World Heritages of Sri lanka
Sigiriya
According to inscriptions found in the caves which honeycomb the base of the rock fortress, Sigiriya served as a place of religious retreat as far back as the third century BC, when Buddhist monks established refuge in the locale. It wasn’t until the fifth century AD, however, that Sigiriya rose briefly to supremacy in Sri Lanka, following the power struggle which succeeded the reign of Dhatusena (455-473) of Anuradhapura. King Dhatusena had two sons, Mogallana, by one of the most desired and finest of his queens, and Kassapa, by a less significant consort. Upon hearing that Mogallana had been declared heir to the throne, Kassapa rebelled, driving Mogallana into exile in India and imprisoning his father, King Dhatusena. The legend of Dhatusena’s subsequent demise offers an enlightening illustration of the importance given to water in early Sinhalese civilization.
Threatened with death if he refused to reveal the whereabouts of the state treasure, Dhatusena agreed to show his errant son its location if he was permitted to bathe one final time in the great Kalawewa Tank, of which the construction he had overseen. Standing within the tank, Dhatusena poured its water through his hands and told Kassapa that this alone was his treasure. Kassapa, none too impressed, had his father walled up in a chamber and left him to die. Mogallana, meanwhile, vowed to return from India and reclaim his inheritance. Kassapa, making preparations for the expected invasion, constructed a new dwelling on top of the 200-metre-high Sigiriya rock – a combination of pleasure palace and indestructible fortress, which Kassapa intended would emulate the legendary abode of Kubera, the god of wealth, while a new city was established around its base. According to folklore, the entire fortress was built in just seven years, from 477 to 485 AD.
The long-awaited invasion finally materialized in 491, Mogallana having raised an army of Tamil mercenaries to fight his cause. Despite the benefits of his indestructible fortress, Kassapa, in an act of fatalistic bravado, descended from his rocky abode and rode boldly out on an elephant at the head of his troops to meet the attackers on the plains below. Unfortunately for Kassapa, his elephant took fright and bolted leading the battle. His troops, thinking he was retreating, fell back and left him to face off the battle. Facing capture and defeat, Kassapa killed himself. Following Mogallana’s quest, Sigiriya was handed over to the Buddhist monks, after which its caves once again became home to religious ascetics seeking peace and solitude. The site was finally abandoned in 1155, after which it remained largely forgotten, except for brief periods of military use by the Kingdom of Kandy in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, until being rediscovered by the British in 1828.
The Boulder Gardens and Terrace Gardens
Beyond the Water Gardens the main path begins to scale up through the unusual Boulder Gardens, constructed out of the huge boulders which lie tumbled around the foot of the rock, and offering a naturalistic wildness as opposed to the neat symmetries of the water gardens. Many of the boulders are notched with lines of fissures — they look rather like rock-carved steps, but in fact they were used as footings to support the brick walls or timber frames of the numerous buildings a which were built against or on top of the boulders – complex to imagine now, although it must originally have made an extremely picturesque sight.
The gardens were also the centre of Sigiriya’s monastic activity before and after Kassapa: there are approximately twenty rock shelters hereabouts which were used by monks, some containing inscriptions dating form between the third century BC and the first century AD. The caves would originally have been plastered and painted, and traces of this ornamentation can still be seen in a few places; you’ll also notice the dripstone ledges which were carved around the entrances in many of the caves of to prevent water from running into them. The Deraniyagala cave, just to the left of the path shortly after it begins to ascend through the gardens (there’s no sign), has a well-preserved dripstone ledge and traces of old paintings including the faded remains of various Apsara figures very similar to the famous Sigiriya Damsels further up the rock. On the opposite side of the main path up the rock, a side path leads to the Cobra Hood Cave, named for its strange decoration and a very faint inscription on the ledge in archaic Brahmi script dating from the second century BC.
Follow the path up the hill behind the Cobra Hood Cave and up through “Boulder Arch No.2” (as it’s signed), then turn left to reach the so-called Audience Hall, where the wooden walls and roof have long since disappeared, but the impressively smooth floor, created by chiseling the top off a single enormous boulder, remains, along with a five-meter-wide “throne” also cut out for a hall, though it’s more likely to have served a purely religious function, with the empty throne representing the Buddha. The small cave on the path just below the Audience Hall retains colorful splashes of various paintings on its ceiling (though now almost obliterated by contemporary graffiti) and is home to another throne, while a couple of more thrones can be found carved into nearby rocks.
