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Rafting
Experience the thrills and spills of an exciting rafting adventure
in a jungle paradise. Rafting mixes the ups and downs of rapids
with calm sections perfect for looking at the tea and rubber
plantations or mountains covered in jungle rainforest. In one
section all you can hear is the pounding water rushing through
the rapids and the faint cry of the guide’s instructions.
In the next only the chirping birds break the silence as you
breathe in the wilderness.
Around the next corner village women do their washing and giggle
when you jump out of the raft to cool off. It’s easy to
lose yourself in thought at the remoteness of the river and
the community. But the next set of rapids quickly concentrate
them as, helmet and paddle at the ready, you are pushed through
the section in a whir of excitement and accompanied by screams,
cheers and a quickly beating heart. Look back to see what you’ve
accomplished but be careful: the jungle views may sweep you
away.
Rafting is based in the hill country and the best rivers descend
from Adam’s Peak, a 2,243m mountain which locals believe
was the first place Adam set foot on earth. Rafting options
range from a one-hour ride in the Kelani River at Kitulgala,
an ideal spot for beginners, to the “experienced paddlers
only” rivers of Kotmale, Mahaweli and Kal.
Canoeing
Paddling a canoe can be the most practical way to discover
Sri Lanka’s country rivers, jungles, swamps, lagoons and
canals.
For jungle river canoeing there is a rewarding journey from
the Sinharaja Forest Reserve to the coastal town of Kalutara.
It can be done as a day or an overnight trip and is good for
people who have never canoed before but are looking to experience
wilderness and adventure.
Small jungle river tours and riverbank camping are also offered
on the Bo-path Ella waterfalls to Kaluganaga trip.
The lagoon at Bentota is a calm place to paddle in one or two-person
canoes. The more adventurous can pass under the Galle Road bridge
and head upstream in search of water monitors, mangroves and
maybe crocodiles. |
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