First published: 10/09/13.

Anonymous

Sinharaja Forest

Sinharaja Forest (Inscribed)

Sinharaja Forest by Randi Thomsen

We arrived via two local buses and a tuk tuk from Deniyaya where we stayed at the comfortable but negotiably priced (we were quoted muchly on-line compared to non bookers)Rainforest Lodge. Local buses are around 60rps and tuk tuk was 400 but we still had a 2km walk on rutted muddy tracks to get to the ticket office which was unmanned. The entry fee was supposed to be 550rps each. We thought to pay at the information centre but 200m along the riverside track, we were held up literally by two hostile fellows abusing us for no paying and demanding we return to the ticket office which was now occupied by a self-righteous woman saying she just stepped out to the toilet and we should have waited. The guide from the Rest House near our accomodation back in Deniyaya threatened us with police action for breaking the law by entering a park without paying. We glady offered to pay and attempted a self-defence of no-one there to take our money but the abuse continued and they insisted we return and pay also for a guide for 1100rps additional to the 1100rps entry fee for two. We did not want the guide who spoke not a word of English nor did we feel the track to the information office was so hard to navigate we needed someone to take us there. We had no intention of going deeper into the forest to the waterfall. I had researched the park and there was little to see we had not seen elsewhere in greater splendour aka Mulu in Borneo and knew spotting endemic species would be hit and miss mostly miss (we saw same on village roads in any case including leeches). More monkeys and wildlife around the town than in parks. For tourists this is not worth the trouble getting here for what you see and have to put up with beaurocratically and terrible roads and rough paths. In any case, the entry points should be navigable by transport to conserve much needed energy in the heat to get deeper into the forest on foot.

Comments

No comments yet.

Log in to post a comment