The Bentota River flows into the Indian Ocean on Sri Lanka’s south-west coast, forming a broad estuary and a network of lagoon channels and mangrove creeks collectively known as the Bentota Lagoon. The river and wetland system supports a rich ecosystem: mangrove forests line the main channels, providing nesting habitat for waterbirds, shelter for juvenile fish, and habitat for mugger crocodiles, monitor lizards, and freshwater turtles. Fish owls and several species of kingfisher are resident along the quieter creek sections.
A river safari at Bentota typically covers the main estuary channels and mangrove creek systems, with a visit to a river turtle breeding project maintaining native terrapins. Cinnamon Island, in the Bentota Lagoon, is a stop on many tours and provides a demonstration of traditional cinnamon peeling â a labour-intensive technique in which skilled artisans strip the outer bark and hand-roll the inner bark into thin quills. Ceylon cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum), the true cinnamon native to Sri Lanka, has been cultivated and exported from the south-west coast since at least the 14th century and remains one of the country’s signature agricultural exports.
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