A decade back, A4 road was very famous among tourists in Sri Lanka but with time, this road was not used by many travelers, therefore, many natural attractions are hidden from the world. One of the small towns hidden in this road is Belihuloya which is situated 152 km away from Colombo, in its bosom of Sabaragamuwa Province, Ratnapura district. Belihuloya is one of the most natural landscapes which is located among the wet zone, dry zone, and hill country of the island, featuring the characteristics of all three zones while making the destination geographically inimitable.

 

 

Photo credit: Chamod Maddumage

 

Once you pass the Belihuloya town, you could see a road to the left (which is full of billboards) called Nonpareil state road leading to Nagrak Bungalow. In this journey you could see a small natural base pool in the lower section wherein one can have a safe dip which is a part of a relatively unknown stream called Hirikatu Oya, originating from the Nonpareil Estate. Traveling 11 km on this rough estate road with sharp bends every few hundred meters, finally you reach Baker's Bend. Baker’s Bend is one of the amazing viewpoints which provides a miraculous view of low land and Samanalawewa reservoir on a clear day. The elevation of the location is near to 1700m from the sea level. There is a story that the British Governor Samuel Baker, the inventor of Nuwara Eliya met with an accident on this bend while riding his horse cart. The horse had died in this accident. Grieved by the loss, he built this bend in the shape of a horseshoe to commemorate his travel companion.

This captivating site enhances the beauty of Belihuloya and it's our duty to protect these beautiful destinations. It's our responsibility to leave only footprints and if possible, let’s bring down any plastics and polyethene remain in there when we return from the bend. Our one act will help to save nature at large.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo Credit: Sindujan

 

 

 

 

Photo Credit: Vindula Yasas