Sinharaja Forest Reserve is the last major unperturbed rainforest of Sri Lanka. Owing to the indigenous flora and fauna residing here and the national park’s importance for the ecosystem, it was labelled a Biosphere Reserve and a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1989.
Flora & Fauna
This national park’s vegetation can be classified as tropical lowland rain forest or tropical wet evergreen forest. A large variety of trees found here have some unique features- they are excessively lofty, their boles are straight and they regenerate in abundance.
Endemism in fauna is high, particularly in the bird varieties. Some of the animals visible commonly in the park are Sambar deer, Indian muntjac and Indian hog deer. Leopards are also present but not frequently seen. Nine endemic species of reptiles and amphibians have been identified in this forest reserve.