Carry on back to the main path, then head on up again as the path – now a sequence of walled – in steps – begins to climb steeply through the terrace gardens, a series of rubble – retaining brick and limestone terraces that stretch to the base of views back down below.
The Royal Gardens
The Water Gardens
From the entrance, a wide and straight path arrows directly towards the rock, following the line of an imaginary east-west axis, drawn straight through the rock, around which the whole city had been planned This entire side of the city is protected by a broad moat enclosed within two-tiered walls. Crossing the moat (which once enclosed the entire west-facing side of the complex), you enter the Water Gardens. The appearance of this part varies greatly according to how much rain has recently been encompassed in the area, and in the dry season lack of water means that the gardens can be a little underwhelming.
The first section comprises of four pools set in a square; when full, they create a small island at their centre, connected by pathways to the surrounding gardens. The remains of pavilions can be seen in the rectangular areas to the north and south of the pools. Beyond this area is the small but elaborating Fountain Garden. Features here include a serpentine miniature “river” and limestone-bottomed channels and ponds. Two preserve their ancient fountain sprinklers –while these work on a simple pressure and gravity principle and still spurt out modest plumes of water after a heavy downpour. The whole complex offers a good example of the hydraulic sophistication achieved by the ancient Sinhalese natives in the dry zone: after almost 1500 years of disuse, all that was needed to restore the fountains to working order was to clear the water channels which feed them.
Audience Hall
The Mirror Wall
Shortly after reaching the base of the rock, two inconsistent nineteenth – century metal spiral staircases lead to and from a sheltered cave in the sheer rock face that holds Sri Lanka’s most famous sequence of frescoes, popularly referred to as the Sigiriya Damsels (no flash photography is entertained). These busty beauties were painted in the fifth century and are the only non-religious paintings to have survived from ancient Sri Lanka; they’re now one of the island’s most iconic- and most reproduced – images. Once described as the largest picture Gallery in the world, it’s thought that these frescoes would originally have covered an area of some 140 meters by length and 40 meters by height, though only 21 damsels now survive out of an original total of some five hundred (a number of paintings were destroyed by a delinquent in 1967, while a few of the surviving pictures are roped off out of sight). The exact significance of the paintings is unclear: they were originally thought to depict Kassapa’s consorts, though according to modern art historians the most convincing theory is that they are portraits of Apsaras (celestial nymphs), which would explain why they are shown from the waist up only, rising out of a cocoon of clouds (although even if this theory is true, the figures may, of course, have been modeled on particular beauties from Kassapa’s own court). The portrayal of the damsels is strikingly naturalistic, showing them scattering petals and offering flowers and trays of fruit – similar in a style to the famous murals at the Ajanta Caves in India, and a world away from the much later murals at nearby Dambulla, with their stylized and minutely detailed religious tableaux. An endearingly human touch is added by the slip of the brush visible here and there: one damsel has three hands, while another sports three nipples.
Just past the damsels, the pathway runs along the face of the rock, bounded on one side by the Mirror Wall. This was originally coated in highly polished plaster made from lime, egg white, beeswax and wild honey; sections of the original plaster survive and still retain a marvelous polished sheen. The wall is covered in graffiti, the oldest dating from the seventh century, in which early visitors recorded their impressions of Sigiriya and, especially, the nearby damsels – even after the city was abandoned, Sigiriya continued to draw a steady stream of tourists curious to see the remains of Kassapa’s fabulous pleasure-dome. Taken together, the graffiti form a kind of early medieval visitors’ book, and the 685 comments which have been deciphered give important insights into the development of the Sinhalese language and script; some are also of a certain poetic merit. Sadly, the older graffiti are very small and rather hard to see under the layers of deranged scribbling left by later and less cultured hands.
Beyond the Mirror Wall, the path runs along a perilous-looking iron walkway bolted onto the sheer rock face. From here you can see a huge boulder below, propped up on stone slabs. The rather far-fetched popular theory is that, in the event of an attack, the slabs would have been knocked away, causing the boulder to fall onto the attackers below, though it’s more likely that the slabs were designed to stop the boulder inadvertently falling down over the cliff.
