Muthurajawela - A fast disappearing treasure trove

Despite being located a hop, skip and a jump away from the Colombo city center, Muthurajawela thankfully is still spared from the hoards of tourists and remains off the beaten trail.

A haven for bird lovers and for those who enjoy nature, the beauty of Muthurajawela is best enjoyed by boat. The Muthurajawela Visitor Center organises boat tours that last about 2 hours at reasonable rates. As an added bonus you are accompanied by an experienced guide who will help you get the best experience of what Muthurajawela has to offer.

The Muthurajawela Visitor Center - Contact No - 011 403 0150

The boats that take you on the 2 hour tour

The Muthurajawela Visitor Center is located a couple of Kms away from Bopitiya and is easily accessible from Ja Ela on the Negombo road or the much more scenic old Negombo road that runs adjacent to the Hamilton canal.

Parts of the Muthurajawela wetland was once a fertile rice paddy field, however the construction of canals during the Dutch era brought salt water into the marshes and the paddy fields were ruined. There is an interesting story told by the people in the area which states that the citizens of Muthurajawela were a content lot who had a stable income through rice paddy cultivation and that the Dutch could not induce them to work on the Cinnamon plantations. It was in light of this that canals were intentionally built in a manner that they ruined the rice paddy cultivation.

Whatever the truth behind this story is, today the Muthurajawela marshlands encompass 6000+ hectares including the Negombo lagoon but is in grave danger due to encroachment and other large scale development projects. The ecological importance of Muthurajawela cannot be understated and we hope the authorities concerned act before it is too late and prevent Muthurajawela from going the same way as many of our natural wonders have gone.

The journey begins along the Hamilton canal

Our first bird sighting - a Kingfisher

A parrot curiously watching us go by

Life goes on as normal for those in the vicinity

A fisherman cleans his nets

The canoe he used to fish from

Approaching the Negombo lagoon

A tiny chapel at the place where the Hamilton canal meets the Negombo lagoon

Negombo lagoon

A curious monkey wonders what we are up to

Horagolla National Park

Which is the closest national park to Colombo? No, it's not Wilpattu or Udawalawe.

A little known fact is that just on the outskirts of Colombo, 1 Km away from Nittambuwa one of Sri Lanka's newest national parks - Horagolla National Park opened its doors for visitors in 2004.

Directions:

• When travelling from Colombo, turn on to the Veyangoda road from the Nittambuwa junction. Travel for about 1 Km till you reach Pinnagolla junction and take a turn to your left (a sign post is present). Travel another 600m till you reach a footpath leading to the Horagolla National Park. The footpath is sign posted, however there isn't a parking area. You may need to park your vehicle by the side of the road before heading off into the park.

Do not expect wildlife safaris in jeeps like your typical national park, in fact despite being called a national park - the total area of this reserve is just 33 acres but it is still home for 10 types of mammals, 64 types of birds, 7 types of fish and 28 types of butterflies.

More often than not, your visit to Horagolla National Park would be to admire the flora and not the fauna. The few animals who call this forest home are shy by nature and not easy to spot, but don't let this put you off - the park is a pleasant place to stroll through on the well defined trails. It is hard to imagine that such a forest setting exists so close to highly populated urban areas.

While not really a destination in itself, Horagolla National Park is worth a visit if for nothing else just to get away from the hustle and bustle of urban life and to commune with nature. Combine your visit to Horagolla with a visit to one of the numerous historic temples in the Gampaha district (most of which are located on mountain tops with panoramic views of the Gampaha district) or with a visit to the Henarathgoda Botanical Gardens - the site of the first rubber plantation in Sri Lanka now converted into a Botanical park.

The Hora Kele wewa greets you just before the park ticketing counter

The skin of a croc, seen at the ticketing counter

Like other national parks, remains of animals are preserved here too. The display was still being set up when we visited

There are a few captive animals at the ticketing office. These are either animals who are bred in captivity, captured from urban areas or who are injured and cannot be released to the wild / are being prepared for release to the wild.

The trail begins, well marked paths criss cross the entire park

Directions are clearly marked, follow the arrows and you can see the park in its entirety

The trail winds through the Horagolla forest

The forest canopy high above

More captive animals and birds in an enclosure half way through the forest trail

Benches and seating areas such as this are available at scenic spots. You can have a meal here if you wish but please keep the place clean and leave nothing behind

Beauty of natures creations

The summer hut overlooking the Hora kele wewa marks the end of the trail, continue on the trail for a few meters and you reach the ticketing office again