Arts
Hiking the Devil’s Staircase to heaven
Fifty shades of blue - view towards Uda walawe basin and the Southern plains.
The Devil’s Staircase is an almost 14 km route from the Horton Plains road in Ohiya going down through tea estates to Kalupahana on the main A4 road. This route is famous for being a 4WD route with its craggy twists and turns earning its rather frightening name. It is a wonderful hike with breathtaking views of the Southern plains of Sri Lanka and its main attraction, the Bambarakanda falls, the highest waterfall in Sri Lanka.
When keen on a quick adventure, I met Thinuwan Gayantha from Lakdasun and he suggested a day’s hike to the Devil’s Staircase via Udeveriya estate, we planned for a Sunday.
Our plan was to take the Night Mail train from Colombo which would reach Ohiya early morning and hike down the Devil to the top of Bambarakanda falls. Then from there go down to Kalupahana and take a bus back to Colombo.
We met at the Fort Railway station and boarded the Night Mail at 8.p.m. Up until Pattipola the train was powered by two engines, from the front and rear due to the steep ascent, Thinuwan explained. At Pattipola the train stopped for about 20 minutes and as this was the highest station in elevation they removed the rear engine and sent it to the front. We reached Ohiya at 4:17 a.m.. It was freezing cold but the night sky was beyond words – not a single space without stars.
Along the Devil’s Staircase
Dawn broke around 5.30 with the sun’s rays glittering on the tree tops – a beautiful sight to behold.
We started the hike from Ohiya around 6 a.m. from the well tarred road to Horton Plains. It was a steep incline, the first 500 m dotted with a few houses surrounded by massive trees. Gradually the human habitation lessened and it was a lovely walk with the green giants of Horton Plains towering over us. Occasionally we came across vehicles heading towards Horton Plains. About two km from the Ohiya station came the turn off to Udeveriya estate on the left. This was the start of the stairway to hell; the Devil’s Staircase!
The road condition was, yes, 4WD! The beginning of the trail opened up to the left where we got a glimpse of what we were to experience ahead; the lovely open plains and mountains ahead. Enjoying the view we continued for a few hundred metres and then the road descended heading down from the Plateau of Horton Plains to the valley below. A few hundred metres from the trail head, the vegetation thinned from tall trees to small shrubs and on to the right it opened up again exposing the valley below and the beautiful mountain ranges of the Gommoliya.
At a point when the road began its steep descent towards the tea estates we decided to take a short cut. A villager showed us an off track footpath. Joining the main route again, we continued ahead. The road was quite rocky but yet we came across trucks that tackled it. Now it was back to civilization with houses here and there among the tea patches; many had small cultivations. The sky was clear and hiking the rocky road with the green mountains overlooking us was just breath taking. At a certain stretch there opened up the entire southern plains of Sri Lanka with the Udawalawe basin quite visible. The combination of the plains and sky was stunning – literally “fifty shades of blue”! At one point the road came to a fork and we waited a bit to see if anyone would come by to ask for directions but then took the road leading downwards. A few metres down we knew this was the wrong one as it was quite abandoned. So we went back up and took the other one and yes, this was the correct route.
Around 9, finding a small rock beside the road on a quite shady stretch we had our breakfast of bread and jam. It was more than 6-7 km now from the trail head but we had a lot more to go.
After a steep climb we came to a shady cool stretch that would be a thrilling drive to take a 4WD on. Here we cut through tiny tea patches to avoid the sharp bends. Coming out above a school, we walked through the back of the school to avoid the long bend and came into the small village. Walking down the road again we found something unique; a Kovil cum Temple. The front portion was a Hindu Kovil and the back a small stupa painted with flowers.
Passing this small village the environment changed a bit with fewer trees and the road underfoot white with white quartz. Around this area is found the Lanka Ella falls and we could hear the sound of water.
It was around 11 a.m. and pointing to a pathway below on the right Thinuwan ventured a few feet in to verify it. We began to descend through thin undergrowth that soon turned into a beautiful pine forest. So steep was the slope we had to go down hugging tree after tree. It would be easy to get lost if you did not know which way to go. The time was 11.15 and we came upon a lovely area with a natural pool with the smaller falls. I knew at once where our next camping trip would be…this place was camping heaven!
Thinuwan and the writer
The journey down to the base of the main falls was tricky; the pine trees had been marked with arrows but they seemed to have been made some time ago. The path took a 180 degree turn forming into a ridge and narrowing. After an initial descent of several feet from the turn it runs relatively straight parallel to the main rock face of the cliff and then descends to the main path to the base of the falls. This path was well maintained with concrete steps and rails. We reached the base of the falls by 12:15 hrs.
Resting a while, we headed to the road where we hoped to take a tuk to Kalupahana, about 4 km from here.
We came to the road by about 12.40; the road is the continuation of the Devil’s staircase but now it was properly carpeted. We went to the ticket counter at the top and asked to guy if he had any contacts of a tuk and he offered to call one.
On the road there was a small bench and we rested there and refilled our water bottles. Rain was threatening so we headed to a small ‘kade’ and had some much needed food – hot hot rotti which was superb. About half an hour later the tuk arrived and around 1.30 we arrived at the tiny Kalupahana junction in the pouring rain.
It was around two in the afternoon when we boarded the Badulla bus, for a terrifying ride – flying well over 80 kmph and even overtaking other buses on the sharp bends! It was around 7 p.m.when we reached Colombo after a day of memorable adventure.