DAY 11 YALA NATIONAL PARK

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A good recovery ride day for sore quads & calves with a flat 30 km cycle to Kataragama via back roads & a massive lake. The town is a multi faith pilgrimage destination with shrines & religious buildings for Buddhists, Hindus & Muslims alike and rivals Adam's Peak in terms of national importance. The God Mogra sect has history dating back to 200 BC & practice some strange religious beliefs but bring beautiful baskets of fruit as offerings instead of the usual flowers.

During the afternoon we jeeped through the beautiful Yala National Park, home to elephants, leopards, crocodiles, and gorgeous birds of all descriptions. Each exist in a variety of eco-systems from dry semi arid, moist monsoon forests as well as fresh & marine wetlands.

Late in the day, in pursuit of the elusive leopard, we had an adrenaline rush of a different sort. The Jeep suddenly hit a very wet & muddy section of track where we were almost bogged. With full acceleration, the Jeep was slipping from side to side, passengers screaming & felt like it almost turned on it side, much to the seeming delight of the driver.

We didn’t sight the leopard & much to our horror we had to backtrack through the same bog but this time with a little less excitement. A wonderful day was topped with the sight of 3 grazing elephants in the setting sun.

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