Sinharaja Forest Reserve or ‘Kingdom of the Lion’ is located in the south-west part of the island and is one of the last remaining areas of tropical rain forest in Sri Lanka. Sinharaja was designated a World Biosphere Reserve in 1978 and a World Heritage Site in 1988.

Because of the dense vegetation, wildlife is not as easily seen as at dry-zone national parks such as Yala. You won’t find any elephants and the 15 or so leopards are rarely seen. The commonest larger mammal is the endemic purple faced langur. An unusual and fascinating spectacle is when birds from many different species move together in mixed feeding flocks in search of food. As the flock approaches you’ll see and hear the noisy calls of orange-billed babblers and a greater racket-tailed drongo. As the birds pass, you’ll be able to catch a glimpse of the quieter, more inconspicuous, members of the flock. Some of the fascinating birds found in Sri Lanka you can find right here at Sinharaja include the Sri Lanka spurfowl, Sri Lanka junglefowl, green-billed coucal, red-faced malkoha, blue magpie, spot-winged thrush, scaly thrush, white-faced starling, chestnut-backed owlet, black-throated munia and the Sri Lanka myna.

Sinharaja is an absolute treasure trove of endemic species. More than 60% of the trees are endemic and many of them are considered rare. There is much endemic wildlife, especially birds but the reserve is also home to over 50% of Sri Lanka’s endemic species of mammals and butterflies as well as many kinds of insects, reptiles and rare amphibians.

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