travels with janne

Along the way on our tour of Sri Lanka we make various interesting stops.

During our journey around central and south Sri Lanka, we visit national parks, forest reserves and UNESCO World Heritage Sites – all with a focus on nature. However, getting from one destination to the next and the stops we make along the way also comprise adventures in themselves.

On one particular stage of our journey, we leave the bus behind and take an iconic train trip through the highlands passing by tea plantations, dense forests and villages to the rhythmic sound of clackety clack. 

At one point in our travels, we drive in our bus along winding mountain roads to visit a tea plantation, stopping for lunch at a restaurant with a scenic view to a waterfall. The rain pours down while we eat and enjoy the view.

I go for a quick visit to the washroom and when I return the waterfall has grown in size and the clear water has been transformed to a muddy brown. Such is the power of nature.

Sri Lanka was also witness to nature’s power of water when a tsunami struck the country in 2004. It had devastating consequences, killing and injuring thousands of people, derailing trains, and destroying fishing craft and homes. We visit a tiny, modest tsunami museum in a former private home on the southern coast. The museum comprises a collection of faded but dramatic photos and handwritten posters with sobering figures.

During our travels, we pass numerous tea plantations and, as mentioned above, we stop to visit one of them. We learn about the fascinating finesses of growing, picking and processing the leaves from the Camellia sinensis plant and sample various types of tea. Sri Lanka, formerly known as Ceylon, is a major tea producer and exporter. The small island is the world’s fourth largest producer of tea, which accounts for two percent of the country’s GDP.

Another important source of income for Sri Lanka is gems. We visit a couple of mines and learn about the many pretty stones. Sri Lanka is particularly well known for its beautiful sapphires. Did you know that rubies and sapphires are, scientifically speaking, the same? They are made of the same mineral, corundum, and have the same structure. Rubies are red due to their chromium content.

Many of the mines are hand dug and only go down about 10-15 m and horizontally another 15 m. All the materials used are organic, so when a mine is abandoned, it reverts back to nature in a natural way.

The miners sift the sand and gravel for gems. Finding the precious and semi-precious stones requires experience and a good eye.

According to Wikipedia, nearly 25 percent of the total land area of Sri Lanka is potentially gem-bearing, making Sri Lanka one of the countries with the highest density of gem deposits compared to its landmass.

The wetlands of Bundala National Park are home to a huge variety of birds.

I must say, Sri Lanka is real birder’s paradise. It gets even better when we visit Bundala National Park, which is an important spot for migratory birds. It is a Ramsar site and a UNESCO Man and Biosphere Reserve, so the birds and other animals and plants are well protected in their watery habitat.

Within the space of three to four hours we see no less than 43 different bird species, including   crested honey buzzard, rose-ringed parakeet, and open-billed stork.

I manage to take shots of Indian thick-knee (aka stone curlew), painted stork, herons of various sorts and a grey-headed fish eagle at its nest.

And peacocks, of course, mesmerizing in their iridescent beauty. Did you know that a group of peacocks is called an ostentation? That is quite fitting, I think!

We also spot wild buffalo lounging in the water and black-faced grey langurs hanging around in the trees.

At one point we reach the shore and get views of the Indian Ocean. We leave the safari jeeps and wander around on our own.

To my delight I discover different kinds of flowers I have not seen before, such as the squirrel’s tail (first photo below) and crown flower, also known as giant milkweed (second photo below).

The flowering shrub Lantana camara is an invasive species from the American tropics. It attracts butterflies, so here is finally an opportunity to take some proper pictures of the pretty little insects.

Udawalawe National Park and Yala National Park in the southern part of Sri Lanka are bird and animal paradises.

In Udawalawe National Park in the southern part of Sri Lanka, where we saw lots of elephants (see previous blog article), we also spot a dinosaur-like land monitor, colourful bee-eaters and lots of showy peacocks.

Whether from the front (first photo below) or the behind (second photo below), the peacock is a masterpiece of Mother Nature. Her creative talents have really excelled here.

Although we seem to see peacocks here, there and everywhere on our travels through Sri Lanka, we never tire of watching them strut and pose, showing off their beauty to passing peahens. Sometimes they strut and pose even when there is no peahen in sight. I wonder if they are thinking of the 1990s song “I’m too sexy” by the British pop band Right Said Fred and if they just enjoy parading their fancy dress for their own sakes. 

The following shows a peacock who has been lucky enough to attract the attention of a peahen. Or is she bored to death with his wagging red behind?

When you have previously only seen these magnificent birds in manicured manor parks, it seems so odd to see them in a wild setting, pecking at wild plants, perching in trees, or flying. That the males can even fly at all with their long tail streaming behind them I find pretty amazing.

I won’t bore you with the names of all the birds we see in Udawalawe National Park, but just mention that we spot 22 different species, including Brahminy kite, emerald dove and the beautiful Indian roller with its intense blue and purple colours.

