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Highlights
90% endemicity of frogs - 60% threatened - chance to explore many habitats
Iconic species - leopards, sloth bear & elephants
Prolific bird life with numerous endemics
Endemic reptiles
Outline Itinerary
Day
1. Depart UK.
2. Arrive Negombo. To Sinharaja Rainforest.
3. Explore Sinharaja Rainforest.
4. Further photography in Sinharaja.
5. To Nuwara Eliya. Highland exploration.
6. Horton Plains and high elevation forests.
7. Further exploration in the highlands.
8. To the isolated Knuckles Range.
9. Exploration of the Knuckles mountains.
10. Further photography in the Knuckles.
11. Transfer to Wilpattu. Evening exploration in the buffer zone.
12. Full day safari in Wilpattu.
13. Further full day game drive in Wilpattu.
14. Final day of safari in Wilpattu.
15. Return to Negombo for final night.
16. Depart Colombo. Arrive UK.
Cost
TBA
The cost includes:
International flights in Economy class on Emirates from London Heathrow
Transfers in a private minibus with driver and bottled water
Accommodation on a full board basis
Professional herpetology guide
Wild Arena specialist macro photography tour leader
National Park and reserve fees
Departure Dates
November 2024 - dates to be confirmed.
Group size: Maximum 6 persons
Fitness level: You will need to be able spend days leisurely walking around with your camera bag, over rough terrain.
Camera Knowledge: You should have a good working knowledge of your camera, but the Wild Arena guide will be on hand to talk through settings.
Description
In conjunction with photography specialists, Wild Arena we are running a fabulous new tour: ‘Frogs of Sri Lanka’, a rare opportunity to travel to this beautiful country and photograph the breath-taking wildlife. The trip hopes to balance an almost unique level of focus on the frogs and smaller animals found in Sri Lanka, with other nature subjects, culminating in a final 3 days of ‘safari’ style expeditions in Wilpattu, where we will concentrate on iconic, bigger species such as Leopard and Asian Elephant.
Sri Lanka is recognized as an amphibian hotspot globally, there are known to be around 112 species on the island, of which almost 90% are found nowhere else on Earth. Of these 60% are considered threatened across this tropical island and this figure rises to over 70% when the small number of dry zone species are removed from consideration.
In recent times approximately 18 endemic species have been lost from the island for all the usual reasons including climate change and other anthropogenic factors. However, new discoveries are being made, both in the laboratory through genetic analysis, and importantly in the field.
The small group size and abundant support of not only a UK photography guide but also a passionate local herpetologist and drivers, should mean there is more than enough support for everyone to capture some truly memorable images. For the early part of the trip, each location and daily itinerary will be managed to give the optimum amount of picture opportunities and the guides will be working hard to ensure we see as much as possible. The UK Wild Arena photography guide has many years of experience photographing these smaller subjects and a wealth of knowledge surrounding how best to manage the technicalities of capturing images in what can be tricky conditions.
Frogs abound in the variety of habitats that you will explore with your accompanying naturalist and photography guides. Furthermore, should you find anything particularly unusual, your guide also has the backing of local scientists to aid further identification and verification. Time to discover this beautiful tropical island!
Of course, we have also considered the comfort of our guests and throughout the 16-day trip we will stay at various locations in lovely accommodation. These lodges have been chosen to offer the best compromise between convenient location and quality, so we should be relaxed and cared for throughout our visit.
