THE RED EARTH

Visiting Ussangoda National Park

Hello Friends, My name is Aloka and this is my naughty but nice dog Pippin. He goes with me everywhere and we have wonderful adventures together. Have you heard about the Ussangoda National Park which is also the latest National Park in Sri Lanka? It boasts a completely different landscape from our usual national parks and is steeped in history. Want to find out more about it? Let's get exploring.

The Park is one of the newest national parks in Sri Lanka and is the 21st national park to be established in Sri Lanka. It is situated on the Colombo - Kataragama Road near Ambalantota Nonagama Junction in the Hambantota District and is a place of unusual beauty. It has also been designated as an official archaeological site. A larger area of the park is a turf surrounded by shrub lands and the sea is at the Southern border of the park. The single-most unique feature of the park is its red coloured soil, and many believe that it is because of the meteorite that was said to have hit the park. But scientists refute this fact saying that the soil is red coloured because of the high concentration of iron in the area. This is true since you can find many rocks with iron ore on one side along with the red soil.

Due to the composition of the soil, the park does not boast lavish vegetation as other national parks, and it usually has small hardy plants and shrubbery. Also the stunted vegetation is because of the heavy sea breeze that blows through the Park. During the heavy rains of 2015, the rain washed away the soil to expose a prehistoric cave thus prompting authorities to designate the area as an archaeological area of study.

There are several legends related to the area. The site is considered a sacred / forbidden ground for general affairs in local lore. One popular belief is that Ussangoda is a ground of the local demi-god ‘Mangara'. Other beliefs range from religiously rooted backgrounds to the unwritten/alternate history related to Ravana. According to Hindu puranas, Ussangoda was one of the landing strips of Ravana's Pushpaka vimana. Although it is a must-visit destination, many consider it a strange place with its alien-like landscape, but this is what makes our island different and unique. It is to be explored and admired whilst we can. If you are visiting the Park, try to do it early in the morning as the dry, barren vegetation makes a day time visit quite hot and you might not feeling like going exploring.

Until next time have fun in the Sun!