Angamedilla A Lesser Know National Park

Year and Month	July, 2020
Number of Days	One
Crew	3 (Baby, Wife & myself)
Guide	Lal – Safari jeep driver, he also can provide accommodation
Accommodation	N/A
Transport	Pajero
Activities	4WD/Safari/Wildlife
Weather	Sunny
Route	Girithale -> Diyabeduma -> Aththankadawala -> Angammedilla -> Returned back the same way
Tips, Notes and Special remark	Wild life park rules should always followed and always obey the Guide(Trekker). Campsite and Bungalow should be reserved from the Wildlife life Department head office in Baththaramulla Road conditions inside the park was relatively fine. Carry adequate amount of drinking water or boil and drink river water Do not take anything from the wild and do not leave anything back. Best time to visit is end of September. A vehicle with high ground clearance in preferred
Related Resources	Trip Reports on: Angammedilla
Author	Ashan
Comments	Discuss this trip report, provide feedback or make suggestions at Lakdasun Forum on the thread Angamedilla A Lesser Know National Park

Angammedilla National Park (අංගම්මැඩිල්ල ජාතික වනෝද්‍යානය) is one of the new national parks in Sri Lanka. The region was designated national park on 6 June 2006. Originally Angammedilla was a forest reserve within the Minneriya-Girithale Sanctuary declared on 12 February 1988. The park is declared mainly to protect the drainage basin of Parakrama Samudra. Angammedilla also secures the drainage basins of Minneriya and Girithale irrigation tanks, water sources in Sudu Kanda (Sinhala for “White hill”) and habitats and wildlife of the adjacent forests. It is located 225 kilometres (140 mi) away from Colombo in Polonnaruwa District. (source – Wikipedia)

This July (post COVID19 era) we went to Girithale and on our Girithale visit we got a chance to explore Angammedilla park which is not a popular tourist destination. Our access was through Diyabeduma (Aththankadawala side). When we arrived at the park entrance we were told that no guide would be given due to prevailing CORONA risk so we had to go all alone which seemed bit risky but fortunately a jeep driver volunteered to accompany us.

Our first destination was Raja bemma and the nearby camp site. The Bemma is around 400m’s from park entrance where the new anicut is located. Few hundred meters away from the Raja bemma one could find the first camp site which is a lovely location close to the stream(Radavige oya).

Angammedilla Gal Amuna (stone weir) also known as Rajabemma creates one of the main feeders to Parakrama Samudraya. This weir is credited to king Parakramabahu (1153-1186) who had tapped the water of Amban Ganga (river) to his Parakrama Samudraya Reservoir. (source- Amazinglanka)

Name board

Raja bemma

diversion

Amban ganga seperated from a D.S era concrete dam

thimbiri

path towards first camp site

camp site 1

lovely camp site

new bunt

We returned back to the entrance and asked Lal to accompany us for the rest of the journey. It was a long ride through the forest canopy until we reached a rock at the western shores of Parakrama samudraya. Actually we weren’t expecting to see any wild life at all because it was 12p.m. but to our surprise there was a heard of elephants hanging around the grassy plains of the dried out lake bed. The rock where we halted our vehicle also had some ruins too.

entering the park

makulla

halted at the rock

.	parakrama samudraya

bird life

dimbulagala

Elephants at noon

On the rock

on our return journey we payed a visit to Mahaiyawa wewa which lied at the base at Sudu kanda range. and at this isolated location there was a lovely camp site too. Though this was a short ill prepared journey we enjoyed it a lot.