Sinharaja rainforest is situated at the southern part of Sri Lanka’s hill country area in the South West of the Island. The forest is twenty kilometres in length and six or seven in height. The entrance is flanked by tea plantations and rice fields and the interior has peaks and valleys and is studded with picturesque waterfalls.
The nearest town is Deniyaya. There are two entrances to the reserve. The first is Mederipitiya on the southern side and the other is Kudawa to the north of the forest. The name of the forest translates to Kingdom of the Lion.
Sri Lanka's weather
One of the main factors influencing the Sinharaja forest, making it so unique, is of course, rain! Sri Lanka has an immense variety of different weather conditions throughout the Island and Siinharaja receives the highest amount, up to five metres.
Sinharaja is one of the last large areas of unmolested rainforest in Sri Lanka. That is not to say that it has had no problems with exploitation. It was extensively logged as part of government policy in the 1970’s.
Sinharaja UNESCO world heritage site
Later, when authorities amended this policy there was still illegal logging but in 1989 a large part of the forest was declared a UNESCO world heritage site and this has resulted in proper protection. There are perhaps twenty odd villages within the protected area but they have rights to limited use of the forest resources.
The forest is home to about 60% of the islands endemic flowers, fauna, birds and insects. The rainfall arrives every year aiding the unique monocultures that exist to germinate such a massive range of life. This is not jungle like in Africa full of Fauna, though there are still a few leopards in the forest. The most common mammal is the Purple faced Langur monkey.
New Forest England
This is a wet area that may be more similar to the New Forest in England where new types of fungi or odd shaped little plants and mosses grow. There are two sizeable rivers running through and the forest is studded with waterfalls, it is extremely high in humidity and walkers needs to be careful of the leeches. One way to mitigate the effects of this is to put salt in your socks and boots and keep trousers tucked in tight.
The heat and moisture provide prefect conditions for reptiles. The forest has many tree frogs and also snakes including Vipers and Vine snakes.
Ben Salisbury - I am a writer specialising in Travel, Sport and Current Affairs. I have had articles published in The Argus, ITV.com. Teamtalk.com, The ...
