Kitulgala

Kitulgala is a small town in the west of Sri Lanka. It is in the wet zone rain forest, which gets two monsoons each year, and is one of the wettest places in the country. Nevertheless, it comes alive in the first three months of the year, especially in February, the driest month. The Academy Award-winning The Bridge on the River Kwai was filmed on the Kelani River near Kitulgala, although nothing remains now except the concrete foundations for the bridge (and, supposedly, the submerged train cars that plunged into the river in the climactic scene). Kitulgala is also a base for white-water rafting, which starts a few kilometres upstream.

Large numbers of people make the excursion from Colombo at weekends to enjoy the beautiful scenery, play in the river, and have an excellent rice and curry lunch at the local restaurants.

The Kelani river is wide at Kitulgala, but it is shallow apart from a deep channel near the opposite bank, so in the drier months it provides a safe and attractive place to swim, wash and play.

The river can be crossed by walking out across the shallows and crossing the deep channel in a dugout canoe, which is stabilised with an outrigger.

Sri Lanka's most recently discovered bird, the Serendib scops owl was originally heard calling by Deepal Warakagoda in these forests.

The hills above the rubber plantations also have mountain hawk eagle, crested treeswift and Layard's parakeet.

The agriculture around Kitulgala is typical of the hilly wet zone. The solitary fishtail palm, Caryota urens, which is called kitul in Sri Lanka, gives rise to the town's name. Its sap is concentrated into a delicious syrup, not dissimilar to maple syrup, and crystallized as jaggery. It is also fermented to make palm wine. The pith is used to make sago, and the fibres to make rope.

Bananas of both red and yellow varieties are grown. The yellow bananas are only some 8 cm long, but are sweeter and tastier than the commercial strains available in the West. Rubber trees are also grown on the higher areas.

Many birders stay at Kitulgala. This area has most of the rainforest bird species that are found at the World Biosphere Reserve at Sinharaja, although in lower numbers. However, the secondary forest and cultivation at Kitulgala is more open than the pristine woodlands of Sinharaja, and elusive endemic species like Sri Lanka spurfowl, green-billed coucal and spot-winged thrush may be easier to see.

Gems of Ceylon

Most tourists who visit Ceylon would like to take away a precious or semi precious stone, or a jewel set with one or more of them as a memento. Colombo has the largest number of reputable jewellery shops in Ceylon. You may care to step in to one of these. Avoid any shops into which a tout tries to drag you. Young travel agent or officials of the tourists board will give you the names of reliable shops.

The gem of Ceylon have been famous since very early times. Fa-Hien in the fifth century A.D speaks of “the great ruby” above the temple of the tooth at Anuradhapura which shines like a bright star by night. Marco polo, the venetian traveler, mentions a ruby which belonged to the king of Ceylon which was “a span in length, without a flaw & brilliant beyond description” this would, of course, be a exaggeration.

In Rathnapura (Gem town) & Ruwanwella (Gem travel) & the area around them, mining for gems has gone on for many centuries. Some gems are got from river travels. On the road to Rathnapura (90.12km from Colombo) one can often see in a paddy field a derrick-like structure erected to raise the gem gravel from pits dug through the alluvium. The gravel is brought up in baskets & washed in a stream. The rough stones are hand-picked by an expert. The cutting & polishing is almost entirely in the hands of Moorish craftsmen. The medieval Chinese called Ceylon gems “ mohammedan stone" it is a speculative business, & it is only when a gem is cut & polished that its real value can be assessed.

Gems found in Ceylon include, sapphires,rubies,cat'seyes,alexandrites,aquamarines,amethysts,topazes,tourmalines,zircons,garnets & moon stones. Diamonds, emeralds, opals & turquoises do not occur naturally in Ceylon : but they have been bought in the past,& are on sale in the shops, pearls, which used to be an important export from Ceylon, are no longer available. They are not of course gems as the term is generally understood, but organic products.

