Enchanting Forest

This is another photo from the cloud forest of Sri Pada reserve. Isn't it magical to wander in these forests?

Cloud Forest

Cloud forests are generally found in tropical mountainous areas. The main characteristic is that there is a low cloud layer. The mist gives an enchanted look to the forest. Cloud forests are quite rare and found in very few places in the world. Luckily, we find cloud forests in most of the montane rain forests in Sri Lanka.

Above picture was taken inside a cloud forest somewhere in Sri Pada range.

Lakegala

This is a super destination for hikers. Lakegala is situated in Knuckles Mountain Range close to a very remote village called Meemure. The above picture was taken from that village. As per the legend, Ravana, a mythical king of Sri Lanka used this mountain as a landing strip for his aircraft.

Once I tried this with a bunch of friends but failed just below 200 feet from the top. The last bit has an incline of around 70-80 degrees and climbing that stretch is really tricky.

You can read about that adventure through the blogs of Halik, Indi, Meg and Jerry.

Towards Diyathalawa

I went thru' this forest, while travelling from Haputhale to Diyathalawa. Haputhale, Diyathalawa and Bandarawela known for cool and less humid climates, quite close to temperate zones in the world.

This stretch of forest is about 3-4 km. More pictures of this beautiful area is shown here.

Morning Lights

This scenery was photographed in Kudawa village, bordering Sinharaja Rainforest.

Wish you all a very happy new year 2011!

Mini World's End

‘World’s End’ in Sri Lanka usually means a high precipice. The one at Horton Plains is the more famous one. In addition there are many mini world’s ends in most parts of the Central Highlands.

Usually these places get misty very easily and sometimes you may not see anything other than the white clouds over the edge. To me the real feeling of world’s end is when it is full of mist. But many people like to see it on a clear day. So you can see the spectacular scenery below and over.

This picture was taken at the mini world’s end of Pitawalapathana. You can get to that rocky ledge and witness an incredible view of Knuckles Range and beyond.

To see more scenic images, explore this wonderful site - Scenic Sunday.

Misty

This picture was taken on a misty evening in Knuckles Range.

Alive

Although the tree looks almost dead but it is not. A new branch has sprung with full of life.

This picture was taken at Yala National Park.

Montane Rain Forests

The Sri Lankan variety of montane rain forests are found in few places within central highlands like Horton Plains, Knuckles Range and Sri Pada Range (Peak Wilderness). Usually these forests can be seen in mountain tops above 4500 feet from sea level. Below that level we find another type known as sub-montane forests.

Montane rain forests have thick undergrowth and it is extremely difficult to walk across a forest patch. Due to the cold weather and high winds the trees in these forests are not that tall compared to the rain forests in lowlands. Trees are usually around 20-30 feet tall and there is a low canopy. Sub-montane rain forests are a transitional stage between the lowland and highland vegetation. Both these forest types are high in biodiversity. Another interesting feature is cloud forests, which I have experienced quite a lot while hiking in these forests.

Above picture, taken from Sri Pada Range shows part of the montane rain forest there. More photos in this link show both high montane as well as sub-montane rain forests.

Succession

This dead tree was captured in Sinharaja. Two younger trees have grown taller taking its place.

More from Sri Pada

This picture was taken from the top of Sri Pada. The twin peaks are known as Bena Samanala.

As you may know, there are few routes to reach the top and the local letters in the picture directs you to Rathnapura, Palabaddala route. The same route will take you to Kuruwita, Erathna road as well as Maliboda route. The other route at the top is Hatton, Nallathanni route. Moraywaththa Trail also linked with Nallathanni route.

The complete set of photos taken from the summit of Sri Pada is uploaded here.

Tree and Reflection

This picture was taken at Yala. Please click and enlarge it to see all the intruders in the picture.

Sunrise from Yala

This sunrise was captured in Yala, just before the main entrance at Palatupana.

The Giant

Although it is more interesting to meet the giants of the animal world, some times it is equally appealing to see giants in the plant world.

This giant was seen in Sinharaja rain forest. It is known as the ‘Giant Nawanda Tree’ and it is one of the key attractions in this tropical rain forest. The tree is about 140 feet tall and the circumference is 21 feet. The botanical name is Shorea stipularis and it is one of the cousins of this particular tree, I saw sometime back.

