Kitulgala

Kitulgala is a small town in the west of Sri Lanka. 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. Kitulgala is also a base for white-water rafting, which starts a few kilometers upstream and is also popular as a location for adventure-based training programs.

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 stabilized with an outrigger. The hills above the rubber plantations also have mountain hawk eagle, crested treeswift and Layard’s parakeet.