When: October 2014 Weather: Hot 25-30C
From our base in Yala, we decided to explore another National Park, Lunugamwehera, which abuts the western end of Yala NP and we were so glad we did. Apparently leopards and sloth bears had been seen there and although we didn’t see any, the beauty of the place and birdlife more than made up for it.
On the way there, and it’s only about 30 min from Yala, we saw some cars backed up…feeding the elephant…it really shouldn’t be the done thing!
tour guides feeding the elephant..tsk tsk
friendly though the elephant was..
crested serpent eagle
in contrast to the crested hawk eagle which we saw again
entrance to the park
crocs were in attendance again
open billed stork
the landscape was hauntingly beautiful..the drought had exposed the lake bed and all the dead trees
it was like something out of a hitchcock movie
dead branches everywhere
even dead trees are impressive
amidst all this dead desolate wood..this bush lark sang merrily
bush lark
star bird of the day was the Woolly Necked Stork..a migrant
colourful wings..
just magnificent
dead tree forest
another part of the park had a dam with a sea of dead trees..
here we found an Indian Pond Heron
sea eagle among the trees
a surreal place
and this crested hawk eagle bade us farewell
In some ways, I preferred Lunugamwehera to Yala because of the scenic beauty and because it’s so accessible from Yala, don’t miss it!
The Natural Traveller 
hi Ron…. this park was stunning in terms of the landscapes for sure… some these landscape pics are superb…..
Thanks Manish…