The Lion Staircase
Continuing up the rock, a flight of limestone steps ascends steeply up to the Lion Platform, a large spur projecting from the north side of the rock, just below the summit (vendors sell fizzy drinks here at slightly inflated prices). From here, a final staircase, its base flanked by two enormous lion paws carved out of the rock, leads up to all that remains of a gigantic lion statue – the final path to the summit apparently led directly into its mouth. Visitors to Sigiriya were, one imagines, suitably impressed by this gigantic conceit and by the symbolism of pride – lions were the most important emblem of Sinhalese royalty, and the beast’s size presumably meant to reflect Kassapa’s prestige, strength and his questionable legitimacy to the throne.
The wire-mesh cages on the Lion Platform were built as refuges in the unlikely – event of bee attacks – you can see bee hives clinging to the underside of the rock overhang above, towards the left side of the stairs. The whole section of the rock face above is scored with countless notches and grooves which once supported steps up to the summit: the irony is that, it appears that Kassapa was afraid of heights, and it’s thought that these original steps would have been enclosed by a high wall — though this isn’t of much comfort for latter-day sufferers of vertigo, who have to make the final climb to the summit up a narrow iron staircase attached to the bare rock face.
The Palace
The Sigiriya Hinterland
Snare Rock
Palace (Sigiriya – Sithala Maligawa)
Cobra Hood Cave
Guard Cottage (Sigiriya)
Moat (Diya Agala – Sigiriya)
Atapattam pokuna Sigiriya
Deraniyagala Cave
Archeological Remains at Sigiriya
The king’s Upper Palace is located at the flat top of the Sigiriya Rock. In the middle terrace is the Lion Gate and the Mirror Wall, with its frescoes. The king’s Lower Palace clings to the slopes below the rock. The moats, walls and gardens of the palace extend for a few hundred meters from the base of the rock.
Tour Sigiriya
Visitors arrive outside the outer moats, with a magnificent view of the rock rising above the trees in the mid distance. Paths through the complex of moats and gardens lead to the foot of the slope. Stone stairways are found along the steep slope at the base of the rock, winding through the remains of the lower parts of the palace, reaching a terrace that traverses along the lower edge of the vertical face of the rock. The rock above this terrace, known as the mirror wall, was at one time adorned with frescoes, some of which can still be seen, though unfortunately now much are faded. At the end of the terrace beneath the highest part of the rock, the terrace opens out into a substantial courtyard.
From here the climb to the top of the rock is via a modern iron stairway that reaches the rock face through the remains of the original brick gateway, the Lion Gate, now degenerated to a massive pair of brick paws. The ruined paws are all that remain of a huge head and fore paws of a lion, whose open mouth served as the main entrance to the royal palace. The route continues around, across and up the cliff face via a rather airy iron staircase, a modern replacement for the original brick stairway – that vanished along with the lion’s head during the 1400 years since the palace was constructed.
The stairway ends at the highest point of the rock – the upper palace falls away in gentle tiers towards the opposite end of the rock from this point. The ruins of the palace buildings rise only perhaps half a metre above the surface of the rock, but the extensive works cut into the surface of the rock have endured better.
The Apsara paintings
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Dalada Maligawa (Temple of tooth relic)
Kandy was the capital of the Sinhalese Kings from 1592 to 1815. Fortified by a terrain of mountains and the difficult approach Kandy managed to operate in independence from Dutch, Portuguese and the English till 1815. The city is a world heritage site declared by UNESCO, in part due to this temple.
The Sri Dalada Maligawa or The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic is a temple in the city of Kandy in Sri Lanka. It was built within the royal palace complex which houses the one of the two surviving relic of the tooth of Buddha, an object of veneration for Buddhists. The other tooth relic is believed to be enshrined in a stupa called Somawathi Chethiya.
The Sri Dalada Maligawa in Kandy, the temple which houses the Sacred Tooth Relic of The Buddha, is possibly the most sacred Buddhist shrine in the world. It is venerated not only by Buddhists in Sri Lanka but by Buddhists all over the world.
King Wimaladharmasuriya I (1592 - 1603), the first to select Kandy as the ruling capital, originally built a two storied temple for the Relic and brought the tooth relic from Delgamuwa near Kuruwita in Sabaragamuwa which had been hidden for protection. Remains of this temple no longer exist.
Wimaladharmasuriya II (1686 - 1706) built a three storied temple and his son King Viraparakrama Narendrasinha (1706 - 1738), the last Sinhalese king to rule the country, built a new two storied temple temple seeing that the old temple built by his father had decayed.
