A glimpse of the enchanting river that is called ‘Madu River’ or ‘Madu Ganga’

‘Madu River’ is located 80 kilometers from Colombo in Balapitiya, along the country’s southern coast, within the Galle District of the Southern Province of Sri Lanka. It opens to the Indian Ocean Madu lagoon is a very wide and a beautiful lagoon in Sri Lanka. It is in the wet zone of Sri Lanka with a high bio-diversity. Madu River has been proclaimed a Ramsa wetland in the world in 2004.

The bio-diversity of the Madu River is of monumental signification when considering the wide ranges of aquatic and avian life as well as wetland dwelling amphibians, reptiles, mammals that inhabit the environs of this natural treasure. A total of 11 species of agnatic mollusks and 14 land dwelling mollusks are found in this system. 70 species of fish, 31 types of reptiles, and 50 kinds of butterflies are just some of the colorful array of wildlife that inhabits this abundantly bustling eco-system.
Bird watchers will be pleased to know that 111 species of bird have been identified in the mangrove formed environs of the river, and has been known to host several types of migratory birds.

Take a magical speed-boat ride down the beautiful Madu River, a wetland estuary spreading over 900 hectares of which 770 hectares are covered with water and inhabited with 64 islands. The boat ride is a wonderful way to take a closer look at this complex wetland ecosystem; a world heritage site protected by the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands being one of the last wetlands in Sri Lanka to contain a pristine mangrove forest.