Lunugamvehera National Park (ලුනුගම්වෙහෙර ජාතික වනෝද්‍යානය)

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A leopard very close to the Galge Entrance seen at about 6.30 AM

Size	23,499 hectares
Main attraction	Large herds of Elephants, Deer, Wild boar, Bear, Birds and Fish

The Lunugamvehera National Park in Monaragala District was opened to the public on February 01, 2005.

The Lunugamvehera National Park was established for protection as a corridor for elephant migration from the Yala National Park to the Uda Walawe National Park’s Western region and for the protection of the catchment areas of the Lunugamvehera Reservoir. Even though the Lunugamvehera National Park covering an extent of 23,498.8 ha. was established on December 08, 1995, it had not been opened to the public. The Lunugamvehera Reservoir within the park covers 3,283 ha.

Located in the Moneragala District of the Uva Province, Lunugamvehera extends to Thanamalwila, Wellawaya, Kataragama, Buttala and the Hambantota District in the South. Rich in biodiversity the park is a habitat for a large number of wild elephants and wild buffaloes. In addition, other species of animals such as Fishing Cats, Grey Mongoose, Bears, Wild Boar, Spotted Deer and Mouse Deer are found here. Being a dry-mixed evergreen forest, Lunugamvehera Park has a variety of tree and plant species which provide ample food stocks for vegetarian animals.

The Yala Rock Entrance of Lunugamvehera National Park provides access to Yala blocks III, IV and V. The Lunugamvehera National Park has two access roads while the headquarters and the entrance to the park is located on the Hambantota-Wellawaya road near Thanamalwila (see map below).

The other entrance is from the Galge on Sella Kataragama – Buttala Road. This entrance is more suitable to access the Veheragala Reservoir or the Ruins. There is very little traffic from this entrace since most prefer Yala over this National Park but this area too is filled with wildlife. See the album below for wildlife from this entrance.

Lunugamvehera National Park Ticket Prices

Description (Fees Applicable for Category 1 Park)	Price
Local – Adults	LKR 150
Local – Children (6-12 years)	LKR 100
Local – Student	LKR 20
Local – Children (below 6 years)	FOC
Local – Group Fee (per vehicle)	LKR 400
Foreign – Adults	USD 25
Foreign – Children (6-12 years)	USD 15
Foreign SAARC Countries – Adults	USD 20
Foreign SAARC Countries – Children (6-12 years)	USD 10
Foreign – Children (below 6 years)	FOC
Foreign – Group Fee (per vehicle)	USD 10
Taxes on total cost	15%
Entrance Fee per vehicle	LKR 300

Ticket Price Schedule as gazetted in 2022

for example, for 2 foreigners with 1 child between 6-12 will have the cost of

Description	Cost
2 adults	USD 50.00
1 child	USD 15.00
Group Fee	USD 10.00
Total	USD 75.00
Tax (15%)	USD 11.25
Total	USD 86.25

The above costs are for entry tickets for persons as gazetted in 2022. A ticket for the vehicle, as given above, has to be purchased separately.

Payments can be made in USD or equivalent LKR by foreigners. You can call 1919 (government information center) for the latest ticket prices. If you hire a private safari Jeep, the prices vary from LKR 11,000 to LKR 15,000 for a half day (4 hours) based on the park. For a full day, it’s double the cost of a half day.

Eagles on lookout @ Lunuamvehera National Park

A leopard very close to the Galge Entrance pf the Lunuamvehera National Park seen at about 6.30 AM

Two leopards hiding inside a thicket very close to the Galge Entrance of the Lunuamvehera National Park seen at about 6.30 AM

Veheragala Reservoir @ Lunuamvehera National Park

A herd of deer below the dam of the Veheragala Reservoir @ Lunuamvehera National Park

A very large herd of deer below the dam of the Veheragala Reservoir @ Lunuamvehera National Park

Ruins of the ancient Ruhunu Civilization inside the Lunugamvehera National Park

Ruins of a ancient civilization in Lunugamveherea

Inscriptions of ancient Magama civilization near Weheragala Reservoir in the Lunugamvehera National Park

Ruins of ancient Magama civilization near Weheragala Reservoir in the Lunugamvehera National Park

Also See

Map of Lunugamvehera National Park

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 Lunugamvehera National Park

Route from Colombo to Lunugamvehera National Park

Through : Ratnapura – Pelmadulla – Udawalawe – Thanamalwila
Distance : 200 km
Travel time : 4+ hours.
Driving directions : see on google map

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