Kitulgala
Encyclopedia
Kitulgala is a small town in the west of Sri Lanka
. It is in the wet zone rain forest, which gets two monsoons each year, and is one of the wettest places in the country. Nevertheless, it comes alive in the first three months of the year, especially in February, the driest month. 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 (and, supposedly, the submerged train cars that plunged into the river in the climactic scene). Kitulgala is also a base for white-water rafting, which starts a few kilometres upstream.
Large numbers of people make the excursion from Colombo
at weekends to enjoy the beautiful scenery, play in the river, and have an excellent rice and curry
lunch at the local restaurants.
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 stabilised with an outrigger.
Sri Lanka's most recently discovered bird, the Serendib Scops Owl
was originally heard calling by Deepal Warakagoda
in these forests.
The hills above the rubber plantations also have Mountain Hawk Eagle
, Crested Treeswift
and Layard's Parakeet
.
, which is called Kitul in Sri Lanka, gives rise to the town's name. Its sap is concentrated into a delicious syrup, not dissimilar to maple syrup
, and crystallized as jaggery
. It is also fermented to make palm wine
. The pith is used to make sago
, and the fibres to make rope.
Banana
s of both red
and yellow varieties are grown. The yellow bananas are only some 8 cm long, but are sweeter and tastier than the commercial strains available in the West. Rubber trees are also grown on the higher areas.
Many birders stay at Kitulgala. This area has most of the rainforest bird
species that are found at the World Biosphere Reserve at Sinharaja
, although in lower numbers. However, the secondary forest and cultivation at Kitulgala is more open than the pristine woodlands of Sinharaja, and elusive endemic
species like Sri Lanka Spurfowl
, Green-billed Coucal
and Spot-winged Thrush
may be easier to see.
is a 1957 British World War II
film by David Lean
based on the novel The Bridge over the River Kwai by French writer Pierre Boulle
. The film is a work of fiction but borrows the construction of the Burma Railway in 1942–43 for its historical setting. It stars William Holden
, Alec Guinness
, Jack Hawkins
, and Sessue Hayakawa
. The scene creation of the film was done in Sri Lanka
and many of them were at Kitulgala area including the bridge explosion.
In 1997, this film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and selected for preservation in the United States Library of Congress
National Film Registry
.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
. It is in the wet zone rain forest, which gets two monsoons each year, and is one of the wettest places in the country. Nevertheless, it comes alive in the first three months of the year, especially in February, the driest month. The Academy Award
30th Academy Awards
The Oscar for Writing Based on Material From Another Medium was awarded to Pierre Boulle for The Bridge on the River Kwai, despite the fact that he did not know English. The actual writers, Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson were blacklisted at the time and did not receive screen credit for their work...
-winning The Bridge on the River Kwai
The Bridge on the River Kwai
The Bridge on the River Kwai is a 1957 British World War II film by David Lean based on The Bridge over the River Kwai by French writer Pierre Boulle. The film is a work of fiction but borrows the construction of the Burma Railway in 1942–43 for its historical setting. It stars William...
was filmed on the Kelani River
Kelani River
The Kelani River is a river in Sri Lanka. Ranking as the fourth longest river in the country, it stretches from the Sri Pada Mountain Range to Colombo. It covers approximately 80% of the water supply to Colombo. In addition to that, the river is used for transport, fisheries, sewage disposal,...
near Kitulgala, although nothing remains now except the concrete foundations for the bridge (and, supposedly, the submerged train cars that plunged into the river in the climactic scene). Kitulgala is also a base for white-water rafting, which starts a few kilometres upstream.
Features
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
at weekends to enjoy the beautiful scenery, play in the river, and have an excellent rice and curry
Rice and curry
Rice and curry is a popular dish in Sri Lanka and the Southern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.Rice and curry dinner comprises the following:* A large bowl of rice, most often boiled, but frequently fried...
lunch at the local restaurants.
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 stabilised with an outrigger.
Sri Lanka's most recently discovered bird, the Serendib Scops Owl
Serendib Scops Owl
The Serendib Scops Owl is the most recently discovered bird of Sri Lanka. It was originally located by its unfamiliar poo-ooo call in the Kitulgala rainforest by prominent Sri Lankan ornithologist Deepal Warakagoda. Six years later, it was finally seen by him on 23 January 2001 in Sinharaja, and...
was originally heard calling by Deepal Warakagoda
Deepal Warakagoda
Deepal Warakagoda is a prominent Sri Lankan ornithologist. His early working career was in electronics, but for many years he has studied birds and also works as a professional guide for birding tours of the island....
in these forests.
The hills above the rubber plantations also have Mountain Hawk Eagle
Mountain Hawk Eagle
The Mountain Hawk-Eagle or Hodgson's Hawk-eagle is a bird of prey. Like all eagles, it is in the family Accipitridae...
, Crested Treeswift
Crested Treeswift
The Crested Treeswift is a kind of tree swift. The tree swifts are aerial near passerine birds, closely related to, but distinct from the true swifts. They are restricted to southeast Asia and Australasia....
and Layard's Parakeet
Layard's Parakeet
The Layard's Parakeet is a parrot which is a resident endemic breeder in Sri Lanka. The common name of this bird commemorates the British naturalist Edgar Leopold Layard; his first wife, Barbara Anne Calthrop, whom he married in 1845, is commemorated in the specific epithet.-Description:Layard's...
.
