The island nation of Sri Lanka is a treasure house of natural hotspots, filled with incredible wildlife that is found nowhere else on the planet. These include birds, reptiles, amphibians, mammals and many more. Darter Photography brings to you an exclusive 10-day tour where we explore the mountain ranges of Sri Lanka to photograph the myriad species of endemic wildlife here.
On this carefully designed tour, we’ll travel through a variety of forests across three different mountain ranges of Sri Lanka. 34 species of birds are endemic to this country. These include the unforgettable Sri Lanka Blue Magpie, the feisty Yellow-eared Bulbul, the striking Red-faced Malkoha and the secretive Serendib Scops Owl. We might also come across some of the interesting mammals that inhabit these highlands, including the Purple-faced Leaf Monkey, the Toque Macaque, the Grizzled Giant Squirrel (also the national animal of the country!) and, may be, even a leopard!
This is the land of the dragons. The horned lizards of the genus Ceratophora have evolved special appendages on their noses that make them look fearsome, when peering through your macro lens. Tree frogs show an amazing diversity here, adorned in a mix of hues ranging from browns to greens to a ghostly pale grey. And, of course, we’ll also keep our eyes peeled open for the 4 species of pit vipers that we might come across.
Join us on this one-of-a-kind expedition into the heart of Sri Lanka. With a highly experienced field team joining us on this expedition, we’ll have a great time experiencing the wildernesses of this beautiful country.
Jump to ◆ Tour highlights ◆ Is this tour for you? ◆ Tour Price ◆ Tour Mentor ◆ Itinerary ◆ Sign Up
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Tour Dates
March 01 – 10, 2024
Tour PriceUSD 2500 / ₹2,05,000Max. Participants – 5
Tour highlights
- An exclusive tour to photograph the endemic wildlife of Sri Lanka
- Explore various mountainous forests in the wet zone, from lowland rainforests to high-elevation grasslands to cloud forests
- A unique combination of bird and herp photography, under the guidance of the Darter mentor, that will help you unravel the secrets of photographing different forms of wildlife
- Sessions and discussions on wildlife photography and wildlife in the rainforest
- Constant interaction and assistance on field by the Darter photography expert
- Get your photographs reviewed by your photography mentor regularly through the tour
Is This For You?
This wildlife photography tour of Sri Lanka is designed for photographers of all levels of expertise – amateur and serious – who would like to photograph the natural wealth and wildlife of Sri Lanka. As in all our tours, the group size would be limited so that the Darter Photography Expert can interact closely with every participant. Wildlife enthusiasts who are not photographers, but are keen to see and experience Sri Lanka, are also welcome to join this group. This extensive trip, covering some of the most beautiful places in Sri Lanka, will keep you enthralled from start to finish.
Our tour is designed in such a way that we
Tour Price
The price of the Wildlife Photography Tour of Sri Lanka (March 01-10, 2024) is Rs.2,05,000 / USD 2,500 per person. The tour starts and ends in Colombo.
The price includes
The price does not include
Cancellation Policy for the Sri Lanka Tour:
– 30% of tour fee is charged as cancellation fee for cancellation earlier than 60 days before start of tour
– 60% of tour fee is charged as cancellation fee for cancellation between 59 days and 30 days before start of tour
– No refund for cancellation within 29 days of tour start date or for no-show
Please note that the above itinerary is subject to favourable weather and other conditions. In case of any obstacles, we will do our best to make alternate plans. The price of the tour or any part of it will not be refunded in the event of unfavourable conditions during the tour days.
Photography Mentor – Shreeram M V
Shreeram M V is a professional photographer, photography mentor and naturalist. What started off as a fascination for birds in a lake behind his house turned into a journey across the natural world. For this IIM Bangalore graduate, the passion for travel and wildlife enabled him to charter his own course outside the corporate world.
He has explored and photographed places across the world as diverse as the savannahs of Africa, the ice continent of Antarctica, the islands of New Zealand, the rainforests of the Western Ghats, the salt marshes of Kutch, the grasslands of Tal Chapar, the deciduous forests of South and Central India, the high-altitude plateau of Ladakh, the coasts of peninsular India, the forests of North-east India and the islands of Andaman, Sri Lanka and West Papua. His approach to wildlife photography has evolved into telling stories about the place and its habitats, biodiversity and human interactions with nature.
He is a well-published and awarded photographer. His articles and photographs have been published in diverse print and digital magazines such as National Geographic Traveller, Sanctuary Asia, Saevus, Lonely Planet India, Terrascape, Nature inFocus and JLR Explore. As a naturalist, he has been associated with Jungle Lodges and Resorts and Karnataka Eco-tourism Development Board in training and certifying naturalists from across the state.
His approach to wildlife photography is to bring back photographs that tell stories – about the place and its habitats, the diversity of flora and fauna and human interactions with the wilderness. Composition and light are his favourite tools in crafting new perspectives of the natural world.
His personalized style of mentorship, where he works with each participant’s individual interests and strengths, has been much appreciated over the years. See some of his work at Shreeram M V Photography and instagram.
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1 to Day 5: On Day 1, we arrive in Colombo and drive to the lowland rainforest ecosystem around the Sinharaja Forest Reserve. This is Sri Lanka’s last remaining viable lowland rainforest ecosystem and is home to many of the endemics that we are looking for. We’ll explore 3 different areas around Sinharaja at varying altitudes. We’ll look for endemic birds like the Sri Lanka Blue Magpie, Sri Lanka Spurfowl, Serendib Scops Owl, Chestnut-backed Owlet and Red-faced Malkoha. Among the herps, some of our key targets will be Sri Lankan Green Pit Viper (Craspedocephalus trigonocephalus), Lowlands Hump-nosed Pit Viper (Hypnale zara), Hump-nosed Lizard (Lyriocephalus scutatus), Ceratophora karu, Long-snouted Tree Frog (Taruga longinausus), among others.
Day 6-7: We drive to the Central Highlands at Nuwaraeliya where we’ll spend the next two days searching for endemic species of the highest altitudes of Sri Lanka. Our key targets here would be the Yellow-eared Bulbul, Sri Lanka Scimitar Babbler, Rhino-horned lizard (Ceratophora stoddartii), Ceylon deaf agama (Cophotis ceylanica), Günther’s whipping frog (Taruga eques), Common rough-sided snake (Aspidura trachyprocta), among others.
Day 8-9: We drive to Knuckles range, which has a completely different set of herps that are endemic here. We’ll explore different altitudes at Knuckles to look for Tennent’s leaf-nosed lizard (Ceratophora tennentii), Dumbara agama (Cophotis dumbara), Asanka’s shrub frog (Pseudophilautus asankai), Moore’s shrub frog (Pseudophilautus mooreorum), and many more.
Day 10: After breakfast, we drive to the Colombo airport to catch our flights back to our respective destinations.
Throughout the tour, we would have one of Sri Lanka’s finest herping and birding guide with us. He has an amazing knowledge of endemic birds and herps.
In addition, the accompanying Darter Photography Expert would help you with:
Please note that the itinerary above is subject to fair weather, boat schedules, bird sightings and other factors. Darter Photography reserves the right to make changes to the above itinerary at any point of time.
Register for this Tour
Write to us at photography@darter.in or call/WhatsApp Shreeram (+91-9740083260) to join the tour. Alternatively, please fill in the following form to get in touch with us regarding the tour.