Cleaning Effort at Kumari Ella

Once upon a time, it would’ve been an amazing flow of guzzling water, flowing through lush greenery, birds would have flown over it, and many more creatures would’ve beheld it! At some point someone would have discovered it, would’ve told some others about it, those others would’ve told many more others about it, and eventually, this icon of nature would’ve trapped the eyes of thousands more! Did Mother Nature ever instinctively foresee her future?

Travelling down the high level road from Colombo, one could hardly miss Puwakpitiya, a sleepy town with a bend towards Avissawella, and the only right turn there would take you to Thummodara. Merely three kilometers down, a left turn would direct you to Hawainna. A first time traveler should be mindful of the distances claimed by the locals, as they wouldn’t have a clue of metric distant measurements, a wrong clue could easily take you miles away.

Take the gravel road for about a few hundred meters which would demand the road clearance of a light SUV, and the roar of the waterfall would make you so inquisitive; you might just look over the ridge to catch a glimpse. With hardly any soul to ask, it’s probably time to rely on your instincts along the sights and sounds.

Where time stays still..

Eternal Flow

Eternal Flow

Eternal Flow

Folklore has it that the King Seethawaka Rajasinghe had a daughter named Kumari, who apparently got drowned here, and hence this beautiful piece of nature became popularly known as Kumari Ella. If the folklore ever was proven to be true, and if princess Kumari ever could’ve appeared in an avatar, she surely would’ve punished the thousands of whose eyes got trapped in this icon. But as pathetic as it could be, her avatar had not being so evident here at least till this date!

The four of us felt that princess Kumari had not punished all the sick, as we caught the first glimpse of this part of the Mother Nature.

The place was so infested with all the rubbish one can ever think of, from butts of cigarettes to empty bottles of liquor and all in between. Pet bottles, beer cans, plastic cups, lunch sheets, Styrofoam packs, polythene, more polythene and the list of non-bio degradable items did not seem to have a close end.

Self-Explanatory

How can someone be so unfair?

We had minimal planning for this outing; it was just a spontaneous day out which was thought of the previous night, to quench another thirst of travel which was long overdue for most of us. We headed out early as we planned to get back early; the simple plan was to have a bath, enjoy the area and to increase my shutter count. Cleaning the surrounding of a waterfall was not a part of the agenda; however, as we arrived, we felt too guilty to have a bath without doing so. We were so astounded by what we saw at Kumari Ella, we all felt that this place was in dire need of some housekeeping.

So much of garbage!

So much of garbage!

So much of garbage!

In spite of ill preparedness, we did some cleaning probably within an hour, and collected heaps of stuff which obviously never was intended to be there at this place at all.

Should we say more?

The Second Lot!

After some effort, the surrounding started to look a bit more pleasing than before, and it was time to have a refreshing dip in one of many pools. Feeling the power of water pouring through rocks was as pleasant as it could be.

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So Refreshing!

The fact of being remote and surrounded with greenery yet so easily accessible to all would’ve been the reasons for this natural beauty to be so abused. It is however, the duty of everyone to be a bit more responsible and thoughtful to preserve nature more. In a world where people travel thousands of miles just to have a brief experience of such beauties, we should realize the value of having so many places like Kumari Ella within our easy reach.

The downward path..

A Frequent visitor..

Travelling is undoubtedly fun and enjoyable. Yet, a traveler should take extra care in enjoying nature, and be mindful of the great responsibility bestowed on us to preserve it for the future.

Leave only footprints, share only memories, take only photographs!