Sinharaja Forest Reserve is a forest reserve and a

biodiversity hotspot A biodiversity hotspot is a ecoregion, biogeographic region with significant levels of biodiversity that is threatened by human habitation. Norman Myers wrote about the concept in two articles in ''The Environmentalist'' in 1988 and 1990, after ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. It is of international significance and has been designated a

Biosphere Reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

and

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

. According to International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Sinharaja is the country's last viable area of primary

tropical rainforest Tropical rainforests are dense and warm rainforests with high rainfall typically found between 10° north and south of the Equator. They are a subset of the tropical forest biome that occurs roughly within the 28° latitudes (in the torrid zo ...

. Over 60% of the trees are endemic, many of them considered rare. 50% of Sri Lankan's endemics species of animals (especially butterfly, amphibians, birds, snakes and fish species). It is home to 95% endemic birds. The hilly virgin rainforest, part of the Sri Lanka lowland rain forests

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...

, was saved from the worst of commercial logging by its inaccessibility, and 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. The most common larger mammal is the endemic purple-faced langur. 2023 sinharaja

Birds tend to move in mixed feeding flocks, invariably led by the fearless Sri Lanka drongo and the noisy orange-billed babbler. Of Sri Lanka's 26 endemic birds, the 20 rainforest species all occur here, including the elusive red-faced malkoha, green-billed coucal and Sri Lanka blue magpie. Reptiles include the endemic green pit viper and

hump-nosed viper ''Hump-nosed pit viper'' or ''Hump-nosed viper'' may refer to: * '' Hypnale'' (in general), any member of a genus of venomous pitvipers found in Sri Lanka and southwestern India. * '' Hypnale hypnale'' (in particular), a venomous pitviper species f ...

, and there are a large variety of amphibians, especially

tree frog A tree frog (or treefrog) is any species of frog that spends a major portion of its lifespan in trees, known as an arboreal state. Several lineages of frogs among the Neobatrachia suborder have given rise to treefrogs, although they are not clos ...

s. Invertebrates include the endemic Sri Lankan birdwing butterfly and

leech Leeches are segmented parasitism, parasitic or Predation, predatory worms that comprise the Class (biology), subclass Hirudinea within the phylum Annelida. They are closely related to the Oligochaeta, oligochaetes, which include the earthwor ...

es.

Etymology

Surrounded in dense fog, the dark and mysterious Sinharaja forest is steeped in deep legend and mystery. The word ''Sinharaja'' means lion- (සිංහ/சிங்கம் ''sinha'') king or kingdom (රාජ/ராஜா ''raja''), and a popular folk legend has it that a legendary lion lived in this protected forest.

Geography

Location

Sinharaja Forest Reserve covers most of the

Kalu Ganga Kalu Ganga (; literally: Black River) is a river in Sri Lanka. The river originates from Sri Pada Peak Wilderness Sanctuary, reaching the sea at Kalutara after a journey. The Black River flows through the Ratnapura and the Kalutara District an ...

basin and a small part of the northern

Gin Ganga The Gin Ganga (, ''Gin River''), is a long river located in Galle District of Sri Lanka. The river's headwaters are located in the Gongala Mountain range, near Deniyaya, bordering the Sinharaja Forest Reserve. The river flows past the vill ...

. Most of the forest (60%) is contained within the borders of Rathnapura District. The other parts include

Galle District Galle ( ''gālla distrikkaya''; ''Kāli māvattam'') is a Districts of Sri Lanka, district in Southern Province, Sri Lanka, Southern Province, Sri Lanka. It is one of 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the co ...

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). The reserve is only from east to west, and a maximum of from north to south, but it is a treasure trove of

endemic species Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

, including trees, insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Sinharaja forest vegetation density has been estimated at 240,000 plants per hectare, the most dense rain forest in Asia.

Human activity

The reserve is well-integrated with the local population who live in some dozens of villages dotted along the border. The villages are more in number along the southern border whilst the presence of some large estates along the northern border has resulted in only a few villages there. 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. The sap is converted into jaggery, a local brew and vinegar. Local people walk in the forest to collect the above items when they are not busy with their other agricultural pursuits. In addition, the crystal-clear water coming from dozens of streams is the main water source for all people living around the reserve. For generations, local people trekked through the forest from south to north to make their annual pilgrimage to the Adams Peak. In 2013,

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. The construction was recommenced on August 10, 2020 after prolonged appeals to the Sri Lankan government by the villagers. A group of environmentalists carried out a big social media campaign and asked the Sri Lanka Forest Department, the President, the Ministry of Environment and the Central Environment authority to stop this but the Government of Sri Lanka has decided to go ahead with it to improve the livelihood of poor villagers of the area as it will clear only 0.006% of the total landmass of the forest. Mr. Martin Wijesinhe was one of the most significant people in Sri Lanka in connection to the Sinharaja. He was the unofficial guardian of the Sinharaja. He has been the protector and caretaker of it since the 1950s till his death in 2021.

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.

Endemic Mammals

* Sri Lankan elephant (''Elephas maximus maximus'') * Sri Lankan leopard (''Panthera pardus kotiya'') * Sri Lankan deer (''Rusa unicolor unicolor'') * Sri Lankan spotted chevrotain (''Moschiola meminna)'' * Sri Lankan jackal (''Canis aureus naria'') * Toque macaque (''Macaca sinica'') * Red slender loris (''Loris tardigradus'') * Purple-faced langur (''Semnopithecus vetulus'') * Sinharaja shrew (''Crocidura hikmiya)'' * Golden palm civet (''Paradoxurus zeylonensis'') * '' Paradoxurus aureus'' * Golden dry-zone palm civet (''Paradoxurus stenocephalus)'' * Sri Lankan brown palm civet (''Paradoxurus montanus)'' * Yellow-striped chevrotain (''Moschiola kathygre'')

Gallery

SL Sinharaja Forest asv2020-01 img13.jpg, A waterfall in Sinharaja Rainforest SL60butterfly.jpg, Common Birdwing SL Sinharaja Forest asv2020-01 img01.jpg, Yellow-browed bulbul SL Sinharaja Forest asv2020-01 img22.jpg, Purple-faced langur with baby SL Sinharaja Forest asv2020-01 img08.jpg, A stream in the reserve Tree canopy in Sinharaja.JPG, The high tree canopy in the reserve Xenochrophis asperrimus.jpg, '' Fowlea asperrimus'' https://thealwayswanderer.com/sinharaja-forest-sri-lanka

Notes and references

{{Authority control 1978 establishments in Sri Lanka Forest reserves of Sri Lanka Important Bird Areas of Sri Lanka Protected areas in Sabaragamuwa Province Protected areas in Southern Province, Sri Lanka Sri Lanka lowland rain forests Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests World Heritage Sites in Sri Lanka