Kadiyanlena waterfall ( kadi Ella, Ketabula Ella )

Kadiyanlena waterfall ( kadi Ella, Ketabula Ella )

ROUTE:

Navalapitiya-Thalawakale (B317)

IMPORTANT FACTS AND POINTS TO REMEMBER:

·         It is important to have a bottle of water for consumption as well as an umbrella for protection from sunny/rainy conditions.

·         Do not leave anything behind except for your footprints. Do take back everything that you bring in.

·         Nature has the right to existence. It belongs to none other than the future generation. Nature gave life to your mother; hence polluting nature is more or less equal to harming your own mother.

·         Do not consume alcohol while exploring as it is very important to be in your senses while travelling. Intoxication fails to notice the beauty of nature and calls for danger.

Dedicated to all passionate tourists.

The alluring Kataboola Falls also known as Kadi Falls or Kadiyanlena Falls is situated just 10 km from Nawalapitiya on the Thalawakale Road. The fall is visible at the top and bottom of the route in 3 divisions. If you wish to use public transport to view the fall, you need to take the train to Nawalapitiya and then board the 715/1 Nawalapitiya Thalawakale bus. Purchase the ticket to Kadiyanlena Falls and kindly request the conductor to inform you when the bus stop approaches.

As the New Year season came to an end, I travelled to Nawalapitiya with the hope of visiting my younger sister. I was accompanied by my family and we reached Nawalapitya at dusk. After refreshing ourselves at a nearby stream we reached home by night with the hope of exploring the Kadiyanlena Falls at dawn and then returning home.

Though we had planned to leave my sisters residence at morn, we ultimately left past 11 but fortunately reached the fall in 1 hour’s time.

The journey to Kadiyanlena Falls was an absolutely mesmerizing experience.  The fall cascades in 3 divisions at 3 separate locations each with a gap of 200 km. The speciality of this fall is that each part is easily accessible. You can get to the first part by moving to your right towards Nawalapitiya where a staircase will lead you to the fall.

A bridge is built over the second part of the fall on the Nawalapitiya Thalawakale route. A staircase built of stones can be found to your left and this provides safe access to the second part of the fall.

As for the third part, at first it seemed quite impossible to access but then I noticed a stairway leading down to a house, just 100 km towards Nawalapitiya. I used the stairway to get to the house and then made my way down from the back of the house.   

As you near the first half of the fall, you hear a roaring noise due to the ferocious nature of the fall. Your whole body is bound to get wet by the mist in the atmosphere. However the second half of the fall cascades with grace in 2 divisions and the third half with much less ferocity than the first.

Kadi Falls is used by 2 power stations to generate electricity. One of the power stations is also responsible for supplying electricity to the Kataboola Estate for which the upper half of the fall is utilized. The second power station utilizes the lower half of the fall.

Kadi falls is surrounded by natures serenity and the Kataboola Estate, which is at the boarder of the falls adds more elegance to an already picture perfect scenery. Sadly this site as many other sites has fallen pray to heartless people who destroy the environment by leaving back broken glass bottles and polythene covers.

If you wish to have a bath at the Kadi Falls, it is important to note that due to safety concerns, the second and third half of the falls are not suitable.  The best practice would be to have a wash at the water pools nourished by the first half of the fall. However, during the rainy season generally all water pools are considered unsafe including those attached to the first half. The strength of the chute is bound to change and turn ferocious at any given time.

I also came to notice that many tourists at the site were bathing under intoxication. This is extremely dangerous as accidents can turn out to be deathly. If a person’s foot slips and the person gets caught to the chute of the second half, chances of survival are minimal. This applies to the third half as well as the chute pushes anyone that gets caught to it to fall over a rocky surface.

99% of accidents that take place at these sites are due to intoxication. So it is always better to be safe than sorry.