#AroundTheWorld #Wilpattu #SriLanka
Around the World - Episode 16 | Wilpattu National Park, Sri Lanka. | විල්පත්තු ජාතික උද්යානය
Wilpattu National Park is the largest and one of the oldest national parks located in Sri Lanka. It is located 30 km west Anuradhapura and located 26 km north of Puttalam (approximately 180 km north of Colombo). In 1905 the area was designated a sanctuary and in 1938 it was upgraded to the National Park status.
The unique feature of this park is the existence of "Willus" (Natural lakes) - Natural, sand-rimmed water basins or depressions that fill with rainwater. Nearly sixty lakes (Willu) and tanks are found spread throughout Wilpattu. Hence, the name “Willu-pattu” (Land of Lakes) has been used, which finally has turned to Wilpattu.
Wilpattu is in the Northwest coast lowland dry zone of Sri Lanka spreading over 1,317 square kilometers across North-Eastern and North-Central Provinces. The elevation ranges from 0 to 152 meters above sea level. The annual rainfall is about 1000mm and the annual temperature is about 27.2 degrees. Inter-monsoonal rains in March and the northeast monsoon (December – February) are the main sources of rainfall.
The crown jewel of Wilpattu is its abundance of the leopard (Panthera pardus kotiya) population, which is an endangered species. Recent studies suggest that there could be over 100 leopards living within Wilpattu.
Apart from that, around 30 species of mammals have been identified within Wilpattu national park. Among them, elephant (Elephas maximus maximus), sloth bear (Melursus ursinus inornatus), water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis), sambhur (Rusa unicolor unicolor), spotted deer (Axis axis ceylonensis) and barking deer (Muntiacus muntjak malabaricus) are prominent.
Wilpattu is the home for numerous bird and reptile species. Specially due to its abundance of lakes and tanks, this park has become a haven for migratory birds.
Apart from the ecological importance of Wilpattu, there is a high archaeological value as well. There are many locations which relate to Princess Kuweni (c. 6th century BC). Certain ruins are still visible.
Wilpattu has a geological significance as well due to its evidence of some unique rock formations closer to Kudiramalai beach, which leads to the speculations that this could very well be a meteor impact site millions of years ago.
Department of Wildlife maintains more than 10 bungalows and campsites within the park, which can be reserved online for a reasonable price.
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