| Sinharaja Forest Reserve | |
 | |
| Area type | National Park |
|---|---|
| State | Sri Lanka |
| Surface | 88.64 km² |
| Foundation year | 1978 |
| Institutional website | |
Sinharaja Forest Reserve is the name of a forest reserve in Sabaragamuwa, one of the provinces of Sri Lanka.
To know
Sinharaja is the last practicable area of primary tropical forest of the Sri Lanka. It was saved from commercial exploitation thanks to its inaccessibility.
The name of the park means Kingdom of the Lion.
Geographical notes
The highest peaks are:
- Pinipitigala (1171 m)
- Mulawella (760 m)
Flora and fauna
More than 60% of the trees are endemic and many of them are considered rare. There is plenty of endemic wildlife, mostly birds, but the reserve is also home to over 50% of Sri Lanka's endemic mammal and butterfly species, as well as many types of rare insects, reptiles and amphibians.
Due to the dense vegetation, the observation of living species is more difficult than in dry soils such as Yala National Park. There are no elephants, and even leopards do not exceed 15 specimens. The most common mammal is the Purple-faced Langur.
An interesting phenomenon is that which sees birds moving in flocks of different species, led by the fearless drongos of paradise and the noisy Garruli of the Sulawesi jungle. Of the 26 endemic bird species, 20 forest birds can be seen in the park, including rare red-faced malcoha, cuckoo, Sri Lankan pheasant, and Sri Lankan blue magpie.
Reptiles include Green Vipers and Hump-nosed Vipers, as well as numerous species of amphibians, especially plant frogs.
Among the invertebrates we can remember the Troides helena butterflies and the inevitable leeches.
How to get
By car
There are three entrances to the park:
- Kudawa entrance - Colombo -> Kalawana -> Kudawa
- Pitadeniya Entrance - Galle or Matara -> Deniyaya -> Pitadeniya
- Morning Side Entrance - Galle or Matara -> Deniyaya -> Morning Side Estate
Permits / Rates
How to get around
Sinharaja Forest Reserve: full screen map.What see
What to do
Shopping
Where to eat
Where stay
Safety
How to keep in touch
Around
Other projects
Wikipedia contains an entry concerning Sinharaja Forest Reserve
Commons contains images or other files on Sinharaja Forest Reserve
