Sinharaja Rain Forest / Biosphere Reserve (සිංහරාජ ජෛවගෝල රක්ෂිතය)
Spreading over the districts of Ratnapura, Galle and Matara, Sinharaja, our great tropical rain forest, by all accounts is a vast repository of national wealth.
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Mihintale Wildlife Sanctuary (මිහින්තලේ අභය භූමිය)
The Mihintale Wildlife Sanctuary, which is believed to be the first sanctuary in the world, is today in a rather neglected state. There are no proper borders demarcating the sanctuary and no measures have been taken to protect its biodiversity. However, the Government has now taken steps to restore this sanctuary to its former state, in connection with the 2550th Buddha Jayanthi celebrations.
Bellanwila – Attidiya Bird Sanctuary (බෙල්ලන්විල අත්තිඩිය අභය භූමිය)
Bellanwila-Attidiya , a sanctuary in the city. A haven for birds so close to the metropolis. There are some 166 species of birds sighted in the area of which most are residential and around 40 migratory.
Anawilundawa Sanctuary (ආනවිලුන්දාව අභය භූමිය)
Anawilundawa Sanctuary consist of interconnected 9 tanks going back to the 12th century and sadly the water ways which fed this system is lost without an trace and today these tanks are fed by flood waters of the Deduru Oya
Mahaweli Flood Plains National Park (මහවැලි ජලගැලුම් නිම්න ජාතික වනෝද්යානය)
Established in 1984 under the Mahaweli Project, Flood Plains National Park in Polonnaruwa features vital villu wetlands. It serves as a crucial elephant migration corridor between Wasgamuwa and Somāwathiya parks while hosting an ancient cave monastery dating back to the 2nd century BCE.
Bundala National Park (බුන්දල ජාතික වනෝද්යානය)
Bundala National Park is a premier RAMSAR wetland and UNESCO biosphere reserve in Sri Lanka’s semi-arid southeast. Renowned for hosting over 20,000 migratory birds, including Greater Flamingos, its diverse lagoons and scrublands also shelter unique, smaller-statured elephants and four endangered sea turtle species, offering a serene, crowd-free safari experience.
Yala Strict Nature Reserve : Inside Yala Block 2 (යාල දැඩි ස්වභාවික රක්ෂිතය)
Yala Strict Nature reserve lies insode Block 2 of Yala and lies between the Manik Ganga and the Kumbukkan Oya which is a designated Strict Natue Reserve and access to this area is only through special permission.
Ritigala Strict Nature Reserve (රිටිගල දැඩි ස්වභාවික රක්ෂිතය)
Ritigala Strict Nature Reserve has a unique vegetation. Ramayana legend has it that Hanuman was asked to bring a particular medicinal plant, to cure Rama, from the Himalayas.
Hakgala Strict Nature Reserve (හක්ගල දැඩි ස්වභාවික රක්ෂිතය)
Hakgala, which is adjacent to the Hakgala Botanical Gardens, is the only Srict Nature Reserve (SNR) in the wet zone and was declared in 1938.
Pre- And Protohistoric Settlement In Sri Lanka
During the last one million years, when humans are known to have existed in various parts of India, Sri Lanka was connected to the sub-continent on numerous occasions.
Early Man and the Rise of Civilisation in Sri Lanka
The Himalayan foothills of the Indian sub-continent have yielded evidence humans having lived there around two million years ago. Although the earliest known dates for hominids in peninsular India are ca. 600,000 years before the present (BP)
Pomparippu Ancient Burial Site (පොම්පරිප්පු ආදී මානව සුසාන භූමිය)
Discovered in the 1920s, the Pomparippu site contains approximately 8,000 urn burials, representing the remains of approximately 10,000–12,000 individuals, illustrating a highly developed Iron Age culture. Featuring unique Black-and-Red Ware and metal jewelry, the site suggests a possible ancestral blend of Sinhalese, Dravidian, and Vedda people.
Pallemalala Prehistoric Burial Grounds and Habitation Floor (පල්ලෙමලල ප්රාග් ඓතිහාසික කැනීම් ස්ථානය)
Pallemalala site, which may roughly be dated to about 4000 B.C. has furnished archaeologists with sufficient material to undertake a somewhat detailed study of this type of man and his culture.
Meegahahena Burial Grounds (මීගහහේන ප්රාග් ඓතිහාසික සුසාන භූමිය)
Meegahahena burial grounds spans over 18 acres dating back to 2800 years. Archaeologists believe that there could be over 40,000 tombstones in this Meegahahena burial grounds.
Dorawaka Ethubandi Cave Prehistoric Site (දොරවක ඇතුබැඳි ලෙන)
Archaeologists firmly believe that excavation surveys conducted at the Dorawaka Caves at Warakapola reveal information of the Mesolithic Era, the third phase of the Stone Age.
Bellanbandi Palassa Mesolithic Site (බෙල්ලන්බැඳි පැලැස්ස මෙසොලිතික අවශේෂ)
Bellanbandi Palassa is one of the most important Mesolithic sites in Sri Lanka and has yielded a valuable collection of human skeletal remains popularly known as Balangoda Man. The site, discovered by Arthur Delgoda of Morahala, was excavated over several seasons in the late 1950s and early 1960s by P.E.P. Deraniyagala, yielding thirteen flexed human burials and a large collection of faunal remains and stone artefacts that provided the foundation for comparative assessment of ethnic origins.
Batadomba Lena Caves (බටඳොඹ ලෙන)
Batadomba lena, or cave, is associated with the Balangoda Apeman or the Balangoda Manawaya and has yielded the earliest evidence at 31,000 BP of anatomically modern man in South Asia
Godawaya Prehistoric Site (ප්රාග් ඓතිහාසික ගොඩවාය)
A human skeleton, estimated to be at least 7000 years old, several other pre-historic stone tools including animal remains have been unearthed from the Godawaya (Godavaya) archeological site in Ambalantota.
Alu Lena Caves (Alu Galge) Prehistoric Archeological Site at Kegalle
The Alu Lena (Alu Galge) Attanagoda near Kegalle derives its name from the presence of ashes (alu) across the 5 x 3 m floor, a testimony to historic occupation of the site by game poachers.
Yudaganawa and Chulangani Viharaya (යුදගනාව ස්තූපය)
Yudaganawa Temple is located close to Buttala on the Wellawaya– Buttala Road. This is one of the largest Stupas in the country and dates back to 2nd century BC. This is believed to be place price Tissa and his brother price Gamini (Later The great king Dutugemunu) had a major battle after the death of his father King Kavanthissa (2 nd century BC)