Maduru Oya National Park Travel Documentary Film

#safari #overlanding #elephant
Maduru Oya National Park is the third-largest national park in Sri Lanka, covering an area of 58,850 hectares. It is known for its frequent elephant sightings at any time of the day.

There are three entrances to Maduru Oya National Park: one from Mahiyanganaya through Dabana, another from Dehiattakandiya via Henanigala, and a third from the Maduru Oya side itself. This time, we entered through the Maduru Oya entrance.

In the past, the main road from Ampara to Polonnaruwa passed through this park. This means people traveled through the park from Ampara, through Dabana and Vedigama village, then across the park to Aralaganwila and finally to Polonnaruwa. However, the park had not been officially declared at that time. We started our journey along that old road, which begins from the Maduru Oya entrance.

The old road used to be a gravel path, dating back to 1883, coinciding with the creation of the Maduru Oya reservoir and the establishment of the national park. The old road was modified, and today, two additional roads connect to Polonnaruwa: one from Dehiattakandiya and another via Maha Oya. We entered through the old road and reached the reservoir's embankment, a popular spot for elephants.

As we traveled forward, we encountered a solitary male elephant. It's common to find male elephants alone. Later, we encountered another alone male elephant. One of Maduru Oya's unique features is an 8 km road that circles the reservoir. However, due to the recent rains, the water level was high, preventing us from completing the circuit around the reservoir. During our trip, our vehicle got stuck, but fortunately, Ravindra, who was behind us, helped Recover.

As we went a bit further, we saw a mother elephant with a calf. She moved aside as soon as she saw us. The elephants in Maduru Oya are quite shy, probably because they aren't used to vehicles, as fewer Tourists visit this area. Moving forward, we encountered another herd with about 15 elephants, including seven or eight calves. The adult elephants quickly surrounded the calves, indicating a protective behavior.

Ahead, we saw a large Banyan tree. This tree is about 10 feet in diameter at its base, with a massive cavity in the middle through which elephants pass. We traveled about 10-12 km more and came across a junction. Turning right led to Henanigala, and turning left went to Dabana. We chose the left path, hoping to see Unuwathura Langa.

Further ahead, we came across an abandoned school, now mostly overgrown by the forest. This is Kudavila School, one of the remnants of the old villages that lined the old Polonnaruwa road. Moving on, we reached Kadupahara Ella, a significant spot where water from the Mahaweli River flows through a tunnel and is released here.

After the Victoria reservoir in Kandy, the Mahaweli River flows into the Randenigala reservoir and then into the Rantambe reservoir before being released back into the Mahaweli River. This water is carried along the Yoda Ela canal to Wasgamuwa and along the ZD canal to the Loggal Oya reservoir. The Loggal Oya reservoir collects water from both the Mahaweli and Loggal Oya rivers. This water is then carried along the ZD canal to the Ulhitiya reservoir and from there to the Ratkinda reservoir, eventually reaching the Maduru Oya reservoir via a tunnel that cuts through about 3-4 km of mountain. The water from this tunnel emerges at Kadupahara.

Finally, we reached Unuwathura Langa, a watering hole for elephants. We also encountered Thibirana School, another remnant of an old village. We then visited the spot where water from the Ratkinda reservoir is diverted to Maduru Oya. On our way back to the reservoir's embankment, we observed elephants drinking water and even spotted a crocodile.

We are the Travel Weekend team, and our mission is to showcase the hidden beauty of Sri Lanka and discover new overland routes. We provide valuable information on geography, wildlife, animal behavior, environmental protection, travel, off-road tips, and off-road vehicle recovery tips in overlanding. You can watch many overlanding travel documentary films on our channel, featuring places like Wasgamuwa National Park safari, Kumana National Park safari, and Kalukale Deadliest Road.
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00:00 intro
01:07 over partners
01:33 Trip Starting at Aralaganvila
02:35 Road to Maduru Oya gate
04:05 change 4wd hub
04:49 Maduru Oya Entrance
06:45 Maduru Oya tank bund වැව තාවුල්ල Elephant watching
09:22 Recover Nissan Patrol Y61 stuck in mud
13:33 Tea Time
15:56 Ampara Polonnaruwa Old Road
18:50 elephant comb (අලි පනාව)
19:50 Road to Hot springs
19:32 kuda Vila Old school

21:37 Kadu Pahara (කඩු පහර උමං දොරටුව )
22:42 Mahaweli River irrigation scheme
24:28 Road to Hot springs
26:13 Maduru Oya Hot springs
27:58 Thibirana Old School Building (ගරාවැටුණු ගොඩනැගිල්ල)
31:26 Loggal Oya - Maduruoya Tunnel Gate
35:40 Maduru Oya camp site (පඩිපෙල් තුඩාව )
40:00 museums