The first ever landscape photography expedition of Travellerduet
It’s a long-held dream to do a photographic expedition for me. So, I think to collaborate two of my best friends for this, who are also photographers. As we discussed before, we selected Mannar as our location for this expedition. Mannar district is a part of northern province of Sri Lanka. Several hotspots were selected and included in the hierarchy regarding the geographical value and the historical value. The majority of spots are located near Mannar, Thalaimannar and Silavathurai.
(figure 01 – Location map of the expedition)
This happened in the June of 2023, and it was the dry season of Mannar. Especially, Mannar has the well-known birds season and number of foreign birds come to Mannar including Flamingoes. If you are a bird watcher, this is the perfect place for that. Well, now we can look at the photographic locations respectively.
Doric Bungalow
This bungalow was the residence of the first British governor of Ceylon, named Frederick North. Situated beside the coast of gulf of Mannar and located north to Silavathurai city. The architectural designs are similar to ancient Greek doric order style. The structure was made by using bricks and mortar and currently only the ruins remain. This gives spectacular views to the north-west coast of Sri Lanka. Sunset or the sunrise of the day is the perfect time to enjoy the beauty and calmness of this place. These are the images taken during the expedition.
That was the sunrise time of the day, and it is magical to watch the sunrise over the Doric Bungalow. Also, a squire shaped tall tower called Doric Beacon situated near to the bungalow. According to the reports, it was a lighthouse which had a fire burning on the top to guide pearl vessels during that time. When you visit this place, you feel the history of this place and you can’t express your feelings for sure!
Mannar Dutch Fort
After the magnificent sunrise, we moved towards to the old Mannar Dutch fort. During the colonial era, mainly Portuguese and Dutch built number of forts around the island. Galle Dutch fort, Jaffna fort are some examples and well-preserved locations for that. As per the history, in 1560, Portuguese built this Mannar fort. But in 1696, Dutch occupied the fort and rebuild it. That is why it’s call Mannar Dutch fort.
The fort located next to the new Mannar bridge, which connects Mannar island to the mainland Sri Lanka. This fort consists of 4 main bastions and mostly uses rectangular stone bricks to build. Some parts are renovated, and you can still see a well-preserved bell tower in the middle of the fort. At the evening, this place is top rated for bird watching. You can see thousands of birds come and fly over the fort towards Mannar island. That is breathtaking to watch..
The railway bridge and windmills
Also, you must visit the railway bridge that connects the Mannar island and mainland if you are a nature lover. The wildlife and landscapes around that area are very unique. You can not see such diversified landscape anywhere around Sri Lanka. The lagoons, Biodiversity and the culture around there was very special. We walk along the rail tracks to see these magnificent landscapes.
Most of the people are engaged in fishing as their livelihood around this area. You can see shrimps, crabs and oysters if you visit Mannar. Never miss enjoying crab curry or shrimps curry with oysters. It is so delicious. Also, the wind turbine formation added extra uniqueness to the scene. Mannar island is the ideal location for wind power generation. Those are called Thambapawani wind turbines and blend perfectly into the landscapes of the southern coast of Mannar island. Also, this is the largest wind farm project in Sri Lanka and first ever wind farm owned by state owned company which is Ceylon electricity board.
The mixed blend compositions are perfect for the landscape photography in this area. The costal village called Nadukkuda is the nearest village, and it was a fishing village.
Thalaimannar pier and lighthouse
Thalaimannar pier is the end point of Mannar rail track and situated in the top west part of the Mannar island. This also termed as gateway to the India because it is so close to Dhanushkodi. This rail track consists of two track layouts, and which was built by British in 1915. Moreover, a ferry service operated during past dates to transport goods and passengers between India and Sri Lanka. But unfortunately, a heavy cyclone demolished the pier in 1964. Now the ferry service is not operating from Thalaimannar.
The rail track also not operated during the civil war period and rebuild and opened in 2015 as Medawachchiya Thalaimannar railway track. You can also see the old lighthouse structure from this point, and which was built by British. Furthermore, the new lighthouse situated near to the Thalaimannar pier. If you are so lucky, you will see stunning sunsets over there.
Above images shows the difference between golden hour and the blue hour of Thalaimannar pier area. The sky color changes are breathtaking. Also, seaside compositions are ideal for landscape photography. If you are planning to visit Mannar, never miss this Thalaimannar pier area. Most importantly, it was a hotspot for birds. Various kinds of birds are gathered together near this area and heaven on earth to the birdwatchers.
You can see the ambiance of this pier. It’s a unique feeling for sure. If you wish, you can take a bath from the sea near the pier. If you want to see the upmost satisfaction of your soul. You will end the date with that bath.
Marching towards Ram Sethu
This is the final destination of our Mannar expedition. We moved towards the end point of Mannar island. Thalaimannar island viewpoint is the ideal location to see all sand islands. You will see very unique landscapes at this point. Sand islands, sand domes, crystal clear water lagoons are examples of that. For some time, your mind never think it is Sri Lanka. Lots of history is packed with these breathtaking landscapes. In this time, you can walk towards the 1st sand island. But you have to take a boat to visit other sand islands and only way you can do it, you have to take special permission from Sri Lankan navy. Even though you can’t walk those sand islands, because it will damage to the biodiversity of those sand islands.
There are so many oysters and special fish verities lived in this area and this is very sensitive ecological system that Sri Lanka have. If you are visiting there, your upmost responsibility is to protect it every second.
The below images are related to the Mannar sand islands and captured during the photographic expedition. Now you can enjoy it.
The first ever Mannar landscape photographic expedition ended successfully with sand island expedition. We gathered so many memories, knowledge and welcome during this expedition and hope to do another landscape photography expedition in the near future.
© Travellerduet is the copyright holder of all these images.