Madu Ganga River Safari
Madu Ganga River Safari Balapitiya is an once in a lifetime experience.
This beautiful Madu Ganga is situated close to the town of Balapitiya in Sri Lanka’s Galle District. The name, meaning “Madu River”, is also spelt “Maduganga” or “Madhu Ganga”.
Halfway between the two popular coastal towns Bentota and Hikkaduwa, the main road A2 crosses the river mouth of the Madu Ganga. Farther upstream, this Madu River forms a complicated network of mangrove swamps and a wide open lake dotted with islets. Both “32 islands” and “64 islands” are promotional names for Madu Ganga Lake, though there are fewer islets. The lake is sometimes called a lagoon. But it’s a river lagoon, the water is only slightly brackish, not as saline as seawater lagoons opening to the ocean.
Madu Ganga could yet be called a freshwater lake. There are only two genuine seawater lagoons on Sri Lanka’s southwestern coast, namely Kalutara and Bentota. All the other so-called lagoons are linked to the ocean not by wide openings but by flowing narrow rivers.
The amphibic landscape of Maduganga is Sri Lanka’s largest remaining mangrove swamp, home to several fish and reptile species. It’s a fantastic birding territory, too. Together with the smaller Random Lake, which is situated closer to the ocean, but further south, and linked with the Madu River by two natural channels, it forms the Madu Ganga Wetland, inhabited by more than 300 species of plants and almost 250 species of vertebrate animals. Due to its rich biodiversity, Madu Ganga was listed under the International Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands. The Convention on Wetlands is named after the city of Ramsar in Iran, where it was signed in 1971.
Boat Ride
Due to its location close to many popular beach resorts, Madu Ganga is a perfect destination for single-day excursions. Spending your holidays in the area between Beruwela and Galle, you should indeed not miss enjoying this scenic boat ride. The Madu Ganga boat safari is an attraction rich in variety indeed. This activity will last for one and a half or two hours, to visit two islets and have time enough for a fish massage. The boat rides are on offer by several competing boat operators near the river mouth, located close to the main road.
Full boat ride itineraries should include the temple “Kothduwa Rajamaha Viharaya” as the furthest point in 5 km distance and also visit Cinnamon Isle on the way and ride through two different stretches of mangrove forests and also come as close as possible to the ocean.
Mangrove Swamps Of Madu Ganga Wetland
Thick mangrove vegetation is prevalent along almost all banks of the Madu Ganga Lake and at its islets in particular. During your boat ride, you should at least two times cross a mangrove thicket gliding under the canopy of the forest tunnels. The mangrove forest covers more than 60 hectares. 14 mangrove species are found in this area. One notable feature at Madhu Ganga is a typical mangrove species called “Rathamilla” by Sinhalese people, it’s Lumnitzera littorea, a species of the genus which is known as “black mangrove”. Despite its English name, the beautiful flowers are intensively red, the Sinhala name “rathu” refers to the red colour.
Due to its mangrove marshes, Madu Ganga is of high ecological significance, being home to 31 reptile species, namely snakes, lizards, and crocodiles. There are also over 50 species of butterflies and 25 species of molluscs found in the Madu Ganga Wetland. 20 per cent of Sri Lanka’s amphibian species occur here, including narrow-mouthed frogs, aquatic frogs and tree frogs.
Fish Massage Spas
Madu Ganga boat tours provide the opportunity of experiencing a natural fish massage. There is now more than one fish spa located within the Madu Ganga Wetland area. But a local fish farm owner introduced fish spa therapy only recently, after having seen similar facilities in Thailand. It is quite popular in Cambodia and Vietnam, too.
Fish spa therapy is a natural foot massage from hundreds of fish. Sitting on a pier, you only have to plunge your feet into the water. Fish soon nibble away the callused epidermis, only the dead scarf-skin of your feet. Visitors arriving by boat pay a small fee for this experience. You should keep your feet in the fish spa for at least 10 minutes.
Doctor Fish
There are different kinds of doctor fish available there to choose from. Generally, there are two species of fish used in fish spas. The genuine doctor fish is Garra Rufa from the Middle East. They have been integrated into medical treatments because they feed on the skin of patients with psoriasis, alleviating the symptoms of this chronic disease. Another species used in fish spa therapy is Mozambique Tilapia. The difference is that the latter have teeth. Nevertheless, Tilapia treatment isn’t painful, either.
What is unique to Madu Ganga fish spas is that the fish are held in their natural environment. The fish massage does not take place in closed basins like in Thailand but in artificial cage ponds in the river.
The wholesome effects of fish spa therapy are disputed. In several states of the USA, fish spa therapy is prohibited, because the practice is said to be unsanitary. The reason is, that according to cosmetology regulations, medical tools must be sanitized or otherwise discarded after use. However, fish spa therapy is permitted in many Western counties such as Canada and the United Kingdom.
Cinnamon Isle
One cultural main attraction of Madhu Ganga is Kurundu Doowa, also spelt Kurundu Duwa. This translates to “Cinnamon Islet” or “Cinnamon Isle”. It’s also called “Cinnamon Island”, although this latter term is misleading. In the colonial period, “Cinnamon Island” was a name for the entire island of Ceylon. The islet is inhabited by the family of the cinnamon grower G. H. Premadasa, who is kind enough to explain to visitors how to peel cinnamon for the production of cinnamon oil. Mr Premadasa is not the only cinnamon grower in the Madu Ganga area. The cinnamon industry, apart from fishing, is the main source of income for locals.
