Ravana Ella Falls

Ravana Ella Falls (Sinhala: රාවණා ඇල්ල; Tamil: இராவணன் அருவி) is a waterfall located on the wayside of Ella-Wellawaya road near Ella town in Badulla District, Sri Lanka. 

The fall is formed by a stream that rises from the Wewatenna highland. The waters plunge over the rock cliff about 25 m in height before joining the Kirindi Oya (Kautzsch, 1983). Although the rocky underground of the waterfalls in the country consists of hard gneiss or granite, here it is khondalite, a foliated metamorphic rock which undergoes decay faster (Kautzsch, 1983). Thus there are caves near the falls. Presently, some legends are found associated with these caves.

This fall is called by the name of Ravana, the name of a mythical king found in the Indian Hindu epic Ramayanaya. According to popular belief, King Ravana held Sita (Seetha) in captivity in this place's caves after being abducted. However, the authenticity of the Ramayanaya is controversial and hence it is today dismissed as a myth by Sri Lankan scholars (JRASSL, 2014).

References

1) JRASSL, 2014. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka New Series, Vol. 59, No. 2, Special Issue on the Ramayana (2014). https://www.jstor.org/stable/i40203619. pp.1-112.

2) Kautzsch, E., 1983. A guide to the waterfalls of Sri Lanka: Tisara Prakasakayo. p.40.

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This page was last updated on 12 October 2023