The last king of sri lanka, Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe (1797 - 1814) built the Pattirippuwa (the Octagon). Originally, the Pattirippuwa (octagon) was part of the royal palace. It was used by the king to address his follow countrymen. Today the Pattirippuwa has become a part of the temple and houses ancient textures written in ola leaves.
The entrance to the temple complex is through the "Maha Vahalkada". There are two walls on the sides of the "Vahalkada". The outer wall is called "Diyareli Bamma" ('wall of water ripples'). This same pattern is also used in the wall surrounding the Kandy lake. The inner wall is called "Walakulu Bamma" ('wall of clouds'). Both these walls are built with holes to place oil lanterns during the night.
After passing the "Vahalkada" and the moat, you come to a "Makara Thorana". Next is the tunnel "ambarawa". Passing this you come to the ground floor of the temple complex. The lower floor of the building called "pallemaluwa". This inner chamber is fortified with a large wooden door and decorated with bronze and ivory. The area in front of the door is called the "Hevisi Mandapaya" (Drummers Courtyard) where the daily rituals are carried out.
The tooth relic is kept in the upper floor in the chamber called "Vadahitina Maligawa" The door ot this chamber is covered with gold silver and ivory. The tooth relic is encased in seven gold caskets studded with precious stones. The outer casket is studded by precious stones offered to the tooth relic by various rulers.
On the right to the relic is the "Perahara Karanduwa" (relic chamber used in the annual Asala Mangalaya perahara (procession) kept inside a bullet proof glass display. This has been donated by India. Over the relic chamber there is a golden lotus flower studded with precious stones hanging from the ceiling.
On to the left of the temple is the new building which houses the taxidermised remains of the Maligawa Tusker - Raja. This magnificent tusker was captured in the jungles of Eravur in the Batticaloa District 1925. He was purchased by Tikiri Banda Manampitiya Dissawe for Rs 3,300/- in 1937 and was donated to the temple by him. For over 50 years Raja carried the golden casket which carried the tooth relic and in 1984 he was declared as a national treasure by the government. This is only the second time a tusker has been declared a national treasure. Raja died In 1988 after a long illness and then it was decided that he to be taxidermised. This is first time a tusker has been taxidermised.
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Esala Perahera
Esala Perahera (the procession of Esala) is the grand festival with elegant costumes held in July and August in Kandy, Sri Lanka. This historical procession (perahera) is held annually to pay homage to theSacred Tooth Relic of Lord Buddha, which is housed at the Sri Dalada Maligawa in Kandy. A unique symbol of Sri Lanka, the procession consists of many traditional local dances such as fire-dances, whip-dances, Kandyan dances and various other cultural dances, in addition to the elephants who are usually adorned with lavish garments. The festival ends with the traditional diya-kepeema ritual, a water cutting ceremony which is held at the Mahaweli River at Getambe, Kandy.
History
The Esala is believed to be a fusion of two separate but interconnected "Peraheras" (Processions) – TheEsala and Dalada. The Esala Perahera, which is thought to date back to the 3rd century BC, was a ritual enacted to request the gods for rainfall. The Dalada Perahera is believed to have begun when the Sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha was brought to Sri Lanka from India during the 4th century CE, eight hundred years after the passing away of Lord Buddha.
According to tradition, the Tooth Relic was taken in procession to Sri Lanka by Princess Hemamala & Prince Dantha.
Modern Perahera
The Modern Perahera dates back to the reign of the Kandyan King, Kirthi Sri Rajasinghe (1747–1781). During these times, the Tooth Relic was considered private property of the King and the public never got a chance to worship it. However, King Rajasinghe decreed that the Relic be taken in procession for the masses to see and venerate.
After the Kandyan Kingdom fell to the British in 1815, the custody of the Relic was handed over to theMaha Sanga (the Buddhist Clergy). In the absence of the king, a lay custodian called the "Diyawadana Nilame" was appointed to handle routine administrative matters
The Procession
The Kandy Esala Perahera begins with the Kap Situveema or Kappa, in which a sanctified young Jackfruit tree (Artocarpus integrifolia) is cut and planted in the premises of each of the four Devales dedicated to the four guardian gods Natha, Vishnu, Katharagama and the goddess Pattini. Traditionally it was meant to shower blessing on the King and the people.
The Kumbal Perahera
For the next five nights, the "Devale Peraheras" take place within the premises of the four Devales with the priest of each Devale taking the pole every evening, accompanied by music and drumming, flag and canopy bearers, spearman and the Ran Ayudha, the sacred insignia of the Gods.
