Places to visit in Uva, Sri Lanka
11 places to visit in Uva, Sri Lanka, each with LOQAH's carefully crafted stamp of its own: Nine Arches Bridge, Bambarakanda Falls, Buduruvagala and more. Stand at any of them with the app open and the stamp is yours, confirmed on site, in your Uva volume.
1 Famous place to visit · 10 Hidden gems
Famous places to visit in Uva (1)
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Nine Arches Bridge
A railway viaduct of nine stone and brick arches spanning a jungle valley at Demodara, near Ella. Built in the colonial era and known as the Bridge in the Sky, it is busiest when the blue hill country trains cross between the tea slopes.
Hidden gems in Uva (10)
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Bambarakanda Falls
The tallest waterfall in Sri Lanka, a 263 metre drop of the Kuda Oya, a tributary of the Walawe River. It falls through a forest of pine trees near Kalupahana, about 5 km off the A4 highway.
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Buduruvagala
Seven figures carved in the 10th century into one rock face in the forest near Wellawaya. The giant standing Buddha still carries traces of its stucco robe and orange paint, and beside it stand Mahayana figures thought to be Avalokitesvara and his consort Tara.
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Diyaluma Falls
The second highest waterfall in Sri Lanka, falling 220 metres from a cliff near Koslanda on the Colombo to Badulla road. The water is the Punagala Oya, and above the main drop it runs through a chain of natural rock pools where people swim.
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Dunhinda Falls
A waterfall about 5 km from Badulla in the lower central hills, reached by a forest path. Its name is usually explained as smoky, after the fine mist of spray that hangs around its pool.
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Ella Rock
A mountain above the hill village of Ella, reached by a walk that follows the railway line and climbs through tea and eucalyptus. From the top the view opens over the Ella Gap and the lowlands far to the south.
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Haputale
A hill town at 1,431 metres on the ridge that marks the edge of the Uva basin, ringed by cloud forest and tea estates. Its altitude keeps it cooler than the land around it, and from the pass the view opens out across the southern plains of the island.
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Kataragama Devalaya
A temple complex once deep in the jungle, dedicated to the deity Kataragama, honoured by Hindus as the war god Murugan. It is one of the few sacred sites revered by Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and the Vedda people alike, with shrines and a mosque standing side by side.
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Kiri Vehera
A white stupa 800 metres north of the Kataragama Devalaya, probably dating to the 3rd century BC. It is counted among the Solosmasthana, the 16 most sacred Buddhist pilgrimage sites of ancient Sri Lanka, and pilgrims bring it flowers after visiting the shrines below.
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Maligawila Buddha
A standing Buddha carved from a single block of limestone in the 7th century by Prince Aggabodhi of Ruhuna, the tallest free standing ancient Buddha statue in the country. Found broken into pieces in 1951, it was put back together and raised upright again in 1980.
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Ravana Falls
One of the widest waterfalls in Sri Lanka, tumbling down a rock face beside the road below Ella. It is named after Ravana, the king of the Ramayana, and local legend links the caves near it to the story of Sita.
Collecting in Uva
What are the best places to visit in Uva?
LOQAH lists 11 places in Uva. The best known include Nine Arches Bridge, Bambarakanda Falls, Buduruvagala, Diyaluma Falls and Dunhinda Falls. Each has a stamp of its own to collect when you are there.
How many LOQAH stamps are there in Uva?
11, and more are added over time. Each place has LOQAH's carefully crafted stamp of its own.
How do I collect a stamp in Uva?
Open LOQAH at the place and get its stamp. LOQAH checks where you are once, at that moment; at the place itself the stamp is confirmed on site, with a gold badge.
I have been to places in Uva before. Can I add them?
Yes. In Earlier trips, choose Uva and swipe through its stamps, or import your Google Timeline. Each one goes into your volume with the date, if you know it.
More in Sri Lanka
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LOQAH is free on iPhone and Android, in India and 20 more countries, with more countries on the way. Stand at a place, collect its stamp, and keep every trip in a passport that grows.