UDAWALAWA NATIONAL PARK

UDAWALAWE NATIONAL PARK

The park is 323 Km2 area centres on the large Udawalawe reservoir, fed by the Walawe Ganga. The park is renowed for its outstanding scenic  beauty  and wealth of faunal species, particularly mammals and birds. With herbs of elephants – this is one of the best places in sri lanka to see wild elephants – and wild buffalo, sambhur deer and leopard; it is the sri Lankan national park that best rivals the savanna reserves of Africa.

The park lies both in Sabaragamuwa and uva provinces and includes the Udawalawe reservoir, together with much of its catchment area. Udawalawe had been declared the fifth  National Park  in 1972. Vegetation consists of scattered glasslands and thorny – shrubs . Tree species include satin, Halmilla, Ebony, Ehela, Kolon and milla. In the riverine forest , Kumbuk and the endemic Mandorang are dominant. The park is surrounded by cultivated land.

The avifauna includes large numbers of warblers together with the low – country birds in forest areas, and a variety of raptors. Notable endemic species are Sri Lanka spurfowl and jungle fowl.