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National parks in Sri lanka
Sri Lanka had an abundance of wildlife in the 1800s. Villagers used to hunt animals like deer, sambur, buffalo, wild boar etc. for their consumption. However, during the middle of that century the government found that there was organized poaching by parties that came to the villages from outside and shot these animals including leopard for their skin and deer for antlers and meat, thereby reducing the animal population steadily.
Sri Lanka has a rich and exotic variety of wildlife and a long tradition of conservation rooted in its 2,230 year old Buddhist civilization. The following are the most important sanctuaries in terms of attractions, accessibility and availability of facilities.
The jungles of Sri Lanka abound in a variety of wildlife,which is surprising for an island of its size in the tropics.From ancient days the elephants and peacock from the Sri Lankan jungles were prize exports to the Kingdoms of East and West.But apart from these well known examples of the fauna, a visit to the Sri Lankan jungles is to enter a whole new world where nature has largely stayed still.There are four majour national parks.Of these the best known is Ruhunu National Park,at Yala,in the deep South of the island.The other well known national park,at Wilpattu,is at present closed due to the prevailing conditions in the North of the island.There are also two other national parks at Inginiyagala and Udawalawe.
yala
In addition, the Britishers, who lived in this country, also indulged in hunting, which was one of their favourite sports. This further reduced the number of animals.
The government decided to enact, in 1872, an "Ordinance to prevent the wasteful destruction of buffaloes and game throughout the island". Game included deer, sambur and peafowl.
In 1894, a group of planters formed the Ceylon Game Protection Society. Their main objective was to assist the government to protect wildlife or game as it was then called. Game was only those animals that they hunted.
Their motive in starting this association was also selfish in that it helped to protect game, which they could later shoot with licences obtained from the government.
They also established Resident Sportsmen's Reserves, which were solely maintained for hunting by members of the association. Yala and Wilpattu were the first of such reserves. Today these are two of Sri Lanka's major national parks. Today Sri Lanka has 13% of its land area under protection for fauna and flora.
Depending on their objective, there are different types of protection offered to these areas such as Strict Nature Reserves, National Parks, Nature Reserves, Jungle Corridors and Sanctuaries. They cover all the ecological and climatic regions of the country.
Sri Lanka has a rich and exotic variety of wildlife and a long tradition of conservation rooted in its 2,230 year old Buddhist civilization. The following are the most important sanctuaries in terms of attractions, accessibility and availability of facilities.
The jungles of Sri Lanka abound in a variety of wildlife,which is surprising for an island of its size in the tropics.From ancient days the elephants and peacock from the Sri Lankan jungles were prize exports to the Kingdoms of East and West.But apart from these well known examples of the fauna, a visit to the Sri Lankan jungles is to enter a whole new world where nature has largely stayed still.There are four majour national parks.Of these the best known is Ruhunu National Park,at Yala,in the deep South of the island.The other well known national park,at Wilpattu,is at present closed due to the prevailing conditions in the North of the island.There are also two other national parks at Inginiyagala and Udawalawe.
yala
Yala National Park is situated in the southeast region of the island in the dry zone boarding the Indian Ocean. Park area is belonging to two provinces namely South and Uva Provinces. The total area of the park (which is of 5 blocks) is 97,881 ha but only Block I and Block II are open for visitors.
The park was initially established in 1938 only with block I and other blocks were included later.Rainfall is highly seasonal. Main source of rainfall is Northeast monsoons (December – February) and inter monsoonal rains during March-April. Mean Annual Rainfall: 900 – 1300 mm. Area is experiencing drought during June –October. Mean annual Temperature 27o C. Daily temperature above 30oC is not uncommon.Vegetation is mainly consists of Secondary lowland dry monsoon forest & semi arid thorny scrublands. Small patches of riverine forest, mangroves, sand dunes and dry grasslands also presented.
