YAPAHUWA

                        YAPAHUWA

Yapahuwa is located a little way off the Kurunegala-Anuradhapura road, in the Wayamba province of Sri Lanka. Of all the ancient ruins in the country the Rock Fortress Complex of Yapahuwa is considered to be quite remarkable despite the fact that it isn't famous among most visitors. However, it is renowned as one of the best archeological site in the country. It is even rumored to be more significant than The Rock Fortress in Sigiriya.   
                 Yapahuwa was the seat of govt. in the 13th century. The rock here rises abruptly to a height of about 200 meters. On the south and east sides of the rock, the land has been build up into terraces and retained by walls, to gain to summit. Subha or Subhapabbota occupied the rock for purposes of military strategy. From here he was able to check Magha's (1215-1236A.D) forces from proceeding southwards. Magha of Kalinga led an invasion of the Island with nearly 24,000 solders. Later (1272-1284 A.D) Bhuvanekabahu made Yapahuwa his capital and transferred the Sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha from Dambadeniya to Yapahuwa. Two sets of moat and rampart gird the rock. Between the outer and inner ramparts was the outer city
                                       
                                  Following the decline of polonnaruwa  kingdom, the capital of Sri Lanka was shifted to Yapahuwa by King Buwanekabahu the first. The palladium of the Sinhalese Buddhist nation, the sacred tooth relic of Buddha was enshrined within the newly built temple at the Yapahuwa. However Yapahuwa too once again fell to the marauding Dravidian invaders from Southern India. After the death of Buwanekabahu the first, the Pandayan marauders invaded the island once again, pillaged the kingdom of Yapahuwa and carried the Sacred Tooth Relic of Buddha to the Pandayan Kingdom.

The successor to Buwanekabahu the first, King Parakkramabahu the third (1287–1293) having visited the Pandayan court in Southern India in 1288, secured the Sacred Tooth Relic, the palladium of the nation, once again, to the great relief of the Sinhalese.
     
         

                           
                                 The rough path to the top of the rock is a steep climb. At the top of the hill are caves inhabited by ascetic monks for centuries before
 became the capital of Sri Lanka.

NUWARA ELIYA

                     SUNDARA NUWARAELIYA
The city was founded by Samuvel berker  the discoverer of Lake Albert and the explorer of the Nile in 1846. Nuwara Eliya's climate lent itself to becoming the prime sanctuary of the British civil servants and planters in Ceylon. Nuwara Eliya, called Little England then, was also a hill country retreat where the British colonialists could immerse in their pastimes such as fox hunting, deer hunting,elephant hunting, polo, golf and cricket.Nuwara Eliya is a mountain station at 1,868 m (6,128 ft) of altitude, in a splendid landscape. The city pretends to be particularly well-kept and neat, and the always green grass gives to the locality an aspect of “colonial British style".
                              Situated at around 2000m above sea level and surrounded by lush tea plantations Nuwara Eliya is the main hill resort of Sri Lanka and the heart of the tea industry. Once a pleasure retreat of the European planters the town is still very much an English town with many English style bungalows and buildings. Nuwara Eliya is a good escape for those who miss cool breeze in tropical Sri Lanka at any time of the year. Local tourists flock to this town in their 'season' from March to May when it is the hottest duration for the town, April being the busiest.
                                                
                                 

WASGAMUWA NATIONAL PARK

                   WASGAMUWA NATIONAL PARK

      The Wasgamuwa National Park lies within the Polonnaruwa and Matale Districts.                      
    The National Park of Wasgamuwa is a stunning expanse of grasslands and hills described by locals as the most beautiful place in the whole of Sri Lanka. Elephants are synonymous with Sri Lanka and have lived alongside the people as long as the civilisation has existed. Be a part of the conservation effort and get to know the real Sri Lanka!
      
Wasgamuwa National Park  spanning over 36,900 hectares is bordered by River Mahaweli Ganga and River Amban Ganga in east and west. The altitude varies from over 500m at the Sudu kanda hill to just 76m along the Mahaweli Ganga. The combination of a number of small reservoirs and Sudu kanda mountain range affords fine trekking opportunities for keen hikers.

Tropical dry mixed evergreen forest predominates, characterized by tall trees: Weera (Drypetes sepiaria), Palu (Manikkara hexandra), Wa ( Cassia roxburghii) Ehala (C. Fistula), Buruta (Satin), Chloroxylon Swietenia, Velang (Pterospermum canescens), the endemic Galsiyambala (Dialium ovoideum), Milla (Vitaex Pinanata) and Kaluwara (ebony) (Diospyros Ebenum).

