Ella Archives

Mysterious Halaba Bridge in Badulla By Arundathie Abeysinghe This spectacular mysterious steel bridge is located across Uma Oya at Halaba, a small village located near Uma Oya (Oya meaning stream in Sinhala) in *Badulla in close proximity to breathtaking hamlet*Ella. It is 113 meters (372 feet) long. The bridge is built at the widest points of Uma Oya, approximately 91 meters (300 feet) wide and 7-12 meters (25-40 feet) deep. The two ends of the Bridge are approximately three meters wide (10 feet) and the mid portion is approximately two meters (8 feet) wide. The Bridge is considered as a mysterious bridge as there are no roads (there had never been any roads even in the past) except a footpath on either side of the bridge. This bridge had been installed by British during the British Colonial Era, but the reason for installing this bridge is not known. According ...

Buduruwagala Buddha Statue – tallest rock-carved statue By Arundathie Abeysinghe The Buddha Statue at Buduruwagala Rock Carved Temple is considered as the tallest rock-carved statue in the world after the destruction of Bamiyan Buddha Statues in Afghanistan. Situated about nine kilometers from *Wellawaya on *Thanamalwila Road (about 25 kilometers from *Ella), Buduruwagala Rock Carved Temple is a less visited place by local as well as foreign tourists. The location can be reached from a scenic road. According to scholars, Buduruwagala means “the rock with the statue of the Buddha” as Buduruwagala is derived from Buddha (Budu), images (ruva) and stone (gala) in Sinhala. There are seven figures of the Buddha at the Temple, carved on a rock at the center of the cliff face, centered by a huge 15.3 meter Buddha Statue in Abhaya Mudra* position and there are three smaller statues on both sides. On the tallest statue ...