A morning visit to Dunhinda waterfall.

A legend beforehand:

In the 14th century, Princess Mampitiya Anuhas Menike Bandara fled with her lover, commoner Kahapitiya Arachchi Bandara, from the wrath of her father, the ruler of Gampola. Frustrated by the inability to remove traces and marks from wherever they were, the lovers, promising their eternal love, plunged into the depths of the pool. It is said that after their tragedy, more tragedy fell upon the surrounding villages: a terrible storm swept away entire villages, including Kosgolla, along with people, livestock, poultry and everything.
The name of the princess “Anuhas” in Sinhalese means supernatural powers. Another legend is about an entrance to a secret 30-km corridor hidden near the falls. The treasure of Prince Kumarasinghe of Uva is hidden somewhere in the falls.

How the pad is:

The trail to the falls is across the road from the parking lot. It is quite rough and steep here and there, so be careful and wear appropriate shoes. The valley at this point is also quite narrow, so it can get very hot. The humidity is also very high near the falls, which is noticeable coming down from the highlands. At the beginning of the hike and along the route, there are numerous stalls selling cold drinks, herbs, etc. Because the falls are very popular with Sri Lankans, foreign travelers are not bothered too much.

Shortly after the beginning of the trail you can see the lower falls . A long way down into the valley below. They are only about 15 m high and much wider than the main waterfalls. A ledge about 10 m from the top provides a spectacular “Spurt” as the river flows high. At the main waterfall, the river plunges in two steps of about 60 m through a ‘V’ in the rock that creates a beautiful haze (Dunhida) from which the waterfall gets its name. There are granite cliffs on either side and a large pool at the bottom. It is quite spectacular and well worth seeing. There is also a large, kidney-shaped viewing platform here where concrete tables and benches have been built to create a pleasant picnic area. Picnicking alone is something you never do alone, and I also advise against it, unfortunately it is ruined by visitors because they feed the Toque macaque, this monkey species is so annoying that they will do anything to open bags to steal what is edible.

The falls are fed by Badulla Oya, a tributary of the Mahaweli River. Although the falls are not the highest on the island, but in fact the seventh, they are known for their sheer volume. They spew out an impressive amount of water that creates great clouds of mist as it plunges into the pool below and also sprays us on the viewing platform. Dunhida in Sinhalese means mist.

Along the path there are several opportunities, depending on the season, to photograph different plants and flowers as well as butterflies and birds, such as the yellow-eared bulbul and others. Of course, also the Toque macaque is found many times in the trees near the path. In the surrounding hills, small streams of water form which seep into the rocks, giving them a beautiful color, pattern and shape. All in all, it is worth protecting and visiting this part of nature. A little but strong advice, is for all places in Sri Lanka, and also the rest of the world, leave only your footprints and take the junk home and put it in the garbage bucket there.

The equipment: 

Camera: Om-1 

Lenses: MZuiko 12-40mm and 40-150mm f/2.8 Pro 

Filters: Kase Magnetic Circular Polarizer and ND filters 

Tripod: Leofoto LS-324C Ranger Tripod + LH-40 Ballhead 

Software: Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop