You might wonder what Kanneliya is.... Well for those who don't know, Kanneliya is a forest reserve in Galle District, Sri Lanka. And for those who know about Kanneliya I would be glad to add the part that it is the only forest in South Asia with the maximum bio diversity in a unit area. Pretty cool. ah??? Well actually, Kanneliya is cool and trust me even if it is in dry zone and only several miles away from beach, this forest has a very cool temperature at around 21C. I thought of presenting some stuff I found out about Kanneliya to you today as a prior notification to all the tourists, biologists and travellers who are interested in visiting such miracles of nature to protect the remains of this beautiful place. I visited there and did my best by leaving only my foot steps there and I sincerely hope you do that too.
Kanneliya, as I told you earlier is situated in the Thawalama, Galle district. If you are travelling from Colombo, you can easily take the southern highway route and exit at the Baddegama exit to enter the normal road that takes you straight to Kanneliya. This is a low country wet zone forest reserve that covers up about 5276 hectares and a catchment area for the Ging Ganga (River Gin), therefore it has around 11 small steams flowing inside the reserve. There are two must see waterfalls inside there too.
If we circulate round the species diversity of the reserve, it is said that, this contains about 301 plant species among which 155 are native. The plant Stemenoporus Kanneliyensis aka Mandora can only be seen here at Kanneliya. Kanneliya is also home for 313 animal species and 98 of them are native. There are 38 fish species found in here and 20 of them are native. These are only figures but I'm sure you can pay a visit for the better understanding of this place.
I must stay, the earlier you get there, the better if you wish to see more animals as they end their hunting parties around the time they hear footsteps of visitors. At the entrance to the reserve you have to buy a ticket which is at a very reasonable price in my opinion and you are not allowed to take plastic bags, wrappings to the forest. Also you are provided a guide who will explain the importance of this place as you walk deep into the forest. The trip is actually not tiring because of the mild temperature inside the forest. There are many beautiful places on your way to the forest and we found few spots where you can rest too.
Although Kanneliya has become a growing tourist attraction over the years, there is less precautions taken to protect the reserve. I must say it is extremely travel friendly as you are provided with a cool water pond with flowing water to experience a cool bath after your journey to the depth of Kanneliya and also there is a dinning area for the local travellers where you can enjoy the meals you have brought from home there.
Visit Kanneliya to experience the real treats of mother nature, Oh!!! I almost forgot to tell.... Beware of leeches too... But all in one, Kanneliya should be on your list of must go places in Sri Lanka and help to protect it by raising awareness about this valuable forest.
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