MANNAR ISLAND

BEST FOR: Shorebirds and gulls would have flown over 6,500km from Arctic Russia.

DRIVE TIME FROM COLOMBO: 5 hours.

WHAT’S NEARBY? Wilpattu National Park. Mannar is also great for kite surfing.

Mannar Island is like one large nature reserve. Together with the complex of estuaries and other coastal wetlands on the adjoining mainland, it is an internationally important migratory stop over for wading birds. There is a high density of the nocturnal grey slender loris on the island.