Mahaweli Flood Plains National Park (මහවැලි ජලගැලුම් නිම්න ජාතික වනෝද්‍යානය)

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Kumana National Park — photo licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 by Mahesh Kularatne

Size	17,350 hectares
Main attractions	Birds, Elephants and other wildlife

The Floodplains National Park was established in 1984 as one of the 4 National Parks established under the Mahaweli Project. It spans the Mahaweli Ganga in Polonnaruwa district in the North Central province. The town of Manampitiya lies just outside the park’s eastern boundary, a stopover on the Batticaloa-Polonnaruwa road and the railway passing through the park.

Flood Plains National Park is central to the integrity of the Mahaweli system of protected areas, both for its unique villus and as a corridor for wildlife migration between grazing lands in Wasgamuwa and Somawathiya Chaitiya National Parks.

It is particularly important for the long-term survival of elephants within the Mahaweli catchment area. Flood Plains National Park is considered an elephant corridor for the elephants migrating between Wasgamuwa and Somawathiya national parks. Together with the adjacent Somawathiya Chaitya National Park, it provides a refuge for a wide variety of resident and migratory waterfowl species.

Cultural Heritage

This section of the Mahaweli Ganga was connected to the ancient irrigation network in the vicinity. On the right bank of the river, at the edge of Mutugalla Villu, are ruins of an ancient cave monastery with inscriptions dating back to between the 2nd and 7th century BC.

Flood Plains National Park Ticket Prices (Entrance Fees)

Currently, there is no fee levied to enter Flood Plains National Park. You can call 1919 (government information centre) for the latest updates on prices.

Also See

Map of Flood Plains National Park and Other Places of Interest

Please click on the button below to load the Dynamic Google Map (ගූගල් සිතියම් පහලින්)

Show Location (ගූගල් සිතියම)

The map above also shows other places of interest within a approximately 20 km radius of the current site. Click on any of the markers and the info box to take you to information of these sites

Zoom out the map to see more surrounding locations using the mouse scroll wheel or map controls.

Travel Directions to Flood Plains National Park

The modern town of Polonnaruwa is also known as New Town, and the other part of Polonnaruwa remains the royal ancient city of the Kingdom of Polonnaruwa.

Route from Colombo to Polonnaruwa Sacred City	Route from Kandy to Polonnaruwa Sacred City
Through : Central Highway – Kurunegala – Dambulla Distance from Colombo :230 km Travel Time : 4.45 hours Driving Directions : see on Google map	Through : Matale – Dambulla – Habarana Distance : 140 km Travel Time : 3.5 hours Driving Directions : see on Google maps
Route from Anuradhapura to Polonnaruwa Sacred City	Route from Batticaloa to Polonnaruwa Sacred City
Though : Maradankadawala – Habarana Distance : 103 km Travel Time : 2 hours Driving Directions : see on Google map	Though : Chenkaladi – Valachchena Distance : 97 km Travel Time : 2 hours Driving Directions : see on Google map

Route from Colombo to Floodplains National Park (Manampitiya Bridge)

Though : Kaduruwela
Distance : 10 km
Travel time : 15 mins
Driving directions : see on google map

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