Minneriya National Park
Minneriya National Park is just off the main Habarana to Polonnaruwa road in the
ancient cities' area (Cultural Triangle). The park covers 8890 hectares
of scrub and light forest, and is dominated by the ancient irrigation tank of Minneriya.
The dry season, from June to September, is the best time to visit as the tank has
dried up by this time, encouraging grazing animals to venture into the open
looking for succulent shoots and grasses exposed by the receding water.
Minneriya was designated a national park in 1997.
The core of the national park is in an uninhabited area of the country's most diverse
natural systems, with intermediate forest, bamboo stands, patanas and talawas. No where else
on the island is such diversity represented within a single protected area, particularly
in such an intact state. The tank supports a variety of waterfowl, while being of immense
socio-economic value.
The park is home to a variety of animals such as elephant (150-200 have been estimated),
leopard, toque macaque, purple faced langur, sloth bear, sambar and spotted deer,
and about 160 bird species, including many endemics.
Most of the best wildlife
areas in Minneriya NP can be visited on a 3-hour jeep safari en route,
or a 4-hour jeep safari from Polonnaruwa or Habarana. The park is
also easily accessible from Sigiriya and Dambulla.
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