Wilpattu National Park
This is the
largest national park in Sri Lanka. It spans over 1317 square kilometers
(131693 hectares) in Puttalam, Mannar and Anuradhapura districts. It is
situated in northwest coast lowland dry zone of Sri Lanka. The western section
of the park is made up of arid zone forests and the Eastern section of
the park is made up of dry zone forests.
Before to 1973,
the main entrance was at Maradanmaduwa, approximately 20 kilometers from
Wilpattu junction. Now the main entrance is Hunuwilgama entrance, which
is about 08 kilometers from Wilpattu junction on the A12 road that connects Puttalam
and Anuradhapura.
Wilpattu
junction is 25 kilometers from Puttalam. The entry requires all visitors to
purchase a ticket. The entrance office is open from 6.00 am until 4.30 pm.
However, visitors should leave before 6.00 pm. At the main gate, Safari
vehicles are available for hire, or you can be driven your own high powered
(four wheel) vehicle.
Wilpattu has a number of small lakes that fill up with rains. These are called Willu. More than 60 Willu can be found around the national park. The name, area with Willu, later becomes Wilpattu. Persibendi, Maradammaduwa, Borupan, Thimbiri, Kumbuk and Kokkariya (the largest) are the lakes that can be seen within the park.
Vegetation of Wilpattu
The arid
zone area consisting forests with thorn bushes. The dry zone area
consisting the trees of Palu (Manilkara hexandra), Weera (Drypetes
sepiaria) and Buruta (Ceylon stain wood). The average height is about 06
meters.
Additionally, the park can be divided into three ecosystems in general. Wetlands, forests and the coastal zone. These all are important components of the ecosystem.
Birds in Wilpattu
Thimbiri Wila
is a place inside the park known for its indigenous and migrating birds. It is
typical to see Punchi Binguharaya, Nilpenda Binguharaya and Thamalahis
Binguharaya in this area. The Crested Serpent Eagle (Silu
Sarapakussa) is a common visitor to this area. Reptiles are one of their main
sources of food for them. As well as the Malabar Pied Hornbill (Poru
Kendeththa) and Great Thick-knee (Maha Golukiraluwa). Fruit is consumed by
them. Here you can witness Indian Peafowl (Peacock), endemic Sri Lankan jungle
fowl and endemic Sri Lankan grey hornbill.
The
hornbills have a fascinating backstory.
They chose to live in a tree hole. Inside the tree hole, the male bird locks up the female bird and covers the entrance with cement made from the male bird’s feces. The male bird provides all of the food and necessities to the female bird by the hole at the entrance of the tree hole. After the chicks were hatched, the female bird went outside by dissolving the cement and then they close the hole again. They continue to feed the chicks through the little hole in the entryway. As the chicks grew in size, they tore up the cement and emerge and began to fly. During the months of April to August, they give birth to their brood.
In
Mahapathessa Willu area, we frequently observe birds and on rare occasions,
tigers. Heen Thamba Seruwa (Lesser Whistling duck) may be found in Willu
regions in Wilpattu. While they are living on the water, they are able to find
food in the evening. They did, however, build their nests in trees.
An uncommon
birds called the Lesser Adjutant (Heen bahuru Manawa) and Woolly necked
Stork (Padili Manawa) can be found here. White bellied Sea Eagle (Kusa eli
sayurukussa) and mostly hawks and eagles can be spotted in this area. The Sri Lankan brown fish owl and the Sri
Lankan jungle fowl are endemic to this land. A sweet-toned oriental
magpie-robin (wild Polkichcha) can also be observed here. Migratory birds are
frequently seen in the park along the Willu.
Wilpattu National Park Animal population
Generally,
the herds of animals can be seen both in the morning and evening.
Some of
them include elephant, bear, deer, barking deer (Olu Muwa), Sambar deer (Gona).
That only bear that lives in Sri Lanka is the Sri Lankan sloth bear can also be
found here. Here you will find a wide range of birds and reptiles. This park is
home to 30 different species of mammals.
Elephants frequently pass through the boundary sections and the western section of the park, particularly the Willu areas near Pomparippu. The roads in here have fallen to the middle section of the park. As a result, probably visitors are unlike to encounter an elephant in this national park, but the elephant population is estimated to be approximately 370. Elephants are accustomed to eating thorny shrubs, which are commonly found in the border areas. During the summer, though, they flock to the Willu areas in the park’s center section for food. The Kudapathessa Willu area is also a wildlife viewing location.
Wilpattu
national park has Sri Lanka’s second largest population of Sambar deer. It is only
second to the Horton Plains National park.
Bear are
frequently seen in the Maradanmaduwa and Kokmote areas. Their diet consists of
fruit and insects.
Weather in Wilpattu
The yearly rainfall averages 1000mm and the average temperature is 27.2 Celsius. The northeast monsoon is active in the area from December to January. The park had significant rainfall during the March inter monsoon.
The Surroundings of Wilpattu
Several
locations throughout the park allow visitors to get-off from their vehicles. The
leopard population is one of the most significant assets in this park. There
are more than 100 leopards living there according to the census with Sri Lankan
endemic leopard.
The tigers
are primarily notable for the road and surrounding region leading from
Thalawila to Panikkawila. Panikkawila is also a great area to see migrating
birds and deer. This Panikkawila Willu region is unique in that it contains a
significant percentage of saline water while being 16 kilometers from the sea. Authorities
said that a layer of limestone had formed beneath the Willu.
Approximately
04 kilometers from the entrance, we can see the lake called Persi Bendi Wewa,
which was built by Mr. Persi de Alwis who was a caretaker of the park (the
first person of the park). In 1905, this was designated as a sanctuary and on
February 25, 1938, it was converted to a national park.
Visitors
can stay in Maradammaduwa circuit bungalow which is situated within the park
near to the Maradammaduwa Lake. Kokmote circuit bungalow, situated in near
Modaraganaru and the Mailawewa camping site is also available for visitors to
stay.
More than
05 circuit bungalows situated within the park. Some of these are Manawila,
Thalawila and Panikkawila. The department of forest conservation in Colombo can
be contacted to make a reservation.
The park contains a historically noteworthy feature. The ruined Palace of Kuweni, which is associated with the Kingdom of Anuradhapura, can be found in here.