Agriculture
The agriculture around Kitulgala is typical of the hilly wet zone. The Solitary Fishtail Palm, Caryota urensCaryota urens
Caryota urens is a species of flowering plant in the palm family from Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and India where they grow in fields and rain-forest clearings. The epithet urens is Latin for 'stinging' alluding to the chemicals in the fruit...
, which is called Kitul in Sri Lanka, gives rise to the town's name. Its sap is concentrated into a delicious syrup, not dissimilar to maple syrup
Maple syrup
Maple syrup is a syrup usually made from the xylem sap of sugar maple, red maple, or black maple trees, although it can also be made from other maple species such as the bigleaf maple. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before the winter; the starch is then...
, and crystallized as jaggery
Jaggery
Jaggery is a traditional unrefined non-centrifugal whole cane sugar consumed in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. It is a concentrated product of cane juice without separation of the molasses and crystals, and can vary from golden brown to dark brown in color...
. It is also fermented to make palm wine
Palm wine
Palm wine also called Palm Toddy also called "Kallu" written in Malayalam and கள்ளு in Tamil or simply Toddy is an alcoholic beverage created from the sap of various species of palm tree such as the palmyra, and coconut palms...
. The pith is used to make sago
Sago
Sago is a starch extracted in the spongy center or pith, of various tropical palm stems, Metroxylon sagu. It is a major staple food for the lowland peoples of New Guinea and the Moluccas, where it is called saksak and sagu. A type of flour, called sago flour, is made from sago. The largest supply...
, and the fibres to make rope.
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
s of both red
Red banana
Red bananas, also known as Red Dacca bananas in Australia, are a variety of banana with reddish-purple skin. They are smaller and plumper than the common Cavendish banana. When ripe, raw red bananas have a flesh that is cream to light pink in color. They are also softer and sweeter than the yellow...
and yellow varieties are grown. The yellow bananas are only some 8 cm long, but are sweeter and tastier than the commercial strains available in the West. Rubber trees are also grown on the higher areas.
Many birders stay at Kitulgala. This area has most of the rainforest bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
species that are found at the World Biosphere Reserve at Sinharaja
Sinharaja Forest Reserve
Sinharaja Forest Reserve is a national park and a biodiversity hotspot in Sri Lanka. It is of international significance and has been designated a Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site by UNESCO....
, although in lower numbers. However, the secondary forest and cultivation at Kitulgala is more open than the pristine woodlands of Sinharaja, and elusive endemic
Endemic (ecology)
Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...
species like Sri Lanka Spurfowl
Sri Lanka Spurfowl
The Sri Lanka Spurfowl, Galloperdix bicalcarata, is a member of the pheasant family which is endemic to the dense rainforests of Sri Lanka....
, Green-billed Coucal
Green-billed Coucal
The Green-billed Coucal, Centropus chlororhynchos, is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes, which also includes the roadrunners, the anis, and the Hoatzin....
and Spot-winged Thrush
Spot-winged Thrush
The Spot-winged Thrush, Zoothera spiloptera, is an Asian thrush, a group within the large thrush family Turdidae.It is an endemic resident breeder in Sri Lanka...
may be easier to see.
Scene creation of the movie The Bridge on the River Kwai
The Bridge on the River KwaiThe Bridge on the River Kwai
The Bridge on the River Kwai is a 1957 British World War II film by David Lean based on The Bridge over the River Kwai by French writer Pierre Boulle. The film is a work of fiction but borrows the construction of the Burma Railway in 1942–43 for its historical setting. It stars William...
is a 1957 British World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
film by David Lean
David Lean
Sir David Lean CBE was an English film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor best remembered for big-screen epics such as The Bridge on the River Kwai , Lawrence of Arabia ,...
based on the novel The Bridge over the River Kwai by French writer Pierre Boulle
Pierre Boulle
Pierre Boulle was a French novelist largely known for two famous works, The Bridge over the River Kwai and Planet of the Apes .-Biography:...
. The film is a work of fiction but borrows the construction of the Burma Railway in 1942–43 for its historical setting. It stars William Holden
William Holden
William Holden was an American actor. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1954 and the Emmy Award for Best Actor in 1974...
, Alec Guinness
Alec Guinness
Sir Alec Guinness, CH, CBE was an English actor. He was featured in several of the Ealing Comedies, including Kind Hearts and Coronets in which he played eight different characters. He later won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Colonel Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai...
, Jack Hawkins
Jack Hawkins
Colonel John Edward "Jack" Hawkins CBE was an English actor of the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s.-Career:Hawkins was born at Lyndhurst Road, Wood Green, Middlesex, the son of master builder Thomas George Hawkins and his wife, Phoebe née Goodman. The youngest of four children in a close-knit family,...
, and Sessue Hayakawa
Sessue Hayakawa
was a Japanese and American Issei actor who starred in American, Japanese, French, German, and British films. Hayakawa was the first and one of the few Asian actors to find stardom in the United States as well as Europe. Between the mid-1910s and the late 1920s, he was as well known as actors...
. The scene creation of the film was done in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
and many of them were at Kitulgala area including the bridge explosion.
In 1997, this film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and selected for preservation in the United States Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
National Film Registry
National Film Registry
The National Film Registry is the United States National Film Preservation Board's selection of films for preservation in the Library of Congress. The Board, established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, was reauthorized by acts of Congress in 1992, 1996, 2005, and again in October 2008...
.