A notable cultural landmark in Kolonnawa is located in Sedawatte: the murals at Veheragodalla Vihara. Another topic lies in the wider regional surroundings: the landscape of Gothatuwa Wetland Park in Kolonnawa Sanctuary. Art history and wetlands are therefore considered at different geographic scales.

Murals in Sedawatte

The murals at Veheragodalla Vihara in Sedawatte, Kolonnawa, were created in the 1960s by Prof. Albert Dharmasiri. They represent the farthest-reaching development of the 20th-century mural tradition. This information thus links a specific place and artist with an art-historical classification. The decade and the reference to a tradition answer different questions: the 1960s date the work’s creation; the classification takes a broader view, extending beyond that decade to the development of mural painting in the 20th century. For art-minded travelers, the appeal of this landmark lies precisely in this connection between the work, its creator and its historical timeframe. Those interested in Kolonnawa’s cultural heritage can therefore use the murals as a specific starting point while keeping the broader history of mural painting in view.

The region’s wetlands and biodiversity

Gothatuwa Wetland Park lies in Kolonnawa Sanctuary, within the wider regional surroundings. The Gothatuwa wetland includes Annona forest areas, mixed forest, tall herbaceous vegetation, water bodies with floating vegetation, open water and upland vegetation associated with wetlands. Together, these terms describe a landscape that distinguishes between wooded areas, tall herbaceous vegetation and different types of water bodies. Floating vegetation and open water are explicitly two different forms; the upland vegetation is further classified by its association with wetlands. For a nature-focused perspective, the list therefore offers more than the general term “wetland”: it identifies forest, vegetation and water as distinct components of this wetland landscape.

A 2025 biodiversity assessment recorded 33 endemic animal species at Gothatuwa Wetland Park; six of these were classified as nationally critically endangered. The figures describe two different aspects: 33 is the number of endemic animal species in the assessment, while six refers to the subset classified as nationally critically endangered. Endemism describes a species’ geographic restriction; the threat classification, by contrast, indicates its status at the national level. This makes it possible to distinguish the total number from the threat category without reading them as two separate population counts.

Two geographic scales

When choosing a topic, it is worth considering the difference in scale: the murals are specifically associated with Sedawatte, Kolonnawa. Gothatuwa Wetland Park belongs to the wider regional context and is located in Kolonnawa Sanctuary. If you are mainly interested in art history, the first offers a specific place and artist; for landscape and biodiversity, the second opens up a regional perspective with an assessment dated to a particular year.

Discover more destinations: Uswetakeiyawa, Pannipitiya, Dombagoda, Waga, Godawela, Thudugala, Kimbulapitiya, Kosgama

For the wider travel overview: Western Province.