If you’ve searched for the most scenic lakes in Sri Lanka, chances are you pictured coastal lagoons or the dry-zone tanks of the ancient kingdoms. But some of the calmest, most photogenic water in the country sits far higher up.
They are between tea ridges, wrapped in mist, and only a short drive from the hill town of Bandarawela. This guide maps out every worthwhile lake in Sri Lanka’s hill country that’s reachable from an Ella or Bandarawela base. It tells you how far each one really is. It also gives you a ready-made day-trip route to follow from Anasa Wellness Resort. So let’s keep reading together.
Steep valleys. Heavy rain. That’s basically the whole reason the hill country ended up with more scenic reservoirs than anywhere else in Sri Lanka – the terrain was made for holding water.
Gregory Lake goes back to the 1870s, built under the British.
Kotmale and Castlereagh came a century later, part of the big Mahaweli push in the 1980s.
Different eras, same idea: dam a highland river, get power for the tea factories, get irrigation for the lowlands. Nobody built these for tourists, yet here we are – a whole string of hill country lakes, tea bushes and pine trees leaning right up to the water’s edge, ridgelines behind them that you just don’t get on the coast. They became photogenic by accident.
This matters if you’re staying in Bandarawela or Ella, because you’re already sitting inside this lake-and-reservoir-rich belt. Rather than chasing a single famous name, the smart way to explore is a loop – starting close to your hotel and fanning out only as far as a comfortable day trip allows.
Want the closest lakes to Bandarawela? Start with Uma Oya. Puhulpola and Dyraaba reservoirs, both under an hour away. Puhulpola sits up in the Welimada valley, just north of town, right at the center of the Uma Oya hydropower scheme – go early and the water’s still enough to mirror the hills back at you. Dyraaba’s a bit further, out near the Ella/Wellawaya road. Same calm, fewer people, and honestly better light if you’re there for photos.
If you don’t mind stretching the day a little, add Loggal Oya. It’s about 1.5 hours from Ella along the Bandarawela/Badulla/Mahiyangana road, so not exactly next door. But it’s 27km of natural lake and reservoir, and it’s one of the better birdwatching spots in the whole Uva region. Boat rides too, if you’d rather be on the water than looking at it.
Because these are working reservoirs rather than resort lakes, none of them have significant tourist infrastructure – which is exactly their appeal if you’ve come to the hill country for quiet, not crowds. Pack a flask of tea, arrange a driver through your hotel, and you can tick off two or three of these highland waters before lunch.
For the hill country’s most famous lakes, plan on a fuller day trip of one to three hours each way from Bandarawela. Gregory Lake in Nuwara Eliya is the obvious headline name. It was built in 1873 during the British colonial period, it’s now the social heart of Nuwara Eliya town, ringed by a walking path and offering pedal boats, horse rides, and lakeside cafes.
It’s about 50 minutes to an hour’s drive from Bandarawela, making it the easiest of the “worth the drive” lakes to combine with a wider Nuwara Eliya day out that also covers the town’s colonial architecture and surrounding tea estates.
Keep heading west and you’ll hit Castlereagh Reservoir, near Hatton. This one might be the most photogenic reservoir in the entire hill country – aquamarine water, tea plantations right down to the shoreline, so still that seaplanes used to land on it. It’s 2/3 hours from Bandarawela via Nuwara Eliya. Don’t try to squeeze it in as a quick trip. Pair it with Adam’s Peak or a proper tea-country loop instead.
Kotmale Reservoir is a different scene of 2270 hectares. It’s spread across both the Nuwara Eliya and Kandy districts, part of the Mahaweli irrigation network. You can see it from the road on the Kandy/Nuwara Eliya highway, or get closer at the Kadadora Viewing Centre. And then there’s Sembuwatte Lake, out near Elkaduwa in the Matale hills. Spring-fed, clear water, a natural swimming spot. It’s over three hours from Bandarawela though, so be honest with yourself – this isn’t a lake-country day trip, it’s a stop on the way to Kandy or Sigiriya.
So here’s the real difference.
– Dry-zone tanks: wide, shallow, dripping in archaeological history.
– Hill-country reservoirs near Bandarawela and Ella: deep, cool, tea-covered slopes all around.
