Ravana Falls
A 25m fan-shaped waterfall on the Badulla–Ella road, one of Sri Lanka's widest falls, associated with the Ramayana legend of King Ravana.
Duration
45 minutes
Entry Fee
Free
Difficulty
easy
Budget
free
About Ravana Falls
Ravana Falls, 6km from Ella on the Badulla road, is a broad 25-metre cascade that fans out across a wide rock face rather than dropping in a single stream, making it one of the widest waterfalls in Sri Lanka. The falls are at their most powerful from May to November when monsoon rains feed the Balagas Oya above. A path leads to the base of the falls for close-up views and swimming in the pool during calmer months. Local tradition identifies the cave behind and beside the falls as the hiding place used by Ravana, the demon king of Lanka, when pursued during the Ramayana epic — the nearby Rawana Ella Cave reinforces this mythological connection to the area. The falls are visible directly from the road and easily combined with a drive between Ella and Badulla.
Highlights
- 25m Fan-Shaped Waterfall
- One of Sri Lanka's Widest Falls
- Ramayana Mythology Connection
- Swimming Pool at Base
Practical Tips
Visit between May and November for maximum water volume
The falls are directly roadside — no hike required for the basic view
Combine with Rawana Ella Cave, which is 1km further along the same road
Explore by Interest
Best Time to Visit
Best time of day: May–November (monsoon-fed peak flow)
Location
Planning Info
- Crowd level
- Often busy
- Physical difficulty
- easy
- Setting
- outdoor
- Child friendly
- Yes
- Senior friendly
- Yes
- Budget level
- free
- Photography
- ★★★★☆
Plan Your Visit
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ALSO IN THE AREA
Nearby Destinations
Nine Arch Bridge
A 91m colonial viaduct built in 1921 with nine arches, best photographed when a train crosses — departures from Ella at approximately 9:10am and 3:15pm daily.
Explore →
Rawana Ella Cave
A natural cave in the hillside near Ella said by local tradition to be where King Ravana hid Sita during the Ramayana epic, located close to Ravana Falls.
Explore →
Ella Rock
A 1,041m summit above Ella town reached by a 3-hour round-trip hike through tea estates and jungle, with panoramic views across the Ella Gap valley.
Explore →LET'S EXPLOR™ THE
Tour Packages
from $0Ramayana Trail
Sri Lanka's Ramayana Trail links the places where, according to tradition, Rama, Sita, Hanuman and Ravana crossed paths after Sita's abduction: from the Shiva lingam Rama is said to have installed at Manavari, to the cave above Ravana Falls where legend holds Sita was kept, to the hill above Unawatuna that tradition calls a fragment of the herb-mountain Hanuman carried from the Himalayas. This 7-day circuit runs the length of the island in one direction. It starts on the west coast at Chilaw, climbs through Kandy into the tea hills at Nuwara Eliya, drops through Ella to the dry southern plains at Kataragama, and finishes on the south coast at Unawatuna. Each site gets its own part of the day rather than being stacked three to an afternoon, and no road is driven twice. Every site's Ramayana association is presented here as devotional tradition, not verified history, and your guide will frame it the same way. Vegetarian meals are confirmed at every hotel on request, and pure-vegetarian or Jain requirements are worth telling us at the time of booking rather than on arrival, because not every kitchen stocks for them by default.
7 days / 6 nights
from $1125Ceylon Grand Circle
The Grand Circle is one continuous clockwise loop. You land on the west coast, drive north into the dry-zone plains where Sri Lanka's first capitals were built, climb south and east through the tea highlands to 1,868 m, then come back down to sea level on the southern coast and run home along the expressway. No road is driven twice, and no stop is a detour you have to undo the next morning. The shape of the route is also the shape of the island's history. Anuradhapura was the capital for over a thousand years from the 4th century BC. Polonnaruwa replaced it in the 11th. Sigiriya's rock palace sits between them at the 5th. Kandy held the last independent kingdom until 1815 and still keeps the Sacred Tooth Relic. Above Kandy the road climbs into tea country the British planted from the 1860s, then drops through Ella into the dry southern plains where Yala's leopards are, and finally to the water at Mirissa and Galle. Fourteen nights across nine bases works out at roughly 900 km of driving. It is spread so the longest single transfer is three and a half hours, on day two, and most days are under two and a half. Five of the nine bases get two nights, so you unpack properly rather than living out of a bag. Your driver-guide covers the whole route; the only vehicle you change into is the safari jeep inside Yala, arranged locally on the morning.
15 days / 14 nights
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