The stark white Kechimalai Mosque stands on a headland at the sleepy southern fishing village of Beruwela in Sri Lanka. Built in 1024, it marks the spot where Moors first landed on the island. Beruwala Maradana Masjidul Abrar Jumma mosque a short distance away is the first mosque of Sri Lanka, built in…
Madu River – a minor watercourse in south-west of Sri Lanka, widens into the Madu Ganga Lake at Balapitiya and flows for a further a 4.4 km before draining into the Indian Ocean. Together with the smaller Randombe Lake, to which the river is connected by two narrow channels, it forms the Madu Ganga wetland dotted with mangrove…
We were tucking into a rice & curry lunch at Sir John’s Bungalow and the large photograph of a spectacular waterfall on the dinning room wall caught my eye. “It is Sera Ella Falls, about an hours drive from here” the waiter said. I had never heard of Sera Ella. It looked gorgeous and I…
From Sir John’s Bungalow, it is only a short drive to Pitawala Pathana. The road is good, there is ample parking, and the ranger’s office has benches and a public toilet in front of it. A short distance away, new visitor centre with all mod cons is under construction. I have visited Knuckles – a…
The bungalow in the Knuckles Range sits in splendid isolation. The view across the valley to the distant mist shrouded mountains is magnificent. It was once the holiday home of Sir John Kotalawala, the third Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. The five bedroom bungalow was built during the British colonial era as a residence for…
Giant’s Tank is a marvel of ancient irrigation engineering in Sri Lanka and is a great place to see rare waders Giant’s Tank (Yodha Vewa in Sinhalese) situated 25 km south-east of Mannar in north-western Sri Lanka is one of the largest ancient irrigation reservoirs of the Island, built by a Sinhalese king in…
The ancient Indian epic Ramayana documents a 30 km bridge over the Palk Strait connecting Rameswaram Island off the southeastern coast of India, and Mannar Island, off the northwestern coast of Sri Lanka. The epic attributes the building of the bridge to the ape army of Hanuman aiding Rama in his war against Ravana, the…
433 bird species have been recorded in Sri Lanka of which 26 are endemic. Mannar in the north-west is one of the top birding destination of the island and with a large numbers of migrants seldom seen elsewhere in the country, Vankalai wetland is the prime site of the region Millions of migrant…
The little village of Thanthirimale, 40 kms north-west of Anuradhapura city, is the site of a remarkable third century rock temple. The settlement of Thanthirimale was probably first established in the 6th century BC by Upatissa, one of king Vijaya’s (the presumed founder of the Sinhalese nation) ministers and was called Upatissa Gama.…
For the second time in five years, I am on the road to Mannar. And I love it! The Kangaroo cab takes me to the pickup point at four thirty in the morning. The driver, an ex-soldier, talks incessantly about the war with the Tamil Tigers. Flamingo Tours mini-coach arrives just before five and over…
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