Countries Visited: Sri Lanka
Gentle walking through lush mountains and tea plantations
Sri Lanka is an island full of verdant mountains, dense forest, gushing waterfalls and ancient cities. We walk in Asia's largest ironwood forest and climb the famous pink quartz mountain in Namal Uyana before embarking on a jeep ride through Wasgamuwa National Park, home to huge protected wild elephant herds.
The famous Knuckles Range, where montane forest and a huge diversity of flora and fauna makes for a walker's paradise, is definitely a highlight and here we will experience the wilderness setting of the ancient village of Meemure.
Following day walks amongst the hill plantations, we head to the largest area of rainforest at Sinharaja Reserve for a truly tropical experience. Hidden amongst all this wonderful scenery are the ancient Buddhist cities of Sigiriya, Dambulla and Polonnaruwa, visited before a well-earned rest on one of Sri Lanka's idyllic beaches.
What makes this trip responsible?
We have an excellent long-term relationship with the local operator who employ and train all leaders. We provide refresher training with a focus on Responsible Tourism, so our local leaders can educate our clients locally on helping to preserve the way of life in their area. Many local restaurants and shops are also used to purchase items throughout this trip which benefits the local community.
Sri Lanka Projects
Back to Life Project
After the devastating Tsunami of December 2004 Exodus helped set up a project to rebuild some of the areas that our clients had been visiting for years. This included rehousing some of the families who had lost their homes in the Tsunami. The project has now been completed and we are looking forward to giving continued assistance to community projects in the area.
If you would like to read further information about this project please see our Back to Life Project page.
Yala Leopard Project
This a new project set up in 2010 by Paul Goldstein. The dense population of leopards in Yala has pushed young leopards outside the park's boundaries to look for new territories. As the Chena cultivations and cattle farmers live adjacent to the park's buffer zones, the predators often come into contact with villagers and their livestock with casualties on both sides. Leopards prey on young cattle corralled in flimsy wooden pens for overnight protection. There are instances where a single leopard can cause multiple kills on young calves which leads to revenge attacks by farmers. This conflict is estimated to claim up to 20 leopards around the periphery of Yala Park annually, to say nothing of the financial loss to the farmers. Exodus has pledged to raise enough funds to supply the cattle farmers with steel pens that will safeguard their cattle through the night.
For further information please see our Yala Leopard Project page
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Images from HIGHLANDS OF SRI LANKA
Note: Click on a thumbnail to enlarge.
Adams Peak, highest point in Sri Lanka
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