Trekking Rathna ella along Haslaka Oya

Year and Month	2017 August 06
Number of Days	One
Crew	4 (Aged 25-35)
Accommodation	N/A
Transport	Public Transport (Bus/3 Wheeler)
Activities	Scenery, Photography, Hiking, Waterfall Hunting
Weather	Sunny
Route	Kandy -> Gurulupotha -> Seetha Kotuwa -> Popitiya -> Bridge -> Along Hasalaka Oya -> Rathna Ella -> Hasalaka -> Kandy
Tips, Notes and Special remark	Start early as possible Ask directions from locals Do not try during rainy season. Trekking is easy during dry days. Descending will be difficult during rainy days. Carry water for drinking purposes Beware of Wild Elephants. Leech protection may be required during rainy season Be Responsible Traveler and protect environment.

Rathna Ella is a beautiful waterfall located at Haslaka. The Waterfall can be reached easily from Hasalaka. Hasalaka to Rathna Ella Wasama and from there 2-3 Km walk to reach the falls. This is the popular route to the falls. But, we tried a different route which we started from Popitiya (18 Bends Viewing Area).

In our journey we also planned to visit the Seetha Kotuwa which is located at Gurulupotha. So we started early around 7 am from Kandy and reached Gurulupotha at around 9:30 am. There is a 1 km foot path to reach Seetha kotuwa from main road.

History

Rathna Ella – “Superstitious villagers say that there were seven vessels filled with precious stones hidden close to the fall, but five of them have now been found. However, anyone attempting to find the final two will meet an untimely death at the bottom of the fall”

-Amazinglanka

Seetha Kotuwa – “This is the place where the city of Lankapura once stood. The city had a beautiful palace for queen Mandothari surrounded by waterfalls, streams and varieties of flora and fauna. Seetha Devi was kept in this palace until she was moved to Ashoka Vatika. Seetha Kotuwa means Seetha’s fort and got its name because of Seetha Devi’s stay here.”

-Ramayanatours

The Water stream is located near the Seetha kotuwa. We followed the stream up and we found the lime stones and waterfalls which we wanted to see.

There are around 4 waterfalls can be seen at the top. Our timing was not good and water levels were low. But we could imagine the beauty if it is with full flow.

After Seetha kotuwa we came back to Gurulupotha and got in to a bus and got down at popitiya. Popitiya is the place where we have the 18 bend viewing area. The road to Hasalaka oya starts just opposite to this. We hired a 3 wheeler and travelled 4 km to reach the Suspension bridge over hasalaka Oya. A new bridge is under construction. We started our trekking along the haslaka oya around 11.45 am.

After walking around 1-2 km we reached Na kanda wala (as per google). We couldn’t go along the stream due to this barrier. So we took an alternative route skipping this and reached a paddy field above the stream.

After this we got back to the track along the stream. At this place also able see another beautiful cascade.

We reached the upper rathna ella falls around 2 pm at average speed and frequent breaks. This waterfall is a beauty. Descending this falls will take you to the top of rathna ella.

We found a path to descend the fall. But it’s very steep. After reaching the base there is a nice base pool. We had nice bath there and had some biscuits for lunch. At around 5 pm we packed things and started on our way to Hasalaka. There is a 3-4 km walk to the village and we took a 3 wheeler to Hasalaka. From Hasalaka we caught the bus to Kandy. It was another memorable trip.