Ussangoda National Park – The Land of Red Soil
Hi guys, hope you are doing well. Today I’m going to take you to somewhere in the Southern Beach. That is Ussangoda National Park, which is situated by the sea. Just because it is a National Park, it is not like Udawalawe, Yala or Wilpattu national parks. It is a unique kind of national park.
Why is Ussangoda National Park Unique?
There is a large open turf area and shrublands around it and in the south border, there is the beach. The park consists all these. Even though there are only shrublands, there are said to be a number of types of animals. But the most special thing about Ussangoda National Park is, it has red soil. Yes, you heard it correct, red soil! Some areas are reddish and some areas are genuinely red.
There are various stories that tell how the soil became red. Folklore says that the great battle between ‘Ravana and Rama’ was taken place here. And massive amount of blood that shed on land caused the soil to be red.
Another opinion is (which is more scientific than the first one), a meteoroid has hit this place and the excessive heat generated, made the soil red.
Anyhow, apart from the stories, the real reason for the red soil, according to Wikipedia, is the high concentration of Ferric Oxide.
According to Wikipedia, Ussangoda National Park is the 21st and the newest national park in Sri Lanka. Its beach is an important breeding ground for Sea Turtles. Further, there are said to be some important archeological sites. All these factors result in pronouncing Ussangoda as a national park. You might remember I talked about another one of the newest national parks in Sri Lanka before.
The turf area is really beautiful. There are millions of tiny flowers all around the area.
OK, now let’s move onto the beach. To reach the beach you have to walk along a footpath among the shrubs. Note that there are several footpaths among shrubs, but only one takes you to the sea easily.
The land is higher than the sea level, so you will have to climb down a bit to reach the beach. The beach is so beautiful.
But let me warn you, the sea is totally unsafe for bathing. The slope of the beach is steep and the tides are heavy. I repeat, do not try to bath here.
On the way back from the beach, we saw some rabbits. Couldn’t catch them, since they hid quickly.
How to Reach…?
If you are interested in visiting Ussangoda National Park, here is the exact location.
Kalametiya beach (another beautiful beach), is also situated nearby this.
Click below to view the complete set of (larger) images.
So that is about Ussangoda National Park. Feel free to leave a comment if you have any queries. See you in the next article.
