When you picture Sri Lanka, you might think of busy beach towns filled with surfers and sunbathers or remote areas with exotic wildlife and hill country stretching as far as the eye can see. And while, yes, there are some areas of this massive country where the terrain might surprise you. Sri Lanka's ever-changing scenery will excite you, and these national parks are just the ticket to opening their beauty.
Yala National Park is the most beloved national park in Sri Lanka, and it is spread across two provinces, particularly Uva & Southern. It lies within Monaragala & Hambantota districts.Yala National Park includes about 97,880.7 hectares, the diverse ecosystem extending from the Moist Monsoon Forest to the different natural compartments. Yala was identified as a protected area in 1900, and it was 389 km2 at that time. In 1909 Yala was named as Sanctuary and get a gazette as a National Park on 25 th February 1938.
Udawalawe National Park is one of the essential and most significant national parks in Sri Lanka. This is an important protected area home to considerable flora and fauna, and also it is a virtual environment for Sri Lankan elephants and water birds. This national park lies on the boundary of Uva and Sabaragamuwa provinces. The park is 165 kilometres [103mi] away from the capital city Colombo. Udawalawe national park was declared on 30th June 1972 at a ceremony presided over by the ministry of shipping and tourism. [government Gazette Notification No:14]. This park was done at the end of the Udawalawe Reservoir Project. The primary objective of designating it as a national park is to protect the catchment areas and create a refuge for wild elephants. A second reservoir, Maw Ara tank, was constructed between 1991 & 1998 in the national park.
The main topographical highlight in this park is the concentration of "villus" or "lakes" within it. Though confined to a particular park sector, the striking feature is extremely varied copper red, loamy soils. The park's western sector with deeply forested areas and thorny bushes are reminiscent of Yala National Park in southern Sri Lanka. It is characterized by inter monsoon rains in March and April, extensive drought from May until early September and a significant rainy season (Northern Monsoon) from September until December. Based on long-term records, the mean annual temperature is 27.2 ° C, and the total yearly rains approximately 1000mm based on long term records.
Horton plain, its surroundings forests, and the neighbouring Peak Wilderness connect Sri Lanka’s most significant catchment area of almost all the main rives. The tables are also outstanding the environments and endemic plants and animals representatives of the land wet and montane zones.
Horton plains comprise a gently fluctuating highland hill at the southern end of the central mountains massif of Sri Lanka. It is managed to the north by Mount Totupola Kanda (2,357m) also to the west by Mount Kirigalpotta (2,389m). Two mountains filling from the Horton Plain have added immensely to its awe-inspiring physiognomy, “big worlds end” by 884m. The beauty of the foliage of the peaks encircling the plains as intermittently covered by mist is emphasised by the sparking Baker’s fall. The altitude of the park covers from about 1,800m to 2,389m at the peak of Kirigalpotta. The plateau at 2,100m is the most distinguished tableland in Sri Lanka.
The Minneriya National Park is found in the District of Polonnaruwa in the North Central Province. Minneriya tank, along with its surroundings, performs a vital role as a wetland. Therefore, it has high biodiversity and
The main entrance to the Park is Ambagaswewa, 8.8km from Habarana toward the Colombo Polonnaruwa road. Following getting a permit from the Ambagaswewa wildlife conservation office, one could access the Park.
Kaudulla national park is the newly established national park near the city of Habarana, Sri Lanka. Kaudulla is in the country and has excellent potential for viewing elephants and other species of wildlife.Topography is varied with hills, lowlands, forest and scrubland. Kaudulla is an old irrigation tank with a capacity of 104,000 feet acres. The primary source of water is a giant canal which is around the tank. The central annual rainfall is about 1500-2000 mm; the mean annual temperature is 20°C.
The national park vegetation consists of tropical dry mixed evergreen forests, abandoned chena cultivated lands, grasslands and wetlands. Tropical dry mixed evergreen forest predominated.
Twenty-four species of mammals in Sri Lanka have been recorded from this park. The several majors of them is the wild elephant, the population of which is about 200. Twenty-six species of fish are found in the reservoir; these fish are economically important. In this park, 435 species of birds are reported to be endemic birds to Sri Lanka.
The Pigeon Island National park, fringed by a coral reef near Nilaveli beach, was named as a National Park below the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance in 2003. It is unique because the only national park in the nation to harbour a colony of the gorgeous Blue Rock pigeons and contains some of the best surviving coral reefs in the country. Over 100 varieties of corals and more than 300 reef fish species have been recognised from the Trincomalee region. Many of these species are found within the Pigeon Islands National Park, consisting of about five hectares of land. About 1000 meters range into the sea with the coral reef as the national park border. The island is toured by boat, and it was launched for tourism in 2002.