Large sapphires, generally of a deep blue color, are commoner than rubies, Ceylon rubies are not so plentiful or so rich in color as the burmese pigeon- blood rubies. A point to remember is that a species cannot be identified by colour alone. A good colour sense & considerable experience are needed before one can recognize a gem by its characteristic shade of colour. It has to emphasized again that gems should be bought only from reputable merchants, as there is much scope for faking in the business

Some rubies & sapphires have " stars". The phenomenon which produce the star is called asterism. The effect of asterism is brought out when the stones are cut en cabochon ( i.e with a dome-shaped surface) Those stones, when viewed in the direction of the crystallographic axis, display six narrow lines of light, radiating at 60 degrees from centre, in a manner suggesting a star. The whi tish  sheen seen is some rubies & sapphires, due to the vast number of microscopically small canals reflecting light is called "silk"
The cat's- eye in a form of chrisoberyl. When cut en cabochon is shows a very changeable band of light across the done. 

Alexandrite, also a form of chrisoberyl, are green by reflected light & deep red by transmitted light. The aquamarine belongs to the beryl family which also includes the much rarer & more valuable emerald, which is not found in Ceylon. The usual colour in which the aquamarine is found in pale blue & pale green
 
The amethyst is a quartz with a superb purple or violet colour. The topaz is the most popular yellow stone in jewellery. The rose- tinted spinels over shadowed by the ruby. The tourmaline occurs in a wide variety of colors: red,yellow,brown,green,indigo  & jet black. Some are opaque. Moon stones, which are popular in inexpensive jewellery, are less common than they used to be.

The distinction between precious stone & semi precious stones is arbitrary & often depends on the commoner Ceylon gems

Colorless: conundrum( white sapphire) , garnet( rare), quartz,spinel( very rare), topaz,tourmaline,zircon( sometimes called matara diamonds)

Yellow or orange: conundrum( yellow sapphire), garnet, quartz,spinel, topaz, tourmaline, zircon

Brown: garnet,tourmaline,zircoqn

Red & pink: conundrum( ruby & pink sapphire), spinel,garnet,quartz,tourmaline,zircon

Purple & violet: quqartz( amethyst), corundrum( violet sapphire) ,spinel,tourmaline

Blue: corundrum( blue sapphire),aquamarine,spinel,topaz,tourmaline,zircon

Green: aquamarine, conundrums ( green sapphire) ,garnet,topaz,tourmaline

Black: tourmaline,spinel

The government has formed a gem corporation which buys & sells Ceylon gems. Its chief show-room is in York street, the premises formerly occupied by macan markars, the well known gem merchants, just opposite national & grindlay' s bank in the fort colombo.

Ratnapura The City of Gems

Ratnapura lies 101 Km Southeast of Colombo. The scenic route takes you passing paddy fields, rubber plantations and tea estates.

Throughout history, Sri Lanka has been known as a land of gems. King Solomon was said to have procured a great ruby for the queen of Sheba from Ceylon (Sri Lanka's former name). Marco Polo (1293 AD) wrote about the ruby that once graced the Ruwanweliseya Dagoba at Anuradhapura..."a flawless ruby a span long and quite as thick as a man's fist".

Sri Lanka has produced three of the world's largest blue sapphires, including the 'Blue Bell' which adorns the British crown and the 'Star of India', displayed at the New York Museum of Natural History.

A visit to one of the museums or many gem workshops will give you the opportunity to see a variety of precious stone, such as rubies, sapphires, cat's eyes, alexandrites, aquamarines, tourmalines, spinels, topaz, garnets, amethyst, zircons etc. You could also visit one of the gem mines.
Temple in the sky

Ratnapura is situated at the foot of the 2243 metre high Adam's Peak. All four major religions claim Adam's Peak as a holy mountain. Buddhists call the mountain Sri Pada (the sacred footprint), or Samanalakande (Butterfly Mountain) and believe the Lord Buddha has visited the mountain and set his sacred footprint. Hindu's say it's Lord Shiva's and Muslims believe that it is the place where Adam first set foot on earth, after being cast out of heaven. Catholics say it is of St. Thomas' the Christian Apostle who preached in South India.

Ratnapura is also the staring point for the 'Classic' Hard route up Adam's Peak, via Gilimale and Carney estate. The Pilgrimage season starts on Poya (full moon) day in December and runs until the start of the South-West Monsoon in April. It has been a pilgrimage centre for over a 1000 years. King Parakramabahu and King Nissanka Malla of Polonnaruwa provided ambalamas or 'resting places' for weary pilgrims along the mountain route. The other more popular route is through Dalhousie (pronounced 'Del-house') close to Dickoya.
Other routes to Adam's Peak.