Muthurajawela Marsh, which evocatively translates as ‘Supreme Field of Pearls’, is a little-known gem of a wetland at the southern end of Negombo’s lagoon. A boat ride offers sightings of some 75 bird species, including purple herons, cormorants and kingfishers, as well as crocodiles, monkeys and even some very rarely seen otters.
The area had been a rich rice-growing basin before the Portuguese constructed a canal that flooded the fields with sea water. Over the centuries, Mother Nature turned Muthurajawela into Sri Lanka’s biggest saline wetland.
