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Quote - Joseph Pulitzer

"PUT IT BEFORE THEM BRIEFLY SO THEY WILL READ IT, CLEARLY SO THEY WILL APPRECIATE IT, PICTURESQUELY SO THEY WILL REMEMBER IT AND, ABOVE ALL, ACCURATELY SO THEY WILL BE GUIDED BY ITS LIGHT" ***** JOSEPH PULITZER *****
DISCOVER - SRI LANKA: PROLOGUE

IN PRAISE OF MY BEAUTIFUL ISLAND,
INFORMATION, PHOTOGRAPHS AND VIDEO.

THE 13th CENTURY VENETIAN TRAVELER MARCO POLO DESCRIBED THE ISLAND AS 'THE JADE PENDANT IN THE INDIAN OCEAN'. THE ABUNDANCE OF GEMSTONES, SPICES, RAIN FORESTS AND WILDLIFE; THE MAGNIFICENT BEACHES, ANCIENT RUINS AND A WRITTEN HISTORY OF OVER 2500 YEARS MAKE THIS ISLAND A TOURISTS' PARADISE.

THE RUINED CITIES OF ANURADHAPURA AND POLONNARUWA ILLUSTRATE THE GLORY OF THE ANCIENT KINGDOMS. THE GIGANTIC STUPAS AND BUDDHA STATUES ARE AMONG THE BIGGEST MAN MADE STRUCTURES OF THE WORLD. THE MASSIVE RESERVOIRS, BUILT BY ANCIENT KINGS TO IRRIGATE THOUSANDS OF ACRES OF LAND, ARE MARVELS OF HYDRO ENGINEERING. THERE ARE EIGHT UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES IN SRI LANKA

THE ISLAND WAS KNOWN TO THE GREEKS AS 'TAPROBANE' AND TO THE ARABS AS 'SERENDIB'. EARLY MERCHANTS VISITED THE ISLAND IN SEARCH OF GEMSTONES AND SPICES, MAINLY CINNAMON AND PEPPER. COFFEE AND TEA PLANTATIONS WERE STARTED BY THE BRITISH COLONIAL RULERS. CEYLON TEA IS FAMOUS THE WORLD OVER.

TOURISM INDUSTRY IS A MAJOR MONEY SPINNER FOR THIS BEAUTIFUL ISLAND. THE VAST EXPANSE OF BEACHES, RAIN FORESTS AND NATIONAL PARKS WITH HERDS OF WILD ELEPHANTS, THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS WITH LITHE WATER FALLS, BRING IN THE TOURISTS. THE ISLAND IS DOTTED WITH HUNDREDS OF HOTELS TO ACCOMMODATE THE TRAVELER. AN ISLAND OF 25,000 SQ; MILES HAS 103 RIVERS AND 25000 RESERVOIRS, MOSTLY MAN MADE. WITH VARYING CLIMATIC CONDITIONS THIS IS TRULY A 'SMALL MIRACLE'.

" THE ISLAND OF SRI LANKA IS A SMALL UNIVERSE, IT CONTAINS AS MANY VARIATIONS OF CULTURE, SCENERY AND CLIMATE AS SOME COUNTRIES A DOZEN TIMES ITS SIZE........I FIND IT HARD TO BELIEVE THAT THERE IS ANY COUNTRY WHICH SCORES SO HIGHLY IN ALL DEPARTMENTS - WHICH HAVE SO MANY ADVANTAGES AND SO FEW DISADVANTAGES. LOVELY BEACHES, BEAUTIFUL LANDSCAPES, IMPRESSIVE RUINS, A VIBRANT CULTURE AND CHARMING PEOPLE- NO WONDER SRI LANKA IS A SMALL MIRACLE ".***** Arthur C. Clark *****




Over: 70 Pages, 800 Posts, 1000 Photographs and 900,000 Page views
Showing posts with label national parks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label national parks. Show all posts

01 March, 2012

SRI LANKA - ELEPHANTS


A night visit by ' short tusks ' at Yala National Park.


Pics : By courtesy, Ashan

Little Adventures

28 October, 2011

SRI LANKA - SAFARI [ YALA NATIONAL PARK ]


Designated as a Wildlife Sanctuary in 1938, Yala covers 979 square kilometers and is best known for its elephants,leopards and aquatic birds. Yala has 215 bird and 44 mammal species and it has one of the highest leopard densities of the world.