On the sixth night, the Kumbal Perahera begins and continues on for five days. Initially, the Devale Peraheras assemble in front of the Temple of the Tooth, which is Sri Lanka's most important Buddhist Shrine and where the Buddha’s Sacred Tooth Relic has been kept since the 16th Century) with their insignias placed on the ransivige (a dome-like structure) accompanied by the Basnayake Nilames (the lay custodians of the Devales).
The relic casket, which is a substitute for the Tooth Relic, is placed inside the ransivige affixed to the Maligawa Elephant, a the Maligawa Perahera joins the awaiting Devale Peraheras and leads the procession. Whip-crackers and fireball acrobats clear the path, followed by the Buddhist flag bearers. Then, riding on the first elephant, is the official called Peramuna Rala (Front Official). He is followed by Kandyan Drummers and Dancers who enthrall the crowd, and are themselves followed by elephants and other groups of musicians, dancers and flag bearers. A group of singers dressed in white heralds the arrival of the Maligawa Tusker carrying the Sacred Tooth Relic. The Diyawadana Nilame (traditionally required to do everything in his power to ensure rain in the correct season) walks in traditional Kandyan-clothed splendor after the tusker.
The second procession is from the Natha Devale, which faces the Sri Dalada Maligawa and is said to be the oldest building in Kandy, dating back to the 14th Century.
The third is from the Vishnu Devale (Vishnu being a Hindu god), also known as the Maha Devale. It is situated in front of the main gate of the Natha Devale.
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The fourth procession is from the Katharagama Devale (dedicated to the God of Katharagama, identified with the warrior god Skanda) which is on Kottugodalle Vidiya (a street in Kandy). This procession includesKavadi, the peacock dance, in which the pilgrim-dances carry semicircular wooden contraptions studded with peacock feathers on their shoulders.
The fifth and final procession is from the Pattini Devale (Pattini being a goddess associated with the cure of infectious diseases and called upon in times of drought and famine), which is situated to the West of the Natha Devale. This is the only procession that has women dances.
The following important times are announced by the firing of cannonballs, which can be heard all acrossKandy.
- The commencement of the Devale Peraheras
- The placing of the casket on the tuskers back
- The commencement of the Dalada Perahera
- The completion of the Perahera
The Randoli Perahera
The Randoli Perahera begins after five nights of the Kumbal Perahera. Randoli refers to palanquins on which the Queens of the ruling Kings traditionally traveled.
Diya Kepeema and the Day Perahera
After a further five nights of the Randoli Perahera, the pageant ends with the Diya Kepeema, which is the water cutting ceremony at the Mahaweli River at Getambe, a town a few miles from Kandy. A Day Perahera is held to mark the ceremony.
Organization of the Perahera
The rituals connected with the Tooth Relic are conducted by Monks of the Malwatte Chapter|Malwatte and Asgiriya Chapters of the Buddhist clergy in Sri Lanka. It is the duty of the Diyawadana Nilame to organize the Perahera and thus he summons the large number of officials of the Temple of the Tooth and entrusts them with various ceremonial duties connected with the conducting of the Perahera. He first gets the auspicious time from the Nekath Mohottala, the advisor on astrological matters. The task of organising the different types of drummers is handed over to the four officials known as the Panikka Mura Baarakaruwo.
The Maligawa officials also meet the owners of the elephants due to take part in the Perahera (most elephants are privately owned). The dance troupes are given time to prepare. The Basnayake Nilames (the lay custodians of the Devales) are then told to organise their processions.
Sinharaja Rain Forest
Sinharaja Rain Forest (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), the last viable remnant of Sri Lanka’s tropical lowland rainforest spanning an area of 18900 acres is located within Sabaragamuwa and Southern provinces of the south-west lowland wet zone of Sri Lanka. Sinharaja is bounded by rivers on three sides. On the north, Sinharaja is bounded by the Napola Dola and Koskulana Ganga. On the south and south-west are the rivers Maha Dola and Gin Ganga. On the west are the river Kalukandawa Ela and river Kudawa Ganga. To the east of Sinharaja is an ancient footpath near Beverley Tea Estate and by the Denuwa Kanda.
6°21′-6°26’N, 80°21′-80°34’E.
6°21′-6°26’N, 80°21′-80°34’E.
