With a height of 263 metres, Bambarakanda Falls is the tallest waterfall in Sri Lanka

One bright December morning, we drove from Haputale to Bambarakanda Falls. At Kalupahana we came off the main road and took the narrow, winding track up the mountain towards the falls. We passed hamlets with tiny houses and shops selling fruit and through terraced rice fields. Suddenly the majestic falls, across a narrow valley, came in to view. We parked by the side of the track and walked to the green painted office where a bored-looking young man wearing a skull cap sold us tickets to go to the base of the falls across the valley – Rs. 150 per person (~75 pence). A well maintained foot path lead down in to the valley, crossed a gurgling brook and climbed towards the falls through a pine forest.

As we reached the base of the falls, the…