Minneriya National Park in Sri Lanka

Minneriya National Park

Minneriya National Park is another famous tourist destination in Sri Lanka. The place is widely popular due to its largest elephant gathering. It belongs to the Polonnaruwa District of North Central Province. Minneriya National Park is the home to many wild animals. This covers 8889.4 ha.

Location

Minneriya National Park is situated 182km away from Colombo city. It needs almost 4 hours to reach the capital. The distance from Kandy is about 105km. It will take around 3 hours to reach this from there. Google Maps will help you find the location. Dambulla, Sigiriya, and Polonnaruwa are some of the most visited tourist destinations on the island. Those locations are not far from this national park. Therefore, many of them don’t miss this place to visit.

History

Minneriya Tank, or what the locals call “Minneriya Wewa,” is an ancient construction. It was made by King Mahasen in the 3rd century AD. The purpose of the tank was to supply essential water for paddy cultivation. The surrounding forest was the main water source for the tank. Apart from that, the Amban River and Elahera Canal bring water to the Minneriya Tank.

The tank and its surrounding forest were declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1938. It was further declared as a national park in 1997/08/12. The aim of the declaration was to protect the tank and wildlife of the area.

Climate

The Minneriya National Park and surrounding area receive an average annual rainfall of 1000–1500 mm. The average annual temperature is around 25–30 °C. The North-Eastern Monsoon is the main rainfall source and it is active from October until February. There is a clear dry season from May to September.

Wildlife

Minneriya National Park is home to 24 mammal species, 1600 bird species, 9 amphibian species, 25 reptile species, 26 fish species, and 75 butterfly species.

Some of the birds that you can watch here are the Sri Lankan Junglefowl, Sri Lankan Hanging Parrot, and brown-capped babbier. It is a paradise for both resident and migrant birds. Along with them, you can identify the Sri Lankan Leopard, Sri Lankan Sloth Bear, Sri Lankan Sambar Deer, Buffalo and two types of endemic monkeys.

Elephants

Minneriya is best known for its largest elephant gatherings. Group of 150 – 300 wild elephants can identify together in the dry seasons. Elephants in Matale, Polonnaruwa, Trincomalee disticts migrate to Minneriya National Park in the dry season. They gather around the Minneriya Tank because of the food and water. Therefore, May to September time period consider as the best time to visit this sanctuary.

There are many Safari service providers around this national park. So, you can pick one of them to plan your wildlife tour. As well as you, there are many hotels and lodges for tourists in Dambulla, Sigiriya, Habarana and Girithale areas. This is the National Park that you should visit if you love Sri Lankan Elephants and widlife.

Read more from our Website:

Day Tour at Polonnaruwa Ancient City

( Cover Image Credit: Stephen Blaxhall )

Sembuwatta Lake in Matale

Sembuwatta Lake in Matale

Sembuwatta Lake is one of the must-visit travel destinations in the Matale District of Sri Lanka. It is situated near Elkaduwa, a small town in the Ukuwela divisional secteriant area. The distance from Kandy to Sembuwatta is 31 km, and from Matale it is 22 km. The place has become widely popular among local and international travelers in the last decade.

There are two major routes to reach Sembuwatta. first route from Kandy via Wattegama. The next route is from Matale via Ukuwela. You can easily find the location with Google Maps. Since its opening in 2005, the area has been managed by Elkaduwa Plantation Company. You should buy a ticket to enter the location.

Sembuwatta Lake and its surroundings are absolutely beautiful and nice to see. The cold breeze will bring amazing feelings to anyone. There is a forest near the lake, and it’s called “Campbell Lane Forest.” The majority of the forest is pine trees. You can also see tea estates in the area. The elevation of the area is 1072m. So, you will feel the cold weather. The average annual temperature is around 20’C and the average annual rainfall in the area is around 2000 mm.

Sembuwatta Lake was built in 1949. It was a polo ground in the British Era of Sri Lanka. Later, it became a lake to generate essential electricity for the tea factory. The lake has been made up with natural water streams. It is 9–12 m deep and not allowed for bathing. Anyhow, it is open for many water activities. There is another small pool near the main lake for bathing activities. So, you can bathe there.

Summer huts are available for those who would like to spend the night in Sembuwatta. are also available for those who don’t like to stay in them. But you need to get permission to do that. So, we request that you visit this place if you love to travel in central Sri Lanka.

Read More:

Hakgala Botanical Garden

(Sembuwatta Lake Image Source: @diskdimuth from Instagram)

Elephant Transit Home in Udawalawa

Udawalawa Elephant Transit Home

Sri Lanka is blessed with so many natural resources. It is also home for so many animals. This visit is for you to experience one of the major steps taken by Wildlife Conservation in considering the wellbeing of orphaned baby elephants. This establishment is called “Ath Athuru Sevana” or Elephant Transit Home and is situated in Udawalawa.

