As the sun rises over the blue waters off Sri Lanka’s southern coast, the largest mammal on earth breaks the surface. Beneath these waves lives a unique population of pygmy blue whales which feed, mate and play closer to shore in greater numbers than any other blue whale population on the planet. But the key to their existence lies hundreds of miles inland, at the top of Sri Lanka’s highest mountains. As the monsoon rains pour onto land, over a hundred rivers flow from the mountains, carrying with them nutrients which flood into the seas. From tangled mangrove forests to pristine white-sand beaches, Sri Lanka’s coastal waters present a show of nature’s most magnificent marine mammals. As turtles lay their eggs on palm-fringed shores, Sri Lanka’s iconic stilt fishermen wait for the shoals of herring and mackerel which the changing seasons bring. And out at sea, thriving coral reefs hide ancient wrecks filled with fish, while hundreds of dolphin race among the waves. This is an oceanic island where water, above all things, rules.

The forests of Sri Lanka rise above the rest of the country like islands out of the sea. Here, species found nowhere else in the world have been marooned on high forest plateaus, isolated from the rest of Sri Lanka, unable to cross from one forest patch to another. They have evolved into highly diverse, self-supporting arboreal outposts – between which bats and birds fly with messages from outside. These forests are islands within an island – to step into them is to travel to another world where life is sustained by cloud swells and dancing mists. And as this mountainous terrain has combined with not one, but two, monsoons, a distinct microclimate has formed among these cloud-cloaked trees. Nearly half the island’s flowering plants are found here and amidst the twisted vine and creepers, rare and delicate orchids dot the landscape. Blue magpies, red-slender loris and purple-faced monkeys inhabit this strange, colourful – and ever diminishing - world. But although forest habitats are in decline thanks to the encroachment of man, one thing remains certain. As long as it has water to sustain it, life –the fabulous, curious, glorious life that flourishes on these high peaks – remains.