This World Heritage site comprises the largest primary wet forest remaining in Sri Lanka. Many of the forest endemics can be seen here including SL Spurfowl, Junglefowl, Frogmouth and Blue Magpie, Red-faced Malkoha, Chestnut-backed Owlet, Layard's Parakeet.

To get to Sinharaja you need to le    Read more...

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ave your vehicle at Veddagala and rent a jeep to take you on a rough road to the village of Kudawa where you pay for permits and the obligatory ranger. Birding at Sinharaja essentially means walking along the trail to the Research Station and it is along this road that many key species can be found. Birds can be seen all along the trail but the final 1km is particularly good. Scaly Thrush is usually found by the stream behind the Research Station. Spurfowl can also be seen there but the best site is back down the hill at Kudawa.

Located in south-west Sri Lanka, Sinharaja is the country's last viable area of primary tropical rainforest. More than 60% of the trees are endemic and many of them are considered rare. There is much endemic wildlife, especially birds, but the 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.

This forest covers an extent of about 11,187 hectares from east to west. The length of the forest is about 21km and width from North to South is about 3.7km. It was declared a Man and Biosphere Reserve (MAB) in 1978,as representative of tropical humid evergreen forest Eco system in Sri Lanka and has been recognized by UNESCO as part of it’s International Network of Biosphere reserves. It was declared a National wilderness area in 1988 and a World Heritage Site in 1989. The average annual temperature of Sinharaja is 23.6 C. Annual rainfall is more than 2500mm. The rainfall is well distributed during two monsoons, May to July and October to December.

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