Makini Bush Camp Blog

The Sri Lankan elephant (Elephas maximus maximus) is one of three recognized subspecies of the Asian elephant, that's native to Sri Lanka. They're spread across almost every part of the country from the dry low lands to mountains and rainforests. Though they live all over the island, Minneriya, Kaudulla and Udawalawa national parks give ample opportunities to see and photograph Sri Lankan Elephants in large herds. Elephants eat almost every part of the tree and have a particular interest in aquatic plants like Lotus and Water Lillies. They eat up to 150-200 kilograms of vegetation every day. Sri Lankan Elephants are considered as the most intelligent elephant variety. They have 90% of the brain developed when they are born and can adapt to any environment in no time. Elephants, in general, are known to be led by the matriarch because the eldest (female) elephant, the most experienced one in a herd knows where to find water at different times of the year. However, if you take Sr

Yala homes the only bear species found in the Sri Lankan wilderness, the Sri Lankan sloth bear ( Melursus ursinus inornatus ) which is a subspecies of sloth bear that’s native to Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan sloth bear population is highly threatened and consider as critically endangered due to habitat loss. The current bear population in the wild is a little higher than 500. Yala national park provides ample opportunities to see and photograph the Sri Lankan sloth bear in its native wild habitats. But the best chances to see bears are either during the rainy season or during the Palu season. Sloth bears love to eat termites that live inside termite mounds. They have to break the tough solid structure to put its long mouth in and suck termites off the mound. After the rain, this becomes easier for bears as the mound gets soaked and weakens its structural integrity. If you’re visiting Yala, and want to see bears, your chances will increase if you go in the rainy season, however, that might not

Even though there are some countries still on an uphill battle against the Coronavirus, many other countries are easing lockdown rules and gradually encouraging people to resume work. Some countries, such as  Italy ,  New Zealand , and  Sri Lanka  had gone one step further and laid plans to open borders to resume tourism. The timeline they are looking at falls around July, and according to the chairperson of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, their destination management companies already started getting travel inquiries from various parts of the world. Travelers will still have to go through a security, health, and hygiene check as part of the entry process, and hoteliers will have to abide by new health and hygiene regulations enforced by local governments. Why Sri Lanka? The primary reason to pick Sri Lanka as the top post-coronavirus destination is the way they managed and contain the spread of COVID-19. Sri Lankan government foresaw the threat and took early measures to

Last year Sri Lanka was recognized as the  “Best Safari Destination Outside of Africa”  by Forbes. At a time countries gradually lifting lockdowns and travelers eagerly searching for their first post-corona destination, we hope all wildlife and nature lovers will find this post timely and useful. In Africa, 'Big 5' means the animals that are most aggressive and difficult to hunt on foot, even though many think that it means the animals that are the highest in demand by visitors. Sri Lanka has it’s own 'Big 5' however, unlike in Africa the animals were chosen purely based on the popularity and demand by local and foreign visitors and it consists of both land and sea mammals. Namely, Sri Lanka’s Big5 is the Sri Lankan leopard, Sri Lankan elephant, Sri Lankan sloth bear, the blue whale, and the sperm whale. It’s truly miraculous that a small island paradise like Sri Lanka with an area of just over 65000 km² able to home the world's largest land and sea mammal

Yala national park is located in the southeast part of Sri Lanka boarding the Indian ocean. It’s an area of nearly 1000 square kilometers and primarily composed of forests, grasslands, lakes, and lagoons. Yala homes to many varieties of mammals, birds, reptiles, and other wildlife. Sri Lankan leopard, Sri Lankan elephant, Sri Lankan Sloth bear, many endemic bird species, snakes and pythons are among them. Yala is the best place in the world to spot leopards in natural habitats because of the high density. According to statistics, it is said that there are 18 leopards per 100 square kilometers in Yala, which is the highest in the world. And it’s not just the density that makes Yala the best place to see leopards. Leopards are known as nocturnal and they seldom come out during the day time. One main reason for this is, there are other predators like lions and tigers that hunt leopards, and scavengers like hyenas who steal food and night time give just enough safety and privacy for leopar

The entire world is still in shock even the infection and fatality rates already started the dive. Once the virus threat is controlled, the next big challenge is to recover from the economic crisis caused by global lockdowns. Almost all industries are affected by the crisis one way or another. Among those affected industries Hospitality takes a special place because it generates revenue for local economies directly and creates millions of jobs across all levels. This post primarily targets SMEs in the hospitality industry, travel agents, tour operators, and policymakers and we discuss possible avenues that may lead to a fast recovery of the industry. The recovery of the industry will align with the end of lockdowns. As many experts predict, end of lockdowns will be carried out through several stages, it will be districts first, then states or provinces, and so on. Be prepared to open your office, hotel, or the establishment on the very first chance you get and start laying plans f

Even though this is no time for any celebrations given the Coronavirus pandemic, clean air and growing ozone due to worldwide lockdowns is a bittersweet for all nature and environment lovers. On a day like today it's best if we all can make a promise to ourselves, that even after the pandemic, we will try our utmost to keep the air and water clean. We have done enough to harm the planet and we take the Coronavirus pandemic as a soft slap on the back of humankind. On this day, let's be mindful not to make that same mistake ever again, because the next one from nature could be worse. We wish you well and keep safe! Find us on Instagram at  @makini.bushcamp

Some countries are looking at lifting, rather relaxing post-pandemic curfews and lockdowns and some countries are waiting for the herd immunity to pass the 60% mark and other countries anxiously looking at their flattening curves. Sooner or later, people will be able to go to the grocery again, drive around the neighborhood and take a staycation. Then people will drive a little further and eventually start to go back on vacation. How long will it take for all this to happen? Well, only the virus can tell, however, we optimistically predict that this would happen within the next 2-5 months.  What about jump on a plane and cross the state or the country border? Well, figuring out that is the primary objective of this post. Right now there are two main challenges for air travel. Obviously there's the Coronavirus, and then there's the massive economic hit all airlines around the globe took because of the virus. Virgin Australia and Virgin Atlantic had recently asked for