Forest area is dominated by Palu (Manilkara hexandra), Weera (Drypetes sepiaria), Malitthan (Salvadora persica), Ehala (Cassia fistula), Divul (Limonia acidissima) and Kohomba (Azadirachta indica). Thorny scrubland is dominated by Eraminia (Ziziphus.sp) and Andara (Dichrostachys cinerea). Sonneratia, Acanthus, Rhizopora and Lumnitzera species dominate the mangrove vegetation.
Established in 1938, Yala covers more than 100 hectares of wildlife. Yala is divided in to 5 areas. The most visited area is block one. The road network is much better on this block and easily accessible even without a four wheel drive. Some areas has been closed for visitors due to LTTE Terrorist activities but now most of these area are open to the public.
It is possible to hire jeeps at the entrance to the park. The best time to see these animals (including leopards) are early morning and at dusk. The park of is mostly known for its dense population of leopards. They are quite used to human presence and generally will not run away when a vehicle is encountered. Elephants are the most common sight in the park
Yala West is closed in September and usually part of August and October too. But when it's open the best way to get there is to catch a bus to the coastal town of Tissamaharama, and then hire a jeep and a driver. If you have your own four wheel drive you can just drive up to the front gate and pay the entrance, insurance and tracker fees.
Udawalawe
The park was initially established in 1938 only with block I and other blocks were included later.Rainfall is highly seasonal. Main source of rainfall is Northeast monsoons (December – February) and inter monsoonal rains during March-April. Mean Annual Rainfall: 900 – 1300 mm. Area is experiencing drought during June –October. Mean annual Temperature 27o C. Daily temperature above 30oC is not uncommon.Vegetation is mainly consists of Secondary lowland dry monsoon forest & semi arid thorny scrublands. Small patches of riverine forest, mangroves, sand dunes and dry grasslands also presented.
Forest area is dominated by Palu (Manilkara hexandra), Weera (Drypetes sepiaria), Malitthan (Salvadora persica), Ehala (Cassia fistula), Divul (Limonia acidissima) and Kohomba (Azadirachta indica). Thorny scrubland is dominated by Eraminia (Ziziphus.sp) and Andara (Dichrostachys cinerea). Sonneratia, Acanthus, Rhizopora and Lumnitzera species dominate the mangrove vegetation.
Established in 1938, Yala covers more than 100 hectares of wildlife. Yala is divided in to 5 areas. The most visited area is block one. The road network is much better on this block and easily accessible even without a four wheel drive. Some areas has been closed for visitors due to LTTE Terrorist activities but now most of these area are open to the public.
It is possible to hire jeeps at the entrance to the park. The best time to see these animals (including leopards) are early morning and at dusk. The park of is mostly known for its dense population of leopards. They are quite used to human presence and generally will not run away when a vehicle is encountered. Elephants are the most common sight in the park
Yala West is closed in September and usually part of August and October too. But when it's open the best way to get there is to catch a bus to the coastal town of Tissamaharama, and then hire a jeep and a driver. If you have your own four wheel drive you can just drive up to the front gate and pay the entrance, insurance and tracker fees.
Udawalawe
This park supports nearby 500 elephants and big herds with 50 or more. Threes are limited firstly due to the dry climatic conditions and secondly by the debarking of the trees by the elephants. Wild life department has under taken to provide elephant fences to avoid animal human conflict and to keep out the domestic cattle and protect other resident animals.
Uda Walawe is the best park in Sri Lanka to watch and photograph elephants sometimes in their herds of 50 or more. Leopard the largest of the carnivorous animals too could be sighted with some regularity and for this there are five good locations in the rocky outcrops where they come early morning to relax and enjoy the was with of the early sun But they are not often seen due to its mode of life to remain hidden to enable them to hunt their prey.
The best accommodation for visiting Uda Walawe is at Embilipitiya from where the yala national park is about 1 ½ hrs drive. From Uda Walawe to NuwaraEliya takes you by Buduruwagala near Wellawaya where there are huge Mahayamist images of the Budda over 50 feet in height and on either side there are images of Bodhisatvas (Buddha Aspirouls). Thus we can see that this area is of great historical value.