Close encounter 


Across the river

Pics, courtesy : Ajithsen  [ Tour of Yala, 1994 ]

18 October, 2011

SRI LANKA - UDAWALAWA NATIONAL PARK




Udawalawa national park lies on the boundary of Sabaragamuwa and Uva 

Provinces, in Sri Lanka. The national park was created to provide a sanctuary 
for wild animals displaced by the construction of the Udawalawe reservoir on 
the Walawe River, as well as to protect the catchment of the reservoir. The 
reserve covers 30,821 hectares (119.00 sq mi) of land area and was establi-
shed on 30 June 1972. Before the designation of the national park, the 
area was used for shifting cultivation (chena farming). The farmers were 
gradually removed once the national park was declared. The park is 165 
kilometers (103 mi) from Colombo. Udawalawe is an important habitat for
water birds and Sri Lankan Elephants. It is a popular tourist destination and 
the third most visited park in the country.


                                                                          Wikipedia the free encyclopedia


Pics by : Nelsonlanka

24 June, 2011

SRI LANKA - LEOPARD [ YALA NATIONAL PARK ]


The Yala National park, established in 1938, is 979 sq.km. in extent and is situated about 300 k.m. from Colombo. Yala is home to over 200 species of birds and over 40 species of mammals, it has one of the highest leopard        [ panthera pardus kotiya ] densities in the world.


Pics by : Gerrit,Netty,Hans and Hanneke [ Belgium ]


Sri Lanka Tour, May 2011

01 January, 2011

SRI LANKA - UDAWALAWE NATIONAL PARK



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Udawalawe National Park lies on the boundary of Sabaragamuwa and Uva
Provinces, in Sri Lanka. The national park was created to provide a sanctuary 
for wild animals displaced by the construction of the Udawalawe reservoir on 
the Walawe River, as well as to protect the catchment of the reservoir. The 
reserve covers 30,821 hectares (119.00 sq mi) of land area and was establi-
shed on 30 June 1972.[1] Before the designation of the national park, the 
area was used for shifting cultivation (chena farming). The farmers were 
gradually removed once the national park was declared. The park is 165 
kilometers (103 mi) from Colombo. Udawalawe is an important habitat for
water birds and Sri Lankan Elephants. It is a popular tourist destination and 
the third most visited park in the country.[2]

Contents

 [hide]
Source : Wikipedia the free encyclopedia
Pics     : Nelsonlanka - Sony Ericsson K 530i

29 December, 2010

SRI LANKA - WILPATTU NATIONAL PARK



Wilpattu National Park (Willu-pattu; Land of Lakes) is a park located on the 
island of Sri Lanka. The unique feature of this park is the existence of "Willus" 
(Natural lakes) - Natural, sand-rimmed water basins or depressions that fill 
with rainwater. Located in the Northwest coast lowland dry zone of Sri Lanka. 
The park is located 30km west Anuradhapura and located 26 km north of 
Puttalam (approximately 180 km north of Colombo). The park is 131, 693 
hectares and ranges from 0 to 152 meters above sea level. Nearly sixty lakes 
(Willu) and tanks are found spread throughout Wilpattu. Wilpattu is one of 
the largest and oldest National Parks in Sri Lanka. Wilpattu is among the top 
national parks world renowned for its Leopard (Panthera pardus kotiya
population. The Leopard population in Wilpattu is still not yet known.

Contents

 [hide]


Source : Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

27 October, 2010

SRI LANKA - RANDENIGALA WILDLIFE SANCTUARY AND RESERVOIR


Randenigala hydropower project has created a reservoir 
with the largest storage capacity in the Island. The 
wildlife sanctuary of Randenigala is a major tourist 
attraction with its massive elephant population.




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Sony DSC - W120

26 September, 2010

SRI LANKA- YALA NATIONAL PARK







Yala National Park or Ruhuna National Park is the second largest and most visitednational park in Sri Lanka. Yala is situated in the southeast region of the country, and lies in Southern Province and Uva Province. The park covers 979 square kilometres (378 sq mi) and is about 300 kilometres (190 mi) from Colombo. It had originally had been designated as a wildlife sanctuary in 1900, and, along with Wilpattu it was one of the first two national parks in Sri Lanka, having been designated in 1938. The park is best known for its variety of its wild animals. It is important for the conservation of Sri Lankan Elephants and aquatic birds.

