Riverston Sri Lanka – Beautiful Landscape at Knuckles Mountain Range

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Welcome to Riverston

Riverston is a beautiful place of the Knuckles Mountain Range located between Matale and Kandy, in Central province Sri Lanka. Riverston- Matale is the best example of a natural environment consisting of beautiful waterfalls and fresh air inside the forest. It is a home for various kinds of animals, birds, and reptiles. The Riverston journey is an opportunity for nature lovers, hiking lovers, and photographers to get an unforgettable experience during their leisure time.

The climatic condition at Riverston is similar to the climate at Hortons Plains. In the late morning, the area is full of mist. You have a graceful chance to see two waterfalls, such as Sera Ella and Bambarakiri Ella. There is a rock seat located at the Sera Ella. Don’t forget to relax at Sera Ella with the refreshing cold of water droplets. Also, the Thelgamuwa Oya is a freshwater river, which can use you to quick cooling before or after a long walk.

You have to visit about two and a half kilometers via Pittawala Paththana. It leads to Riverston Peak. It will take approximately one-two hours to walk. During this visit, you can have a chance to take great views of the surrounding areas with Central hills, paddy fields, and beautiful green highlands. This picturesque place is one of the best places to snap photographs and so don’t forget to bring your cameras. The countryside along the trek has views of the terraced paddy fields, unique to some mountainous regions around the world, and that of the beautiful green Central Highlands.

The Riverston peak is a great place to relax your holiday with a peaceful and attractive surrounding. On the Peak, you can easily catch up with the misty views of the nearby Knuckles Mountain Range and views of Thelgamu river valley.

Riverston Map

There are two routes to visit the Riverston area. From the Thangappuwa side, we can hunt beautiful waterfalls.  Also, Matale’s side is the other route to reach the Riverston. When we start our journey from Matale, we have to drive approximately 30km via Matale -Raththota – Illukkumbura road. You can have the best view of the surrounding area when you travel through this road with sharp turns.

There are two buses to go to Illukkumbura. So, if you are planning to go by bus, make sure to alert with bus schedules. There is more chance of sudden rain in the Riverston area. So, be prepared with raincoats. Also make sure to bring enough food and water, when you travel there.

Top attractions at Riverston

Bambarakiri Waterfall

Our first destination was Bambarakiri Ella. It was an attractive waterfall located a few meters away from the main road.

There is a suspension bridge over this waterfall. It has already taken more souls.  So be careful when we go there.

VHF Transmission Tower in the Riverston

We arrived at the junction after driving a rough road. We parked our vehicles there and started our journey to Riverston peak. When we went there, the mist was there. On the way to see the tower, we faced leech attacks. So, make sure to protect them by wearing safety shoes and using soap and lime. However, through the beautiful surrounding, we reached Riverston peak to see the VHF transmission tower.

Pitawala Pathana

After roaming the Riverston peak and around the Riverston, we started to visit Pitawala Pathana. The Car park, located at the top of the road between Rattota and Pitawala Pathana, is the start point of the Riverston hike. However, access is restricted. Hence, you have to walk more than 2 km one way to reach the top. We bought tickets from the ticketing office and entered the marvelous meadow view called Pitawala Pathana. Also, the ticket prices are fair. There is a different ticket price for local and foreign visitors.

There is a grassland, covers the area of about 10 ha. It shows a velvet shape. The lots of endemic plants and animal species can see in this journey.

After walking through the grassy land, we came to that mini world’s end. That is a place which gives you a picturesque view of the surrounding areas. There are heavy winds across this area. So, the Mini World’s end viewpoint is not a safe place to stand and see the surrounding area. Your one slip will end up at the bottom of the Knuckles. So, be careful when you take photographs.

However, we stayed there for a long time by enjoying the natural beauty of the surrounding areas. Dumbara Mitiyawatha was full of mist. Also, one of the ends, Knuckles mountain range, and Lakegala was visible to us. Also, we can see the views of the Helmalu paddy field downstream of this place.

Sera Ella

There are several routes located to reach Sera Ella. So, when we plan to visit Riverston, better to take support from the guide. If not, we should contact the villagers. They will help you to find the easy ways. The easiest way to visit Sera Ella is the Puwakpitiya side.

The route was not in the proper condition. However, the spectacular view of the surrounding area made our pleasant journey. Within a few minutes, We reached an attractive waterfall called “Sera Ella” in the Knuckles mountain range.

Sera Ella has created as a combination of Thelgamuwa Oya and Puwakpitiya Oya. Sera Ella is no more than 10m in height. But the width is more than 20m. You can have the best view of the waterfall during the monsoon.

There is a big pool naturally creating at the bottom of the waterfall. According to the instructions given by the villagers, there are some big deep holes in this pool. So, we highly advise you to be careful when we visit there. You have a chance to go behind Sera Ella.

Small Cave-Sera Ella

There is a small cave behind the waterfall. It creates a breathtaking experience for you. Water is scattering across the cave and makes the bit cool inside the cave. Also, make sure not to so close to the slippery area of the cave.

Thelgamuwa Oya

We had a chance to bathe at the hidden natural pool, closed to the Sera Ella, called Thelgamuwa Oya.

Accommodations close to Riverston

Camping is a way of enhancing the overall experience at Riverston. You can easily find the camping area at Pathana Gama.

Also, if you want to find accommodation close to Riverston, Illukkumbura forest bungalow is one of the calm places to stay. Otherwise, you can use booking websites to find the hotels as you wish.

Top Attractions closed to Riverston

• Sembuwaththa Lake
• Sigiriya
• Sri Muthumariamman Temple
• Aluviharaya
• Wasgamuwa National Park