Uda Walawe is the best park in Sri Lanka to watch and photograph elephants sometimes in their herds of 50 or more. Leopard the largest of the carnivorous animals too could be sighted with some regularity and for this there are five good locations in the rocky outcrops where they come early morning to relax and enjoy the was with of the early sun But they are not often seen due to its mode of life to remain hidden to enable them to hunt their prey.
The best accommodation for visiting Uda Walawe is at Embilipitiya from where the yala national park is about 1 ½ hrs drive. From Uda Walawe to NuwaraEliya takes you by Buduruwagala near Wellawaya where there are huge Mahayamist images of the Budda over 50 feet in height and on either side there are images of Bodhisatvas (Buddha Aspirouls). Thus we can see that this area is of great historical value.
Maduru Oya National Park
The Maduru Oya National Park is located in the Dry Zone and is 300 k.m. away from Colombo and 58,849 hectares in extent. A wide variety of wildlife including some endemic birds species and reptiles are found here. Maduru Oya is rich in ancient ruins found in different places and its southern parts provide veddhas, indigenous people their living environment. Endemic purple monkey is among the important animal species that can be seen in addition to Sambhur, a member of the cat family etc. There is some endemic avifauna also found within this Park.
Wilpattu
Situated 176 km ,north of Colombo, Wilpattu is approximately 1,908 sq. km . in extent . It has a dense jungle cover which makes it a more exciting park where animals have to be tracked . There are numerous delightful little lakes –known as villus- and the leopard and sloth bear are the specialty rather than elephants .
his park is packed with over 30 'vilas' or lakes and sandy tracks. Vila is defined as a natural depression generally circular with gently sloping banks - natural pool.
Wasgamuwa National Park
his park is packed with over 30 'vilas' or lakes and sandy tracks. Vila is defined as a natural depression generally circular with gently sloping banks - natural pool.
The park was closed in 1996 after LTTE Tiger Terrorists brutally murdered 26 of it employees. The park once again opened to the public in March 2003 after 18 years. During these 18 years the jungle was a heaven for the terrorists, poachers and illegal timber traders.
Due these reasons the leopard population seems to have drastically come down. There has been no leopard population count done in the recent past. But in 1978 when we visited Wilpattu we saw no less than 7 leopards in 2 days. But after reopening I have visited this park twice but saw no leopards at all. Even the deer population have thinned due to poaching. During my last 2 visits we only saw about 20 spotted deer, one elk, 6 foxes, few wild rabbits only. Another reason for this is the animals in this park are not used to vehicles and run into the jungle at the first sound of a jeep.
If you want to hire a jeep you need to get one from turn off point along the Puttlam-Anuradhapura Road. You will find all sorts of jeeps parked here. The prices are from Rs. 1750/- to 2000/- per half day or double for full day.
All the bungalows inside the park have been destroyed or burned down. One of the bungalows was re opened on the 30 Feb. 2004 called kokmoto. Therefore if you want to stay the night you need to book hotel nearby. Camping was allowed for some time but now that is not possible either. There are very few motels close to Wilpattu but it is best to stay the night at Anuradhapura which is about 50 Km away from the park.
Wasgamuwa National Park
Situated approximately 200 km. away from Colombo, the Wasgamuwa National Park lies within the Polonnaruwa and Matale Districts and have the Mahaweli river and Amban river as its eastern and western boundaries. Tropical intermediate dry mixed evergreen forest predominates its environment.
Horton plaints
This is the only National Park in Sri Lanka in which visitors are allowed to walk. At 'Worlds End' the 2000 meters plateau comes to an abrupt end, plunging 700-1000 meters to the valley floor. This gentle walk takes two to four hours depending on how much time is spent identifying the impressive bird life seen along this route. It is worth starting early to avoid the crowds, the mist that drifts up the valley can often obscure the views as the day wears on. 'Little Worlds End' is another popular location, falling a mere 300 meters, along with Baker's fall.
