Sinharaja Forest Reserve

Sinharaja Forest is Sri Lanka’s premier national park, and its international significance prompted UNESCO in 1978 to name it a biosphere reserve and World Heritage Site. The UNESCO citation notes that ‘Sinharaja is the country's last viable area of primary tropical rainforest. More than 60% of the trees are endemic and many of them are considered rare. ‘There is much endemic wildlife, especially birds, but the reserve is also home to over 50% of Sri Lanka's endemic species of mammals and butterflies, as well as many kinds of insects, reptiles and rare amphibians.’