Ritigala Forest Monastery
One of Sri Lanka’s most extraordinary and least-visited sites, Ritigala is an ancient forest monastery complex hidden within a strictly protected nature reserve whose isolation has preserved both its ecology and its atmosphere. The ruins date from the 1st century BCE and extend across a mountain whose forest has never been cleared for agriculture, creating […]
Madu River and Bentota River
The Madu River mangrove ecosystem near Balapitiya is a UNESCO Ramsar wetland site navigated by flat-bottomed boat through canopy that closes overhead into a green, bird-rich, entirely quiet world. Cinnamon island demonstrations, small temple islands, and monitor lizards on the mangrove roots make for a consistently absorbing boat safari. The Bentota River offers a calmer, […]
Kitulgala
Set beside the fast-moving Kelani River in the wet zone foothills, Kitulgala combines some of Sri Lanka’s best white-water rafting conditions with exceptional lowland rainforest birdwatching. The Grade 3 and 4 rapids through the forested gorge are exhilarating without being extreme; the forest flanking the river is among the best sites outside Sinharaja for lowland […]
Knuckles Mountain Range
A UNESCO World Heritage-listed cloud forest wilderness of ridgelines, waterfalls, remote farming villages, and endemic wildlife, the Knuckles Range is Sri Lanka’s wildest highland landscape. Multi-day treks through the range pass through communities where traditional mountain agriculture continues unchanged, and the concentration of endemic reptiles, amphibians, and birds rivals anything found in the more visited […]
Sinharaja Rainforest
The last remaining primary lowland rainforest in Sri Lanka and a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site, Sinharaja holds 21 of the island’s 26 endemic bird species and a density of endemic flora and fauna almost without parallel in South Asia. The mixed-species feeding flocks that move through the canopy throughout the day create a birdwatching […]