Worth knowing before you decide which kind of scenic lake actually fits the trip you’re planning.
Those lowland tanks, some over a thousand years old, form a completely different category from the hydroelectric reservoirs of the hill country covered above – the former were built for agriculture under monarchs like King Parakramabahu, the latter for 20th-century power generation under British and post-independence engineers.
Both are technically reservoirs; both are man-made rather than natural lakes. But the dry-zone tanks are wide, shallow, and steeped in archaeological history. The hill-country reservoirs near Bandarawela and Ella are deep, cool, and set against tea-covered slopes. It’s a difference worth knowing if you’re deciding which kind of scenic lake in Sri Lanka actually matches the trip you’re planning.
Best move, according to us? One nearby reservoir in the morning, Gregory Lake in the afternoon. That’s the whole itinerary, and it works wonderfully to let you have a full lakeside experience too.
Start early at Puhulpola or Dyraaba Reservoir for misty, uncrowded photography – both are close enough that you can be back at Anasa in time for a late breakfast. From there, head north toward Nuwara Eliya (around 50 minutes). You can stop at tea-estate viewpoints along the way. You’ll spend midday walking the Gregory Lake promenade, taking a pedal boat out, or browsing the lakeside stalls.
If you have a second day to spare, extend the loop toward Hatton for Castlereagh Reservoir or continue on to Kotmale. Both pairs naturally with a broader tea-country or Adam’s Peak itinerary. Either way, build in a fixed return time – hill roads are scenic but slow, and you’ll want daylight for the drive back down to Bandarawela.
– Six to eight in the morning is the window – after that, wind picks up, the water stops sitting still, and your reflection shots are gone.
– December to March is your best bet for clear skies across the hill country, which is when you’ll get that perfect glassy shot at Gregory Lake or Puhulpola.
Outside that window, expect more mist – which isn’t a downside so much as a different kind of photograph, since a lake half-veiled in cloud is often more atmospheric than one under a flat blue sky.
Whichever season you visit, plan to be at the water’s edge before the day-trip crowds arrive from Kandy and Colombo, particularly at Gregory Lake.
Anasa Wellness Resort in Bandarawela is the natural base for touring the hill country’s lakes because it sits within easy striking distance of both the nearby Uma Oya reservoirs and the further Nuwara Eliya lake belt. A morning spent chasing reflections at Puhulpola or an afternoon walking Gregory Lake covers a lot of hill terrain – narrow roads, cool mountain air, and long stretches on your feet.
Anasa’s spa treatments, hot spring-fed pools, and quiet mountain setting are built precisely for unwinding after that kind of day, turning a lake-country itinerary into a genuine rest-and-recovery trip rather than a rushed sightseeing dash.
If you’re planning a longer stay built around lake-country days and proper recovery time, our Ultimate Guide to Holistic Wellness Retreats in Sri Lanka covers how to structure that balance, and our Wellness Resort Packages blog has ready-made stays that pair well with a hill-country lake itinerary.
Reach out to us for more questions you might have about scenic lake-hopping in Ella and Bandarawela – we’re happy to help!
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1. What are the most beautiful lakes and reservoirs in Sri Lanka?
Gregory Lake and Castlereagh Reservoir, hands down. Both wrapped in tea country, both consistently misty and photogenic.
2. Which scenic lakes are closest to Bandarawela and Ella?
Puhulpola and Dyraaba Dam- under an hour away. Gregory Lake’s close too, about 50 minutes.
3. How far is Gregory Lake from Bandarawela?
Around 28km. Roughly 50 minutes to an hour by car.
4. Can I visit the highland lakes on a day trip from my hotel?
Yes. Puhulpola, Dyraaba, Gregory Lake – all doable in a single day with a driver or tuk-tuk.
5. What is the difference between a lake and a reservoir (tank) in Sri Lanka?
Reservoirs are man-made, built for irrigation or power. Natural lakes aren’t. Most “lakes” here, Gregory included, are technically reservoirs.
6. Where should I stay to explore Sri Lanka’s hill country lakes?
Bandarawela. Close to Uma Oya’s reservoirs, an easy drive to Nuwara Eliya. Anasa Wellness Resort makes a good base to rest up between trips.
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