The Sinharaja Rainforest was declared an UNESCO International Man and Biosphere Reserve in 1978 and soon thereafter, a protected World Heritage Site in 1989. The Sinharaja is a biological treasure trove which provides diverse habitats for numerous species of endemic fauna and flora, not found anywhere else in the world. The Sinharaja covers an area of about 11,000 hectares of low land rain forest and is a valuable storehouse of scientific knowledge. The dense and mysterious Sinharaja Rain Forest is teeming with life. Tall trees with rustling leaves, gigantic ferns and wild orchids, gushing waterfalls and gurgling streams,
creaking crickets and butterflies fluttering by – all nature’s wonders, untouched by man. Sinharaja is particularly renowned as a hotspot for birdlife. 34 of Sri Lanka’s 36 endemic bird species are found here. The forest is particularly special for its magnificent feeding flocks of mixed species of birds which whirl through the forest in a cacophony of noise and movement.