 

Ath Athuru Sevana – the home for the orphaned elephants

This great step was taken in 1995 at the Udawalawe National Park since a lot of big herds of elephants are gathered in the area. The birth of this establishment had many hindrances as many assumed this would be a failure, considering the feasibility of the objective. But a brave and determined officer Dr. Nandana Atapaththu worked tirelessly with minimum resources to bring “Ath Athuru Sevana” to life. The Elephant Transit Home’s objective is to care for baby elephants until they are big and independent enough to be released to the wilderness. The home does not have boundaries and baby elephants get to freely wander about. In a short span of time, it succeeded so much and now it is considered as of the best wild animal rehabilitation centers in the entire world.

 

The first member of The Elephant Transit Home

An orphaned baby elephant was found in a forest in Anuradhapura district. It was one year old females and was brought and registered as the first resident. This baby elephant was given the name “komali” and was reintroduced to the wilderness at the age of five. Till date, more than 250 orphaned elephants have been under the care of the Home.

 

A memorable visit to Ath Athuru Sevana

What an amazing place is this rehabilitation center! It takes a lot of patience and courage to maintain the place. The regular milk feedings, taking care of the sick ones, post-illness treatments, etc. takes a lot of time and endurance. That is why it is considered as one of the most admired places in Sri Lanka. With baby elephants, it is never a dull place.

All nature lovers and animal lovers from all across the globe pay a visit to Elephant Transit Home when they come to Udawalawa. They never miss out on the chance of seeing young elephants being rehabilitated. With our subject specific guides, you can enjoy a nostalgic visit by spending time seeing baby elephants being taken care.

It is one of the most admirable services rendered to the wildlife and mammals in general, thus making it a top-notch establishment. Come with us to experience a refreshing happiness by seeing this conservation done at a large scale. Assuredly, this will be in red letters in your journey.

 

Visit Udawalawa with Mahaweli Tours & Holidays

You will be given a guide throughout the visitation who is capable in communicating with you in English as well as share a lot of local knowledge. We will make sure your visit is worthwhile as it is considered one of the major establishments in the department of Wildlife Conservation.

Possible Starting / Pick-up Locations :
Ella, Udawalawa, Thissamarama, Rathnapura, Haputhale, Bandarawela, Katharagama, Yala (You can let us know your exact location for us to check and confirm the possibility)

Tour Type : A private tour. Vehicle and the Guide / Chauffer guide are dedicated to you / your group. Safari tour will be done by an off road vehicle and traveling to the starting point and back will be done by Comfortable Car / Van / Mini coach.

 

(Cover Image Source and Credit Goes to: @natalinipon from Instagram) 

Udawalawe National Park

Udawalawe National Park is the third most visited national park of Sri Lanka which is located on the boundary of Sabaragamuwa & Uva Provinces. Total extend of the park is over 30,000 hectares and a popular place among the tourists who love sighting water birds and Sri Lankan Elephants in their natural habitats.

The rusty-spotted cat, fishing cat, Sri Lankan leopard, The Sri Lankan sloth bear, Sri Lankan sambar deer, Sri Lankan axis deer, Indian muntjac, Sri Lankan spotted chevrotain, wild boar and water buffalo are among other mammal species. Golden jackal, Asian palm civet, toque macaque, tufted grey langur and Indian hare also inhabit the park. A study conducted in 1989 found that considerable numbers of golden palm civets inhabit the forests of Udawalawe.[1] Five species of mice also have been recorded from the park. The endemic Ceylon spiny mouse, known from Yala National Park, was recorded in Udawalawe National Park in 1989. Indian bush rat and three species of mongoose are also recorded in the national park.

Jeeps are available to hire at the entrance of the park and you can decide if you prefer a half a day safari or a complete full day one. Camping inside the park under strict guidelines also possible with the prior approval of the authorities.

 

Distance to the Udawalawe National Park from some of the key places are as follow.

From :

  • Udawalawa – 10 km
  • Katharagama – 60 km
  • Ella – 90 km
  • Nuwaraeliya -144 km
  • Kandy – 200 km
  • Colombo – 160 km
  • CMB Airport – 170 km
  • Galle – 130 km

 

You can see some of the beautiful photos below;

Elephants in Udawalawe National Park

Wilpattu National Park

Wilpattu National Park is the largest and one of the oldest National Parks in Sri Lanka. Located 30 km west Anuradhapura and 26 km north of Puttalam (approximately 180 km north of Colombo).
The park is 1,317 km2 (508 sq mi) (131, 693 hectares) and ranges from 0–152 m (0–499 ft) above sea level.

(Cover Photo Credit: Thilina Kaluthotage Photography)

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