Nick Walton encounters smiles, hope, and stunning diversity as he explores the once war-torn island of Sri Lanka, now one of Asia’s fastest emerging destinations.
The elephant silently emerges from the thick tree line with surprising grace given her size. She gives a shy glance in our direction, and a waggle of her thick trunk, before crossing the dirt path before us and disappearing into the jungle again. It’s a tantalizing first taste of Sri Lanka’s stunning biodiversity and our first fleeting glimpse of the elephants that populate the nation’s many national parks, including Minneriya, located at the centre of the teardrop-shaped island.
Sri Lanka has emerged from the decimation of its long and brutal civil war, which ended in 2010, as the new by-word for eco-luxury in the Indian Ocean and with good reason. Its Buddhist faith, its improving infrastructure and its biodiversity set it apart from so many other would-be contenders, and we were determined to see just how much this tiny island nation had to offer.
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We’d spent the first two days in the country enjoying the tranquillity of Negombo Lagoon at Jetwing Lagoon, a regal little retreat nestled between the mirror-like waters and the pounding surf of the Indian Ocean. Here we’d visited spice stores run by beaming local families, and delved into the local fish markets, awash in colour as the night’s catch was hauled in and sorted under a robin’s eggshell sky. Then it was to the north on a three-hour drive into the interior of the country, leaving the lush green belt of the coast behind and climbing onto the vast plateau of the ‘dry zone’.
Located in the North Central Province, Minneriya is one of Sri Lanka’s youngest national parks, having only come into existence in 1997, although it’s been recognised as an important wildlife sanctuary since 1938 thanks to the Minneriya Tank, an artificial lake built by King Mahasen in the 3rd century that remains a vital source of water for migrating birds, water buffalo and the park’s substantial Asian elephant population.
The Minneriya Tank – not the most beautiful name for such a life-giving enterprise – was one of several lakes and canals built by Sri Lanka’s ancient kings to irrigate the country’s dry zone. It led to great prosperity for farmers in the region and was the foundation for trade with many other Southeast Asian nations. Farmers cultivated the land by day and protected their precious crops from roaming, ceaselessly hungry elephants by night, often from their perches in ramshackle treehouses. National parks were created to help balance out these two forces and reach the harmony that permeates post-war Sri Lanka.
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We’re exploring the park – at least part of its sprawling 9,000 hectares – with our charming and knowledgeable guide Gayashan Madushanka by grumbling. rumbling 4×4. Visitors assemble at the park’s main entrance, exchanging the cool of cars or minivans for open-top jeeps elaborately decorated and dearly beloved by their enterprising owners. From there we enter the park, passing under a time-weathered archway that’s more than a little Jurassic Park. Bamboo forests tower and curl above the dirt road, their tips dancing in the late afternoon breeze.
Then the park’s vegetation opens up into expansive savannahs dotted with shimmering waterholes. Densely forested hills wreath the horizon as the sun sets the grass a golden hue. I spot a peacock walking a beeline towards the path through the undergrowth; he spots us and pauses long enough for the sunlight to capture his brilliant blue mantle before he too disappears into the encroaching darkness of the bush.
The park is filled with curious characters. As we round one corner we capture an adolescent water buffalo in a moment of indecision. He’s huge and sleek and a little peeved at the interruption, blowing short, snappy breaths through flared nostrils, horns towering above. We give him the space he deserves and drives on, descending to the floodplain as a duo of adult elephants pause to drink from the lake.
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Minneriya is part of the elephant corridor that connects with Kaudulla and Wasgomuwa parks and between May and October great Asian elephant gatherings of over 400 animals draw tourists from across the globe to the park’s wetlands. On our half-day visit, we only see around 20 gentle giants, as well as spotted deer, curious purple-faced leaf monkeys, bustling mongoose, and timid wild pigs, but do so in relative solitude, never having to share our wildlife experiences with more than a few other vehicles.
At one stage we venture off the beaten path and come across what can only be described as a pelican airport – a massive dead tree towers resolutely from the wetlands, providing a perch for more than 50 fat white birds, others circling above waiting for clearance. It’s an extraordinary site.
Beyond, estuarine crocodiles doze on the sandy banks of a tributary, while hundreds of migrating woodsand and common sandpipers gossip in the shallows nearby. In the distance, we can spy a great herd of water buffalo lounging in the late afternoon sun. Sri Lanka is a little island with a lot to offer. Its diversity is stunning; in the space of a few short hours spent on newly reconstructed roads, you can hit the surf on an idyllic Indian Ocean beachfront and then track inland and rest your head in a hidden wilderness lodge where wild elephants are as common as housecats.
