Travel

Wathurana

Swamp forest of national importance:

Ganga ILLEPERUMA

In the past, wetlands were considered as wastelands that could be reclaimed or changed for use by mankind. Development initiatives have regarded these areas suited only for such purposes, and as a consequence, many wetlands have been drained or used as dump sites for refuse and urban waste.

With increasing knowledge however, we have come to understand that wetlands are amongst the world's most valuable and vulnerable environments on which a variety of plants, animals and human communities depend.

The Walauwatta-Wathurana swamp forest is located in the Kalu Ganga river basin in the south-western part of Sri Lanka, 25 km inland from Kalutara .

More precisely, the site is situated along a stream locally known as the Batapotte ela, which feeds the Kuda Ganga, the latter being a tributary of the Kalu Ganga. As such, it is considered a site of national importance and harbours some unique species of flora and fauna.

Physical features

Wathurana is underlain by crystalline, non-fossiliferous rock of Precambrian age.

The rock present is mainly charnockitic rock (the ridges), garnetiferous-quartzo-feldspathic rock (in the valleys) with sporadic quartzite bands.

According to the soil classification map of the Irrigation Department and national atlas, the soil of the Wathurana area can be classified as Red-Yellow-Podzolic soil (steeply dissected, hilly and rolling terrain) with alluvial soils of variable drainage and texture in the valleys. The average monthly temperature is 27.3 C and mean annual rainfall is 4,000-5,000 mm.

Ecological features

This swamp is a late succession stage of a freshwater marsh ecosystem. The natural vegetation consists of a freshwater swamp community and patches of lowland rainforest (mainly secondary vegetation). These natural vegetation types are surrounded with managed landscapes including rubber plantations and home gardens.

The swamp vegetation includes tall trees dominated by Stemonoporus moonii and Mesua stylosa and herbaceous species (Cryptocoryne spp. and Lagenandra spp.). The area is subjected to seasonal inundation, especially during the southwest monsoon period.

The best time to visit Wathurana is either early in the morning or evening. The spectacle of a tropical dawn, watching a wetland come to life with colour seeping into everything around with each passing minute, and the sounds of all the life, is an experience you won't forget in a hurry.

Try and avoid late mornings and early afternoons as it can be very hot and sunny. The animal and bird life can be disappointing at this time, giving you a poor impression of Wathurana. Sandals, shorts and T-shirts are a good choice of clothes; earthy colours, not white or bright.

Fauna

The swamp and its streams harbour several species of endemic as well as locally declining freshwater fish species, including Aplocheilus dayi, Acanthocobitis urophthalmus, Channa ara. The endemic amphibians include Lankanectes currugata and Rana gracilis.

Flora

This site harbours a large number of endemic species of which two, namely Mesua stylosa and Stemonoporus moonii are found exclusively in Wathurana. Other woody endemic species in the lowland rain forest patches and locally declining species, include dipterocarps, rattans and other trees.

Possible changers in land use:

A reduction of water flow into Wathurana due to harmful activities such as sand mining and construction of dams could lead to a decline in the extent of the swamp area. The spread of invasive plant species such as Wormia suffruticosa could also lead to the establishment of uniform stands within the swamp area, with the replacement of native endemic vegetation.

Disturbances and threats:

Major threats include felling of trees and clearing of land for cultivation. The swamp area is experiencing low inundation, possibly due to sand mining in Kuda Ganga and regulation of water flow in inter-connected networks of streams. This has also facilitated the spread of invasive alien plant species such as Wormia suffruticosa, Clidemia hirta and Lantana camara in the area.

The local communities in the area over-exploit fish species for consumption. They even use poisonous substances to collect fish, which has led to the large-scale mortality of fish in streams. Need urgent action to mitigate existing threats.

This is the only swamp forest in Sri Lanka harbouring a number of endemic floral species. A day trip to Wathurana is a good way to observe the biodiversity hotspots. It will also show you how fragile the balance of life is for most of this biodiversity.

References - CEA/ARCADIS Euroconsult (1994i); IUCN/FAO (1997)

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Fact Box:

Location:

Bulathsinhala in the Kalutara

District, of the Western Province.

Area: 12 ha.

Wetland values Hydrological and biophysical values

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Dampe Village

Tranquil setting of the riverside

Whenever you visit Piliyandala do not miss Dampe Village, a charming little retreat on the bank of the Bolgoda Lake - 45 minutes from Colombo. The tranquil setting of the riverside garden makes this an ideal spot for both intimate and wedding groups.

This hotel was started in 2003 with only 5 rooms. "We started this hotel with only 8 employees and today we have 43 because of our success.

We can cater for special events of any kind, be it persanal or official. In addition menus or any other arrangements that one wishes to incorporate for guests' too", said General Manager of Dampe Village J.C. Muhandiramage.

Dampe Village is the property of the partnership of 3 - L.M.V.S.M. de Mel, Lakshmi de Mel and L.M.V.G.M de Mel. Today this hotel has 11 rooms and all these rooms have private balconies. The swimming pool is located in front of the rooms.