There were many trees of same size, in this area some decades ago and most were cut off for timber. Nawanda is native to Sri Lanka.

Elephant and the Rock

This male elephant was photographed at Yala. Usually the bull elephant is a loner. The herd is usually made of female elephants and calves.

There is another variation called ‘Thun path rena’ or three elephants. Some incorrectly identify them as father, mother and child. Actually it is either two female elephants and a calf or a female elephant and two calves. Of course one of the calves is bigger.

The rock far away in the picture is known as Akasa Chethiya, but the renowned name is ‘Elephant Rock' as it looks like an elephant.

Yala National Park

Yala is a small area in the south east coast of Sri Lanka . The name ‘Yala’ is well-known as Sri Lanka’s most famous and the second largest national park (Ruhunu National Park) is given the same name. In fact Yala is a part of the park itself.

Yala is situated about 300 km from Colombo . The park is about 1000 square kilometers and it spreads in three districts (Hambanthota, Monaragala and Ampara) belong to three provinces.

The southern part is known as Block 1 and it is the more popular section. The entry point to this section is situated at Palatupana. Nimalawa sanctuary is situated adjacent to this entry point. Western and Northern Parts, belong to Uva Province, are comprised of Yala Blocks 3, 4 and 5. Kataragama and Katagamuwa sanctuaries are situated in the west, adjacent to the park. The eastern part of Yala, belongs to Eastern Province is now known as Kumana National Park. This was recently opened to the public after many years of isolation due to security reasons.

Yala is more famous for its fauna than flora. Elephant, leopard and bear sightings are regarded as prized ones while deer, crocodiles, wild boar and wild buffalos are quite common sights. It is also a paradise for birders.

Yala is situated in the dry zone of Sri Lanka. The jungle is mostly made of dry monsoon forests, thorny forests and grasslands. Among the larger varieties, Palu trees are quite common. This area gets water from two main rivers (Kumbukkan Oya and Menik Ganga), but those also run dry during dry seasons. A few tanks in the park keep all the animals alive during dry periods. One prominent tank is Butawa Wewa, which is known as the last water resource that remains even during heavy draughts.

Yala is famous for its historical significance as well. Quite a few ancient ruins are scattered in these areas and some are yet to be discovered. There are a few prominent temples situated within this park. Sithul Pahuwa is the most famous temple which is situated on top of a rocky outcrop. There are a few more rocky outcrops in the park and some of the more prominent ones are Akasa Chethiya (Elephant Rock), Jamburagala and Pimburagala.

The Indian Ocean is the southern boundary of Yala and it has some of the most beautiful and unique beaches in Sri Lanka like, Patanangala, Kumana and Minihagalkanda.

Yala is one of the must-go-places in Sri Lanka and I shall bring more about this place soon.

This post was selected for Kottu Section of week end news paper, The Sunday Leader.

Found Him

Hope you remember the leaf litter, I posted a few weeks back, and most of you identified a frog like pattern there.

Yesterday, our ornithology and wildlife expert, Gallicissa identified that toad as a rare species. I will quote his exact words below.

‘What you have photographed is a high-profile amphibian in Sri Lanka, which is endemic and scarce.

It was discovered only in 1998 by eminent Sri Lankan biologists, Kelum Nalinda Manamendra-Arachchi and Rohan Pethiyagoda from Koskulana near Panapola. It has been christened as Noellert's Toad, Bufo noellerti in honour of the German Herpatologist/Batrachologist, Andreas Noellert.

Noellert's Toad looks similar to the Common House Toad aka Asiatic House Toad Bufo melanostictus (Schneider, 1799) that you and I get in our houses and home gardens. However, it can be told apart by using numerous features. The main one that I used to tell this species from the commoner cousin, often found sympatrically, is the absence of 2 pairs of inter-paratoid warts in this species, which is present in Asiatic House Toad. The paratoid gland FYI, are the elevated and elongated sections on each side of the dorsal surface seen behind the eyes.’

My gratitude goes to Amila, as without him above creature would be just another toad!

Find Me

These scattered dry leaves were pictured in Sinharaja Forest!

