Sri Lanka (Ceylon)

Pictures from journeys in Sri Lanka


Tropical Island with great Nature & Wildlife

 


Sinharaja Forest Reserve

Sinharaja is a forest reserve and a biodiversity hotspot in Sri Lanka. It's listed on the World Heritage Site by UNESCO

Diyadawa Forest Reserve - Deniyaya
View from rest house in Deniyaya with Sinharaja Forest Reserve in background

Gin Ganga River in the middle of Sinharaja Rainforest


Cicada Sounds by Gin Ganga River in Sinharaja Forest

Big female Golden orb-web spider (Nephila pilipes) with small male on back


Two-tail spider (Hersilia savignyi) well camouflaged on tree


Land planarian or Hammerhead worm (Bipalium kewense)


Sri Lanka Kangaroo Lizard (Otocryptis wiegmanni)

Sri Lankan green pit viper (Trimeresurus trigonocephalus)

Well camouflaged Sri Lankan green vine snake or long-nosed whip snake (Ahaetulla nasuta)


Early morning view over the mountains near Sinharaja Forest

Soundfile from early morning in Sinharaja

The forest Floor


Hollow-snouted Shrub Frog (Pseudophilautus cavirostris)


Hump-nosed Lizard, Hump Snout Lizard or Lyreshead Lizard (Lyriocephalus scutatus)

Common green forest lizard (Calotes calotes)


Giant Forest Scorpion (Heterometrus swammerdami)


Sri Lankan Wolf Snake (Lycodon carinatus)

Waterfall in the middle of the forest

 

 
Roadtrip


Sri lankan catamaran boat at Negombo Beach

Sigiriya Rock (Lion Rock) around 180 metres high
Here you can take a walk to the top, and see the old fortress


Sigiriya Frescoes Painted inside Sigiriya Rock Fortress

The Golden Buddha statue, Dambulla golden temple


Udawalawe National Park
Over 30,000 hectares of land area and known for it's large herds of Sri Lankan Elephants. Udawalawe National Park exhibits one of the highest biodiversity among the protected areas in Sri Lanka.


Wetlands in Udawalawe




Sri Lankan elephant (Elephas maximus maximus)


Wild water buffalo or Asian buffalo (Bubalus arnee) taking a bath in the muddy water to cool down

 


Indian Peafowl (Pavo cristatus) Male Peafowl are referred to as peacocks


Painted Stork (Mycteria leucocephala)


Black and white profile of young male, Sri Lankan elephant (Elephas maximus maximus)


Sri Lankan Flapshell Turtle (Lissemys ceylonensis

 


Yala National Park

Most visited and second largest national park in Sri Lanka.
The best and only way to see the wildlife in Yala National park is by jeep with a guide.


Yala National Park Monsoon & Wetland Lakes
 

Figthing Tufted gray langur (Semnopithecus priam)


Cooling in the mud, Wild water buffalo or Asian buffalo (Bubalus arnee)



Toque Macaque (Macaca sinica) endemic to Sri Lanka, where it's known as the rilewa or rilawa


Mugger Crocodile or marsh crocodile (Crocodylus palustris)


Malabar Pied Hornbill (Anthracoceros coronatus)

 

 


Tissamaharama

Is a wetland and swamp area between Yala and Bundala Nationl Park with Debarawewa lake and Tissa lake


Peter with Sri Lanka locals

Indian Flying Fox (Pteropus giganteus)



Indian Five-fingered Frog (Euphlyctis hexadactylus) in Debarawewa lake


Schneider's Toad (Duttaphrynus scaber) near Debarawewa lake


Common Skittering Frog (Euphlyctis cyanophlyctis) with unknown flat millipede on the head :)


Sri Lanka Wood Frog (Hydrophylax gracilis)


Calls of Frogs and Toads in the swamp area, right out of our cabin


Calls of Frogs and Toads in the swamp area, right out of our cabin


Chequered Keelback (Fowlea piscator)

 
Indian black turtle or Indian pond terrapin (Melanochelys trijuga)


Bundala National Park

Bundala became the first wetland in Sri Lanka.
Bundala National Park has been identified as an outstanding and important bird area in the South Indian and Sri Lankan wetlands with 197 species of birds and many other animals.
 


Early morning picture at wetlands areas in Bundala National Park

The changeable hawk-eagle or crested hawk-eagle (Nisaetus cirrhatus) is a large bird of prey in Bundala National Park

Soundfile of Crested hawk-eagle call

Indian star tortoise (Geochelone elegans) in its natural habitat in Bundala National Park

Asian Openbill Stork (Anastomus oscitans) in the swamps

Oriental Darter or Indian Darter (Anhinga melanogaster)


Kottawa Forest Reserve

Rainforest in Southern Province and has an elevation of 152 meters
 

Kottawa Forest Reserve


Juvenile Changeable Lizard or Oriental Garden Lizard (Calotes versicolor)


Huntsman spider or giant crab spider (Heteropoda venatoria)

Catching common aquarium fish In the wild


Rasbora wilpita


Black Ruby Barb (Pethia nigrofasciata)


Indian Glass Barb (Laubuka laubuca)


Signature Spider (Argiope anasuja)


Sri Lanka's South Coast

Weligama, Mirissa, Hikkaduwa, Polhena beach  and coral reef near Polhena 

Crazy sunset from Hikkaduwa beach with silhouettes of fisherboats

Coral reef snorkeling trip, Polhena beach

 
Loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) swimming peacefully near our hotel

Loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta)


School of Silver Moony or Silver Moonfish (Monodactylus argenteus) in Indian Ocean, Hikkaduwa

School of Silver Moony or Silver Moonfish (Monodactylus argenteus) in Indian Ocean, Hikkaduwa

Snorkeling with sea turtles in Polhena and Hikkaduwa


Ghost Crab, Sand Crab, Horn-eyed Ghost Crab (Ocypode brevicornis) Mirissa Beach


The Slender-scaped Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa tenuiscapa) is a very big and beautiful bee


The Yellow-headed Carpenter (Xylocopa ruficornis) is another big and beautiful bee

Sapphire mining Sri Lanka
Active mine in Ratnapura district

 

 

 

 

Small sapphires from this mine

Se the full Sri Lanka gallery by pressing the photowall

Credits

Travel companions and friends
Peter Pettersen
Nikolaj Filskov

Special thanks to
Lake Edge Holiday Inn, Tissamaharama

Music in videos

Music from https://filmmusic.io

 Travel Sri Lanka Nature  Animal  River  Ceylon National Park  Fish  Wildlife  Wild Life

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