Sri Lanka - Part 17 - Yala National Park

Early this morning we had a game drive (“safari”) in the Yala National Park.

We entered the park about 6:15 AM -- a good 15 minutes before sunrise.

We ate our boxed breakfast near the beach around 8:30. About 300 jeeps enter the park every morning, and all of them seemed to come to this spot for breakfast. Which jeep is yours? The green one under a tree, parked next to a green jeep!

Mammals

It’s difficult to believe that an animal as large as an elephant can hide so well in the jungle, but it’s true! We only saw two elephants. One was closer, but too well-hidden in greenery to get a photo. This one obliged a bit better.

Spotted deer were quite common.

We saw a group of male spotted deer. Some had very nice “racks”. Here two young bucks are practicing their fighting technique.

Water buffalo were probably the most commonly seen mammals. Lots of times only their horns and nose were visible above the water.

Water buffalo.

Wild boar -- we saw far more boars roaming our hotel complex than in the park!

Mongoose (mongoose? Google says that word is not in the dictionary.)

Reptiles

We saw a few crocodiles in the water.

And a baby croc. This one was probably about 18 inches long.

Birds

Without a doubt, birds steal the show at Yala.

Storks are hard to miss!

And photogenic

Silhouetted against the early morning sunlight.

Pelican

Lots of little birds like these bee-eaters flitted around.

And seemed to enjoy posing for a portrait.

I don’t have an ID for this bird.

The brilliantly colored jungle fowl is the national bird of Sri Lanka.

Peacocks (and peahens) were abundant. It was easy to overlook them because they can look like a bush from a distance.

The peahen lacks the male’s spectacular plumage.

When displaying the peacock likes to ruffle his tail feather and shake his rear end.

Front view of a male displaying his plumage.

Sri Lanka - Part 16 - From the Mountains to the Indian Ocean

Today we had a long day on the bus as we left the central highlands of Sri Lanka and headed to our next stop as Tissamaharama (aka “Tissa”).

The lobby of the Heritance Tea Factory hotel. A unique, fascinating, and very comfortable hotel near Newara Eliya.

Picking tea leaves.

On a clear day it is said that you can see the Indian Ocean in the distance.

Rawana Falls. One of several sites around Ella that are found in the Ramayana -- an epic of Hindu mythology.

It’s lychee season -- a cart full of lychee near Rawana Falls.

Buduruwagala -- large Buddha figures carved into a granite wall. There are seven figures in all -- three on each side of the central Buddha.

A close-up of the Buddha’s head.

This must be a figure of a Bodisattva because the Buddha is pictured in his headdress.

As we neared our hotel, we saw a peacock strutting his stuff trying to impress peahens.

The peacock turned in a circle and wiggled his rear end to impress potential mates.

Our hotel is on the beach near the entrance to Yala National Park.

On the beach.

Sri Lanka - Part 15 - Kandy to Newara Eliya

Today we traveled to tea country.

First stop was an overlook of central Kandy.

We made a stop to tour a tea factory, then had lunch at a hotel that overlooked Ramboda Falls.

Ramboda Falls

When we got to the overlook, it was too close to get the falls in one picture.

The road from Kandy winds up into the high hills, topping off at a pass 1893 m (6210 ft)  above sea level.

Vegetable gardens

Tea plants

Picking tea leaves.

School was getting out when we went by. This young student is the crossing guard.

Once we went through the pass, the clouds increased and it started to rain. No more pictures today!

Sri Lanka - Part 14 - Royal Botanic Gardens in Peradeniya

The Royal Botanic Gardens in Peradeniya (just west of Kandy) are nothing short of spectacular.

Our first stop was the Orchid House.

Royal Palm Avenue is the iconic view of the Gardens. These palms are over 60 years old -- very old for Royal Palms.

This bamboo was about 3 inches in diameter. The color in the photo above is accurate.

Odd trees

The Botanic Gardens were filled with lots of unusual tropical trees from around the world.

This tree had no common name on its info plaque. The Latin name is Cavanillesia platanifolia. Even Wikipedia has almost no information about the species. It is found in Central America, and is one of the strangest looking trees I've ever seen.

A closer look at the base of the tree. It almost looks like it's standing on bird feet.

The Cannonball tree (Couroupita guianensis)

A closer look at the "cannonballs".

The flower of the Cannonball Tree is also strange looking. It almost looks like a sea anemone.

Gnarly Trees

With trees as old as the ones in the Botanic Gardens, there's bound to be a lot of "gnarlies".

Java Fig -- gnarly!

There was no name on this tree but it has a wonderful shape.

The face in the tree. Lon thinks it looks like a tree gnome. I think it looks more like an elephant,

Beyond trees

A tree filled with fruit bats. These large bats are active at dusk and dawn.

A closer look at the bats.

Our tour group.