Green Garden Lizard

This is a common type of lizard found in Sri Lanka. I took this photo in Mulawella, Sinharaja rainforest.

He is posing for the camera! Isn't he?

Lost in Samanala Adaviya

This was happened sometime back, but thought of writing the full story as I have mentioned about it a few times, here and there.

A few of us planned to climb Sri Pada during off season via one of the lesser known routes. The trail head of this particular route is at Uda Maliboda village off Deraniyagala. We left Colombo early in the morning and reached Deraniyagala via Avissawella by bus. From there, we took Uda Maliboda bus and reached the village around 12 noon. Uda Maliboda is situated at the border of Adam’s Peak Wilderness Sanctuary (Samanala Adaviya).

Once we reached the village, we got some information about the route from villagers. Quite a few mentioned that the path is not cleared for sometime, since it was the off-season and it would be difficult to find the trail. Still we decided to set off the journey and left the village around 1 pm.

At the start, we crossed a stream probably a tributary of River Kelani. The first one hour of walking was easy and soon we came to another stream ran parallel to our path. Since it is customary to have a bath before going to Sri Pada, we spent another one hour in the cool spring water. Most of all, this particular area was very scenic and we enjoyed the natural beauty and the crystal clear icy spring water to our heart content.

From that point onwards, the route became tricky. The path was getting smaller and at some points, we find it extremely difficult to locate the exact path. At certain points, there were multiple paths created by various wild animals like, sambhurs and wild boars. Also we found quite a few tracks created by wild elephants. Although we didn’t meet any of those, we saw enough animal droppings to prove it. Meanwhile, the path started to ascend.

We crossed many smaller streams and the hike became more difficult, since it was infested with leaches. The trail was through a thick forest and we were walking quite fast to reach an open area mentioned by the villagers. A drizzle started to fall and we kept on walking. Still no indication of any of the waypoints mentioned by the villagers and we could not see any signs of Sri Pada. Slowly it started to get darker and we found it ever so difficult to find the trail. We started feeling that we have already diverged from the right path and wandered into the jungle.

Finally we saw a small open area. It was around 6.30 in the evening and the light was dim. We decided to spend the night there, although we hardly had enough room to pitch a tent. Furthermore, we were quite scared to pitch a tent there, since we had the terrifying feeling that, we might meet a live elephant face-to-face.

So we decided to lay the tent over a slanted rock surface and spend the night there. To make matters worse, it stared to rain. Somehow or the other, we managed the night without further panics, although I must say it was a sleepless night for all of us.

Next day, we packed our stuff and tried to find our way forward. We managed to walk about half a kilometer, but then we came to a cul-de-sac. So we decided to turn back! The idea was to find the place we diverged from the exact path.

We walked pass where we spent the night, the other day and then came to another dead end. This time we knew that we were lost, lock stock and barrel! We tried a few more routes and to our utter dismay, we ended up at the same place after a round trip. One observation we made was that, there were many water streams formed compared to last evening. Most probably that could have been the effect of overnight rain. We tried a few more alternatives. We selected one of the streams and walked along it towards downstream through the thick forest. After walking about 30 minutes, our journey was curtailed by a massive precipice. Then we did the opposite. We walked upstream, and there too, the stream suddenly disappeared without any sign. The reason is that the stream had turned in to a small spring and it had gone through the mountain, underneath the earth crust. After hours of futile efforts to find our way back, we were utterly exhausted and felt desperate.

It was almost noon and we finished all our food that we brought in with us. Actually, we planned to be at the top of Sri Pada by morning.

We continued our search to find the way back and after about another hour or so, we finally managed to find a foot path and that lead us to the same trail we came. By that time, we were already late and we had to abort our journey and return back to the village.

Anyway we were quite happy at the end, to find our way back. We did not use even the simplest of way finding techniques and that made our hike a disaster. Even if you use maps, compass or GPS still there is a high chance of getting lost there, as Peak Wilderness Area is highly dense forest. So it is always advisable to stick to routine paths.

We never knew where exactly we roamed. Definitely, we never come even closer to Adevikanda or normal Erathna route. In fact we must have walked parallel to Erathna route further north of it. Even to-date, I rate this as one of my best hiking experiences.