Sri Lanka(3) Nature & Animals (off off Tokyo): August 7-12, 2011

I always find animals during my 1 week stay in Sri Lanka.

I enjoyed safari 3 times.

My first safari was at Minneriya National Park near Polonnaruwa in central Sri Lanka. The park is famous for elephants.


I found about 100 elephants gathering around water pools (for drinking water and taking bath).

Some group came out of bushes and moved through safari jeeps into green fields.  Baby elephants ran hard to follow adults.

It was so impressive.

My second safari was at Yala National Park in south east coast. It was famous for peacocks. Hundreds of them were walking elegantly.


I also saw buffaloes, wild hugs, deer, crocodiles, mongooses and other animals and birds.

I also enjoyed a boat safari at Ahungalla, south west coast. My small boat moved through a mangrove jungle. Birds flied over the trees. I was surprised when I found big water lizards, which were around 1.5 meter long, swimming in the water.

Another impressive experience was a visit to elephant’s orphanage at Pinnawala near Kandy. Around 100 elephants are cared at the center.

The elephants are taken to a nearby river twice a day for bathing. They walk in a public road on the way to and from the river.

People and dogs were also on the road when I arrived there.

Marine turtles are also cared in a protection center near Bentota, east coast city. Baby turtles were swimming in pools. Children enjoyed seeing (and sometimes touching) them.

They will be released to the Indian Ocean soon.
Only one turtlr out of 100 will grow up and return to the coast, acording to a staff member.

I saw dogs and cows everywhere (including in the public roads and fields) in the country. Even elephants walkes in the road.

I also found monkeys and squirrels in some places.

The Indian Ocian was beautiful. The sea was blue and the palm trees covered the coasts.


The waves made heavy sounds and I felt vibrations when I was sleeping in a sea-coast hotel.