We stayed at Nuwara Elya for just one night during our travel to Sri Lanka. Our main goal was to get to Adams Peak from here. So we had a few hours of road trip planned and some waterfalls to see.
Lover’s Leap Fall
After starting our journey from our hotel at Nuwarar Elya, we went to visit the nearest waterfall – the Lover’s Leap Fall. You can see a glimpse of this waterfall from the main road. Not because it is so big but because the trail is short, and it took us about 30 minutes to walk to the bottom of the fall. The trail that leads to the fall is inside a small village. You will have to walk in between small houses along the way. We found some beautifully painted local houses with gardens surrounding them. It was drizzling some rain while we were walking. Fortunately, we had our raincoats with us. It gets a bit rocky at the last part of the trail, so you need to be careful here. The fall has a good height. It is long enough that some water gets carried away with wind and sprays around the fall. The origin of the name is written on a signboard there. As legend has it – a prince of a distant past falls in love with a village girl. But they knew their marriage was forbidden in their society. So they decided to jump from the top of the fall to find each other in the afterlife. Such a tragic story!
St Clair Waterfall
Our next stop was St Clair waterfall. This waterfall is nicknamed the little Niagara of Sri Lanka due to its width. But these days, the fall does not get much water from above. In 2018, the authority built a dam along the way of the waterfall. This significantly reduced the beauty of it. If you want to see a full St Clair, then you will have to go there during heavy rainfall. There is no trail beside the road to go close to the waterfall. Instead, they built a viewpoint from where you can see the fall with a better view. We decided to go beyond the viewpoint. There was no pathway. We just started getting down the slope little by little to get as close as possible. The slope ended with a cliff, so we didn’t go that far. But I was able to take some close-up photos of the waterfall. I didn’t have my camera, so had to go up close to get those shots with the phone.
Mohini Waterfall
The last waterfall we got to see was very close to Adams Peak. This one is called the Mohini waterfall. There is no trail here. You just stop roadside and get to see this beautiful waterfall. And this road and the waterfall have another lore around them. First, the name Mohini suggests a beautiful bride. As our guide/driver, Mr. Jagat, explained, the waterfall resembles the white veil of a wedding gown. And the drivers who cross this road frequently often see a bride with a white veil standing on the road during night hours. Not sure if Mr. Jagat was trying to impress us or scare us!
These are the waterfalls you should visit if you are taking the same route as us to visit Adam’s Peak and if you are a waterfall chaser like me. By the way, if you happen to see any bride with a white veil along the way, don’t say I didn’t warn you!
