Diyaluma Falls
Two hundred and twenty metres — the second-highest waterfall in Sri Lanka — with a chain of natural pools at the lip that most visitors never see.
What Diyaluma Falls actually is
Most people see Diyaluma from the road below, where a viewpoint gives you the full 220-metre drop from a distance. That takes five minutes and is worth doing, but it is not the reason to come.
Above the falls sits a series of natural rock pools, the lowest of them right at the lip, where the water gathers before going over. Reaching them means an hour's climb from the Poonagala road on an unsigned path through scrub and rubber — steep, slippery in places, and genuinely easy to get wrong. A local guide is worth the money.
What you get is a set of pools you can swim in, looking out across the Uva escarpment with a kilometre of air below the rim. It is spectacular and it is unfenced, which is the whole point and also the danger.
Worth your attention
The upper pools
A chain of natural rock basins above the falls, swimmable, with the valley dropping away beyond the lip.
The roadside viewpoint
Five minutes off the Wellawaya–Koslanda road for the full drop. Free and requires nothing of you.
The climb
An hour up through rubber and scrub from the Poonagala side. Unsigned, steep and the reason a guide helps.
Wellawaya and Buduruwagala
Half an hour away, with 9th-century rock-cut Buddhas and almost no visitors.
Before you go
Do this
- Take a local guide for the upper route — it is unsigned and steep
- Go in the morning before the cloud builds
- Wear shoes with grip; the rock is slick where water runs
- Take water and something to eat; there is nothing up there
- Combine it with Buduruwagala near Wellawaya
Know this first
- The pools are unfenced above a 220-metre drop and people have died here
- Never swim in the pool nearest the lip after heavy rain
- Flash flow increases fast when it rains upstream, even in sunshine
- The path is slippery and there is no phone signal in places
Getting to Diyaluma Falls
Diyaluma Falls sits within reach of Ella, so almost everyone visits it as part of a stay there rather than as a trip in its own right. Our Ella guide covers where to stay, how long to give it and what else is nearby.
Coming straight from the airport, the relevant run is Colombo Airport to Wellawaya — fixed price per vehicle, driver waiting inside arrivals with a name board.
Read the full Ella guideFrom Colombo Airport
Car up to 3 passengers; vans quoted on the route page. No night surcharge.
Diyaluma Falls — frequently asked
How do you get to the top of Diyaluma Falls?
By an unsigned path from the Poonagala road above the falls, roughly an hour's climb through scrub and rubber. It is steep and easy to lose, so a local guide is genuinely worth arranging.
Can you swim at Diyaluma Falls?
Yes, in the natural pools above the falls. The pool closest to the lip is the famous one and the most dangerous — it is unfenced above a 220-metre drop. Do not go near it after rain, when flow rises quickly.
How high is Diyaluma Falls?
Around 220 metres, making it the second-highest waterfall in Sri Lanka after Bambarakanda. It falls in a single main drop, which is why it looks so striking from the road below.
How far is Diyaluma from Ella?
About an hour by road via Wellawaya and Koslanda. Most visitors go as a half-day trip from Ella, often combined with Buduruwagala.
Other places worth the detour
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