Horagolla National Park
At 40 km from Colombo, this is the shortest of bike hikes (Negombo was shorter, but it does seem longer now because of the lagoon and meandering roads). Destination - the Horagolla National Park, barely a kilometer away from Nittambuwa junction along Colombo-Kandy road.
A national park at Nittambuwa? I had never heard of it until I read about it in a magazine dedicated to nature and travel, and decided to take a look.
Taking a walk would be a more accurate way of describing the visit, for the park is 40 hectares in extent (the smallest of Sri Lanka's national parks). I finished my walk in one hour (done at a hurried pace at the request of the staff, as they were busy with an alms-giving that morning).
As a National Park, this pleasant wooded retreat is managed by the Department of Wild Life Conservation. To enjoy it, you have to get the traditional image of a national park out of your mind. It's not at all Yala or Uda Walawe. It's a place of trees rather than animals.
The place is known to shelter a few small animal species. Apart from a few aquatic birds, the only animal worth mentioning that I saw was a monkey. But the park is delightfully wooded, so much so that the sky is barely visible, and a walk through it is very refreshing.
Getting there is easy. Approaching from Colombo, turn left at Nittambuwa town and continue towards Gampaha, and you will find the signboard, again on the left. Continue along a paved country road (paved strictly in the rustic sense) and you will find a path leading to the park, which is separated from the road by a stream (the path is wide enough for a motorcycle, but a car will have to be left by the side of the road, from where you can see the entrance to the park).
Both the park and its surroundings are very pleasant. Formerly the property of the Bandaranaike family, it became state property in the 1960s and was later turned into a national park. Walking is very easy as the paths are paved with concrete. You can't get lost because you will eventually connect to the path which borders the lake, leading up to the gate.
Visitors must be accompanied by a department guide. But I managed to avoid this exigency due to the alms-giving and due to my request as a journalist who preferred to see things for himself. The place was blessedly free of people. Overcrowding (by noisy human visitors, not other species) is the biggest problem faced by the traveler to scenic places in Sri Lanka today.
I wondered if the service charge levied at the entrance (in addition to the ticket fee) is the reason for this. The service charge is the same whether the number of visitors is two or ten. If this is the reason for the absence of necking couples at Horagolla, it's a blessing in disguise (once, I was nearly assaulted by a highly aroused young man while walking in the Gampaha Botanical Gardens with my wife and children. I was looking intently at a tree and he thought I was looking at him and his girl friend).
The overcast sky cleared and the sun shone, beaming its rays sporadically through the thick canopy, just in time to light up a cobweb stretching across my path. I found similar cobwebs at several places.
Huge termite mounds are another feature. I saw one, built parasitically on a fallen tree, which was easily two meters square. Tiny, noisy insects abound, giving an over-ripe tropical feel to the place. Swarms of buzzing mosquitoes discourage lingering in one place (could be another reason for the absence of necking couples).
Some of the trees are identified with small signboards, giving the common Sinhala name and the scientific name. Sapindus fritoliata (kahapenella), Alstonia senolaris (rukaththana)and Artocarpus nobilis (bendi del) are amongst these. There are some very interesting parasite and ephphyte plants, including species of convoluted lianas.
There is a summer house overlooking the canal where visitors can relax. The water was weed-grown but did not look stagnant. The presence of aquatic birds indicated plenty of aquatic life forms. The biggest advantage of this national park (or large garden) is its accessibility. It's a place for flora rather than fauna, and ideal for those who enjoy nature and solitude because of its short distance from Colombo.
By Gamini Akmeemana
Daily Mirror - July 21, 2007
Created August 23, 2007
Updated
August 23, 2007
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