Beddagana Wetland Park

About Beddagana Wetland Park

Beddagana Wetland Park turns the ancient defences of Kotte into a nature reserve: these marshes were the moat-belt of the medieval capital, and their modern role - soaking up the city's floodwater - earned Colombo its designation as a Ramsar Wetland City. The park threads the reeds and fig thickets with raised boardwalks, watchtowers, and quiet loops where the wetland's residents go about their business a bicycle-bell away from the parliament's roofs: purple herons and pheasant-tailed jacanas, cormorant colonies, kingfishers on the rails, water monitors like patrolling submarines, and - for the patient at dusk - fishing cats, the wetland's secretive top predator. Interpretation panels tell both stories, royal and ecological. Mornings belong to birders and joggers, evenings to families; either way it is the best hour of unforced nature in the capital region, and the natural pairing with the Diyawanna lake circuit next door.

Top Activities

• ✓Boardwalk and watchtower birding
• ✓Water monitor and (lucky) fishing-cat spotting
• ✓The medieval moat-marsh story
• ✓Cycling the wetland loops
• ✓Combine with the parliament lake circuit

Nearby Attractions

Closest Places in This Guide

Straight-line distances; allow considerably longer by road, especially in the hills.

• Independence SquareHeritage · Family · Cultural5 km
• Bellanwila Rajamaha ViharayaCultural · Heritage6 km
• Dehiwala Zoo (National Zoological Gardens)Family · Wildlife6 km
• National Museum of ColomboHeritage · Cultural · Family6 km
• Viharamahadevi ParkFamily · Nature6 km
• Gangaramaya TempleCultural · Heritage7 km

Travel Tips