The Devil’s Staircase is famous for its beauty throughout the trek and the attractions surrounding it such as Bambarakanda Falls, Lanka Ella and Yalhapana Ella. Yet it has a distance of 20 km from Ohiya to Kalupahana Junction. Distance won’t matter since it is a climb down all the way from the starting point, even though 20 km sounds like a long walk. I was able to climb it down within 6 hours on foot. It will take around 8 to 9 hours depending on your speed. One can choose to come half way and camp and continue the trek next day.
There are no markers along the route, therefore its advised to use a guide if attempting the journey for the fist time. The route has number of folks and they could easily divert you from the original path. The tails is 13 km long from the Bambarakanda and would take approximately 4 hours to travel by a vehicle.
The two most popular points on the route is the “V cut”, a channel cut through the hill to allow the road to pass through. You will come across this after entering the Udaweriya estate.
