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 Sri
Lanka's 24 National Parks or wildlife reserves are home
to a wide range of native species, including the elephant,
leopard, sloth bear, the unique small Loris, a variety
of deer, three species of monkey, wild boar and buffalo,
porcupines, anteaters and crocodiles. Yala West NP,
near Tissamaharama (Tissa), is one of the most famous
and largest reserves on the island and a 4-hour jeep
tour is highly recommended.
Uda Walawe NP is renowned for its outstanding scenic beauty and
wealth of animal species, particularly mammals and birds.
The park is centred on the large Uda Walawe Reservoir,
fed by the Walawe Ganga. Of all Sri Lanka's national parks,
this best rivals the savannah reserves of Africa, with large herds
of elephants, wild buffalo and sambar deer, and a few leopard.
 Sri
Lanka is also an ornithologist's paradise with over
250 resident species, mostly found in the Wet Zone.
Bundala NP, famed for its flamingos, covers an area
full of lagoons between Tissa and Hambantota
in the south, and it is considered one of the principal
bird sanctuaries in the country.
Rekawa Turtle Sanctuary, near Tangalle,
is one of the places on the south coast where turtles
come to lay eggs and, since 1996, has been protected
by the Turtle Conservation Project. Of the seven species
of marine turtles in the world, five nest at Rekawa.
One of the last pockets of Sri Lanka's
once extensive cover of rainforest and declared a World
Heritage Site in 1989, Sinharaja NP can be easily reached
from Galle, just 30 km away. Dominated by the tall majestic
hora and kina trees, these forests are often over 40
m high and close-galleried, thus providing a shrub-free,
easily traversed forest floor.
 No
visit to the Hill Country would be complete without
seeing the breathtaking Horton Plains NP, an hour away
from Nuwara Eliya. These plains, formed by millions
of years of erosion, lie right on top of Sri Lanka's
mountains. Here large herds of elk, silhouetted against
clouds of the lowlands, move among scarlet rhododendrons.
World's End gives you unparalled views of the flatlands
to the south, as you teeter on the edge of an 800-metre
high precipice.
Minneriya NP and Kaudulla NP
are both in the ancient cities' area (Cultural Triangle)of the island.
Minneriya NP is in an uninhabited area of the country's most
diverse natural systems, with intermediate forest, bamboo stands, patanas
and talawas. The park is particularly good for elephant watching and bird
spotting, with about 160 bird species recorded, including many endemics.
Kaudulla NP was only opened in 2002 and is Sri Lanka's newest
national park. It has established an elephant corridor between two, larger
adjacent parks and so it is an ideal area for seeing elephants, including
herds of juvenile males.
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