Sinharaja Forest Reserve

Sinharaja Forest Reserve
Sinharaja Forest Reserve
	View of Sinharaja Forest Reserve with tea garden
	Interactive map of Sinharaja Forest Reserve
Location	Sabaragamuwa and Southern Provinces, Sri Lanka
Nearest city	Rakwana
Coordinates	6°25′00″N 80°30′00″E / 6.41667°N 80.50000°E
Area	88.64 km2 (34.22 sq mi)
Established	April, 1978
Governing body	Department of Forest Conservation
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Criteria	Natural: ix, x
Reference	405
Inscription	1988 (12th Session)

Sinharaja Forest Reserve is the last virgin Rainforest left in Sri Lanka. Home to many rare endemic flora and fauna, it has been designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Formed during the Jurassic period (from 200 to 145 million years ago), Sinharaja forest is the most dense rain forest in Asia.The total vegetation density has been estimated to be around 240,000 plants per hectare.

Features

Over 60% of the trees are endemic, many of them considered rare. It is home to 19 of Sri Lanka's 20 endemic birds, including the elusive red-faced malkoha, green-billed coucal and Sri Lanka blue magpie.

Reptiles include the endemic green pit viper, hump-nosed viper, a large variety of amphibians (especially tree frogs) and invertebrates include the endemic Sri Lankan birdwing butterfly and leeches.

Geography

Location

Sinharaja Forest Reserve covers most of the Kalu Ganga basin and a small part of the northern Gin Ganga. Most of the forest (60%) is contained within the borders of Rathnapura District. The other parts include Galle District with 20% and Kaluthara District with 20%.

Natural

The rainforest likely formed during the Jurassic period (from 200 million years to 145 million years ago). This forest encompasses an area of 36,000 hectares (88,960 acres/360 km²).

Human activity

The reserve is well-integrated with the local population who live in some dozens of villages dotted along the border. The locals collect herbal medicine, edible fruits, nuts, mushrooms, other non-timber forest products including bees honey and a sugary sap collected from a local palm species of the genus Caryota.

In 2013, UNESCO requested to halt the widening of the ancient road linking Lankagama area to Deniyaya along a 1-km jungle patch inside the protected area after a complaint from the Centre for Environmental and Nature Studies of Sri Lanka. A group of environmentalists carried out a social media campaign and asked the authorities to stop

Martin Wijesinhe was one of the most significant people in Sri Lanka in connection to the Sinharaja, unofficial guardian and caretaker of it since the 1950s till his death in 2021.

In March 2021, an expose of the extent of deforestation inside the Reserve by the environmentalist Bhagya Abeyratne received widespread media attention.

Tourism

The Sinharaja Forest Reserve is open to the public and accessible to tourists through four main entrances: Weddagala (north-west), Rakwana (north-east), Neluwa (south-west), and Deniyaya–Mederipitiya (South-East).

In accordance with conservation regulations, all visitors are required to enter the forest accompanied by a licensed guide. A variety of guided hiking tours are available, led by certified Sri Lankan tour guides, offering insights into the forest's rich biodiversity and ecological significance.