Madu Ganga Wetland

The Madu Ganga rises near Uragasmanhandiya in the Galle District and widens into a lake at Balapitiya, 88 km south of Colombo and 35 km north of Galle. Together with the smaller Randombe Lake, to which it is joined by two narrow channels, it forms one of the last substantial coastal wetlands on the island's south-west coast.

A wetland of international importance

In 2003, 915 hectares of the Maduganga estuary were designated under the Ramsar Convention as Ramsar Site 1372, covering the estuary and the fifteen islands within it. The citation is earned: roughly 303 plant species from 95 families and 248 vertebrate species, including 111 species of bird, have been recorded here.

The boat safari

This is what a Sri Lanka itinerary means by "Madu River". Boats leave from Balapitiya and run for around two hours through the mangrove channels — some so narrow the canopy closes overhead — stopping at the islands. Kothduwa, with its island temple, is the best known. So-called Cinnamon Island is the other standard stop, where a family demonstrates how the bark is cut, peeled and rolled: Sri Lankan cinnamon is still processed by hand, and this coast is where most of it comes from.

Go early. The light is better, the channels are quieter, and the birds are up.