The next destination on our itinerary is Yala National Park. Driving around in jeeps along the muddy and uneven roads is pretty interesting. Sometimes I wonder if we will make it through, but our drivers are undaunted.

On the first day in Yala, we see 17 different bird species and on the second day in the park we see 12 different species, including the endemic crested hawk eagle and painted stork (seen from the front and back).   

Before leaving the park at sunset we also enjoy the other wildlife in Yala National Park, including wild boar (photo below), wild buffalo, elephants, mongoose, and spotted deer. The jewel in the crown is our sighting of the rare and elusive endemic Sri Lankan sloth bear.

There are about 6500 elephants in Sri Lanka and the population is rebounding.

On our travels in Sri Lanka, we see elephants several different places – both in the national parks and outside the national parks.  With numerous trips to Africa, I have seen plenty of elephants before, but never before have I met an Asian elephant. On this trip to Sri Lanka, I spot many of these gentle giants and learn the differences between them and their African counterparts.

In the first place, the Asian elephants are smaller and have smaller ears. That was actually the only fact I already knew. Secondly, in Africa, all the elephants have tusks. Among Asian elephants only 20 percent of the males have tusks and the females not at all. That certainly helps the Asian species’ survival rate with regard to hunting them for ivory.

In the third place, African elephants get more wrinkly with age. I know the feeling. The Asian elephants, on the other hand, get more reddish. In general, they seem to have more of a blush than the grey African elephants, no matter age. Both African and Asian elephants are matriarchal. Woman power! Mature males hang around in bachelor groups or alone and only come together with the females for mating.

Both species have incredibly agile trunks with approximately 40,000 muscles. They use them for all kinds of tasks, from ripping down branches to reach juicy leaves, drinking, giving themselves showers and dust baths, and picking fruits and plants to smelling and feeling each other. The African elephant has two “fingers” at the end of its trunk, while the Asian elephant has only one. Neat, eh?

Watch how the elephants in this short video clear turf from the ground with their feet, then shake the turf to rid it of sand before eating the grass. What a great technique!

I also find out that Asian elephants are, shall we say, more people-friendly. I am used to having to wait for African elephants to move away before we drive our safari vehicles past them – or, if they don’t move away, we back up and leave the way we came. This does not seem to be necessary in Sri Lanka. Here, the safari vehicles drive right past, rather closely sometimes, and the elephants do not seem to give a hoot.

I even experienced one elephant on the road that approached our car and stuck its trunk right up to me!

There are approximately 6500 elephants in Sri Lanka and the number is increasing because they are protected. The human population is also growing and is now at about 22 million.  Conflicts between humans and elephants are inevitable as humans encroach on elephant territory in order to farm the land. Around 150 people (0.0007 percent of the human population) die annually from elephant attacks. About 250 elephants (3.8 percent of the elephant population) die annually from unnatural, i.e. human, causes such as shooting injuries, getting hit by trains, electrocution and so on. Some say there is an elephant problem. Conversely, some would say there is a people problem.

Lots of animals are so well camouflaged they are almost invisible to the untrained eye.

Having a local guide with you is worth its weight in gold when you are on an excursion in nature, particularly in areas you are not familiar with. A good local guide can spot things that you might not notice and tell you what you are seeing. I am totally in awe of how they can find seemingly invisible creatures from a distance or in the lush and leafy darkness of the rainforest.

If it had not been for our local guides I would never have seen and identified so many birds, butterflies, mammals, reptiles and plants. Some of them are exceptionally well hidden and even when they are pointed out to you, it can be difficult to spot them because they are so well camouflaged.

Try for yourself. Can you spot – in the following order – the kangaroo lizard, Asian water monitor, Sri Lankan green vine snake (endemic and poisonous!), brown vine snake (also venomous and endemic), juvenile green forest lizard (totally green), adult green forest lizard (red head), juvenile green forest lizard, and green insect with long antennae in the following photographs?

From delicate flowers to majestic trees and from modestly brown lizards and butterflies to flashy birds, the Sinhajara Forest Reserve has a lot to offer if you are even mildly interested in biology.

I love rainforests with their fantastic jumble of species. In the Sinjahara Forest Reserve, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, we see plants living on other plants, plants that devour insects, colourful blooms, and majestic trees towering above it all in their search for light.

Pitcher plants (the endemic Nepenthes distillatoria) lurk in the undercover, waiting for a hapless insect to fall into their container of water.

We see hundreds of nelu flowers in bloom – a rare thing indeed, as they only bloom once every seven years. There are apparently about 33 species of nelu and we see two, both of which are in bloom. They are pollinated by honeybees. 

Startlingly bright yellow wild hibiscus and the endemic, delicately pink bovitiya add a touch of colour to the dark green jungle. Dainty flowers and tiny fungi also find a place to live here.

