Canoeing & Kayaking

Canoeing or Kayaking on the Kalpitiya Lagoon is great fun as you can paddle up and down the vast lagoon or if you are adventurous enough to paddle up to the tributaries then you will experience even more nature.  The scenery along the bank of the lagoon is spectacular as you will pass tropical forests filled with plants and occasional flowers.  The exotic flora in the Wilpattu area is only second to the wonderful variety of birds and reptiles you will see.  The Dutch and Portuguese bays are dotted with islands and swampy marshlands through which you have to navigate very carefully in order to not disturbing the marsh dwelling of fish and reptiles like water monitors.           

Dugong Watching in the Lagoon

Kalpitiya is located at the mouth of the Puttalam Lagoon, beyond which is the Gulf of Mannar and to the West in the Indian Ocean where you can observe whales and dolphins, as they pass by to their mating grounds. Within the lagoon, there are several largish islands that can be visited by boat. In the shallow waters around these islands and elsewhere in the gulf lives the dugong, the mysterious and elusive marine mammal that is believed to have spawned the legend of the mermaid. The largest specimens are supposed to come from the Kalpitiya area, for as James Emerson Tennent remarks in Ceylon (1859): One of the most remarkable animals on the coast is the plant eating dugong, numbers of which are attracted to the inlets, from the bay of Calpentyn (Kalpitiya) to Adam’s Bridge (that connected to India), by the still water and the abundance of marine algae in these parts of the gulf. One, which was killed in Mannar and sent to James Emerson in Colombo in 1847, measured upwards of seven feet in length, but specimens considerably larger have been taken at Calpentyn.     

National Park, the island’s largest wildlife sanctuary, where you can find one of the highest concentrations of leopard in the world, along with myriad of other wildlife, is two hour’s drive away by road or one hour by boat from Divyaa Resort. spotting or wild buffalo that have stopped for a drink.Take a Boat to Wilpattu

Sometimes if you dare to wade up to the Wilpattu National Wildlife Park by boat from Divyaa Lagoon, you may be lucky you to see elephants, deer, wild boar spotting or wild buffalo that have stopped for a drink. Wilpattu National Park, the island’s largest wildlife sanctuary, where you can find one of the highest concentrations of leopard in the world, along with myriad other wildlife, is  two  hour’s drive away by road or one hour by boat from Divyaa Resort.