A cute creature, the Black-Naped Hare, also called the Indian Hare, is common across Indian, Sri Lanka and other parts of Southern Asia.
Not to be confused with rabbits, hares are entirely different animals. These hares enjoy feeding on twigs and berries and have larger ears and hind legs. They’re a pretty impressive size really!
This particular black-naped species is unfortunately a victim of poaching in parts of India, but still has healthy populations in the wild.
Imagine having an entire National Park all to yourself.
My friend and I arrived early, before sunrise, at Bundala National Park in Sri Lanka and were greeted at the entrance. After paying our park fee, locating a driver, park guide and hopping into their safari truck, we were on our way – well almost.
We had gotten up early for a morning of wildlife and bird watching in Bundala. We had been told that elephants, deer, crocodiles and a huge variety of bird life call this park home, in total almost 200 species of birds use this park as a migratory stopover. It was a quiet morning, still very early. Misty and cool. The perfect time of day for exploring and photography. But when our Jeep arrived at the park checkpoint, to start our official safari, there was no guard to be seen. We had no way to get through the checkpoint!
Finally, after searching all the nearby buildings and gatehouses, we stumbled across a sleeping park worker – the gatekeeper. It seems that they hadn’t been getting many visitors recently, or perhaps he had just been out a little too late the night before?
Stumbling to his feet, he checked our permit and let us by…I’m pretty sure he fell asleep again as soon as we passed by.
It was kind of exciting, knowing we were the first people to be entering the park that day. An entire National Park all for us! Waking up the workers is one thing, but watching the park wildlife come to life was even better.
For the next 2.5 hours we rode along the bumpy dirt roads in the park, stopping to watch land monitors and crocodiles sunning themselves in the early morning light and watching peacocks flutter about and colourful birds wading in the marshy waters of the park. Monkeys slowly became active and around every new corner, animals started appearing out of nowhere – as if they didn’t expect any visitors to see them this early in the morning.
We would turn one corner and be greeted by quiet, majestic elephants grazing on the tasty grasses of the park. A few minutes later there would be a troupe of monkeys lazily waking up and grooming each other in some trees.
It kind of felt like a scene out of the Jungle Book, where animals reigned supreme. Without any other safari vehicles in sight, it was easy to forget that towns and villages were nearby, just beyond the visible horizon.
We passed by one other person in the entire park. A local farmer on the edge of the park who lived off the land and let his cattle graze here.
As the journey came to an end, we drove back past the gatekeeper and to the park entrance. Only then, did we seem one other safari vehicle loaded up with travellers. It seemed that it was their turn to have the park all to themselves.
The Spotted Deer is more commonly called the Chital in Sri Lanka and others parts of Southern Asia.
It is a very widely distributed deer species that is found in good numbers across the forests of India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Bhutan.
While many deer species have spots when they are young, this species retains their spotted hide even when they mature.
This Chital, or Spotted Deer, was photographed at Yala National Park in Sri Lanka.
This large land monitor is among the largest lizards in the world. Widely foudn throughout South Asia, the Bengal Monitor, or Varanus bengalensis, hunts small animals such as fish, birds, beetles and other creatures.
They are surprisingly quick and agile, being able to climb trees and swim with ease. In Sri Lanka, where this land monitor was photographed, they are sometimes killed for their meat, thus listing them as a ‘Commercially Threatened’ species in that country.
The Bengal Monitor can grow to lengths of almost 2m and weigh more than 7kg. They have sharp claws and are considered to be carnivores. This is one of two monitor species found in Sri Lanka, the other being a water monitor, Varanus salvator.
Lured by the footprint of Buddha, pilgrims make the trek to the top of this sacred mountain in Sri Lanka every year from December to April.
But, so do Muslims, who believe the footprint is from Adam, while Christians believe it is from St. Thomas and Hindus believe it to be from Lord Shiva.
Whew! Whose footprint is it? Really, that doesn’t matter as Sri Pada has been a pilgrimage site for thousands of years, and no mater what your belief, there is a sacred aura that surrounds the mountain.
I climbed the peak in January and even with my 3am start, there were plenty of people already climbing the stairs to the top.
Along the way, little teahouses dot the trail, offering hot tea and sweets to power you on further. It’s very tempting to jsut stop and relax, but then you’d miss the show at the top – as the goal is to arrive at the peak in time for sunrise.
Watching the sun slowly rise from a top a mountain is always a special experience, but when you add the ‘holiness’ element of this mountain to the morning glow, it was really a special experience. it was also my final day in the country, I was leaving later that afternoon, so it was the perfect way to cap off a great adventure in Sri Lanka.
After ringing the bell at the peak, the most magical moment happened shortly after, with the shadow of the mountain peak slowly creeping over the cloud-covered forest below.
It was a quiet, peaceful few minutes watching the shadow crawl across the country, eventually fading away as the sun rose higher and started to burn off the morning clouds.
I had taken may great hikes around Sri Lanka to tops of temples, through rain forests and across grassy plains. But being amongst the pilgrims ascending Sri Pada was easily the most memorable trek I took in the country.
It is a bit of a challenge, but by going slowly and pacing yourself the climb up the many many stairs should be doable by almost anyone. Just know that the reward at the top is well worth it!