The plains appear to have a lot more in common with the moors and highlands of Britain than with the rest of Sri Lanka's National Parks. The extensive grasslands are bleached brown by the frosts at this altitude and the herds of sambar are reminiscent of red deer roaming the Scottish Glens. This large sambar(Srilankan Sambar Deer) population, along with the Purple-Faced langurs, wild boar and barking deer support a small number of leopards, although seeing them requires a huge amount of luck. Your best chance is offered by driving around the park late in the evening and listening for the alarm calls of the sambar.
This is also one of the top destinations for birders who visit the area to look for several of Sri Lanka's endemics; these include the Yellow Eared Bulbul, the Ceylon Hill White Eye, Sri Lankan Bush Warbler, Black-throated Munia, Sri Lanka Wood Pigeon, Dull-blue Flycatcher, Ceylon Whistling Thrush and the Ceylon Blue Magpie.
The diversity of vegetation is also impressive from grasses to ferns, shrubs and large flowering trees. The montane forest is very distinctive with all the trees reaching a similar height to protect themselves against excessive precipitation, the western slopes support the most extensive area of cloud forest in the country
Bundala National Park
The plains appear to have a lot more in common with the moors and highlands of Britain than with the rest of Sri Lanka's National Parks. The extensive grasslands are bleached brown by the frosts at this altitude and the herds of sambar are reminiscent of red deer roaming the Scottish Glens. This large sambar(Srilankan Sambar Deer) population, along with the Purple-Faced langurs, wild boar and barking deer support a small number of leopards, although seeing them requires a huge amount of luck. Your best chance is offered by driving around the park late in the evening and listening for the alarm calls of the sambar.
This is also one of the top destinations for birders who visit the area to look for several of Sri Lanka's endemics; these include the Yellow Eared Bulbul, the Ceylon Hill White Eye, Sri Lankan Bush Warbler, Black-throated Munia, Sri Lanka Wood Pigeon, Dull-blue Flycatcher, Ceylon Whistling Thrush and the Ceylon Blue Magpie.
The diversity of vegetation is also impressive from grasses to ferns, shrubs and large flowering trees. The montane forest is very distinctive with all the trees reaching a similar height to protect themselves against excessive precipitation, the western slopes support the most extensive area of cloud forest in the country
Bundala National Park
Bundala National Park is the latest addition to the National Parks and is situated 260 km. away from Colombo. All species of waterbirds resident in the country and the migrant birds inhabit this Park.
Bundala National Park is situated in the southeast part of the country in the semi arid zone in the Southern Province. The park area consists mainly of dry thorny scrubland and lagoons. In addition, there are streams, seasonal water holes, tanks, salt marshes, mangroves, seashores and salterns, aspects that add to the diversity of habitat and the richness of its bio diversity.
The abundance of lagoons has made Bundala an ideal location for a large number of migratory and resident birds. Up to 2,000 Grater Flamingos having been recorded during November – January season and the total bird population can exceed 20,000 during migratory season. This has made Bundala top priority location for the bird enthusiast.
As Bundala National Park is located in semi arid zone, rainfall is highly seasonal. Main source of rainfall is Northeast monsoons (December- February). The area experiences a prolong drought from May to October. The temperature during this period can exceed 30C.
galoya
Gal Oya National Park lies south-east of the country in the eastern and uva provinces. This park was established to protect the catchments area of the Senanayake Samudraya (lake). This reservoir was created by damming the Gal Oya River at Inginiyagala, from which the name of the park is derived. This reservoir covers 78 sq. kilometers in extent and was named after the first priminister of the country after independence and the instigator of this project. This park was closed to the public for the last two decades due to the Tamil terrorist activates but now is open to the public.
