Dining too, is an adventure with Explorer by Mahoora at Dambana.

At nightfall, we make your wild dinner experience a little extra special with Kiri Koraha dance by the indigenous community (Veddas).  Listen to the campsite come alive with chanting and the beat of the dancers around the campfire, taking you back in time to an era that seems rather impossible to have existed.

Your wild dining is set up within the campsite, and meals are freshly prepared on-site by our executive chef. Menus are deliciously local and carefully designed for your palate, so your culinary journey sweetly complements the rest of your adventure.

Maduru Oya National park has its unique features that you would come across in the game drive. The abundance of tall grasses hide at times the most gigantic elephants. The Park is untamed but bears evidence of once upon a time life that existed. Dilapidated schools and remnants of buildings can be seen in some places making you wondering as to what life may have been prior to the implementation of the Mahaweli programme.

The Mahaweli Development Programme, a national programme committed to the full development of Sri Lanka’s water resources for irrigation and hydropower, was implemented in 1975. This programme was to last 30 years. Under the Accelerated Mahaweli Programme (AMP) - a revision to the original scheme - 12 projects were undertaken to complete within 6 years, including Maduru Oya.

Maduru Oya was identified as a feasible location to provide irrigation water, in order to settle some 35,000 farming families. The soil was ideal for both paddy cultivation and crop cultivation such as: sugarcane, cotton, pulses, groundnuts, etc.

Game Drives 

game drives at maduru oya national parkGame drives let you explore your new home at the Maduru Oya National Park. Jeep safaris let you experience everything from an elephant roaming the tall grass to a range of bird life.

Maduru Oya has its unique features that you would come across in the game drive. The fishing village that is situated in the midst of the Park gives you the opportunity to get first hand experience the way this isolated  community lives in the Park. What’s more, you are one of the privileged guests - to take back to the campsite - the day’s catch; whether it be a freshwater prawns or lake fish, so that the chef on site can make a delicious dish for the night.

The remains of the brilliance of Nagha (Cobra) Tribe - 3000 years ago

Mahawamsa and Deepavamsa speak of the Buddha’s second visit to Sri Lanka, to settle a dispute between two Nagha kings. The Nagha tribe is said to have been skilled and possessed great expertise in the areas of agriculture and irrigation.

As the Mahaweli development project spread to Maduru Oya in 1983, with the objective of irrigating most parts of Sri Lanka, part of the Aadivasi community from Dambana was relocated to Henanigala.

The community today engages in farming and lead a simple life. You can catch a glimpse of their lives with us as they take you through a forest’s patch and showcase some of their skills. Or you may just get the opportunity to spend time and understand their culture as we invite them to spend a night with us at Explorer by Mahoora campsite.

It's the home to a small community of fishing families who embark upon early morning fishing trips hours in the Maduru Oya reservoir. Pastel shade sail boats and canoes steadily anchored on the shore after the morning voyage is eye candy indeed. The relaxed atmosphere in celebrating the day’s catch is unforgettable, You may walk around the shore and have a look at the fresh catch from fish to freshwater prawns -  that are as big as lobsters.

What’s more,  we may just fulfill your culinary fantasy by taking some to be grilled on the BBQ for dinner.

Facts

Explorer by Mahoora is a highly unique and immersive experience of living with untamed Sri Lankan wildlife inside National Parks, Nature Reserves and on the borders of National Parks/ Nature Reserves across the country.

Our Private Tented Safari Camp Experience in Dambana is tailor-made to experience the livelihood of indigenous people of Dambana ( Vedda Community). It is carefully designed to interact with a selective group of the indigenous community who still preserve their traditional way of life, as such giving you a truly private, non touristic and unique experience.

The Explorer by Mahoora Campsite is situated adjacent to a lake that is naturally beautiful. The evenings are breathtaking when hues of pink and blue paint the evening sky in broad and vibrant strokes. It is a place to lie down or sit back and relax, enjoy an afternoon cup of tea and and simply watch the skies turn to darker shades of blue, as birds fly back home saying farewell to the day.

At nightfall, we make your wild dinner experience a little extra special. Listen to the campsite come alive with chanting and the beat of the dancers around the campfire, recreating a scene that must have echoed through the forests in a bygone era; full of gusto and rhythm.

Explorer by Mahoora is for the adventurer who is looking for a sense of comfort and glamour in the midst of wilderness. The tent (15.6’x 8’) is equipped with a bedroom and an en-suite bathroom along with a private veranda/porch outside the tent.

Experiencing the lives of indigenous tribal community in Dambana is not confined to observing their lives. In fact, you get to be part of those experiences: as you walk in the forests and take part in novel activities such as looking for beehives and yams, you will both get a sense of this unique living style as well as wonder how these people live in nature. You may venture further and try your hand at using some of their traditional equipments, such as bow and arrow and learn to ignite a fire the old-fashioned way.

The Maduru Oya National Park

Just beyond the Wasgamuwa National Park, lies a jewel not quite caught in the limelight; the Maduru Oya National Park. Situated in the eastern province of Sri Lanka, it is a formidable expanse of over 58,800 hectares and home to wildlife, ruins and engineering feats.

While the Park finds itself in the dry zone, water systems here make up about 15% of the land area, including the five reservoirs of:  Maduru Oya, Ulhitiya, Rathkinda, NDK, and Henanigala reservoirs, in addition to tributaries of the Mahaweli and Maduru Oya rivers.

What is significant about this Park is not just its biodiversity but its richness in being home to numerous endemic and endangered species, in particular. Elephants are a visible feature in the Park, and herds can be sighted quite frequently. Among the other residents are: the sloth bear, leopard, water buffalo, toque monkey, spotted deer, sambar, porcupine, Indian muntjac, jackal, fishing cat, wild boar, and several other smaller animals. This Park is one of the recorded habitats of the grey slender loris while the European otter has also been reported here.

Not to be outshone, the avifauna is also very varied and stunning to behold.  The white-bellied sea eagle, great cormorant, the painted stork, the black-hooded oriole, woodpecker, and Sri Lanka’s national bird, the jungle fowl, and the malkoha, amongst others, make their presence evident - if not very audible. Interestingly, around the reservoirs, the Asian openbill, spot-billed pelican and the Oriental darter take centre stage, along with the black-headed ibis and the Eurasian spoonbill.   

Moving around in an inconspicuous manner, are the water and common monitor, estuarine and mugger crocodile, the introverted Indian star turtle, and snakes such as the common cobra and black-tailed python. Giant gourami, catfish and snakeheads are just some of the fish found in the reservoirs.

The Park boasts of abundant dry zone vegetation.  Weera, palu, buruta, kaluwara welang, ehela, kumbuk, milla, kone and fruits like beli and woodapple are all found here.