This hotel has a good banquet hall which can accommodate 225 pax. "We are going to open our new banquet hall which can be accommodated 175 pax and we will add another 10 rooms end of this year.

We can arrange the river safari on Bolgoda Lake for our guests as they request. While our constructions we don't want to change this village type atmosphere", said Resident Manager Chanaka Wanasundara.

This hotel with calm surroundings has a sitting area in front of the Bolgoda Lake edge and resembles a village with its backdrop. If you go there early in the morning you can see hundreds of birds and this place is very suitable for evening tea with the lovely breeze which come from the lake.

Dampe Village hotels' staff is very friendly with their guests and they offer all kinds of cuisines specially in international cuisines. GI

Travelon celebrates their 12th consecutive tour to Myanmar

M/s Travelon Ltd pioneers & market leaders in package tours to Myanmar, recently concluded yet another successful tour to this Golden Land over the April school Holidays with many teachers participating.

During the tour M/s Travelon Ltd and their travel partner in Myanmar M/s Rubyland Tourism jointly hosted the group to a grand dinner & cultural show at the Royal Barge (Karawaik Palace).

His Excellency the Sri Lankan Ambassador to Myanmar.

Mr. Newton Gunaratne who took office recently graced the occasion with Madam Gunaratne. Mr. U Aye Kyaw, Managing Director, Rubyland and Banduala De Silva, Director Operations were there to welcome the Ambassador.

The next Grand Myanmar Luxury Tour will take place 20-30 August during school vacation, and to celebrate the 12th visit to Myanmar all school teachers (both government & private schools) will be given a 5% discount on the published tariff of Rs. 169,900/-

The Luxury tour will cover Yangon Shwedagon, Bagan Monywa, Mandale, Mahamuni, Mahagandayone (Dana for 1000 monks) Mingun, Pindaya Cave, Inle Lake & the geographical miracle Kaihityo. (Golden Rock) with 4 domestic flights to cover the vast country.

Special events at Trans Asia Hotel

For those of you who are not aware, the Trans Asia hotel, though currently undergoing a major renovation in view of the most anticipated launch as "Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo", currently operates its Banquet sales office at normal hours to accommodate customers who wish to book their weddings and other receptions in the month of September 2009 and beyond. And the good news is that the hotel has come up with unique wedding packages for the current year as well as year 2010.

The hotel's presence will be made at the up-coming Bridal Fair 2009 which is scheduled from 9-12 July at the Sri Lanka Exhibition and Convention Centre in Colombo. The Banquet Sales Team are delighted to extend this unique "all inclusive" wedding package to anyone who wishes to hold their wedding between September and December this year.

Needless to mention, this package can be availed only at the above exhibition and is rumored to be a once in a life time bonus for those interested. Brides and Grooms who will make their vows next year are also entitled to some special offers on the package chosen.

Effective September this year, with the hotel's new facelift and the promise of a brand new ballroom second to none in the city, these special packages will be a lot more worthwhile and will surely afford a distinctive experience on your special day.

Totally new to the existing packages will be the exclusive spa treatments for wedding couples courtesy the new Spa which will also open in the hotel.

In addition to weddings, Trans Asia's Banquet sales team will also assist customers with other banqueting requirements, be it a launch, cocktail reception, special dinner, corporate meetings or a conference they wish to hold any time from September 2009.

South Indian cuisine at Ceylon Continental Hotel

The original South Indian cuisine will be at Topaz at the Ceylon Continental Hotel from 30th June to 4th July 2009 at 7pm to 11pm.

An array of much loved South Indian food items like Dhosai, Paper Dhosai, Masala Dhosai, Idli, Ulundu Wadei, Masala Wadei, Sambhar, Sambols and much more will be on offer at a very affordable price.

Thai Airways - Tourism Malaysia FAM tour

Thai Airways International and Tourism Malaysia have jointly organised and sponsored a 9 day familiarisation tour of Malaysia for a group of Travel Agents and journalists.

The group will visit popular tourist sights in the country next week and meet key officials in the tourism industry. The areas they are scheduled to visit are Kuala Lumpur, Genting Highland,Penang, Langkavi and a few lesser known sights in the country.

Young designers at Jetwing St Andrew's

With the intention of offering something new to look forward to, this July, Jetwing St Andrew's will host a fashion show during the long weekend in July. This show, which will be held on Sunday 5th July, is said to include six designers of a recent batch of B/Design Graduates of the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Moratuwa.

Almost all these designers are working with their own label and produce their own garments and accessories.

Dinushi Ariyaratne, Eranga Bandaranayake, Gayani Jayatunge, Ruwanthi Weerawarne, Sakunthala Weligalla will be launching their Mid Year Collection at this special showing which will consist a range of exclusive designs that many fashion lovers are yet to see.

PM at Ayurveda Exhibition Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayake visited the Hotel Tree of Lifes’ stall at the International Ayurveda Exhibition and Symposium at BMICH recently. Here the Prime Minister is having a chat with the Asst. General Manager Timothy Paldano, Hotel Ayurveda Physician Wimal Piyathilaka, Ramanie Masakorala and Asoka Hettigoda