Ussangoda National Park

Ussangoda is a plateau of red soil above the sea on the deep south coast where almost nothing grows: the ground is serpentine, high in metals that most plants cannot tolerate, so the plateau stays open grass and bare earth while forest covers everything around it. Local tradition connects the colour to the Ramayana and the burning of Lanka. Below the cliffs are beaches used by nesting turtles, and the whole area became a national park in 2010.

What you actually see

• The red plateau - bare serpentine soil where trees cannot grow.
• The serpentine geology - metal-rich rock that shapes the whole vegetation pattern.
• The turtle beaches - nesting sand below the cliffs.
• The coast view - open Indian Ocean from the plateau edge.

When to go

May to September is the drier window on this coast. Midday on the open plateau is very hot with no shade. Sunset is the best light on the red earth.

Honest expectations

There is no shade at all and the plateau is exposed. Facilities are none. The Ramayana connection is tradition rather than record and is presented as fact by some guides.

Nearby

Rekawa is east, and Bundala is southeast.