In addition to the national park, three sanctuaries were declared to protect the catchment area of this tank. They are
· Senanayake Samudra Sanctuary (Managed Nature Reserve)
· Gal Oya Valley North-East Sanctuary (Managed Nature Reserve)
· Gal Oya Valley South-West Sanctuary (Managed Nature Reserve)
Together these reserves and the national park cover approx 63,000 ha of land. The park and the three sanctuaries was established by the Gal Oya Development board on 12 February 1954 and subsequently handed over to the Department of Wild life conservation in 1965. There is also a proposal to connect this area with the Maduru Oya National park through the Nilgala jungle corridor (10,360ha). for elephants to freely move form one jungle to another.
Due to the richness of this wetland, the park is a natural habitat for a wide range of fauna and flora consisting of dry mixed vegetation including savannah grass and an extensive green cover. About 45% of the vegetation is evergreen forest, 33% savanna, 9% grassland, 2% cheina cultivations and the balance is water bodies dominated by Senanayake Samudraya. A host of medicinal shrubs and trees such as Aralu, Bulu, Nelli can be readily found in the Nilgala area, while a number of locally known trees such as Vevarana, Halmilla, Veera, Palu, Ebony and Mahogany are found in great numbers.
The park with its thick green canopy is a haven for species of birds and nearer to the Samudraya even migratory birds such as Painted Storks, Pelicans, Cormorants and Teals could be seen. A host of local birds such as the Grey Dove, Malabar Horn Bill and Grey Horn Bill, Koel and a number of water birds are found in this jungle habitat.
In addition to elephants, the park is home to leopards, bear, spotted deer, sambur, wild boar etc. Among other fauna are several species of monkeys, Porcupine, a number of fish species, reptiles and four species of butterflies such as the Crimson rose and Glassy Tiger have been recorded.
Horagolla
The latest National Park in the country, "Horagolla" is the smallest under the Department of Wildlife Conservation. The preilimenary works were completed for openning the Horagolla National Park officially to the public. This 13.362-hectare National Park is located in the Nambadaluwa village in Udagampattuwa of the Siyane Korale in the Gampaha District. In the seventies' decade the land belonged to the state, but on October 05, 1973 it was declared as a sanctuary considering the rich bio diversity prevalent in the area under the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance. Under the same Ordinance, this natural sanctuary was later upgraded as the Horagolla National Park on July 28, 2004.
Horalgolla National Park is a low country evergreen forest with a humus soil structure and has a hot temperature throughout the year. Growing in abundance in this National Park are a variety of tree species locally known as Hora, Kekuna, Godapara, Diyapara, Kithul Cane, Nandun, Etamba, Bo, Ruk, Ankenda, Milla, Munamal, Del and Velang. A wide variety of Puswel are also found in large numbers. A variety of plant species and grass are found covering the landscape throughout the park. The diverse flora in the park provide the food for birds, animals and reptiles in this habitat where ample water resources are also available.
A large variety of Fauna generally found in evergreen forest are also found which include the Fishing Cat, Mouse Deer, Fox, Giant Squirrel etc. and bird life include species such as Parakeets, Black Headed Bulbuls, Barbets, Asian Koels etc. A large number of reptiles species found in the park including different species Pythons and Cobras.
The Horagolla National Park could be reach by travelling 35km on the Colombo Kandy road. Turning in at Nittambuwa and travelling one kilometers towards Veyangoda is the Pinnagolla junction. The Park office is found 6 kilometres from this junction.
Kaudulla
Situated about 190 km from Colombo, Kaudulla National Park is dominated by the Kaudulla Tank built by the sister of the famous King Mahasena who was the creator of the Minneriya Tank. The folklore of the creation of this tank is very interesting.
After the sister of the king Mahasena married a person disapproved by the king, she was banned from the palace and the newly married couple went off and established a small farming village around Kaudulla. Meanwhile King Mahasena while building and developing the irrigation systems around the country planned a massive tank at Minneriya to support the agriculture of the area. To carry this enormous amount of water, he had to build an extra long dam. To protect this dam from breaking up by the force of the water the king was asked to make a human sacrifice to the demons/gods who protected dam. The king hearing that his sister has given birth to a son, ordered the chief minister to sacrifice this infant on the gods. But the minister sacrificed a goat instead of the baby and informed the king that the sacrification is complete. The king satisfied, built and completed one of the largest man made tanks in that time.
