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watching, see wildlife paying a visit to Ceylon will
be a holiday you'll never forget. If you want to try
out eco tourism, Sri Lanka is a marvelous place to
spend your vacation. Sri Lanka is one place where
you could be in harmony with nature like in no other
place. By spending your holiday in Sri Lanka you'll
get so much of entertainment.
A Holiday in Sri Lanka means that you'll have loads
of fun, experience a unique culture
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Sinharaja
Rain Forest - World Heritage -
Sri Lanka
Sinharaja (11,250
ha), is the jewel of the last remaining virgin
rainforest crown in country is located in the
wet zone of the country. the primeval Sinharaja
covers 8900 hectares of breathtakingly
beautiful, continuous forest.
Beautiful Streams, springs, rivers, waterfalls,
leopard, monkeys, butterflies and moths, rare
trees, valuable shrubs and medicinal herbs are
all found within its green canopy. A trek along
the sinharaja paths would provide nature
entusiast a never to be forgotten experience of
sights and sounds and feelings.
This is Sri
Lanka's most important rainforest. The forest
has tall trees growing in close proximity, but
winding paths make it easy to walk along the
forest floor. It is inhabited by water monitors,
torque macaques, leopards, giant squirrels,
purple-faced leaf monkeys and leeches. Bird life
includes Ceylon Spurfowl, Ceylon Junglefowl,
Ceylon Wood Pigeon, Sri Lanka Hanging Parrot,
Layard's Parakeet, Red-faced Malkoha,
Green-billed Coucal, Chestnut-backed Owlet,
Ceylon Grey Hornbill, Yellow-fronted Barbet,
Ceylon Small Barbet, Black-capped Bulbul,
Spotted-winged Thrush, Brown-capped Babbler,
Orange-billed Babbler, Ashy-headed
Laughing-Thrush, Ceylon Blue Magpie, Ceylon
White-headed Starling, Ceylon Hill Munia, Ceylon
Hill Myna, Malabar Trogon, Black Bulbul, Indian
Scimitar Babbler, Greater Racket-tailed Drongo,
Green Imperial Pigeon, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch
and Yellow-browned Bulbul.
t
t
Mountain Peaks of
Sinharaja Rain Forest
- How to get there ?
From Nothern or western parts of the country you can
reach Sinharaja via Ratnapura, Kiriella, Kalawana,
Weddala, From the South you can enter sinhraja from
Deniya. Coming form Hambantota, Udawalawe you can enter
Sinharaja from Rakwana side.
The
Sinharaja area consists a series of ridges and valleys.
There are several mountain peaks in the eastern side of
the Forest Reserve.
*
Nominate
Sinharaja Forest to be among new 7 Wonders of Nature.
Mountain Peaks
Hinipitigala Peak - 1,171 m
Dotugala Peak - 769 m
Mulawella Peak - 760 m
Kosgulana 797 m
Hinipitigala West 1170 m
Hinipitigala East 1168 m
Pathinigala 605 m
Sinhagala 742 m
Tibbotagala 904 m
Kohilarambe 757 m
Rivers
Koskulana Ganga
Maha Ganga
Kudawa Ganga
Maha Dola
Pitakele Ganga
Gin Ganga
Kalukandawa
Gin Ganga
Napala Dola
Aranuwa Dola
The Sinharaja falls within
a rainfall range of 3,000 to 6,000 millimeters and even
diest season records a surprisingly considerable amount
of rain fall.
Animals Life:
Preliminary studies on the fauna of Sinharaja have
revealed that there is a high degree of endemism among
the butterflies, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and
mammals. In fact 95%of the endemic birds of Sri Lanka
are recorded in Sinharaja. Endemism among mammals and
butterflies are also greater than 50%.
Out of the larger mammals, although elephants were said
to be common in the past, there have not been reports of
sightings during the last 15 years. However, there have
been reports of sightings of a few animals in the
Eastern Sector. The most common deer species is the
Sambhur.The Mouse Deer and Barking deer are also found
within the reserve. Leopards are very seldom sighted,
but their frequent presence has been confirmed by tracks
and other signs. Brown Mongoose and the Golden Palm
Civet have been occasionally sighted. The most commonly
seen primate is the Purple faced Leaf Monkey.
Out of the birds recorded in the Western sector of the
reserve, 72% were resident non- endemic and 13%
migrants. One of the most interesting and colorful
spectacles to be found in the Sinharaja is the presence
of mixed species of foraging bird flocks, a phenomenon
commonly found in rain forests. A total of 100 such
flocks were systematically observed, and studies have
revealed that some flocks contained 48 species including
12 endemic species. The rare endemic birds to be seen in
Sinharaja are the Red-faced Malkoha, the Sri Lanka Blue
Magpie, the Ashy - headed Babbler, the White- Headed
Starling and the Green-billed Coucal the rarest of Sri
Lankan birds.
People: Sinharaja is surrounded by 22
villages with a population of approximately 5000 people.
Only two villages, Warukandeniya and Kolonthotuwa are
located within the reserve. The long history of human
habitation in and around today's reserve, in fact
compounds the problem of managing and conserving the
forest. Most of the ancient harmless are found along the
southern boundary of the reserve on the bank of Gin
Ganga with a few located on the north- western side.
Numerous ancient footpaths exist on the periphery of the
reserve while there are three footpaths that run across
the interior of the forest.
The family structure is that of an extended family with
parents, children and grand parents living together. The
houses have small floor area, averaging 25 sq. meters
and are constructed if wattle and daub. The roof is
tatched with leaves of a forest treelet called Beru or
with Bamboo leaves. Lately however, coconut leaves for
tatching and clay tiles have begun to gain popularity as
roofing materials.