Reaching Sinharaja Rain Forest
From Northern or western parts of the country you can reach Sinharaja Forest Reserve via Ratnapura, Kiriella, Kalawana, Weddala. From the South you can enter Sinharaja Rain Forest from Deniya. Coming form Hambantota, Udawalawe you can enter Sinharaja from Rakwana side.
Area of Sinharaja Rain Forest
The total area of the Sinharaja Forest Reserve is 18,900 acres or 7,648 hectares. It ranges in altitude from 300m to 1,170m.
Significance of Sinharaja Forest
Sinharaja Forest reserve is also home to over 50% of Sri Lanka’s endemic species of mammals and butterflies, as well as many kinds of insects, reptiles and rare amphibians.
Establishment of Sinharaja Forest Reserve
Most of the area of Sinharaha forest was originally declared a forest reserve under the Waste Lands Ordinance in 1875. In 1978, Sinharaja Rain Forest was included in the international network of biosphere reserves, established and maintained as part of UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere (MAB) program. In October 1988, this reserve, together with a northeastern extension of it, was declared Sri Lanka’s first National Wilderness Heritage Area. In December 1988, the Sinharaja Biosphere Reserve became Sri Lanka’s first natural site to be added to UNESCO World Heritage list.
Climate of Sinharaja Rain Forest
Meteorological records gathered from in and around Sinharaja over the last 60 years reveal the annual rainfall of Sinharaja Forest has ranged between 3614mm to 5006mm and temperatures from 19°C to 34°C. The high rainfall is owing to two monsoons: south-west monsoons during May-July and the north-east monsoons during November-January.
Physical features
Sinharaja Rain Forest is a narrow strip of undulating terrain consists of a series of ridges and valleys drained by an intricate network of streams, which flow into the Gin Ganga on the southern boundary and Kalu Ganga, via the Napola Dola, Koskulana Ganga and Kudawa Ganga, on the northern boundary.
Nature trails of Sinharaja Rain Forest
The two main nature trails of Sinharaja Rain Forest are those lead to the peak of Moulawella and the peak of Sinhagala. Both of these nature trails begins at Kudawa Conservation Centre (KCC) are equally enjoyable and enlightening. The forest is densly crowded with tall trees growing in close proximity, but winding trails make the trekking. Small streams of crystal-clear cool water, that is home to a variety of fish, toads and crabs, crisscross the trails. And the mixed species of birds are seen in the canopy of woods.
Sinhagala Nature Trail
Trail head: Entrance to the protected area, Kudawa Conservation Centre, Weddagala, Kalawana
Trail end: Sinhagala Peak
Length of the trail: 2.4 km
Rise in elevation gain along the trail: 300m at Trail Head: 473m at Trail End
Approximate time: 5-7 hours
Hiking Season: Best months are December to April
Trail end: Sinhagala Peak
Length of the trail: 2.4 km
Rise in elevation gain along the trail: 300m at Trail Head: 473m at Trail End
Approximate time: 5-7 hours
Hiking Season: Best months are December to April
Mulawella Nature Trail
Trail head: Entrance to the protected area, Kudawa Conservation Centre, Weddagala, Kalawana
Trail end: Mulawella Peak
Length of the trail: 2.4 km
Rise in elevation along the trail: 457m at Trail Head to 758m at Trail End
Approximate time: 1-2 hours
Hiking Season: Best months are December to April
Trail end: Mulawella Peak
Length of the trail: 2.4 km
Rise in elevation along the trail: 457m at Trail Head to 758m at Trail End
Approximate time: 1-2 hours
Hiking Season: Best months are December to April
Birdlife in Sinharaja Rain Forest
Sinharaja Rain Forest is home to numerous indigenous birds such asthe Ceylon Hanging Parrot (Loriculus beryllinus), the Ceylon Grey Hornbill (Ocyceros gingalensis), the Ashy-headed Laughing Thrush (Garrulax cinereifrons), Layard’s parakeet (Psittacula calthripae), the Jungle fowl (Gallus lafayetii ), the Spur fowl (Galloperdix bicalcarata), the Ceylon Wood Pigeon (Columba torringtonii), the Brown- capped Babbler (Pellorneum fuscocapillum), the Red-faced Malkoha (Phaenicophaeus pyrrhocephalus) and the Ceylon Blue Magpie (Urocissa ornate) among others, are prominent in this area.
