Wasgamuwa National Park:

Nature’s magic in all its glory

by Ganga RATNAYAKE

Some excursions leave us with a handful of unforgettable memories and lingering nostalgia. Yet an excursion to the heart of nature not only leaves behind mementos, but continues to live right within our souls.

Our safari in the Wasgamuwa National Park was one such, which made us discover the magic of nature in all its glory.

On the morning of June 14, 2011, My former colleagues and I began our excursion from Kandy. We cruised along winding roads, through lush tea estates and blue mountain ranges, enjoying striking vistas of the charming hill country. En route we relished an exhilarating hike uphill at the Riverstone Gap and Pitawala Pathana and also enjoyed the spine-tingling spectacle of the mini World’s End. After filling ourselves with a delicious countryside meal of rice and curry, we finally headed towards the much anticipated national park.

Wasgamuwa National Park stretches between Matale and Polonnaruwa districts, flanked by the Mahaweli and Amban rivers. It spreads across 36,948ha and is home to a variety of fauna and flora including 150 species of plants, 23 species of mammals, 17 kinds of reptiles, eight types of amphibians, 17 types of fresh water fish, 143 types of birds and 50 types of butterflies. The national park is famous for bears, but many local and foreign tourists visit it to watch the freely roaming giants of the land – the wild elephants.

It is open to the public from 6.00am to 6.00pm, and facilitates camp sites and bungalows for those who wish to spend an exciting night at a nature reserve. Beautiful rustic backdrops After hiring and boarding two safari cabs, we arrived at the park’s office to buy tickets. Then our cabs took us through beautiful rustic backdrops before reaching the entrance of the Wasgamuwa National Park. The ride was undoubtedly thrilling, almost like a rollercoaster ride minus the screaming.

We were given a guide who explained everything we need to know about the park and its inhabitants. He told us to remain very quiet and if possible motionless in the presence of elephants. What irritates the land giants the most are unruly and noisy visitors, he said. In addition he told us not to climb down from the cab under any circumstance. Elephants don’t attack people unless we do something to irritate them. However, when they have offspring to protect, they may become uneasy, especially if they spot something of a similar height or taller than them. These pachyderms live in close-knit families and would do anything to protect their offspring, even becoming aggressive when they feel threatened.

Soon after we entered the park, we were greeted warmly by the sight of a herd of spotted deer gracefully sipping water from the river. They didn’t seem to mind us, as our cabs sped parallel to the river bank.

Water sources all along the track appeared like giant mirrors, glistening under the setting sun. We saw various types and sizes of birds including cranes, eagles, egrets and cormorants in and around rivers and lakes. Some small birds, which we couldn’t identify, popped their heads out of shrubs and stared at us timidly. There were also a few peacocks, with one perched right on top of a tree, flaunting its magnificent tail. A few dead trees here and there served as ideal perches for these foraging birds. We even saw a herd of water buffaloes, taking an evening dip after a long day.

Messy crop circles

Then we proceeded through a savannah carpeted in fluffy golden grass. The stunning blond hues of the grass might have been the result of the sun’s scorching heat. At one point, when we slowed down, I noticed strange formations on grass, like a bunch of messy crop circles. The grass was twisted in a circular form, like they have been spun by a dozen odd twisters. Could they be crop circles or UFO landing sites?

Those doubts only vanished when we spotted a solitary wild elephant, enjoying a grassy meal, completely ignoring us. The cab stopped a few metres away from the giant pachyderm. As we quietly watched, the elephant grabbed the grass with its strong trunk, twisted it a few times and pulled it out. The leftover grass retained the twisted shape, thus creating those mysterious crop circles.

As we moved on, I couldn’t help but admire the dry zone sky, which was a spellbinding sight. As if painted by a giant, it had very unusual patterns of clouds, heightening the beauty of this remote nature reserve. The darkened silhouettes against the deep blue sky weaved a captivating skyline along the way.

Our cab drivers sped at some points and slowed down at others, trying to give us the best of scenes before time ran out. A few times we were startled by flying twigs bumping on us and also when a branch or two fell on to the cab’s hood with a loud thud. The track was flanked by dense shrubs and crisscrossing branches that sometimes created arches.

We also passed through grasslands which had just one or two trees overlooking the parched terrain.

Herd of elephants

After a few sightings of solitary giants we came to the high point of our safari; there before us stood a herd of elephants! It was a sight that took our breath away, literally, as we felt like we have stopped breathing. Not only our breath, but even time seemed to have frozen for a while. There were about five adult elephants and one calf almost hidden amidst the tall grass. Three adults formed a stalwart wall around it, while the other two kept a close watch on us!

These two big elephants, standing only three to four metres away, stared at us from time to time from the corners of their eyes. One of them suddenly tossed a pile of dust into the air with its trunk and hissed loudly! It was a warning sign for us! Another gave us a ferocious glare and joined the group that was guarding the youngster.

We were anxious that at any moment one of them might come charging at us. However, the guide assured us that nothing would happen if we remain silent, and sure enough, they didn’t attack. Instead, the herd of elephants slowly left us, a few of them turning back from time to time to ensure we weren’t tailing them.

The guide told us that when a male elephant grows to a certain age, he has to leave the herd and live on his own. A regular herd mostly consists of female elephants and calves, and the calves are protected by the entire herd. True enough, we witnessed those beautiful bonds right before our eyes.

Our safari ride spanned for two hours, one hour to cross a small section of the park and the other to return along the same track. Yet the same sights we had witnessed earlier, seemed unique this time, with the tricks of light played by the setting sun which made them absolutely enchanting. The big golden disk in the purple sky illumined our path until it completely hid behind the dense woods. We departed from the Wasgamuwa National Park, watching it slowly immerse in the creeping dark shadows.