Attractions

The Trail to ‘Devil’s Staircase’ (යක්ෂයාගේ පියගැටපෙළ ඔස්සේ ඔහියට)

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The "V Cut" - - On the route through Devils Staircase — The “V Cut” – On the route through Devils Staircase – by Dr Ashan Geeganage

The track through the Devil’s Staircase is one of the most popular hiking and jeep tracks in the hills of Sri Lanka. The difficulty levels and the spectacular view of the green mountains of Sri Lanka have made this a hikers’ paradise but only the most ardent hikers will undertake this 13 km hike.

Generally, hikers choose the Bambarakanda Rest near Banbarakanda Ella Falls as the starting point to the journey if they wish to start the journey from this end. This trail goes over old dilapidated estate roads through many estates. This trail ends on the Ohiya – Horton Plains road around the halfway distance from Ohiya Railway Station the the Horton Plain Entrance.

There are no markers along the route, therefore it’s advised to use a guide if attempting the journey for the first time. The route has several folks and they could easily divert you from the original path. The tail is 13 km long from the Bambarakanda and would take approximately 4 hours to travel by vehicle.

The two most popular points on the route is the “V cut”, a channel cut through the hill to allow the road to pass through. You will come across this after entering the Udaweriya estate. Passing this, the road will go across a stream which creates the tallest fall in the country, the Bambarakanda Falls.

Travelling approx 8.5 km you will have the option of taking a short but very challenging route which will require a vehicle with good off-road capability and tires. The road to the right will take you on a longer but less challenging route to the Ohiya Road.

The left route is approx 3 km ( marked in red) and the right route (marked in green) is approx 7.5 km. The short route is somewhat straightforward without many diversions. The longer route is more intense with the number of roads and turnoffs and easily misdirected if not prepared.

Download the Google Earth KML file for this route here.

Spectacular views of on the route through Devils Staircase

Ohiya - Horton Plains end of the route through Devils Staircase

View of Udawalawe - On the route through Devils Staircase

Also See

Map of ‘Devil’s Staircase’ Trail

Please click on the button below to load the Dynamic Google Map (ගූගල් සිතියම් පහලින්)

Show Location (ගූගල් සිතියම)

The map above also shows other places of interest within a approximately 20 km radius of the current site. Click on any of the markers and the info box to take you to information of these sites

Zoom out the map to see more surrounding locations using the mouse scroll wheel or map controls.

Traveling Directions to ‘Devil’s Staircase’ Trail

Route from Colombo up to Bambarakanda

Through : Horana – Ratnapura – Pelmadulla – Belihuloya – Kalupahana
distance : 172 km
Travel time : 4 hours
Driving directions : see on google map
Download the Google earth KML file for this route here

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Also See

Map of ‘Devil’s Staircase’ Trail

Traveling Directions to ‘Devil’s Staircase’ Trail

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