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Gaveshaka continues the fascinating trip across waterfalls in association with Lanka Council of Waterfalls It
falls in the shape of a bo leaf It's an ideal location for a day trip though one has to be careful about the somewhat treacherous nature of the falls. Water can suddenly gush down and as it happened to a party recently, you can be marooned. Care should also be taken not to slip and fall since one is tempted to climb the rock since the falls do not appear to be very tall. The Bopath Ella cascades in the shape of a bo leaf (Ficus religiosa). That's how it has got its name. Its source is the Kuruganga which later joins the Kaluganga at Kurugammodara. The height is 30 meters and the mean speed of the flow is 6 cubic metres per second. The upper reach of the fall is made up of granite and biotite virin, and is covered by sand. The water from the fall irrigates the paddy fields of the Udakada and Kuruwita areas. Many are the folk legends connected with Bopath Ella. One is about a young man from Colombo, who visited the falls and on losing his way was helped and sheltered by a local village girl. A romance developed between the two and she became pregnant before his departure. He left promising to return but never did. Overcome with grief, she took her own life by plunging into the fall. Villagers say that her ghost haunts the fall. She is supposed to appear as a floating blue light. Another local belief is that a treasure trove lies somewhere within the fall and that one thousand human sacrifices are needed to retrieve it. The fall is rich in bio-diversity. The surrounding plant and tree life includes attikka, kumbuk, midella, dun, para, ginihota, rathmadiya, ketala, and many more. There are many varieties of orchids too. Animal species include wild boar, meemina deer and reptiles. The water is home to many species of fish including bulathhapaya, lellu, magura, korali, sonnu and eel. Situated in the Ratnapura District, Bopath Ella is in the Kuruwita Divisional Secretariat at Agalwatte village. Peessa Falls, a 45m-high fall is enchanting and one of many in the Uva region created by the rains. It is not widely known and is created from an aquifer at the peak of Lunugala Mountain. Later the water flows into the Kurakkan Oya, which flows across Madolsima. The fall is the only one in the area that flows all year round, regardless of droughts, even surpassing the better-known Dunhinda and Diyaluma Falls. When it rains, the extra volume of water makes Peessa Falls cascade in two streams. Peessa Falls is so named as 'peessa', in old Sinhala, refers to a place where people assembled. It is said that it was here that King Dutugemunu assembled workmen to construct 'viharas and dagobas. The 5km Peessa canal irrigates about 20 hectares of land in the agricultural colony all year round. The starting point of the canal resembles a minor fall. There are also five turbines here supplying power to the surrounding area. The nearest town is Passara in the Badulla District. Take the Passara - Bibile road and turn right at the 22nd mile post. Travel for 6km along the road running south. The fall is situated at the Peessa agri-colony. Alternatively, travel from Badulla to Passara, continuing to Lunugala and on to the Hoptain Estate. Turn right at the top here and 8km along the road to Peessa, the fall can be found. |
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