White water rafting at Kitulgala

Kitulgala sits on the Kelani river in the wet-zone rainforest between Colombo and the hill country, and it is where white water rafting in Sri Lanka happens. The standard run covers about five kilometres with five substantial rapids and four smaller ones, graded two to three — enough to be genuinely exciting and well within reach of someone who has never done it.

The village has a second claim to fame: The Bridge on the River Kwai was filmed here in 1957, and the concrete footings of the set bridge are still in the river.

What the run is like

You are briefed on the bank, given a helmet and buoyancy aid, and put in a raft of six to eight with a guide. The first rapid comes quickly. Between the rapids the river runs through rainforest with nothing else on it, and most trips stop at a calm stretch where you can get out and float.

Two to three hours from briefing to the end, of which about ninety minutes is on the water.

When to go

The Kelani is fed by the south-west monsoon, so May to November is the reliable season, with the strongest water usually June to September. In the January-to-April dry months the level drops and the rapids soften considerably — still a pleasant river trip, but not the same thing.

After very heavy rain the river runs too hard and operators suspend trips. That is a good sign about an operator rather than a bad one.

Getting there

Kitulgala is about two and a half hours from Colombo and two from Kandy, on the road up to Nuwara Eliya. It works well as a stop on the way into the hill country rather than a trip of its own.