Camping at Kumana

Kumana National Park is renowned for its birds, particularly its large flocks of migratory waterfowl and wading birds. The park is 391 kilometres (243 mi) southeast of Colombo on Sri Lanka's southeastern coast. Kumana is contiguous with Yala National Park. It was formerly known as Yala East National Park, but changed to its present name in 5th September 2006. The park was closed from 1985 to March 2003 because of the Civil War. 

Date : 20/21 November 2010
Crew : 7
Transport : Public Transport (Bus)
Activities : Bird watching, Photography, Camping
Weather : Sunny / Drizzly
Route : Colombo -> Rathnapura-> Wellawaya-> Pottuvil-> Panama-> Kumana

This was a special trip for me as its my first camping experience in the wild. We started our journey on a Friday night from fort. We booked seats in advance for a bus which leaves to Akkareipattu. The bus left at 8.30pm from Colombo.  After a long uncomfortable ride we reached Pottuvil around 5am in the following morning. The safari jeep came there to pick us in a few minutes. 

We entered the park after getting tickets from the park office at Okanda. Our first destination was the ruins in Bambaragasthalawa. The statue of Lord Buddha was destroyed by the heartless treasure hunters. I was shocked to see the damage done to the statue. To reach these ruins we have to walk some distance on foot through the jungle. According to our guide this area is home to bears so we were asked to be careful. Bambaragasthalawa is the highest area in Kumana. During the war, a senior LTTE leader was hiding in this area. He was hunt down by the security forces later. 

Although Kumana is famous for birds, there are many other animals there. Large herds of Deer and Water buffaloes can be seen everywhere. Also we saw many Elephants, Jackals and Crocodiles. Once there was  few elephants near the road and we stopped to see them. Suddenly one guy got really angry and decided to chase us. Our driver was quickly able to get the jeep away from him. It was scary when he came running towards us with all the dust. 

We had booked the Gal Amuna camping site. But when we get there, it was all muddy due to the flooding of Kumbukkan oya. So we decided to camp in the beach near the mouth of Kumbukkan oya. After having a cold river bath, we went to the beach and set up our tent. Also we gathered some firewood for the campfire. After a sleepless bus ride and tired day, relaxing near the campfire with the sea breeze was heavenly. But we missed the moonlight. It was a full moon day but because of the clouds the moon or the stars were not visible. 

The next day we woke up early to witness the sun rise. The sky was painted in amazing colors and after a hour of waiting the sun came out of the horizon. It was so breathtaking. After enjoying the amazing sun rise we headed for the Kumana lake where we had the breakfast. There used to a village near this lake some time back. But after war broke out those people were relocated from the village. Still we can see some palm trees where the village was situated once.

We left Kumana around 12 noon and then went to Arugam Bay. After a long bath we had a late lunch. Then we took the bus which left Pottuvil at 4 pm and reached Colombo at midnight.

-The End-