Words Prasadini Nanayakkara Photographs Prabhath Chathuranga | Mahesh Bandara
In the North-West of the Island approximately 100km from Colombo are regions home to little known havens for birds. One such area is Anawilundawa sanctuary. Declared a RAMSAR site, the second of three in the Island, the sanctuary encompasses a large region of nearly 1400ha. A series of seven man-made tanks built centuries ago in 1140AD, during the time of King Parakramabahu, they are said to cascade into one another. The tanks themselves comprise of approximately 190ha, interconnected with spillways and serve as marshy wetlands that have become a beckoning for a variety and more significantly large densities of birds.
