Devils Stair case Trail to Ohiya

The Devil’s Staircase is an almost 14 km route from the Horton Plains road in Ohiya going down through tea estates to Kalupahana on the main A4 road. This route is famous for being a 4WD route with its craggy twists and turns earning its rather frightening name. It is a wonderful hike with breathtaking views of the Southern plains of Sri Lanka and its main attraction, the Bambarakanda falls, the highest waterfall in Sri Lanka.

Can Start the hike from Ohiya around 6 a.m. from the well tarred road to Horton Plains. It is a steep incline, the first 500 m dotted with a few houses surrounded by massive trees. Gradually the human habitation lessened and it is a lovely walk with the green giants of Horton Plains towering over. About two km from the Ohiya station, then the turn off to Udeveriya estate on the left. This is the start of the stairway to hell; the Devil’s Staircase!

The road condition was, yes, 4WD! Enjoying the view for a few hundred metres and then the road descended heading down from the Plateau of Horton Plains to the valley below. A few hundred metres from the trail head, the vegetation thinned from tall trees to small shrubs and on to the right it opened up again exposing the valley below and the beautiful mountain ranges of the Gommoliya.

The road was quite rocky. Hiking the rocky road with the green mountains overlooking us was just breath taking. At a certain stretch there opened up the entire southern plains of Sri Lanka with the Udawalawe basin quite visible. The combination of the plains and sky was stunning.