Beautiful Sri Lanka

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Dunhinda Falls (Badulla)

The other Fall you see when your walking the foot path to the falls. which is called "punchi Dunhinda" ( small Dunhinda)

Dunhinda Fall is a water fall located about 5 kilometers from Badulla town in Sri lanka. The 63 meter height waterfall is created by the Badulu oya river which passes through the Badulla town. The Dunhinda falls is one of Sri lankas most beautiful waterfalls in Sri lanka. The waterfall gets its name from the smoky dew drops spray, ("Dun" in sinhala means mist or smoke) which surrounds the area at the foot of the waterfall.

To reach the waterfall you have to walk more than 1km distance along a foot path. Along this foot path you can see another small waterfall at a distance which is called "punchi Dunhinda" (small Dunhinda). However walking along this muddy foot path is really worth as the waterfall is so beautiful. Along this footpath there are many native venders selling herbal drinks to refresh and rest your self. At the end of the path there is a secure stage constructed for viewers to see the waterfall. If you are brave enough you can reach the foot of the waterfall and cross the river and see the most beautiful view of the fall.

Camera: BenQ DC C850 ( 8MP)

Nine Arched Bridge (The Bridge Of Nine Skies) Badulla

This viaduct was built at Gotuwala between the two railway stations- Ella and Demodara during the british colonial period is the largest in Sri Lanka. Located almost 3100 feet above the sea level, this 99.6ft high bridge is called "Ahas namaye palama" (nine skies bridge) in sinhala. When one stands underneath it and looks up there is a beautiful sight of 'nine skies' through the nine arches, hence the sinhala name. This bridge is also called 'The bridge in the sky' due to the sheer height.

This massive bridge is built entirely of solid rocks, bricks and cement without using a single piece of steel.The bridge was finally commissioned in 1921. One end of this curved 9 arch bridge is a tunnel, in some of my pictures.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Bogoda Wooden Bridge ( Badulla)

The Bogoda Wooden Bridge was built in the 16th century during the Dambadeniya era. This is said to be the oldest surviving wooden bridge in the world. The bridge is situated at 13 kn south of Badulla city, Sri Lanka. All parts of this bridge were constructed from wood, including the use of wooden nails as fixing material. the roof tiles show the influence of Kingdom of Kandy. The bridge was built across the Gallanda Oya, which linked Badulla and Kandy ancient route.

The Bogoda bridge is over 400 years old and made entirely from wooden planks, which are said to have come from one tree. it is an exclusive construction as it has an 8 feet tall tiled roof structure for its entire span of nearly 50 feet length with a 6 feet breadth. Wooden fences of the bridge was decorated in various ancient designs, have been erected from the either sides.

The structure of the bridge is standing on a huge tree trunk 35ft in height. Jack fruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) logs and Kumbuk (Terminalia arjuna) logs were mainly used as the constructive material of the bridge. Furthermore Kaluwara (Diospyros ebenum) timber and Milla timber were used for the wooden decorations.

Bogoda Temple

Bogoda Buddhist temple is an ancient temple situated beside the Bogoda wooden bridge. The temple has much longer history than the bridge. It is from the 1st century BC, during the period of Anuradhapura era. The temple was built by the under instruction of King Valagamba. Stone inscription by the temple in Brahmin scripture says the temple was donated to a priest called Brahmadatta by Tissa, a provincial leader in Badulla.

Inside the temple were elaborated with lovely paintings, bearing resemblance to the kandyan era. The walls were built with a paste pade of cooton wool, bee honey and extracted and purified white clay. The paintings were drawn on this walls.