Sinharaja Rainforest

Sinharaja Forest encompasses an area of 11,000 hectares is located within Galle, Mathara and Rathnapura districts of the south-west lowland wet zone of Sri Lanaka.

💚Southwest - Sabaragamuwa and Southern Provinces

💚North- Naspolagamuwa, Koskulana river

💚South and Southwest- Gin river

💚West- Kalukanduwawa river

💚East-Barley tea estste can be identified as the boundaries of sinharaja rain forest.

There are four main routes of access to Sinharaja. The Kalawana-Weddagala road from the northwest, the Rakwana-Morning side estate road from the north-east, the Hiniduma- Neluwa road from the south-west and Deniyaya- Pllegama road from the South-east. Among these roads the kalawana- Weddagala road is shorter and more convenient for visitors travelling from Colombo.

The word Sinharaja means, lion (sinha) king (raja) and the popular belief is that original kingly or royal forest of the Sinhala people, a legendary 'lion-race' of Sri Lanka. If you look at the historical information about this Sinharaja forest which is a great resource for Sri Lanka, the records of it go back to the time of the explorer Ibn Battuta. According to that report, his route from Galle to Sri Pada was through Sinharaja. Sinharaja was mapped by the Dutch who invaded Sri Lanka in 1789. The British who later invaded Ceylon explored the natural resources of this forest. 

Sinharaja Forest has 8 beautiful waterfalls and unlimited waterways. These are Kekuna Falls, Pathanoya Falls, Malmora Falls, Brahmana Falls, Galdoru Falls, Pigs fall falls (Uran Wetuna falls), Thattu falls and Dust falls (Duwili falls). Some of them are very high and some of them are narrow at once. Duvili Ella is the most beautiful waterfall in Sinharaja and the shape of the Galdoru Ella is different from other waterfalls. If you want a refreshing swim in the waterfall. You can take your swimsuits. Also, the Natural Spa is a special facility for travelers. A natural spa is one that allows the fish to clean your feet while swimming in small rivers and soaking their feet in the water to refresh themselves in the pools. 

The highest point of Sinharaja is Mount Hinipitigala which is situated at a height of 1171m. In addition, the Sinharaja forest has several peaks over 600 meters high, including the Kosgulana, Sinhagala and Mulawella mountains. These mountains are for tourists who like to do activities like mountaineering, camping, etc. 

Six main layers of the flora can be identified in the Sinharaja forest. They are named as neru layer, canopy layer, sub canopy layer, lower canopy layer, shrub layer and ground layer. The tallest plants, which grows to a height of about 45m, belongs to the Neru layer and the canopy layer is below the Neru layer. Plants belonging to this canopy layer can grow up to 35 meters in height. The sub-canopy layer extends about 25m below the canopy layer. The lower canopy layer is located below the sub-canopy layer meanwhile, the canopy layer receives about 3% of the sunlight that the canopy layer receives. Below the canopy is a layer of shrubs, the nature of which varies from place to place. Out of 340 species of woody plants found here, 192 species are endemic to Sri Lanka. Of these 192 species, 15 are found only in the Sinharaja forest. About 75% of plants here are endemic to Sri Lanka.

About 320 species of vertebrates have been identified in this forest and 113 of these 320 species have been identified as endemic species. Mammals such as Sambar Deer, the Mouse Deer, and Barking Deer and Sri Lankan Leopards can be seen. Also, 19 species of freshwater fish belonging to 7 genera are found in Sinharaja and only half of these fish species can be identified as endemic. So far 33 species of amphibians have been found in Sinharaja and only half of the amphibian species found in Sri Lanka can be found in Sinharaja. Butterflies are another species that can be found in the forest. Two species of butterflies and 19 subspecies endemic to Sri Lanka are found in the Sinharaja. Sinharaja Forest is the best place to watch mixed species bird flocks. Of Sri Lanka's 26 endemic birds, the 20 rainforest species all occur here, including the elusive red-faced malkoha, green- billed coucal and Sri Lanka blue magpie. 

In 1936 Sinharaja Forest was first recognized as being the only considerable patch of virgin tropical rain forest in the Island. The Sinharaja Forest was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1988 as the Sinharaja Reserve.

This green forest may be needed for more scientific experiments tomorrow than it is today, and the potential for future solutions to potentially undiscovered drugs can be found in the plant kingdom. Sinharaja, which was a haven for knowledge-seeking scientists, should be preserved for future generations so that the value of the sinharaja Wild Sanctuary, which is rich in biodiversity, will undoubtedly increase.