On the day he was to ceremonially open the floodgates, he started regretting his decision to sacrifice his own nephew. The chief minister then informed the king that indeed infant prince is still alive. The king thrilled at the news ordered his ministers to bring his sister to the tank to show his marvelous creation and to share the joy. The sister was then escorted and was shown this gigantic tank by his brother. Then sister laughed and told the king that she too has been busy and requested the king to follow her to show what she has been up to. The princess took her brother to a new tank, which she had built with the villagers, which was even larger than the Minneriya. This tank is what we now know as Kaudulla Tank.
Kaudulla was declared a National park in April 1, 2002 by the Sri Lankan government. This is a unique national park in the sense that the two thirds of the park is under water during several months of the year. In addition to the Kaudulla Tank, which dominates the landscape, Kaudulla National Park includes Relapanawa Tank, Olumadu Wewa, Puliyan Kalla wewa, Mineriya-Kanthale Yoda Ela, Aluth Oya and Hatharas Kotuwa Oya.
The park is also situated on an elephant migratory path (an Elephant corridor) , which makes this park even more interesting. The park sits in between the Somawathi National Park and the Minneriya National Park. The road network of the park is about 16 km, but lack basic visitor facilities. Trackers have to obtain from either Girithale or from Habarana
Lunugamvehera
The Lunugamvehera National Park was opened to the public by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse on February 01 on the invitation of Environment and Natural Resources Minister A. H. M. Fowzie.
The Lunugamvehera National Park was established for protection as a corridor for elephant migration from the Yala National Park to the Uda Walawe National Park's Western region and for the protection of the catchment areas of the Lunugamvehera Reservoir. Even though the Lunugamvehera National Park covering an extent of 23,498.8 ha. was established on December 08, 1995, it had not been opened to the public. The Lunugamvehera Reservoir within the park covers 3,283 ha.
Located in the Moneragala District of the Uva Province, Lunugamvehera extends to Thanamalwila, Wellawaya, Kataragama, Buttala and to the Hambantota District in the South. Rich in biodiversity the park is a habitat for a large number of wild elephants and wild buffaloes. In addition other species of animals such as Fishing Cat, Grey Mongoose, Bear, Wild Boar, Spotted Deer and Mouse Deer are found here. Being a dry-mixed evergreen forest, Lunugamvehera Park has a variety of tree and plant species which provide ample food-stocks for vegetarian animals.
The Prime Minister also declared open the Yala Rock Entrance which provides access to Yala blocks III, IV and V. The Lunugamvehera National Park has two access roads while the headquarters of the park is located on the Hambantota-Wellawaya road.
Bird Sanctuaries
Bundala National Park is situated in the southeast part of the country in the semi arid zone in the Southern Province. The park area consists mainly of dry thorny scrubland and lagoons. In addition, there are streams, seasonal water holes, tanks, salt marshes, mangroves, seashores and salterns, aspects that add to the diversity of habitat and the richness of its bio diversity.
The abundance of lagoons has made Bundala an ideal location for a large number of migratory and resident birds. Up to 2,000 Grater Flamingos having been recorded during November – January season and the total bird population can exceed 20,000 during migratory season. This has made Bundala top priority location for the bird enthusiast.
As Bundala National Park is located in semi arid zone, rainfall is highly seasonal. Main source of rainfall is Northeast monsoons (December- February). The area experiences a prolong drought from May to October. The temperature during this period can exceed 30C.
galoya
Gal Oya National Park lies south-east of the country in the eastern and uva provinces. This park was established to protect the catchments area of the Senanayake Samudraya (lake). This reservoir was created by damming the Gal Oya River at Inginiyagala, from which the name of the park is derived. This reservoir covers 78 sq. kilometers in extent and was named after the first priminister of the country after independence and the instigator of this project. This park was closed to the public for the last two decades due to the Tamil terrorist activates but now is open to the public.