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One such spot is the award-winning Jetwing Vil Uyana, a luxury eco-resort popular with affluent travellers looking to explore the national parks of Sri Lanka’s centre. Situated on the first man-made lake constructed since the reign of Parakramabahu 1 in the 10th century, and a short drive from the iconic rock fortress of Sigiriya, Vil Uyana is a poster boy for conservation amidst luxury. Barren, dry land was replaced with extensive wetlands that have drawn migratory birds, amphibians and even elephants to its
waters.
Each of the resort’s thatch-topped villas is nested in reed beds or among the paddy fields and boast cavernous bedrooms, internal courtyards, deep-set soak tubs and plunge pools.
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The elephants weren’t the only animals drawn to the new ecosystem. When surveying was taking place to build additional villas in one jungle-clad corner of the property, a population of tiny grey slender lorises was discovered. These tiny, shy, nocturnal primates are only found in India and Sri Lanka, where they are considered endangered, but loris numbers in Sri Lanka are on the rise, in part thanks to the efforts of local hotel group Jetwing and its conservation program at Vil Uyana.
Guests can get involved on special loris sighting tours guided by resident naturalist Chaminda Jayasekara who has a very obvious soft spot for the tiny animals, with their delicate limbs and massive Disney-esque eyes. We start off with a video in the resort’s pint-sized conservation info centre, learning how the wetland was constructed and its tiny residents discovered, then don red-shaded headlamps and delve into the pitch dark bush.
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It doesn’t take long for Chaminda to discover his little wards; the eyes of the sensitive tree-dwelling lorises, as well as those of the Sri Lankan bear sloth and various insects and reptiles, glow vibrantly under the red light and following the naturalist’s beam we spot a shy little loris high on a tree. Chaminda tells us that while they walk almost ballerina-like along the slender branches in search of insects or berries for dinner, they can also move extremely quickly when required, and can stretch better than any Pilates instructor when it comes to reaching for a meal. To think local villagers used to hunt the loris, fearing they were a bad omen.
Over the next hour, we spot four lorises as well as one sloth, and a fleeting fishing cat, just a few of the 17 species of mammal found in the wetland. There are also 100 species of bird, 36 butterfly species, and 21 species of amphibian and reptile, with numbers growing year on year.
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From the dry zone and the lush beauty of Jetwing Vil Uyana, with its open-air restaurants, infinity pool, and vibrant wildlife, we head south again, back into the ‘wet zone’ and one of Sri Lanka’s most popular beach locales, the former Dutch colonial town of Galle.
We head to Galle’s iconic hilltop hotel Jetwing Lighthouse, which perches atop the cliffs like its Dutch namesakes which once lined the southern coast. Luxurious without being pretentious – very Sri Lankan in that regard – Jetwing Lighthouse features beautifully appointed colonial-esque rooms and suites (there are even three unique themed suites taking cues from ancient China, Morocco, and the Dutch) overlooking the infinity of the Indian Ocean. By evening guests dine at the Cardamom Café under a canopy of stars and are serenaded by the crash of waves on the rocks below.
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The white sand beaches, dancing palm trees, and stilt fishermen of the southern coast have been the poster boys for Sri Lanka’s tourism renaissance but it’s the inhabitants found in the deep waters off the coast that remain a true drawcard. Nowhere else in the world do rare blue whales, the largest creatures on the planet, come so close to land, offering a truly unique encounter for visitors to this verdant island.
There are fewer than 15,000 blue whales left in the world and many operators, including Jetwing Holidays, offer day trips on brightly coloured vessels into the Laccadive Sea in search of the tell-tale spouting of water that marks a whale’s return to the surface. The whale watching industry in Sri Lanka – the only country in the world where you can see the largest land animal and sea animal in one day – is increasing 20 per cent per annum, with new regulations in place to help conserve the whales’ feeding grounds.
Despite three hours plying choppy waters with a large group of excited travellers, we’re only greeted by a pod of playful bottlenose dolphins, which frolic in our wake and take turns to skim beneath the hull as the sun grows heavy in the skies above. It’s still a magical experience and gives us the ideal excuse to return to the Teardrop Island.
Travel Essentials
SriLankan Airlines flies between Hong Kong and Colombo, operating a modern
A330-200 aircraft on the six-hour flight.
Jetwing Hotels is Sri Lanka’s homegrown, multi-award winning, eco-friendly resort group with properties across the island nation.
Jetwing Holidays offers tours, guides, drivers and ground services essential to navigating Sri Lanka’s many hidden gems.
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