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Wild heritage
Lankika de Livera explores Wilpattu and historic Kudiramalai
On the northern tip of the Wilpattu National Park is the cliff called Kudiramalai or Horse Point as it was known in ancient times. Legend has it that this is the place that Prince Vijaya landed — on the copper coloured sands of "Thambapanni" or Serendib as Ceylon was known at the time. Kudiramalai had been a hive of activity in bygone times as this point, upwards till Vanakalai — 20 miles into the sea — had been the most famous pearl banks in the country.

Author Harry Williams in his book "Ceylon – Pearl of the East" writes that "Many centuries before the birth of Christ, Chinese writers praised the size and purity of the pearls of Lanka. The Mahawamsa of the sixth century B.C. mentions that King Vijaya sent his father-in-law presents of chanks and pearls. The Mahawamsa also mentions that King Devenipiyatissa in 306 B.C. styled himself Lord of Pearl Fishing. The great traveller Pliny mentions that the Indians seek for pearls in Taprobane.”

Pearl fishing was carried on in the Gulf of Mannar from ancient times to British colonial days, although present generations may not be aware of it. Within the Wilpattu National Park are many historical and archaeologically important sites apart from the wildlife itself. Wilpattu means the Land of Lakes. There are 40 major "villus" or lakes in the park. They are actually depressions on the earth's surface containing rainwater.

Just 30 km west of Anuradhapura, Wilpattu lies in the northwest coast and is 131,693 hectares in extent, situated between the North Western Province and the North Central Province. It is two years now since the park was reopened, having been closed earlier for 17 years due to security reasons.

Wildlife had dwindled due to the war and many other reasons. The lucky ones have seen leopard and bear - rare sights. We saw spotted deer, sambhur, wild boar, a huge python, crocodiles and a herd of about 30 elephants at a villu. Elephant is not a common sight at Wilpattu. The roads have still to be improved and there are no bungalows to stay in the park anymore. Hence the most suitable way of visiting the park is on a day trip, with the only practical access from Colombo being via Negombo, Chilaw and Puttalam.

Kudiramalai is 53 km from the park entrance, a protrusion into the Gulf of Mannar, on the west coast. The famous pearl banks are situated in the sea between this point and Arippu which is further north. After driving through the jungle for hours in the mid-afternoon, the sudden vista of the royal blue sea is breathtakingly beautiful.

Growing profusely by this area are "palu" and "weera" trees with fruit delicious to taste. Palu is bright yellow and weera cherry red. The juicy palu in particular tastes like cherries. It is no wonder that our sloth bears are known to relish these berries and get drunk on them once they have fermented. Many are the tales of jungle adventurers who have met bears drunk after eating palu and weera fruits.

The reddish-copperish coloured sand at Kudiramalai lies in various rock-type formations. Former Director General of the Archaeological Department, Dr. Siran Deraniyagala explained that these deposits contained ancient pre-historic man's habitations, which had been covered by shore deposits like beach sand over many, many years. He estimates they could date back to between a 100 to a 1,000 or even 20,000 years. Similar deposits occur in Yala and Bundala too where there is evidence of the deposits having been the habitation of pre-historic man, he says.

It is claimed that over a thousand years ago, a Roman ship sailed in to Kudiramalai with a freedman who came ashore and was received by the King. The freedman called this cliff Hippuros- the Horse Mountain. When the winds changed, he left the haven of its bay taking with him, the first ambassadors to leave our shores to Rome and the court of Augustus Caesar. When they returned to the island, they brought back with them coral from the Mediterranean which King Bhatikabhaya(19 B.C. to 9 A.D.) had cast into a net with which he decorated the Ruwanveli Seya.

Here, history is buried ankle deep and is fleetingly exposed by the erosion of sweeping winds and the currents of the sea. Here at the foot of the cliff, legend claims, was the sprawling palace of the beautiful princess Alliarasany. Pliny spoke of a large settlement visited by the sailors of Rome. Civilizations, thousands of years old, lie buried here.

Veteran bird photographer Dr. T.S.U. de Zylva and Nihal Fernando of Studio Times both say that in the early sixties when they visited Kudiramalai, they saw traces of a huge statue of a horse and a man holding its reins. The horse's front legs were in mid air. They claim that the foot mark of the horse and a few traces of the man (the statue facing the sea) had been there from ancient times, though there are no traces of it to be seen now. They lament that the Archaeological Department should have taken steps to protect these ruins, including the mounds of rock formations dating back thousands of years.

The remaining mounds of earth are also in danger of being destroyed by sightseers who may not know their value. Across the sea at Kudiramalai one can see the islands of Baththalangunduwa and Palliya Wasala. Inhabitants of these islands are mostly fishermen and their livelihood is making dried fish.

The road to Kudiramalai, however, is tricky and arduous on the sinking sands and a four wheel drive vehicle is a must. On our way there, we came to the rescue of a double cab belonging to the Archaeological Department which had got stuck in the sand. Their four wheel drive had given way and they had been at this point many hours till we happened to pass by.

Twelve km southwards one comes across another archeologically significant place where there are about ten tall stone pillars that remain standing. These ruins are commonly believed to be is left of Kuveni's palace. We stopped at the Maradanmaduwa bungalow (only a ruin now) where we had camped last year and a tame sambhur came running to the jeep to be fed some tidbit (although it is not allowed). This same sambhur stole my packet of biscuits and ate my bathing soap last August. It is adorable, but has to be handled with care or it snaps!

As we stopped for a break by the Kanjuran Villu camp sites, we climbed the tree house to enjoy a spectacular view across the blue villu and the peace and tranquillity of the wilderness.

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