I have taken you to several wetland parks around the country’s capital, Colombo, such as Diyatha Uyana, Beddagana Wetland Park, Diyasaru Park. ‘Urban Wetland Park’ is another such kind of park situated in the middle of a very busy city, so close to the capital.
Urban Wetland Park is situated in Nugegoda, and it is a wetland of Kirulapone Canal. Kirulapone Canal is a branch of Diyawanna Oya, the mother of a number of wetlands. Compared to other wetland parks around Colombo, this is fairly small and not much rich in animal diversity. But it is a great getaway from the rush and the noise of the busy city.
History of Urban Wetland Park
This area is previously used as a market place for sand and bricks. Therefore, the place is also called as ‘Weli Park’ (weli means sand in Sinhalese). But then a few times back, the place is converted to a beautiful wetland park with the involvement of the government. From then, Sri Lanka Navi is maintaining this place.
Front Garden
The front part of the Urban Wetland Park is kind of a botanical garden. A number of beautiful plants and trees are planted in neat patterns throughout the park, along with the well-maintained turfs. Footpaths and benches are created so people can have a walk and be seated. A number of families, groups, couples and singles can be seen enjoying the surround leisurely.
Since the park is maintained by the military, there is an old tank placed in it. And also there is a beautiful lotus shaped pond in the centre of the park.
Professional cameras cannot be used inside the front part of the park without getting permissions. I didn’t bother to get permissions to take photos there. So I took some photos from outside.
The Wetland
Urban Wetland Park also consists of a jogging track around the park. It extends up to more than 1km around the wetland. Waterbody covers both sides of the jogging track. Quite a few Number of birds can be seen in this side. But the animal diversity is not high as other parks I mentioned above, though.
They are so used to people. They came right next to me without any hesitation.
A lot of people can be seen walking or running on this track, especially on weekends. There are also a children’s park and a little play area inside the wetland area.
The yacht in the above picture is a private one called Garton’s Ark Restaurant. It is based in the furthest corner of the park. It is actually a floating restaurant which sails on the waters of Diyawanna Oya. And also they host small parties and functions giving the participants a unique experience.
Further, there are numbers of benches placed at the bank of the canal to have a seat and enjoy the view.
Urban Wetland Park aka Weli Park is really a recommended place, if you need a break from the rush of the city and have a relaxing time. Obviously, it is ideal for exercising for anyone.
Park is open until 10.30 PM. There is no entry fee. But if you would like to do a photo shoot inside the park, there is a fee for that.
How to Reach…?
If you are convinced to visit Urban Wetland Park Nugegoda, here is the location.
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Plenty of parking spaces are available at the park, but on the weekends you might find it difficult to find a parking spot.
So that’s about the Urban Wetland Park, Nugegoda. If you have anything to know about it, just leave a comment below. See you in the next article.