Morning Lights

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

Wish you all a very happy new year 2011!

Succession

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

Weddagala

This picture was taken while returning from Sinharaja Forest, just before reaching Weddagala.

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

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.

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!

Towards Kudawa

This scenery was captured between Weddagala and Kudawa, on my way to Sinharaja rain forest.

Hope you can identify all the different types of palms in the picture.

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?

Giant Wood Spider

This variety of spiders can be seen in many parts of the world. Usually they are found in warm forest areas closer to the tropics.

This particular one was as big as my palm and usually you can spot even bigger ones. This is a female spider and the male spiders are much smaller.

I captured this picture at Sinharaja Forest.

I'm thrilled to see that above picture is picked by Conservation Carbon Company in their blog.

More from Mulawella

As I mentioned earlier the panoramic view from Mulawella is simply awesome.
Please click here to see the complete set of pictures from the top of this mountain.

Creeper

This interesting creeper was found in the middle of the trail to Mulawella. These types of creepers are in abundance in this primeval forest.

More interesting things were in store in this trail, all the way up to the mountain.

Mulawella

During my recent visit to Sinharaja rainforest, I climbed Mulawella mountain, which is one of the highest points in the reserve. This peak is about 2500 feet high and it is one of the easier trails in Sinharaja. The round trip trail from the entrance of the forest reserve and back is about 6 - 7 kilometers.

The view from top of Mulawella is one of the best you can ever get within Sinharaja. I shall upload more pictures soon.

Dawn in a Rainforest

This beautiful scenery was captured in Sinharaja rainforest close to Kudawa village. Witnessing sunrise in a rainforest was an awesome experience.

Ahaetulla

Unlike the Green Pit Viper, this emerald colored snake is an innocent and harmless reptile. This particular species is known as Ahaetulla in local language. In fact I got to know from Wikipedia, that this snake’s genus name also the same.

I captured this one during my recent trip to Sinharaja rain forest. Ahaetulla is found in low wetlands of Sri Lanka.

I missed a better chance of getting a good close up of this forest friend, due to my clumsiness.

To learn more about snakes, visit this excellent website about Sri Lankan Reptiles. The authors have taken a very good effort!

Green Pit Viper

This reptile is known as Sri Lankan Pit Viper or Green Pit Viper. (Pala Polanga in Sinhalese)

This colorful snake is found mostly in forest areas of Sri Lanka, both low lands and mountains up to medium heights. It is usually seen resting on foliage of trees, shrubs or creepers. Sometimes it stays in the same place for weeks. Although it is a venomous snake, I have not heard about any fatal bites by this species.

It is good to take a few precautions while hiking in dense forests with thick undergrowth. I have mentioned some simple but very effective methods in one of my previous posts.

I captured this one during my recent trip to Sinharaja rain forest. This is the first time I have come across a green pit viper in all my hikes. I could not move closer to get a macro view for obvious reasons.

Sinharaja

Sinharaja Forest Reserve is one of the last remaining virgin rainforests in the world. Due to its significance, UNESCO has designated this forest reserve as a Biosphere Reserve as well as a World Heritage Site.

This majestic rainforest is situated in the South West of Sri Lanka within Southern and Sabaragamuwa Provinces. There are many entry points to this forest and the closest to Colombo is Kudawa village via Weddagala. The distance to Kudawa is about 125km from Colombo. The other main entry points are Pitadeniya via Deniyaya and Morningside via Sooriyakanda.

This primeval forest is home to many flora and fauna and most are indigenous to this area. It is quite popular for endemic species of butterflies, amphibians, reptiles and birds. Also you can see larger animals like sambhurs and leopards. The majority of the trees are tall, gigantic ones between the heights of 35 – 40m. And some trees like the Giant Nawada Tree are closer to 50m in height.

The forest receives 4000 – 5000mm of rainfall every year and it is a primary source for many rivers and tributaries. Koskulana Ganga and Gin Ganga are some of them. There are some dazzling waterfalls also in this forest like Neluwa and Doovili Ella. This hilly reserve area has a few medium level peaks which provide excellent vantage points for explorers. Hinipitigala, Mulawella, Sinhagala and Kosgulana are some of them.

The best period to visit the forest is between December - April and August - September.

The above picture was taken from one of the highest peaks within the range known as Mulawella (about 760m).

I will bring more about this amazing place very soon. Till then, please visit following sites to learn more about Sinharaja.

• www.sinharaja.net
• www.sinharaja.4t.com
• UNESCO Biosphere Reserves
• UNESCO World Heritage sites

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

The Dun Tree

The trees in the wet, low lands of Sri Lanka usually are very tall. Some trees grow even up to the heights of 30 – 40m. Hora, Bu-Hora, Thiniya Dun, Dun and Nawada are some of the tallest species.

The above Dun tree which is easily about 140 feet tall is popular as the tallest tree in the wet zone of Sri Lanka. You may find taller trees in Sinharaja Forest Reserve and some other places, but this tree should be one of the tallest in Sri Lanka. Its significance is amplified, since it is situated by the side of a main road.

If you ever travel along Agalawaththa - Kalawana road, you will see this tree in the village of Athwelthota, between Akasa Bokkuwa and the boundary of Western and Sabaragamuwa Provinces.