Activities

Jungle Trekking — Belilena, The Forest & The Filming

Guided treks through Makandawa Rain Forest to Belilena Caves, endemic wildlife trails, and the Bridge on the River Kwai filming location in Kitulgala.

Overview

The Makandawa Forest Reserve is one of Sri Lanka's richest and most unspoiled rainforests — 1,155 hectares of rare endemic flora and fauna near Kithulgala, one of the island's great adventure centres. It hides the Belilena Cave, a prehistoric treasure, and is the same rainforest where the 1957 film The Bridge over the River Kwai was shot. Belilena Caves: The habitation of the Balangoda Man, who lived between 32,000 and 9,000 years ago and used advanced techniques and tools to hunt and survive. Skeletal remains dated to 16,000 years ago are among the oldest in the world. The Forest: A secondary lowland rainforest with crystal clear natural rock pools, waterfalls, challenging trails through thick tropical jungle, and the Kelani River running right through the wilderness — superb for hiking, birdwatching, and butterfly watching. Rare fish include the Asoka Barb, Black Ruby Barb, Black-lined Barb, and Stone Sucker. Among 54 rare bird species are the Sri Lankan Orange-billed Babbler, Green billed Coucal, Chestnut-backed Owlet, Yellow-fronted Barbet, Ceylon jungle & spur fowl, Layard's Parakeet, Ceylon Lorikeet, Common Hill Mynah, Black-rumped Flameback, Sri Lankan Crested Drongo, Ceylon Grey Hornbill, and Sri Lankan Brown-capped Babbler, plus endemic butterflies, dragonflies, and reptiles. The Grizzled-tailed giant squirrel is commonly seen; the Red Slender Loris is more rarely spotted. During monsoon seasons the Kelani River runs wild and wide — locals traditionally cross with dugout canoes fitted with outriggers. The Filming: The Bridge over the River Kwai was an award-winning 1957 British-American war film shot in the jungles of Makandawa. Though based on a bridge in Thailand, the actual shooting took place in the Kithulgala region, where a wooden bridge was built across the Kelani River especially for the production and later dismantled to protect the ecology. An innocuous old wooden sign on a lonely narrow trail in Makandawa still directs visitors to the filming location.