Off beaten track

 Continued from here : This being our first time in the park for all of us, we had opted for the complete tour and Chamara obliged very gladly. The Villus of course are a characteristic highlight of the park, T ala Villu, Kali Villu, Maila Villu, Walas Villu, the names rolled of Chamara�s tongue as we passed the golden grass and pure white sands of the small lakes.  Formed by water percolating through limestone rock to the surface, the villus are famed for their birdlife, though possibly due to the park being quite dry we didn�t see too many birds. One of the many Villus,I cannot recall which one; Wilpattu birdlife We didn�t see any of the legendary �villu elephants� either, long touted as being the biggest elephants in Sri Lanka. In fact on our whole trip our sightings of animals were few and far between, a Monitor Lizard on its way up the evolutionary ladder, a Barking Deer standing transfixed in the road before dashing off into the undergrowth, two Sambhur watching us warily before

Wilpattu. The name has always evoked bittersweet excitement for me. All my life it has been my Shangri La for wildlife. I grew up with the tales of family trips of generations and the almost mystical leopard sightings, shining gold and black on the white sands of the Villu�s. Wilpattu is the country�s largest park and arguably the most untouched, its bungalows (when in operation many years ago) were rated the best in the land, all in addition to its reputation for being the top site for leopard sightings in Lanka. As if this wasn�t enough value for money, the park also plays host to sites that are writ large in Sri Lanka�s storied past, including Kudrimalai point where Prince Vijaya is said to have landed and a palace that was supposed to have belonged to Kuveni, the tribal princess. Wilpattu Jungles Despite its many wonders, in 29 years I had never been to Wilpattu save for when I was a mere toddler. It didn�t take too much enticement when S called asking if I wanted to accompany the

If you are ever in Sinharaja and you see a small body of water, even something that would be deemed a pond with exaggeration of the highest order, do tread softly. You could be inches from one of Sri Lanka�s most beautiful, endemic snakes, the Green Pit Viper ( Trimeresurus trigonocephalus ). And you don't want to scare it away. Emerald green, yellow and burnished black would probably be an adequate description for this little jewel of a snake. I had never seen one until a trip to Sinharaja in February with the A dventure Lanka crew where we saw around three of them near small bodies of water, the snakes entwined in the undergrowth. Of course these snakes are poisonous, though fatalities apparently have never been recorded, so treat the snake with the outmost respect and you will get some great macro photographs.

The Sri Lankan Big Four. Leopard, bear, elephant, buffalo. Those are generally the animals that are synonymous with Yala. Yet on this trip to Yala I took a few minutes off when we stopped for a rest at the Menik Ganga to take a small break and look out for the small stuff. And the search was surprisingly rewarding, not only in terms of obtaining some pictures of animals you usually don�t associate with Yala but also for getting a couple of more �arty� shots. The Menik Ganga (River) (Photo Courtesy of PP) The first item of interest on the menu was a roiling black mass on the white sands bordering the river. Taking a closer look I was astonished to see hundreds of small beetles engaging in what could be described as an all out orgy. I�m guessing it was a mass breeding of these beetles which happened every now and then and the copulating carabids made for some very interesting macro efforts.   Beetle orgy Wandering over to where the trees overhung some still water, it was apparent that se