Bird Watching
Sri Lanka.s birdlife is astonishing: ornithologists and birdwatchers flock here to take in such dazzling encounters as a flamboyant peacock strutting like a courtier, trying to impress the hens with his shimmering tail feathers, and a White-bellied Sea Eagle swooping from his perch on a half-submerged tree, diving low over an inland tank to pluck a fish [...]
Elephants
In September, towards the end of the dry season, most water sources have disappeared. TheMinneriya tank, however, retains water throughout the parched months, so there are elephant gatherings here every year at this time, the number of these gentle, charismatic giants sometimes exceeding 300. To see so many together – playing, eating, swimming, looking for [...]
Whale Watching
Above the waterline whales breach the surface, offering tantalizing glimpses or longer, lingering views. To stare into the eye of one of these mysterious, huge animals is to look back to the beginning of time. Blue whales, the largest animal on the planet, are seen off south coast Mirissa from November to May, as are Humpback and Sperm whales, while [...]
Turtles
In the sea and on the beaches, there are the turtles. On a tropical night illuminated by the light of the full moon, a small section of a beach begins to gently quiver. Suddenly, from amid the shifting grains of sand, emerge tiny black forms, their curved carapaces glinting softly. These creatures areleatherback sea turtle hatchlings, [...]
Sun, Sea and Sand
Some of the delights of a Sri Lankan beach. Where beaches are concerned you will be spoilt for choice in Sri Lanka. Beaches totalling 1,340km fringe the island, from the long-established tourist destinations of the southern coast, to the vast beaches of the deep south, and the less-visited expanses of the north and east. No matter [...]