Kumana National Park

Kumana adjoins Yala on its eastern side and is centred on the Kumana villu, a mangrove swamp of some two hundred hectares fed by the Kumbukkan river, which is where the birds breed: pelicans, painted storks, spoonbills, herons and egrets nest here in large mixed colonies through the middle of the year. Elephants and leopards are present too, but the park is visited for the birds. It is far quieter than Yala next door.

Background

Set up on 20 January 1970 as Yala East National Park, Kumana took its current name in 2006. It lies 391 kilometres southeast of Colombo, covers 35,664 hectares and takes in the Kumana Bird Sanctuary, declared in 1938. The Kumana Wetland Cluster became a Ramsar site on 29 October 2010. Some 20 lagoons and tanks feed the birdlife, and the lagoons are less than 2 metres deep. The land rises from sea level to 90 metres. Records list 255 bird species, among them pintail snipes that fly 9000 kilometres to 11000 kilometres from Siberia, and an estimated 30-40 elephants roam the park. Rock inscriptions from the 2nd and 1st centuries BC have been found in the region.

Source: Wikipedia, "Kumana National Park"

What's there

• The breeding colonies - pelicans, storks and herons nesting in the mangrove swamp.
• The Kumana villu - the mangrove wetland at the heart of the park.
• The lagoons - a chain of water bodies along the coastal strip.
• The quiet - a fraction of the jeep traffic of neighbouring Yala.

When to go

April to July is the breeding season and the reason to come. The park closes for part of the year in some seasons. Early morning is best for activity.

What to expect

Outside the breeding months the park is much quieter and the colonies empty. The road down from Arugam Bay is rough. Facilities are minimal.

Nearby

Arugam Bay is north, and Yala is west.

Key facts