Location Sabaragamuwa and Southern Provinces, Sri Lanka
Coordinates 6°25′00″N 80°30′00″E
Nearest city Rakwana
Sinharaja Forest
Reserve is a forest reserve and a biodiversity hotspot in Sri
Lanka. It is of international significance and has been designated a Biosphere Reserve and World
Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Photo by Keshan Viduranga:
According to International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Sinharaja is the country's last viable area of primary tropical rainforest. Over 60% of the trees are endemic, many of them considered rare. 50% of Sri Lankan's endemics species of animals (especially butterfly, amphibians, birds, snakes and fish species). It is home to 95% endemic birds.
The
hilly virgin rainforest, part of the Sri Lanka lowland rain
forests ecoregion, was saved from the worst of commercial logging by its
inaccessibility, and was designated a World Biosphere Reserve in 1978 and a
World Heritage Site in 1988.
Because of the dense
vegetation, wildlife is not as easily seen as at dry-zone national parks such
as Yala. The most common larger mammal is the endemic purple-faced
langur.
Reptiles include the
endemic green pit viper and hump-nosed viper, and there are a
large variety of amphibians, especially tree frogs. Invertebrates include
the endemic Sri Lankan birdwing butterfly and leeches.
Photo by Oleksandr P:
Reptiles include the
endemic green pit viper and hump-nosed viper, and there are a
large variety of amphibians, especially tree frogs. Invertebrates include
the endemic Sri Lankan birdwing butterfly and leeches.
Photo by Maverick F:
