• Latest
  • Trending

Wild Wilpattu: Experience the Majesty of Wilpattu…

January 1, 2017
Auto Draft

Poson Poya

June 9, 2022
Seasonal Fruities in Our Island Nation

Seasonal Fruities in Our Island Nation

June 9, 2022
Poson and the Mihintale Season

Poson and the Mihintale Season

June 9, 2022
Wine, Hiking & Well-Being

Wine, Hiking & Well-Being

June 8, 2022
Behind the Scenes Green Chefs

Behind the Scenes Green Chefs

June 8, 2022
THE LOOM IS HER GURU

THE LOOM IS HER GURU

May 17, 2022
The Glory of Vesak and The Teaching of Buddha

The Glory of Vesak and The Teaching of Buddha

May 17, 2022
Juicy Tropical Treats: Star Fruits

Juicy Tropical Treats: Star Fruits

May 17, 2022
VISION CARE CELEBRATES 30 YEARS OF REVOLUTIONIZING SRI LANKA’S EYE CARE INDUSTRY

VISION CARE CELEBRATES 30 YEARS OF REVOLUTIONIZING SRI LANKA’S EYE CARE INDUSTRY

May 13, 2022
Chilling in Arugambay

Chilling in Arugambay

May 13, 2022
MINISTRY OF CRAB RECOGNIZED AS ONE OF ASIA’S 50 BEST RESTAURANTS FOR THE EIGHTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR 

MINISTRY OF CRAB RECOGNIZED AS ONE OF ASIA’S 50 BEST RESTAURANTS FOR THE EIGHTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR 

May 17, 2022
Safilo Group hosts ‘Buying Day’ marking Carrera’s 65 years of Design and Quality

Safilo Group hosts ‘Buying Day’ marking Carrera’s 65 years of Design and Quality

May 14, 2022
Retail
Sunday, July 3, 2022
Subscription
Advertise
  • Home
  • Issues
    • 2022
      • January 2022
      • February 2022
      • March 2022
      • April 2022
      • May 2022
      • June 2022
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Archive
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result

Wild Wilpattu: Experience the Majesty of Wilpattu…

by
in Slider
0 0
0
A glimmer of gold amidst the darkness, the royal leopard of Wilpattu
A glimmer of gold amidst the darkness, the royal leopard of Wilpattu

Declared as a National Park in the year 1938, Wilpattu is considered one of the oldest national parks in Sri Lanka. With little human visitors and a vast wilderness of many terrains, it is an exciting place for all nature lovers.

Words and Photographs Raveendra Siriwardene

A grey heron glistening in the dark
A grey heron glistening in the dark

The park has two entry points, the Hunuwilagama entrance is the main entrance, and the Eluwankulama entrance can be used for day visits. This park covers 131,693 ha of the Northwest coast low land dry zone of the Island. To its north is the Kala Oya and on the south it is bordered by Modaragam Aru.

Wilpattu National Park was named Sri Lanka’s sixth Ramsar wetland. An exclusive feature of this park is that it has a large number of Villus or natural lakes in various locations thereby making Wilpattu “the Lands of Lakes”. These Villus are filled with rainwater. The park mainly gets showers from the Northeastern monsoon during the period of September to December, while non-seasonal rains reach the area in April and May. The park has a comparatively good gravel and sandy road system unlike other parks.

Wilpattu national park consists of different natural habitats; from lakes with beautiful open grasslands to thick forests, savannahs and scrublands, open grasslands, coastal belt with sandy surfaces and many more terrains, which provide life for a great number of animals that inhabit this reserve.

Located in the dry and semiarid zones in the country, the  park consists of three types of vegetation, namely “littoral vegetation”, which includes salt grass and low scrub; the coastal belt of “monsoon scrub” and the “wooded forests”. Further, the majority of the park is covered with thick forests and has well grown, tall and healthy trees such as Palu (Ceylon iron wood), Burutha (Satinwood), Weera (Drypetes sepiaria), Milla (Vitex altissima), Mara (Gulmohar), Lunumidella (Persian lilac) and Ebony.

The beautiful coastal belt covers the western border of the park, which consists of a different landscape. Certain parts of the reserve is covered in thick jungle where even the sky cannot be seen and sunlight does not penetrate through the forest cover, even on a very hot day.

Over thirty species of mammals can be seen in Wilpattu and includes leopards, sloth bears, elephants, buffaloes, spotted deer, barking deer, sambar deer, grey langurs, wild boars and golden jackals. A big cat walking towards your jeep on a sandy road on a beautiful evening with the sunset as the background will be an enriching experience. Wilpattu national park is among the top world-renowned parks for its large leopard population.

Two giants test their strength at Pomparippu, the prehistoric burial ground
Two giants test their strength at Pomparippu, the prehistoric burial ground

Pomparippu and Mahawewa areas are known as places to see the Asian Elephant; if you are lucky you will see some gigantic tuskers as well. The Puttalam-Silawathura main road that crosses over the Pomparippu area, is generally closed to the public during the night as wildlife are known to move freely in that area.

It is our responsibility to conserve and protect these habitats as well as the precious wildlife that call this park their home so that the majesty of Wilpattu prevails…

All deer species, wild boars and grey langurs are natural pray for leopards. On occasion leopards have been seen eating monitor lizards and mugger crocodiles.

A huge number of bird species, including endemic birds such as Sri Lankan jungle fowl, black capped bulbul, Sri Lankan wood shrike, brown capped babbler, grey hornbill and crimson-fronted barbet can be seen in Wilpattu throughout the year. From the end of October to March, you can observe plenty of winter migrant birds, especially in and around all lakes.

In addition to the above, reptile species commonly visible in the Wilpattu National Park are mugger crocodiles, monitor lizards, painted-lipped lizards, the common cobra, rat snake and Indian python. Different varieties of butterflies have also been recorded in the Wilpattu National Park, among them great orange tip, blue mormon, common mormon, common rose, Chinese rose, and Gladeye bushbrown.

While wildlife predominates, Wilpattu is also linked to the history of the country. It is said that Prince Vijaya landed on the shores of Thambapanni, which is located within the park. Furthermore, the burial site of prehistoric man is located in Pomparippu. There are numerous other legends as well.

It is our responsibility to conserve and protect these habitats as well as the precious wildlife that call this park their home so that the majesty of Wilpattu prevails.

TweetShareShare

Search

No Result
View All Result

Recent News

Auto Draft

Poson Poya

Seasonal Fruities in Our Island Nation

Seasonal Fruities in Our Island Nation

Poson and the Mihintale Season

Poson and the Mihintale Season

Explore Sri Lanka

Explore Sri Lanka Online, the web edition of Sri Lanka’s leading monthly corporate publication. Founded in 1996, the magazine currently has a distribution of over 6,000 copies island-wide.

Recent News

  • Poson Poya
  • Seasonal Fruities in Our Island Nation
  • Poson and the Mihintale Season

Find Us

Address : BT Options 536,
R. A. De Mel Mawatha,
Colombo 03,
Sri Lanka
(+94 11) 259 7991
(+94) 715 134 134
info@btoptions.com
btoptions.com

  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy

© 2022 Explore Sri Lanka | Designed by Lithic Labs

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Issues
    • 2022
      • January 2022
      • February 2022
      • March 2022
      • April 2022
      • May 2022
      • June 2022
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Archive

© 2022 Explore Sri Lanka | Designed by Lithic Labs

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In