Crawling, hopping, flitting and flying through all this biodiversity are snakes, lizards, butterflies, birds, and monkeys, most of which are impossible to see, let alone take pictures of. From a distance I see a Ceylon tree nymph (a black and white butterfly), a purple-faced leaf monkey (aka langur), which is endemic to Sri Lanka, Ceylon paradise flycatcher, and a sweet little pair of Sri Lankan frogmouths (birds). I also hear the secretive Sri Lankan spurfowl.

I suggest you google these “invisible” animals to see for yourself what they look like.

In Sri Lanka there are 33 endemic bird species, 28 of which are found in Sinjahara Forest Reserve. One of these, which is quite common, is the Sri Lanka jungle fowl. We spot some hens scratching for food in the rain forest. The Sri Lanka jungle fowl is the national bird of Sri Lanka and forefather of our domesticated poultry. The hens are attractive but the rooster, which I have no photo of, exhibits fantastic colouring.

An astounding splash of colour comes from the endemic blue magpie. We also spot yellow-browed bulbul.

Even the creepy crawlies are charming, like this approximately 15 cm long millepede. I would not want to have to knit socks for all those feet.

The cute little kangaroo lizard is also pretty common here in the rain forest, as are various butterflies. I manage to take one shot of a butterfly and to identify it as a glad-eye bushbrown.

The stripy Indian palm squirrel looks very much like a North American chipmunk of Chip ‘n’ Dale fame. They seem to be all over the place, in both natural areas and towns. Typical squirrel!

From top to bottom, there are lovely patterns to be found everywhere in the rain forest.

All this wonderful biodiversity includes a multitude of leeches, so once again we have donned our leprechaun-coloured leech socks. Despite the protective green socks, I discover later that I have been host to a blood-sucker just above my belly button. How it managed to crawl all the way up there and find its way to my tender stomach skin I do not know, but the waist of my hiking pants is disgustingly bloody. Yuck!

An abrupt drop of about 1000 metres at World’s End affords beautiful views of the surrounding mountains.

Clambering over rocks, gullies and muddy, slippery paths, it takes all my attention to concentrate on where to place my feet, to keep my balance, to avoid slipping and falling, and to strategize about where to place the next few steps. Whew! This is more of a trek than a walk. Our goal is to reach the mountain viewpoints called World’s End and Mini World’s End in Horton Plains National Park. I lag behind partly because the going is a bit rough and partly because I do like to stop and look at the surroundings and take pictures, such as these Sri Lankan sambar deer and a mongoose:

It begins innocuously enough, with a flat plain and a muddy, but gently upward sloping path.

It soon transforms into an impossibly uneven and slippery route that has suffered from the latest heavy rainfall. I thank goodness my boots are waterproof as I step into a hole filled with water, almost losing my balance, and curse myself for having forgotten my walking sticks back at the hotel.

Despite the challenges, I find time to take a few shots of the wildlife, including delicate flowers, a green lizard with a very long tail and a browsing Sri Lankan sambar deer:

At Mini-World’s End we take a well-earned rest and enjoy the spectacular views. By the time we reach World’s End a few hundred metres further onwards and upwards, it has clouded over, as is so often the case here, apparently.

Walking back down is almost as challenging and by the time we reach the hotel I am totally knackered. 

Like a teardrop falling from the southeastern tip of India, Sri Lanka is a green jewel of biodiversity in the vast Indian Ocean.

Imagine a country where a rich array of wild plants weaves a green blanket over mountains and fields, in forests and mangroves, through villages and towns. A country where monkeys, leopards, wild boar and elephants roam freely inside and outside national parks. A country where 30 percent of its area is protected nature. Such a country is Sri Lanka.

I have recently returned from a visit to this wonderfully lush island southeast of India, exchanging the grey Danish November weather with tropical heat and, sometimes, warm, crazy downpours. We visit several national parks on our journey and experience a variety of ecosystems.

We begin outside the second largest city, Kandy, close to the Hanthana Mountains. The morning air is refreshingly cool, and the morning mist enchanting. I wake at six to the sound of birdsong and the chanting of Buddhist monks in the distance. Here is what greets me from my hotel window:

We go for a pleasant walk in the hills, uphill and hot but nevertheless not overly strenuous. We wear leech socks to protect us from the ubiquitous, squooshy black creatures with a high yuck factor. The green socks make me look like I am part leprechaun.

Along the way, we pass by a variety of habitats, including tea plantations, former tea plantations that have now been overtaken by wild lemongrass, and montane and submontane forest (cloud forest). We see lots of colourful flowers, birds, butterflies and a lizard who thinks he is invisible in the greenery despite his red face.

To enjoy Sri Lanka nature, you do not always need to leave the hotel area. Here are some scenes from the various hotels I stayed at:

Sri Lanka is only one and a half times larger than Denmark but has a population of about 22 million (Denmark’s is about 6 million). That means the population density of this small island is about 332 people per km², where Denmark’s is only about 132 people per km². Despite this, Sri Lanka dedicates about 30 percent of its land area to protected nature. Denmark has less than 2 percent true, protected nature. I wish our politicians and other decision-makers would learn from Sri Lanka’s example.