Wasgamuwa
National Park, Sri Lanka will be an astonishing experience for the ecologists:-
Barring
the south, the Wasgamuwa National Park is almost entirely encompassed by
rivers. The eastern boundary is defined by the famous long flowing Mahaweli
Ganga, while the northern and western sides are bordered by the Amban Ganga and
Dunuwila Oya respectively. Long before wildlife conservation became
fashionable, Sri Lanka already had areas of jungle marked out for conservation.
Life here,
of course, is abundant, a testimonial to the success of Sri Lanka 's early
conservation efforts. The Wasgamuwa National Park has a history of being the
place to observe the Sri Lankan Sloth Bear (a recognized subspecies of the
Sloth Bear). Fifty or so species of butterflies (nine of which are endemic)
sprinkle the park with a splash of welcome color just when you think your eyes
are dying of dullness from the browns and grays of all those large mammals,
which drink from every stream and river the veritable White Mountain feeds.
If you
try looking into these rivers and streams, you might catch a glimpse of the
Stone Sucker or Combtail, two of the 17 reptile species recorded in the Park,
five are endemic. The Water monitor and Mugger Crocodile are common as well.
More
than 150 plant species have been recorded in the Wasgamuwa National Park.
Chloroxylon swietenia, Manilkara hexandra, Elaeodendron glaucum, Pterospermum
canescens, Diospyros ebenum, Holoptelea integrifolia, Pleurostylia opposita,
Vitex altissima, Drypetes sepiaria, and Berrya cordifolia are dominant in the
emergent layer of the forests while Polyalthia korinti, Diplodiscus verrucosus,
Limonia acidissima, Cassia roxburghii and Strobilanthes stenoden are common in
the other layers. There is also a 1,700 year-old tamarind tree in Wasgamuwa.
Watch
out for Water Monitors and crocodiles while looking for fish though, and try
not to run afoul of these not-too-friendly reptiles. While some would say that
all reptiles are hideous, the more adorable ones include the endangered skink
and the Dangaradanda as well as the Red Lipped Lizard and - with a name
implying that normal people actually notice the ears of lizards - the Earless
Lizard.
Wasgamuwa
National Park - Sri LankaNo discussion of a national park in Sri Lanka is
complete without the naming of a few birds, as we have noted in our section on
Minneriya-Giritale National Park . So here are a few more cool names for you to
memorize. It is intriguing how people name birds, and we're quite sure that's
part of the fun.
In
Wasgomuwa National Park - where the Lesser Adjutant does not refer to a
disgraced general - there are about 143 species of birds. Examples (besides the
Lesser Adjutant) include the Red-faced Malkoha and Yellow Fronted Barbet; the
Sri Lanka Jungle Fowl; and Sri Lanka Spur Fowl, sometimes misheard as
"super-fowl". There is also the Sri Lanka Frogmouth, which appears to
have no beak. Speaking of which, this might be a convenient place to draw your
attention to the Slender Wood Frog, an endangered amphibian and the most
noteworthy among the eight species found here.
A safari
adventure in exploring the wild and an audience with the well-known giants of
Wasgamuwa National Park admist the Dunuwila Lake, is what it’s all about while
experiencing the best of this elephant territory.
Even the
elusive sloth bear has been known to be sighted at the Park. Nevertheless the
journey has no shortfall in the diversity of wild encounters, as the abundance
of ancient water tanks in and around the vicinity suggests.
Wasgamuwa
National Park presents a climate that leans towards fairly dry, however the
area does experience adequate rainfall seasonally as a part of tropical
conditioning, therefore the best times to visit the Park is January through
March.
More details
:: crs3@vittilhospitality.com ;
www.VittilHospitality.com ; www.HolidaysToKerala.com
