Trail Difficulty: Easy | Moderate | Strenuous | Tough

Trail Head: Pitadeniya Conservation Centre, Deniyaya

Nearest Town: Pallegama                     Nearest City: Deniyaya

Access to Trail head:

Route to Pallegama

Route1: Colombo -> Rathnapura [100km on A4] -> Pelmadulla [19km on A4] -> Madampe [13km on A18] -> Rakwana [11km on A17] -> Suriyakanda [19km on A17] -> Deniyaya [37km on A17 & 1km on B99] -> Pallegama [5km]

Total distance from Colombois 205km

Route2: Colombo -> Galle [120km on A2] -> Deniyaya [81km on A17 & 1km on B99]  -> Pallegama [5km]

Total distance fromColombois 207km

From Pallegama, two routes are available to PCC.

Route1: From Pallegama take right turn to Mederipitiya Road, drive 4 km along Mederipitiya road to reach Mederipitiya (N: 06° 20‘ 51.1” E: 80° 29‘ 58.1”). Cross a narrow bridge and drive 1.5km. You cannot drive beyond this point (N: 06° 21′ 19.0’’ E: 80° 29′ 29.5”). Park your vehicle here and walk 1.5 km along Lankagama foot path and cross “Gin Ganga” river to reach PCC.

Route2: From Pallegama continue along the same road 2.7km further without turning right to Mederipitiya road. At this point there is an anicut (irrigation canal gate). Take the right turn to the jeep track from this point. This 10.2 km jeep track will take you to PCC.

Note that the last 5 km of this track is an extremely challenging and you should NOT attempt this route without a serious 4WD (or a farm tractor!) and a very experienced driver. There is a stream crossing which is impossible to pass during when it rains. We do not recommend this road simply because it is much easier and faster to take route1 even though it involves some walking.

Trail End: PathanOya Falls            Total Length: 2.1 km

Elevation Gain: Negligible (Elevation at Trail Head: 238m | Elevation at Trail End: 331m)

Approximate time: 1 – 2 hours

Hiking Season: Best months are January to March. July, August is also fairly dry. Avoid monsoon months.

Permit Required: YES. Permit can be obtained from the Pitadeniya Conservation Center (PCC).

Trail to “PathanOya Ella” falls is one of several nature trails from the Pitadeinya Conservation Centre in the southern tip of Sinharaja Rain forest. This area of Sinharaja forest encompasses several beautiful waterfalls. Walking the trail described here will let you observe two of them, “Kekune Ella” falls and “PathanOya Ella” falls.

The trail goes along the bank of the Gin Ganga, which boarders PCC, for a brief length and then along PathanOya River, a branch of “Gin Ganga” river, up to the waterfall. PathanOya merges with “Gin Ganga” slightly upstream from PCC.

0 to 300m: To enter the trail, cross Gin Ganga from PCC (waypoint: KP00) and get on to the Mederipitiya – lankagama foot path. As you enter the Lankagama foot path (waypoint: KP01), take left turn towards Lankagama village (the right turn will take you to Mederipitiya). Walking 300m along the footpath, the trail divides in to two branches (waypoint: KP011). The left branch is to Lankagama village and you should continue along the right branch.

300m to 600m: As you continue along the right branch, the foot path will gradually become a narrower nature trail. You are surrounded by the Sinharaja rain forest, one of the bio-diversity hot-spots in the world. This 300m section is pretty much flat and fairly easy to walk.

At about 600m from the trail head, you will reach another “Y” division of the trail (waypoint: KP02). While both right and left branches will take you to the waterfall (they merge 200m from the fall), taking the left branch, which goes along the river bank, will let you see another smaller waterfall called “Kekuna Ella”. Therefore the rest of this guide will describe the trail along the river bank (left branch).

600m to 1.1km: As you walk forward from KP02, trail becomes more irregular. From this point onwards there will be small climb ups and climb downs. There will be obstacles such as tree roots and boulders typical for trails in ever green rain forests.

At 1.1 km from the trail head, you will reach a point where you can see another stream merging with pathanoya creating a small waterfall called “Kekuna Ella”. (Waypoint: KP03).

1.1km to 2.0km: Passing waypoint KP03 walk further along the trail. The trail continues along the bank of PathanOya for about 500m more from KP03. At this point (waypoint: KP04) you have to cross a small stream. After crossing the stream, trail start to move away from the river bank and climb towards the waterfall. About 200m before the waterfall (way point: KP041) the two trail split at KP02 merge.  200m from KP04 you will reach PathanOya falls (waypoint: KP05).

Tips, Notes & special remarks:

• This area of the rain forest is heavily infected with leaches. Take necessary precautions such as wearing leach proof socks or carry a repellent such as soap or Detol.
• Water from streams flowing from the forest is safe to drink without treatment.
• Even during the dry months occasional heavy showers can be experienced. It is always a good idea to carry rain coats and a plastic bag to protect electronics.

Way Points