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Aluth Aurudu is an important national holiday for both the cultures of the Sinhalese people and the Tamil people of Sri Lanka. The celebrations are given wide coverage and patronage from state owned media as well as private media. Although it is being promoted as a national or cultural event, due to the fact that it is based on astrology, the Christians & Muslims that do not follow astrology tend to either totally refrain from celebrations, or do the minimum required to maintain the social connections with Sinhalese people and Tamil people.

The date upon which the Sinhala new year occurred, while determined by astrological calculations, also tends to coincide with one of the paddy harvest seasons. For farming communities, the traditional new year is a festival of harvest as well.

A type of cuckoo bird, the Asian Koel, has a strong association with the new year celebrations in traditional literature around the festival. The mating season of the bird roughly coincides with the festival season. The mating call of the male is regarded as a heralding sign of the traditional new year. This bird is known as the Koha in Sri Lanka by the Sinhala language. The melodious call Koo-ooo of the male bird is heard through out Sri Lanka during the breeding season of the bird that roughly spans from March to August.

UDAWALAWE NATIONAL PARK

UDAWALAWE NATIONAL PARK is located approximately 200 km south-east of Colombo city and is a major eco tourism destination in Sri Lanka . The 30,821 hectares dry zone game park has an annual rainfall of 1524 mm and an average temperature of 29.4°C.

It is most famous for the many elephants that live there (about 400 in total). During a visit, it is not unusual to see whole herds of adults and young elephants– feeding or bathing and playing in the water! In addition to this main attraction, the park is home to many water buffalo, water monitor lizards, sambar deer, monkeys and the occasional leopard, as well as being an exciting location for bird enthusiasts                                                       A 4WD open-top safari is the only way to see all the wonders that this protected reserve has to offer and our experienced and knowledgeable nature guides will make this an unforgettable experienceThis park is very famous for the Elephants (Elephas maximus). There are herds of elephant feeding in the grasslands. The Sambar deer (Carvus unicolor), Spotted deer (Carvus axis), Muntjac (Muntiacus muntjak), wild boar (Sus scrofa) and water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) are re-establishing themselves. Other mammals include: toque macaque (Maccaca sinica) endemic, common langur (Presbytis entellus), jackal (Canis aureus), toddy cat (Paradoxurus hermaphroditis), leopard ( Panthera pardus)and black- napped hare (Lepus nigricollis) and small Indian civet cat (Viverricula indica), endemic golden palm civet cat ( Paradoxurus zeylonensis) , three species of mongoose (Herpestes fuscus), (H. smithi) and (H. vitticollis), an endemic shrew (Suncus sp.), gerbil (Tatera sp.), rat (Rattus rattus kandianus , soft- furred rat (Millardia meltada), Indian bush rat (Golunda elliotti), mouse (Mus cervicolor) and the endemic (Mus fernandoni)

Bopath Ella Falls

Bopath Ella (Sinhala: බෝපත් ඇල්ල) is a waterfall situated in the Ratnapura District of Sri Lanka. It has a shape very similar to the leaf of the Sacred fig or "Bo" tree, which has earned it this name. The waterfall is a major tourist attraction in the country. Local myths say that it is haunted and that it hides a treasure trove.

Bopath Ella
Location	Ratnapura, Sri Lanka
Coordinates	6°48′N 80°22′E
Total height	30 metres (98 ft)
Watercourse	Kuru Ganga

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