Wilpattuwa: Mesmerizing Tranquility of a Sanctuary

Year and Month	August 2012 (11th, 12th)
Number of Days	2 Day Trip
Crew	10 members (Age 21-34)
Accommodation	Yala Junction has many places with good quality accommodation We stayed at Samanala Bungalow which is the cheapest accommodation option, with minimal facilities. But the service is good. Camping at Kokmote
Transport	Hired van and a Safari Jeep (Samantha – 0728464787)
Activities	River Bath, Wildlife, In search of Heritage, Photography, off-road driving, Bird watching, Camping and Camp fire/ Cooking
Weather	Excellent and clear sky
Route	Wadduwa- > Colombo -> Chailaw – > Deduru Oya – > Puttlam town -> Thimbiriwewa Junction – > Wilpattu entrance at Hunuwilagama -> Kokmote/ Modaragam aru And return on the same route.
Tips, Notes and Special remarks	Camp sites should be reserved in advance from the department of Wildlife (Battaramulla Wildlife Dept Office) It’s better if you can carry a stock of water at least for drinking purposes. Target safari in Magical hours (6.00-8.00 am) and late evenings Do not carry Plastic items (Minimize), Make sure you bring back everything you took. Don’t disturb wild life.
Author	Chamee Kumara
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A Group of my friends organized a safari at Willpattuwa including a camp night at Kokmote to explore the exciting heritage and wildlife. A fellowship of ten members joined the trip and the journey began from Wadduwa at 7.00 am on September 11. On our way we paused shortly for a quick breakfast, and then to a shop at Chilaw fish market for necessary food supplies for the night stay. After taking a dip in the Deduru Oya and stuffing ourselves at Puttalam town where we stopped for lunch, we reached Wilpattuwa at 3.30 pm in a happy and relaxing mood. Mr Anil (WLD tour guide) and Samantha (Jeep driver) also joined with us at the entrance. It was a wonderful start of safari via Persibendi tank, Marandamaduwa, and we met many species of birds and mammals. (See brief check list in below). ..We were so unlucky as we missed leopards twice, .. One spotty-boy was so lazy to come out from the bush behind which it was hiding and another big spotty fellow ran away, scared of our voices…

We reached Kokmote camp site with dusk .. Team was in a good active mood: some collected firewood, others set a small camp tent and started preparing dinner.. the time of laughter is yet to come as the mid night approaches… while sharing many an experiences on wild life tours, more stories..jokes …on each other ..we had quite a fun time ..great …

It was an excellent peaceful night on a rock… The sky was brightened with the moonlight and thousands of sparkling stars; the starts that stand up in the sky and blink as well as exiting falling starts which came as surprise.. Mixed with all this is the cool wind on the skin, the cold rock on the back, the streaming sound of the Modaragam Aru and tranquility in the air. My companions give in to the night, succumb to the pin-drop silence under the blinking sky, surrounded by the trees bathing in moonlight. After a few hours sleep, we prepared lunch and bathed in Moradagam Aru stream and set out to safari in Kudiramale… After spending the day there we returned via kali villu where we reached at around 2.00 pm…we finished our exciting trip at 8.00 pm at Wadduwa.