About this experience
Chundikulam National Park sits on the narrow strip of land linking the Jaffna Peninsula to the rest of Sri Lanka, with the Indian Ocean to its east and the vast Jaffna Lagoon to its west. The lagoon at its heart — a shallow, saline expanse covering around 135 square kilometres — was first protected as a bird sanctuary on 25 February 1938, making it one of Sri Lanka's longest-standing wildlife refuges. In 2015 the site was formally upgraded to a national park and now falls under the care of the Department of Wildlife Conservation. The result is a place where decades of protection have accumulated into something quietly extraordinary: around 136 bird species have been recorded here, a great many of them migratory.
The park's habitats are what give it that species range. Mangrove swamps fringe the lagoon's edges, seagrass beds extend into the shallows, and behind them the land opens into salt marshes, thorny scrublands, dry forests, and palmyra palm plantations — the tall, fan-leaved palms that are as characteristic of this part of Sri Lanka as the birds themselves. The dry zone climate keeps the vegetation low and open, meaning sightlines across the water are long and unobstructed. It is this combination of lagoon, mudflat and scrub that draws such a wide range of waders and waterbirds, from the delicate marsh sandpiper and terek sandpiper to the large, stately Eurasian spoonbill and painted stork. Greater flamingos gather here in numbers during the migratory season — the photographs from this experience capture flocks of hundreds, standing chest-deep in pale blue water at dawn, their pink and white plumage catching the early light.
The full species list documented at Chundikulam covers both resident and migratory birds in remarkable variety. Among the waders are bar-tailed godwit, black-tailed godwit, black-winged stilt, common sandpiper, curlew sandpiper, Eurasian coot, Eurasian curlew, Eurasian teal, Eurasian wigeon, garganey, gull-billed tern, northern pintail, ruff, shoveler, and wood sandpiper. Open-billed and painted storks congregate on the grassy banks at the water's edge, and black-headed ibis wade through the reed margins. Brown-headed gulls work the open water overhead. The park also holds a resident mammal population that includes leopard, sloth bear, spotted deer, mugger crocodile, and water monitor lizard, making the journey between viewpoints as worthwhile as the viewpoints themselves.
This experience runs as a private excursion and includes the commentary and guidance of a knowledgeable naturalist guide throughout. The best conditions for birdwatching fall between November and February, when migratory species are at their most numerous and the weather across Sri Lanka's northern dry zone is reliably clear and settled. Visitors are advised to wear comfortable, lightweight clothing and a wide-brimmed hat or billed cap — the open lagoon offers little shade and the northern sun is strong even on cooler mornings. Gratuities and food or drink are not included in the booking, so it is worth coming prepared for a morning in a working wilderness far from any refreshment stop.