19 of Sri Lanka’s 20 species of endemic bird species in Sri Lanka are found in the Sinharaja Reserve
Among the endangered birds are Sri Lanka Wood Pigeon, Green-Billed Coucal, Sri Lankan white-headed starling, Red-faced Malkoha, Green-billed Caucal, Sri Lanka Spur fowl Sri Lankan Blue Magpie, and Ashy-headed Babbler, all of which are endemic.
Among the endangered birds are Sri Lanka Wood Pigeon, Green-Billed Coucal, Sri Lankan white-headed starling, Red-faced Malkoha, Green-billed Caucal, Sri Lanka Spur fowl Sri Lankan Blue Magpie, and Ashy-headed Babbler, all of which are endemic.
Mammals, reptiles, amphibians and butterflies
Out of 12 endemic mammal species of the country 8 are found here. Giant squirrel, dusky-stripped jungle squirrel, badger mongoose and endemic purple-faced leaf monkey and torque macaque are frequently seen.
Many threatened species of mammals, reptiles, amphibians and butterflies are found in the Reserve including the leopard. Endemism among mammals and butterflies is greater than 50%. Reptiles and amphibia include python, endemic green pit viper, endemic hump nosed lizard (Lyriocephalus scutatus) and and rough-nose horned lizard (Ceratophora aspera).
Conservation Value Sinharaja
Conservation Value Sinharaja is the last extensive primary lowland tropical rain forest in Sri Lanka. It holds a large number of endemic species of plants and animals, and a variety of plants of known benefit to man. Sinharaja Forest Reserve is the last viable remnant of Sri Lanka’s tropical lowland rain forest; over 60% of the trees are endemic and many of these are rare; and there are 21 endemic bird species, and a number of rare insects, reptiles and amphibians (IUCN Technical Evaluation).
The long-term success of conserving Sinharaja depends upon the sustainable development of its buffer and peripheral zones through a participatory approach emphasizing the involvement of local people. Construction of hotels on peripheral zones and constructions of roads over the protected areas are bound to result in irrecoverable damages to this world heritage site.
Map of Sinharaja Rain Forest
A – Kudawa Conservation Centre
B – Jeep track from Kudawa Conservation Centre to Kudawa Research Station
C – Mulawella peak
D – Kudawa Research Station
E – Gal Yen Yaya
F – Sinhagala Peak
G – Pitadenaya Conservation Centre
H – Pitadenaya Ticket Counter
I – Track from Mediripitiya to Pitadeniya Conservation Centre
J – Kohila Aramba
K – Kekuna Ella
L – Patan-oya Ella
M – Duwili Ella (Kosmulla)
N – Morningside Conservation Centre
O – Natural Pool
P – Duwili Ella (Morningside)
B – Jeep track from Kudawa Conservation Centre to Kudawa Research Station
C – Mulawella peak
D – Kudawa Research Station
E – Gal Yen Yaya
F – Sinhagala Peak
G – Pitadenaya Conservation Centre
H – Pitadenaya Ticket Counter
I – Track from Mediripitiya to Pitadeniya Conservation Centre
J – Kohila Aramba
K – Kekuna Ella
L – Patan-oya Ella
M – Duwili Ella (Kosmulla)
N – Morningside Conservation Centre
O – Natural Pool
P – Duwili Ella (Morningside)
1 – Wathurawa-Mulawella
2 – From Kudawa Conservation Centre to Nawanda Tree
3 – From Sinhagala Trail to gal len yaya
4 – Sinhagala Trail from Kudawa
5 – Kohila Aamba Trail
6 – Kekuna Ella and Pata-oua Ella Trail
7 – Sinhagala Trail from Pitadeniya
8 – Duwili Ella Trail from Denuwakanda
9 – Duwili Ella Trail from MCC
10 – From Morningside to the natural pool
11 – Trail from Kosmulla via Duwili Ella to Siththara gal lena (cave)
2 – From Kudawa Conservation Centre to Nawanda Tree
3 – From Sinhagala Trail to gal len yaya
4 – Sinhagala Trail from Kudawa
5 – Kohila Aamba Trail
6 – Kekuna Ella and Pata-oua Ella Trail
7 – Sinhagala Trail from Pitadeniya
8 – Duwili Ella Trail from Denuwakanda
9 – Duwili Ella Trail from MCC
10 – From Morningside to the natural pool
11 – Trail from Kosmulla via Duwili Ella to Siththara gal lena (cave)
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