Source : Wikipedia - The free Encyclopedia

16 September, 2010

SRI LANKA - NATIONAL PARKS





The Yala National Park in the southeast protects herds of elephant, deer, and peacocks, and the Wilpattu National Park in the northwest preserves the habitats of many water birds, such as storkspelicansibis, and spoonbills. During the Mahaweli Ganga Program of the 1970s and 1980s in northern Sri Lanka, the government set aside four areas of land totalling 1,900 km2 (730 sq mi) as national parks. The island has four biosphere reservesBundalaHurulu Forest Reserve, the Kanneliya-Dediyagala-Nakiyadeniya, and Sinharaja.[23]



Source : Sri Lanka Wikipedia [ The free Encyclopedia ]

05 August, 2009

SRI LANKA - UDAWALAWE NATIONAL PARK [ BRIEF ENCOUNTER ]




THE UDAWALAWA NATIONAL PARK IN SRI LANKA IS FAMOUS FOR ITS ELEPHANTS AND OTHER WILD ANIMALS SUCH AS BUFFALO, WILD BOAR AND DEER, THERE IS A CONSIDERABLE BIRD POPULATION TOO. WE SET OUT ON OUR FAMILY EXCURSION IN JANUARY 2009, ON THE 16TH OF JANUARY WE REACHED OUR HOLIDAY BUNGALOW "De OLIFANT" AT ABOUT SIX IN THE EVENING. THE NATIONAL PARK HAD THE MAIN ROAD AS ONE BOUNDARY AND THERE WAS AN ELECTRIC FENCE ERECTED TO KEEP THE ANIMALS AWAY. TO OUR SHEER AMAZEMENT THERE WERE ELEPHANTS STANDING JUST BEYOND THE ELECTRIC FENCE WATCHING THE TRAFFIC PASS BY. SOME TRAVELLERS STOPPED AT THE BOUTIQUES SELLING FRUITS TO BUY SUGAR CANE IN ORDER TO FEED THE ELEPHANTS, WHICH THEY GLADLY ACCEPTED FROM BEYOND THE FENCE, BUT THIS WAS PROHIBITED ACCORDING TO THE NOTIFICATIONS POSTED ON THE FENCE.


"De OLIFANT" WAS A PLEASANT ABODE WITH THREE DOUBLE ROOMS WITH ATTACHED BATHS AND A DORMITORY TO ACCOMMODATE TWELVE. THE CARETAKER DID THE COOKING WITH HIS WIFE AND DAUGHTER,THEY LOOKED AFTER EVERYTHING IN A VERY PLEASING MANNER AND WE FELT AT HOME AND CONTENTED.THERE IS A HUGE RESERVOIR A FEW KILOMETERS AWAY WHICH PROVIDES WATER TO THE VAST EXPANSE OF PADDY FIELDS IN THE AREA AND AGRICULTURE IS THE MAIN SOURCE OF INCOME FOR THE POPULATION IN THE UDAWALAWE AREA.


THE BRIEF ENCOUNTER - WITH A WILD ELEPHANT - TOOK PLACE ON THE SAFARI IN THE UDAWALWE NATIONAL PARK THE FOLLOWING DAY. A FEW KILOMETERS INTO THE PARK THERE STOOD,RIGHT ON THE TRACK, A LONE ELEPHANT IN MUSTH WITH ITS TEMPLES DRIPPING. THE TRACKER IN THE FRONT SEAT OF THE JEEP BECKONED US TO KEEP STILL.THE VERY NEXT MOMENT THE BRUTE STRODE GENTLY TOWARDS THE JEEP AND EVERYONE WAS AGHAST, LOW MOANING SOUNDS WERE HEARD FROM THE LADIES, BUT THE YOUNGEST IN THE CROWD, GEELAKA KEPT ON CHATTERING. 


THE TRACKER GOT OUT OF THE VEHICLE AND SHOUTED WITH ARMS RAISED IN A FEEBLE ATTEMPT AT SCARING AWAY THE COLOSSAL BEAST BUT THE ANIMAL KEPT COMING,THIS PROMPTED THE TRACKER TO GET IN THE JEEP IN HASTE, THE BLACK HEAP OF FLESH AND MUSCLE STRODE GENTLY AND GRACEFULLY TOWARDS THE JEEP AND PASSED ON THE LEFT SIDE ,JUST A FOOT AWAY AND GOT ON TO THE TRACK PICKING UP GRASS ON ITS WAY. THOSE WHO KEPT THEIR EYES CLOSED OPENED THEM WITH DELIGHT AND THE CHATTERING BEGAN. ACHINDA HAD THE PRESENCE OF MIND TO FILM THE HAIR RAISING INCIDENT ON HIS MOBILE PHONE.GOOSE BUMPS VANISHED AND THE SWEAT WAS WIPED OFF. WE RETURNED TO "De OLIFANT" AN ENTHRALLED AND SATISFIED LOT. (WATCH VIDEO)






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