In February 2024, I spent 3 days at Elkaduwa between Kandy & Matale, visiting Sembuwatte Lake and Hunnas Falls

Beaming Down

We left scorchingly hot Colombo at 6 in the morning and drove towards Kandy on the A1, stopping at Leone Cafe in Weweldeniya for a breakfast of hoppers, curries and tea.

Green View Holiday Resort

Our base in Elkaduwa for two nights was the Green View Holiday Resort, right on top of a wooded hill with great views and a narrow, winding approach track through a forest of tall trees. It has 10 rooms with balconies and attached bathrooms with hot water, air-conditioning, free WiFi and a swimming pool. There is no bar but the cheerful and obliging staff will get beer for guests from a Wine Shop six miles away. The place needs a face lift and better catering would make it a lovely, cool getaway form the hustle and bustle of the city.

The location is rich in bird life and sighting during our stay included Red-vented Bul-Bul, Spotted Dove, Changeable Hawk-eagle, Brahminy kite, White-fronted Kingfisher, Tri-coloured Munia, Hanging Parrots, Alexandrine Parakeet and peacocks.

Hunnas Falls

The 48 metre Hunnas Falls, an artificial waterfall made by the Elkaduwa plantation is only a short drive from the Green View Resort. Entrance tickets cost Rs. 150 pp for Sri Lankans and a discriminatory Rs. 500 for foreigners. The ticket office has seats for visitors but no tea, coffee or drinking water.

Sembuwatte Lake

The 30 ft. deep man-made lake created from natural spring water, sits high up on a mountain in the Elkaduwa Tea Estate. A tortuous, pot-hole ridden narrow dirt track creeps up the mountain side to a disused tea factory and a ticket office guarding another approach road to the lake. A young woman in the office charges Rs. 500 form locals and a staggering Rs. 1500 from non-existent foreigners to see the lake. She also sells packets of “Grade 2” Elkaduwa Estate tea. Inside the disused tea factory, an eye doctor was screening estate workers for cataracts.

We took a Tuk-Tuk to the lake and walked slowly to the cafe that sold snacks and tea. A lone Great Cormorant sitting on a post, dived into the water and swam away as we approached. Two Serpent Eagles circled overhead. We sat by the lake and had a picnic lunch from Green View Resort and walked slowly downhill to the bus near the ticket office.

We had no regrets leaving the place.