Sinharaja
Rainforest
The
Sinharaja forest is the only undisturbed rainforest in Sri Lanka. It is about
9000 hectares in extent. Many of the
plants are very rare. Over 60% of the tree species are found only in the
lowland wet zone of Sri Lanka. If these species of tree were allowed to get
destroyed, the world would lose them altogether. So it is important that much
effort is made to conserve this rich, valuable and fragile habitat.
The Sinharaja rainforest is the largest
rainforest reserve in Sri Lanka. In 1840 Sinharaja became a crown property. In
1988 the Sinharaja was made a National Wilderness area. In 1989 UNESCO included
the Sinharaja Forest in the world Heritage list, as the first National Heritage
of Sri Lanka.
The Sinharaja forest is home to many rare
animals, birds, butterflies, insects, reptiles and trees. Ferns and mosses grow
well as the climate is humid because of heavy rainforest.
