Sinharaja Forest Reserve is a forest reserve and a biodiversity hotspot in Sri Lanka, spanning an area of 18900 acres is located within Sabaragamuwa and Southern provinces of the south-west lowland wet zone of Sri Lanka. Sinharaja is bounded by rivers on three sides.
It is of international significance and has been designated a biosphere reserve and world heritage site by UNESCO. According to International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), 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. 50% of Sri Lankan’s endemics species of animals (especially butterfly, amphibians, birds, snakes and fish species). It is home to 95% endemic birds.
Surrounded in dense fog, the dangerous, dark and mysterious Sinharaja forest is steeped in deep legend and mystery. The word Sinharaja means lion king or kingdom and a popular folk legend has it that a legendary lion lived in this protected forest.
The rainforest likely formed during the Jurassic period (from 200 million years to 145 million years ago). This forest encompasses an area of 36,000 hectares (88,960 acres/360 km²).[3] The reserve is only 21 km (13 mi) from east to west, and a maximum of 7 km (4.3 mi) from north to south, but it is a treasure trove of endemic species, including trees, insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Sinharaja forest vegetation density has been estimated at around 240,000 plants per hectare, the densest rain forest in Asia.
