Hello my loving Hivers,
How are you my dear friends? I know everything are ok for you in this difficult time staying home or working place always following safety instructions. Recently I hadn't any idea where I will visit beautul and natural places which is located very nearest my living area. There are travel restrictions already here so we can't travel longest journeys. Yesterday was Sunday so I thought to visit beautiful area but there was heavily rain morning time. So I went second plan to reach Thalathuduwa island evening time.
Koggala is a city located in the Southern Province of Sri Lanka and is a major tourist attraction. Some islands are small. But Thalathuduwa is a bigger island than the more famous Madolduwa. The specialty of this place is the Aranya Senasana where the monks meditate and walk. I did not know much about Thalathuduwa Island. But my wife found out about this island through Google Maps. This enabled us to reach our destination via the road in front of the Koggala Naval Base. To reach an island in the middle of a river or sea, you must take a boat. But a bridge was built to reach the island, making it easier to reach.
At the entrance to the bridge, the first thing that was seen was the "Sandakada pahana", a distinctive feature of the religious sites of Sri Lankan culture. It features unique animals and specialties of the Sri Lankan tradition on a semi-circular, well-leveled stone slab. The Sandakada pahana is a unique feature of Sri Lankan stone sculptors. It can also be described as an advancement in Sri Lankan past technology.
Staying near the moonstone, I saw some fish swimming in the river. The river had no depth as it was the starting point. Two village fishermen who were staying near the bridge said that the evening trip inside Thalathuduwa Island with the little girl was not so worthwhile. So we did not travel far on the island. But I'm sure I'll do it soon.
Prior to the construction of the bridge, boats used to enter the island. Therefore, in those days, people traveled by boat from the mainland to provide food and drink to anyone visiting the island and to the monks living in the temple. But with the recent construction of the bridge, tourists have the opportunity to save a great deal of time as well as to see the beauty of the surrounding area from the middle of the river.
As I crossed the bridge into the middle of the river, I could see the distinctive patterns on the riverbank glowing blue. This is a special feature of the beauty of nature. You can clearly see it in the photo above. These scenes can be seen from the top of the bridge very clearly, not like traveling by boat.
The area around the island is surrounded by a large number of tourism resorts. Many people were motivated to make more money through these resorts. But in a situation where the tourism industry has collapsed due to the spread of the current corona pandemic, it has been seen that some people are moving towards freshwater fishing.
Thalathudawa is, in fact, an important biodiversity hotspot for many mangrove species. It is not possible to specify the number of mangrove species found here. During my short visit, I was able to see more mangroves. It is a great pleasure to see the mangroves kissing the river water. This is also a great place to forget about our busy lifestyles.
As we continued along the bridge, we were approaching an island surrounded by mangroves. My daughter asked to go into the water but did not do so as it was dangerous as she did not know the depth.
That moment sunlight heavily impacted to the land as well as the mangrove trees. So tree leaves changed the color awesomely. Those leaves enhance the green color more sharply. The river waves silently goes ahead. Actually the cool winds toughed my whole body and gave big hugs.
One of beautiful but sharpness bird stayed on a branch of tree very nearly to the river waves. It didn't go out while I captured because it focused only meal. We called the name of to that bird "Pilihuduwa." Once catch the fish of the river, fly on the branch of the tree and very quickly kill the victime through sharp beak.
In the town of Habaraduwa, an organization called Hela Bodu Saviya was seen hanging some very valuable sentences from a tree on a wooden board in Sinhala. It states that you are entering a sanctuary in a sensitive mangrove environment, so do not dump anything unwanted on the environment and take action to protect the animals and biodiversity that live here.
There is a small footpath leading to the shrine grounds. You can walk along the footpaths seeing the beauty of the surrounding mangrove environment.
The work done by these mangrove roots to prevent river bank erosion is excellent. This mangrove plant system plays an important role in improving the living standards of freshwater fish as well as the reptiles that inhabit the island.
The work done by these mangrove roots to prevent river bank erosion is excellent. This mangrove plant system plays an important role in improving the living standards of freshwater fish as well as the reptiles that inhabit the island.
Mangroves provide ample support for the survival of many freshwater fish. As a result, mangroves are home to a highly sensitive ecosystem, from small to invisible species to even larger fish. When mangroves become extinct, these habitats lose their habitat.
While our walking we stayed some shades of the mangrove tress for listen sounds surrounded environment. So many trees touched with each other trees then gave amazing noises to our ears. I felt I stayed in the paradise.
The sun was ready to goes down from the western sky. So final sunlights brought to the island. Few minutes later whole surrounded environment was darkness. So we decided to leave from the island without going further.
While our return walk, came to the middle of the bridge, Then captured how darkness around the river. The river had silence looks. Finally we came to our starting point and go back to our home. Actually after long time we were inspire lot through visit this nice mangrove contains island.