In addition to the national park, three sanctuaries were declared to protect the catchment area of this tank. They are
· Senanayake Samudra Sanctuary (Managed Nature Reserve)
· Gal Oya Valley North-East Sanctuary (Managed Nature Reserve)
· Gal Oya Valley South-West Sanctuary (Managed Nature Reserve)
Together these reserves and the national park cover approx 63,000 ha of land. The park and the three sanctuaries was established by the Gal Oya Development board on 12 February 1954 and subsequently handed over to the Department of Wild life conservation in 1965. There is also a proposal to connect this area with the Maduru Oya National park through the Nilgala jungle corridor (10,360ha). for elephants to freely move form one jungle to another.
Due to the richness of this wetland, the park is a natural habitat for a wide range of fauna and flora consisting of dry mixed vegetation including savannah grass and an extensive green cover. About 45% of the vegetation is evergreen forest, 33% savanna, 9% grassland, 2% cheina cultivations and the balance is water bodies dominated by Senanayake Samudraya. A host of medicinal shrubs and trees such as Aralu, Bulu, Nelli can be readily found in the Nilgala area, while a number of locally known trees such as Vevarana, Halmilla, Veera, Palu, Ebony and Mahogany are found in great numbers.
The park with its thick green canopy is a haven for species of birds and nearer to the Samudraya even migratory birds such as Painted Storks, Pelicans, Cormorants and Teals could be seen. A host of local birds such as the Grey Dove, Malabar Horn Bill and Grey Horn Bill, Koel and a number of water birds are found in this jungle habitat.
In addition to elephants, the park is home to leopards, bear, spotted deer, sambur, wild boar etc. Among other fauna are several species of monkeys, Porcupine, a number of fish species, reptiles and four species of butterflies such as the Crimson rose and Glassy Tiger have been recorded.
Horagolla
The latest National Park in the country, "Horagolla" is the smallest under the Department of Wildlife Conservation. The preilimenary works were completed for openning the Horagolla National Park officially to the public. This 13.362-hectare National Park is located in the Nambadaluwa village in Udagampattuwa of the Siyane Korale in the Gampaha District. In the seventies' decade the land belonged to the state, but on October 05, 1973 it was declared as a sanctuary considering the rich bio diversity prevalent in the area under the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance. Under the same Ordinance, this natural sanctuary was later upgraded as the Horagolla National Park on July 28, 2004.
Horalgolla National Park is a low country evergreen forest with a humus soil structure and has a hot temperature throughout the year. Growing in abundance in this National Park are a variety of tree species locally known as Hora, Kekuna, Godapara, Diyapara, Kithul Cane, Nandun, Etamba, Bo, Ruk, Ankenda, Milla, Munamal, Del and Velang. A wide variety of Puswel are also found in large numbers. A variety of plant species and grass are found covering the landscape throughout the park. The diverse flora in the park provide the food for birds, animals and reptiles in this habitat where ample water resources are also available.
A large variety of Fauna generally found in evergreen forest are also found which include the Fishing Cat, Mouse Deer, Fox, Giant Squirrel etc. and bird life include species such as Parakeets, Black Headed Bulbuls, Barbets, Asian Koels etc. A large number of reptiles species found in the park including different species Pythons and Cobras.
The Horagolla National Park could be reach by travelling 35km on the Colombo Kandy road. Turning in at Nittambuwa and travelling one kilometers towards Veyangoda is the Pinnagolla junction. The Park office is found 6 kilometres from this junction.
Kaudulla
Situated about 190 km from Colombo, Kaudulla National Park is dominated by the Kaudulla Tank built by the sister of the famous King Mahasena who was the creator of the Minneriya Tank. The folklore of the creation of this tank is very interesting.