Wasgamuwa National Park’s  climatic conditions are that of the dry zone. Rain fall is mainly with the northeast monsoon (Maha) in October-February. Inter-monsoon rains occur in March-May. Annual rainfall increases from about 1,750 mm in the north to 2,250 mm in the south. Mean annual temperature is around 27 centigrade.                                     
                  
    Getting there  
                     
Turn off at Hasalaka on the Kandy, Mahiyangana Road and proceed via Wilgamawa upto Wasgamuwa. Visitors from Matale and Polonnaruwa areas can reach Wasgamuwa via Laggala and Wilgamuwa. The Wilgamuwa Japan Bridge provides the easy access to visitors coming from the Mahaweli system-C.
Distances to Major Towns

Colombo - Wasgamuwa via Kandy - 225 km
From Hasalaka - 45 km
From Wilgamuwa (Hettipola) - 16 km
From Laggala - 32 km
                                   
                                                        
             wasgamuwa national park                                 
                
                           wasgamuwa national park

AMBULUWAWA

                         AMBULUWAWA

Located in the middle of the Gampola Kingdom, Ambuluwawa is a rock mountain discovered in the 14th century by the Sinhala King Buvanekabahu IV.
  From the energetic Gampola town, dominated by its railway station, the route to Ambuluwawa falls along Nidahas Mawatha, accessed by the Station Road. Gradually the ascent begins and each turn offers a varied perspective of the town, the Mahaweli River and the hilly surroundings,  while the rich fauna shelters a journey that gradually unfolds

                                                         Beautiful entrance, twin ponds, water parks and stone parks are unique features of the Ambuluwawa summit. Herb gardens and nature bring immense relaxation both to mind and body. Spine plantations and orchards are fine examples which tell us that local agro economy should be developed. International Conference Hall is equipped with all the necessary facilities for conferences. Area above the tank is a forest haunted by deers and sambhars making the environment lively.
                                         
  
                  a great place to visit if you are in gampola.

YALA NATIONAL PARK

               

                                               Yala National Park

Yala National Park is located in the south eastern region of Sri Lanka and extends over two provinces of hambanthota district of southern province and Monaragala district in Uva province. The entrance to the park is at Palatupana, 12km from Kirinda. The distance from colombo   to the entry point of Palatupana is 305 km..You can tak

tour from any number of guest house/hotels in the city. Most leave at 5:00 or 14:30, but it depends on if you are going for half/full day or overnight. The entrance to the park is about 3,500 rupees, but it changes often. The tours should cost about 4,000 to 6,000 on top of the admission ticket. It is usually split between the people in the truck, but you should negotiate this. It can be expensive to do alone, so it is best to try and partner with others to increase bargaining power. The tour guides often will use you as bait for people coming off buses. It makes both your lives easier to meet the people off the buses right away, as it gets competitive and most drivers will call their friends to tell them you are coming. They all know what travelers are coming here for.         

                                                                             The park is best known for its variety of its wild animals. It is important for the conservation of Sri Lankan Elephants and aquatic birds.You are also sure to see elephants – grumpy loan males during the dry months and large herds in the wet season. Sloth bears are also a big draw. You will also see mammal such as wild boars, several species of deer and wild buffalo. There is a plethora of reptilian species and platoons of crocodiles. As is common in Sri Lanka there is a huge diversity of stunning birdlife including migratory species such as the flamingo. It is also one of the few places in the world where the severely endangered black necked stork can till be seen. The uniqueness of the park is the sheer diversity of the habitat: dense jungles suddenly gives way to lagoons and open plain areas and the park has a simply beautiful sea front. Huge, stark boulders dominate the horizon and the elegant,languorous leopard can often be seen basking atop the sun baked rock. 

                                                      
               
                                           
                                                                                                      

Udawalawe National Park

Hello world,

Do you want to spend time with elephants, wild buffalo, birds, deer, and leopards?

Actually, there is the most colorful venue in srilanka. It is called Udawalawe National Park.

 

It is located near a boundary of Sabaragamuwa province and Uwa province, actually from 165 kms from sri lanka main city, near 30,821 hectares. It is established on 30 june 1972.

From most of the country’s coming to see water birds and sri lankan elephants.

Climate of the location

There are two different forecasts in this location (wet and dry) and annual rainfall is coming near 1520 mm. There are 24-29 degrees centigrade on day-and-night temperature. 

Animal life of this location

Elephant

Udawalawa  National Park is very famous for elephants. There are nearly 500 elephants in the park. When you visit to this park you can see elephants are in the morning and evening.

Birds

In this park you can see most colorful Ceylon Junglefowl, Ceylon Spurfowl, Ceylon Green Pigeon, Ceylon Grey Hornbill, Ceylon Woodshrike and Ceylon Swallow. Among the other bird species seen are Spot-billed Pelican, Little Cormorant, Grey Heron, Indian Pond Heron, Cattle Egret, Large Egret, Little Egret, Intermediate Egret, Painted Stork, Woolly-necked Stork, Yellow-wattled Lapwing, and Green Bee-eater.

 

 

 

PERADENIYA PARK

             PERADENIYA PARK
Peradeniya Botanic Gardens, botanical garden in Peradeniya, near Kandy, Sri Lanka, noted for its rich and varied collections of tropical woody plants. Occupying 59 hectares (146 acres), it has about 4,000 species of plants. The most important specimens of the garden include palms, some of which are planted in impressive avenues. Significant, too, are the collections of orchids, gymnosperms, and flowering trees.
                                
 It is renowned for the collection the variety of Orchids,and has more than 300 varieties of Orchids, spices, medicinal plants and palms trees attach it is the National Herbarium. Total land mass of the botanical garden is 147 acres, 460 Meters above sea level with a 200 day annual rain fall.