National parks in sri lanka
Yala National Park
Yala National Park is a huge area of forest, grassland and lagoons bordering the Indian Ocean, in southeast Sri Lanka. It’s home to wildlife such as leopards, elephants and crocodiles, as well as hundreds of bird species. Inland, Sithulpawwa is an ancient Buddhist monastery. Nearby caves contain centuries-old rock paintings. Southwest, Magul Maha Viharaya also has ancient Buddhist ruins. Both are pilgrimage sites.
- Area: 978.8 km²
- Established: 1938
Horton Plains National Park
Horton Plains National Park is a national park in the central highlands of Sri Lanka that was designated in 1988. It is located at an elevation of 2,100–2,300 m and encompasses montane grassland and cloud forest. It is rich in biodiversity and many species found here are endemic to the region.
- Area: 31.6 km²
- Established: 1969
Udawalawe National Park
Udawalawe National Park is a national park on the boundary of Sabaragamuwa and Uva Provinces in Sri Lanka. The park was created to provide a sanctuary for wild animals displaced by the construction of the Udawalawe Reservoir on the Walawe River, as well as to protect the catchment of the reservoir.
- Area: 308.2 km²
- Established: June 30, 1972
Wilpattu National Park
Wilpattu National Park is a national park in Sri Lanka. The unique feature of this park is the existence of “Willus” – natural, sand-rimmed water basins or depressions that fill with rainwater.
- Area: 1,317 km²
- Established: December 25, 1938
Bundala national park
Bundala National Park is an internationally important wintering ground for migratory water birds in Sri Lanka. Bundala harbors 197 species of birds, the highlight being the greater flamingo, which migrate in large flocks.
- Area: 33.39 km²
- Established: 1993
Kaudulla National Park
Kaudulla National Park is a national park on the island of Sri Lanka located 197 kilometres away from the largest city, Colombo. It was designated a national park on April 1, 2002 becoming the 15th such area on the island.
- Area: 69 km²
- Established: April 1, 2002
Wasgamuwa National Park
Wasgamuwa National Park is a natural park in Sri Lanka situated in the Matale and Polonnaruwa Districts. It was declared to protect and to make a refuge for the displaced wild animals during the Mahaweli Development Project in 1984 and is one of the four National Parks designated under the Project.
- Area: 393.2 km²
- Established: August 7, 1984
Gal Oya Valley National Park
Gal Oya National Park in Sri Lanka was established in 1954 and serves as the main catchment area for Senanayake Samudraya, the largest reservoir in Sri Lanka. Senanayake Samudraya was built under the Gal Oya development project by damming the Gal Oya at Inginiyagala in 1950
- Area: 259 km²
- Established: February 12, 1954
Sinharaja Forest Reserve
hotspot in Sri Lanka. It is of international significance and has been designated a Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
- Area: 111.9 km²
- Established: April 1978
Kumana National Park
Kumana National Park in Sri Lanka is renowned for its avifauna, particularly its large flocks of migratory waterfowl and wading birds. The park is 391 kilometres southeast of Colombo on Sri Lanka’s southeastern coast. Kumana is contiguous with Yala National Park.
- Area: 356.6 km²
- Established: January 20, 1970
Minneriya National Park
Minneriya National Park is a national park in North Central Province of Sri Lanka. The area was designated as a national park on 12 August 1997, having been originally declared as a wildlife sanctuary in 1938.
- Area: 88.89 km²
- Established: August 12, 1997
Pigeon Island Marine National Park
Pigeon Island National Park is one of the two marine national parks of Sri Lanka. The national park is situated 1 km off the coast of Nilaveli, a coastal town in Eastern Province, encompassing a total area of 471.429 hectares. The island’s name derives from the rock pigeon which has colonized it.
- Area: 4714 km²
- Established: 2003
Maduru Oya National Park
Maduru Oya National Park is a national park of Sri Lanka, established under the Mahaweli development project and also acts as a catchment of the Maduru Oya Reservoir. The park was designated on 9 November 1983.
- Area: 588.5 km²
- Established: 1983
Lunugamvehera National Park
Lunugamvehera National Park in Sri Lanka was declared in 1995, with the intention of protecting the catchment area of the Lunugamvehera reservoir and wildlife of the area. The national park is an important habitat for water birds and elephants.
- Area: 235 km²
- Established: December 8, 1995
Madhu Road National Park
Madhu Road National Park is a national park in northern Sri Lanka, approximately 25 km east of Mannar.
- Area: 631 km²
Lahugala Kitulana National Park
Lahugala Kitulana National Park is one of the smallest national parks in Sri Lanka. Despite its land area, the park is an important habitat for Sri Lankan elephant and endemic birds of Sri Lanka.
- Area: 15.54 km²
- Established: October 31, 1980
Ussangoda park
Ussangoda National Park is a Sri Lankan national park and designated archaeological site, situated on the Colombo – Kataragama road near Ambalantota – Nonagama Junction in Hambantota District. It is located in the southern sea turtle breeding zones.
- Area: 3.49 km²
- Established: 2010
Horagolla National Park
Horagolla National Park is one of the latest national parks in Sri Lanka. It is so called because of an abundance of Dipterocarpus zeylanicus trees. The area was originally declared as a wildlife sanctuary on 5 September 1973 due to its rich biodiversity.
- Area: 33 km²
- Established: 1973
Flood Plains National Park
Flood Plains National Park is one of the four national parks set aside under the Mahaweli River development project in Sri Lanka. The park was created on 7 August 1984. The national park is situated along the Mahaweli flood plain and is considered a rich feeding ground for elephants.
- Area: 173.5 km²
- Established: 1984
Hikkaduwa Coral Reef
Hikkaduwa National Park is one of the three marine national parks in Sri Lanka. The national park contains a fringing coral reef of high degree of biodiversity. The area was declared a wildlife sanctuary on May 18, 1979, and then on August 14, 1988, upgraded to a nature reserve with extended land area
- Established: September 19, 2002
Delft National Park
Delft National Park is a national park on the island of Neduntivu in northern Sri Lanka, approximately 35 km south west of Jaffna.
- Established: June 22, 2015
- Area: 18 km²
Somawathiya National Park
Somawathiya National Park is one of the four national parks designated under the Mahaweli River development project. Somawathiya Chaitya, a stupa said to be containing a relic of the tooth of the Buddha, is situated within the park.
- Area: 376.5 km²
Chundikulam National Park
Chundikkulam National Park is a national park in northern Sri Lanka, approximately 12 km north east of Kilinochchi.
- Established: June 22, 2015
- Area: 196 km²
Angammedilla National Park
Angammedilla National Park is one of the new national parks in Sri Lanka. The region was designated national park on 6 June 2006. Originally Angammedilla was a forest reserve within the Minneriya-Girithale Sanctuary declared on 12 February 1988.
- Established: June 6, 2006
- Area: 75.29 km²