AMAZING VIL UYANA IN SIGIRIYA......

I went to Vil Uyana in the first week of December with my family and had a fabulous and a relaxing time with nature walks etc mingling with the village type and eco friendly atmosphere.

 The icing of the cake was when I saw the endangered and illusive  GREY SLENDER LORIS which has made it's habitat here.

Jetwing Vil Uyana is situated among reed beds and paddy fields and over the first man-made lake since the era of Parakramabahu I. Situated in the shadow of the historic rock fortress of Sigiriya, is what Harper’s Bazaar calls the Best Eco Luxury Hotel in Sri Lanka. It was inspired by the habitat creation at the London Wetland Centre by the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust.

In a groundbreaking project, Jetwing Hotels created a private nature reserve consisting of a wetland system with lakes and reed beds. The 36 dwellings of Jetwing Vil Uyana are set within these environs of paddy, forest, water, garden and marsh. Creating a unique experience, the paddy fields of Jetwing Vil Uyana are seeded and harvested seasonally in a tradition going back to ancient Sri Lanka. This exciting eco-luxury resort thereby creates a unique approach to eco-living in an atmosphere of rural simplicity combined with the lavish comforts of the present day to experience a stay hard to forget.

Jetwing Vil Uyana is a nature lover’s paradise – the vast variety of biodiversity that have adopted the property as their own is truly spectacular. Spread over an expanse of 28 acres, the unique placement of dwellings and main buildings gives as much space as possible for nature to thrive. Along with the elusive Gray Slender Loris that has made grounds of Jetwing Vil Uyana its home, currently there are 36 species of butterflies, 120 species of birds, and 20 species of mammals.

 The main Restaurant and the reception area...

 In the night....

Different types of echo friendly accommodation...

Sigiriya Rock at a distance....

 Grey headed Fish Eagle

This is the access path right round the villas and the mode of transport is by electric Buggies.

Woolly necked Stork

 Rose ringed Parrat

 Plain Flower Pecker

Stork billed Kingfisher

 Lot of Pea hens but Peacocks were rare..

 

 The migrant Indian Pitta.....

 Night Capture....

The Jungle Fowl

Languor Monkeys

 Olive backed  Sun Bird

 The White Eye....

 Sri Lanka Paradise Flycatcher

 Black headed Golden Oriole

 Common Iora

A White Fronted  Water hen with chicks

 A resident Crocodile

THE ENDANGERED BARN OWL....

I was fascinated by this bird when I got the chance to photograph inside the "THIVANKA IMAGE HOUSE" in Polonnaruwa a couple of years ago though the picture was not a good one. Subsequently there were records of Barn Owl been seen in the suburbs of Colombo in Kirulapana and Hulftsdorp.
 In fact after I was told that the Museum was a potential location   I even got permission to roam around and was told that one was seen inside for  some time a couple of years back. In November 2017, I got a chance to photograph this Barn Owl through a contact in the outskirts of Colombo.

Visit to KAUDULLA National Park

I visited Kaudulla with my family and two other families in the last week of October 2017 and managed to see over 90 Elephants.