Laxapana Falls is high Senanayake 2004: 1 and the 8th highest waterfall in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

and 625th highest waterfall in the world. It is situated in

Maskeliya Maskeliya is a town in the Central Province of Sri Lanka. It is the site of the 1974 crash of Martinair Flight 138, the worst air disaster in Sri Lanka. It is known for its mountains, waterfalls, unique ethnic background and estates. The act ...

area in Nuwara Eliya District, about from Maskeliya town on Maskeliya-Norton Bridge road, in a village called

Kiriwan Eliya Kiriwan Eliya is a village in Sri Lanka. It is located within Central Province. See also * List of towns in Central Province, Sri Lanka External links * {{NuwaraEliyaDistrict-geo-stub Populated places in Nuwara Eliya District ...

. It is formed by Maskeliya Oya near the confluence of Kehelgamu Oya and Maskeliya Oya which forms

Kelani River The Kelani River ( si, කැළණි ගඟ) is a river in Sri Lanka. Ranking as the fourth-longest river in the country, it stretches from the Sri Pada Mountain Range to Colombo. It flows through or borders the Sri Lankan districts of Nuwara ...

. The falls gives its name to twin

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

power stations, Old Laxapana Power Station which generates 50 MW of electricity and New Laxapana Power Station which generates 100 MW.

Folklore

Popular folklore tells this the place where

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...

mended his saffron robe when he was visiting

Sri Pada Adam's Peak is a tall conical mountain located in central Sri Lanka. It is well known for the Sri Pada ( si, ශ්‍රී පාද), i.e., "sacred footprint", a rock formation near the summit, which in Buddhist tradition is held to be ...

. The name of the Falls derived from Sinhala words of " Laxa" means Hundred thousand and "Pahana" or "Pashana" means rock.

References

{{SriLanka-geo-stub Waterfalls of Sri Lanka Waterfalls in Central Province, Sri Lanka