Sinharaja Forest

 

From the time of Panjarag Gondwana, when all the continents were together, Sri Lanka has become a vast forest that has not been easily touched by humans.  It is the royal forest or the lion kingdom in Sinhala.  There is an opinion that the last forest where the last lion lived in Lakdiva spread its dominance and later became known as Sinharaja.  The area where the lion is said to have been used to kill the lion is known as Yoda Galgoda, and the area where the lion lived is still known as Sinhagala and the cave where the lion lived is still known as the Lion's Cave.  The Sinharaja Forest, the largest tropical wet evergreen forest in Sri Lanka, is now a World Heritage Site.  It is also the only natural world heritage site in Sri Lanka.  The Sinharaja Maha Forest is located in the districts of Galle, Matara and Ratnapura and covers an area of ​​11,187 hectares.  This forest which belongs to the Rakwana mountain range is 21 km long and has a minimum width of 3 km.  The highest point is Mount Pitigala which is 1171 feet above sea level.  There are four ways to enter Sinharaja.  These are Kalawana Weddagala Road, Rakwana Morning Side Road, Hiniduma Neluwa Road and Deniyaya Pallegama Road.  Annual rainfall is between 3000 and 5000 mm. This forest has almost no dry season.  Even in the month of February, when there is a minimum rainfall of 180 to 200 mm, the Gin River and the Kalu River are fed by streams flowing from the forest, creating several beautiful waterfalls such as Duvili Ella, Bandarahmana Ella and Uravatunu Ella.  In the Sinharaja forest, you can see plant pagodas spread over five main layers.  Canopy layer (includes plants such as Batu Na, Welipiyanna, Keena, Thiniya Dun, Beraliya, Kiri Hambiliya), Sub canopy layer (consisting of plants such as Hadawaka, Malaboda, Diya Na, Katamoda), Layer (Madol, Athuketiya etc.)  Many of the plants that can be seen in this forest can be clearly distinguished as layered shrubs (this layer is made up of wild bamboo, deer, perennial species) and climbing plants and stemless plants (wild pepper, ferns)  Is endemic to Sri Lanka.  Among the plants that show great diversity, the features found in the mountain forests of Mulawella, Hinipitigala and Morning Side are also special.  With more than 75 percent endemic flora, Sinharaja has hundreds of plants that have never been introduced to the world, say researchers.  Thirteen of the 25 endemic plant groups in Sri Lanka have been recorded from Sinharaja.  About 60% of the plant species less than 30 cm in circumference are endemic to Sri Lanka.  .  There are 340 species of woody plants in the forest, 192 of which are endemic to Sri Lanka.  Fifteen of these species can be found only in Sinharaja.  The total vegetation density of this forest is estimated to be over 240,000 units per hectare.  95% of it is in the ground layer.  Surrounding villagers say that elephants were abundant in the Sinharaja forest in the past.  Now the elephant population has dwindled.  Three stray elephants have been spotted in the forest area near Rakwana from time to time.  Eight of the 12 endemic mammal species in Sri Lanka have been recorded in the Sinharaja, which is home to a vast array of wildlife including leopards, deer, deer and green leopards.  In the Sinharaja forest, which is home to about 160 species of birds, 18 endemic bird species can be seen.  Cahibella, White Sharikawa, Head Gray Tamilichcha, Bata Attikukula, Sitasia and Pathigomara Thirasikaya are some of them.  There are 45 species of reptiles, of which 21 species are endemic to Sri Lanka.  Some species of lizards, turtles and hippos are among them.  Two very rare species of tricolor kenipathuella and kurun karawala are also found in Sinharaja.  About 50 very rare amphibian species also inhabit Sinharaja.  The yellow wire worm frog, a species of limbless frog, lives beneath the swamps of Sinharaja.  , About 40 mammals, 20 species of freshwater fish and 65 species of butterflies are also reported from Sinharaja forest.  The people living in the vicinity of the Sinharaja Forest, which contributes immensely to the survival of the natural environment of Sri Lanka, have also built their economy from the products of this forest such as Kitul, Way Vine, Nutmeg, Fruit, Vegetable Oil and Ginger.  Residents in the area are facing the threat of extinction due to encroachment and cultivation.  The Sinharaja Forest, a World Heritage Site, has become a haven for local and foreign researchers.