southern expressway and exit from Gelanigama interchange, travel along Ratnapura – Horana – Panadura road (A8) and join Colombo – Batticaloa highway (A4). Reach Kosland and at the Diyaluma falls bridge, the waterfall will be at your left.
From Badulla
Take Bandarawela – Badulla road (A5) and turn to Badulla road (A16) from Hali Ela. Reach Wellawaya via Ella – Wellawaya – Kumbalwela highway (A23) and turn right from Wellawaya town to Colombo – Batticaloa highway (A4) to reach your destination.