After the sister of the king Mahasena married a person disapproved by the king, she was banned from the palace and the newly married couple went off and established a small farming village around Kaudulla. Meanwhile King Mahasena while building and developing the irrigation systems around the country planned a massive tank at Minneriya to support the agriculture of the area. To carry this enormous amount of water, he had to build an extra long dam. To protect this dam from breaking up by the force of the water the king was asked to make a human sacrifice to the demons/gods who protected dam. The king hearing that his sister has given birth to a son, ordered the chief minister to sacrifice this infant on the gods. But the minister sacrificed a goat instead of the baby and informed the king that the sacrification is complete. The king satisfied, built and completed one of the largest man made tanks in that time.
On the day he was to ceremonially open the floodgates, he started regretting his decision to sacrifice his own nephew. The chief minister then informed the king that indeed infant prince is still alive. The king thrilled at the news ordered his ministers to bring his sister to the tank to show his marvelous creation and to share the joy. The sister was then escorted and was shown this gigantic tank by his brother. Then sister laughed and told the king that she too has been busy and requested the king to follow her to show what she has been up to. The princess took her brother to a new tank, which she had built with the villagers, which was even larger than the Minneriya. This tank is what we now know as Kaudulla Tank.
Kaudulla was declared a National park in April 1, 2002 by the Sri Lankan government. This is a unique national park in the sense that the two thirds of the park is under water during several months of the year. In addition to the Kaudulla Tank, which dominates the landscape, Kaudulla National Park includes Relapanawa Tank, Olumadu Wewa, Puliyan Kalla wewa, Mineriya-Kanthale Yoda Ela, Aluth Oya and Hatharas Kotuwa Oya.
The park is also situated on an elephant migratory path (an Elephant corridor) , which makes this park even more interesting. The park sits in between the Somawathi National Park and the Minneriya National Park. The road network of the park is about 16 km, but lack basic visitor facilities. Trackers have to obtain from either Girithale or from Habarana
Lunugamvehera
The Lunugamvehera National Park was opened to the public by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse on February 01 on the invitation of Environment and Natural Resources Minister A. H. M. Fowzie.
The Lunugamvehera National Park was established for protection as a corridor for elephant migration from the Yala National Park to the Uda Walawe National Park's Western region and for the protection of the catchment areas of the Lunugamvehera Reservoir. Even though the Lunugamvehera National Park covering an extent of 23,498.8 ha. was established on December 08, 1995, it had not been opened to the public. The Lunugamvehera Reservoir within the park covers 3,283 ha.
Located in the Moneragala District of the Uva Province, Lunugamvehera extends to Thanamalwila, Wellawaya, Kataragama, Buttala and to the Hambantota District in the South. Rich in biodiversity the park is a habitat for a large number of wild elephants and wild buffaloes. In addition other species of animals such as Fishing Cat, Grey Mongoose, Bear, Wild Boar, Spotted Deer and Mouse Deer are found here. Being a dry-mixed evergreen forest, Lunugamvehera Park has a variety of tree and plant species which provide ample food-stocks for vegetarian animals.
The Prime Minister also declared open the Yala Rock Entrance which provides access to Yala blocks III, IV and V. The Lunugamvehera National Park has two access roads while the headquarters of the park is located on the Hambantota-Wellawaya road.
Bird Sanctuaries
The sanctuaries at Kumana 312 km. from Colombo, Wirawila 261 km. Bundala 259 km. and Kalametiya 224 km. are all lagoon locations in Sri Lanka's extreme south eastern coast. The Giant's Tank in the north western corner of the island is a huge ancient irrigation reservoir of 3,800 hectares. The coastal sanctuaries are exotically picturesque with combinations of lagoon, swamp, river, jungle, lake and plain. Large flocks can be found here of both resident and migrant aquatic birds. The highland sanctuaries at Udawattakele 118 km. from Colombo and the Peak Wilderness 141 km. are quieter but equally picturesque with wooded hills and secluded streams and have the added bonus of rare flora such as our unique Wesak Orchid as well as numerous species of rare butterflies. The Udawattakele Sanctuary is in the suburbs of Kandy, our picturesque and fascinating hill capital. The Peak Wilderness is situated on the slopes of Adam's Peak (Sri Pada), Sri Lanka's sacred mountain.
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