{{Infobox protected area | name = Sinharaja Forest Reserve | image = 20160128 Sri Lanka 4132 Sinharaja Forest Preserve sRGB (25674474901).jpg | image_caption = View of Sinharaja Forest Reserve with tea garden | location = Sabaragamuwa and Southern Provinces, Sri Lanka | nearest_city = Rakwana | module= {{Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site |child = yes |ID = 405 |Year = 1988 |Criteria = Natural: ix, x }} | coordinates = {{coord|6|25|00|N|80|30|00|E|format=dms|display=inline,title}} | area_km2 = 88.64 | established = April, 1978 | visitation_num = | visitation_year = | governing_body = Department of Forest Conservation }}
'''Sinharaja Forest Reserve''' is the last virgin Rainforest<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sinharaja World Heritage Rainforest - Sri Lanka |url=https://rainforestprotectors.org/rainforest/rainforestreserves/Sinharaja.aspx |access-date=2026-03-31 |website=rainforestprotectors.org}}</ref> left in Sri Lanka. Home to many rare endemic flora and fauna, it has been designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sinharaja Forest Reserve|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/405/|access-date=2020-08-17|website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre|language=en}}</ref>
Formed during the Jurassic period (from 200 to 145 million years ago), Sinharaja forest is the most dense rain forest in Asia.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mahoora tented safari camps Sinharaja Rainforest|url=https://www.mahoora.lk/mahoora-locations/mahoora-tented-safari-camps-sinharaja-rainforest.html|access-date=2020-09-29|website=www.mahoora.lk|language=en-gb |author1=Bhanuka }}</ref>
== Features == Over 60% of the trees are endemic, many of them considered rare. It is home to 95% endemic birds.
thumb|alt=Sinharaja|forest cover of Sinharaja
Of Sri Lanka's 26 endemic birds, the 20 rainforest species all occur here, including the elusive red-faced malkoha, green-billed coucal and Sri Lanka blue magpie.
Reptiles include the endemic green pit viper, hump-nosed viper, a large variety of amphibians (especially tree frogs) and invertebrates include the endemic Sri Lankan birdwing butterfly and leeches.
== Geography ==
=== Location === Sinharaja Forest Reserve covers most of the Kalu Ganga basin and a small part of the northern Gin Ganga. Most of the forest (60%) is contained within the borders of Rathnapura District. The other parts include Galle District with 20% and Kaluthara District with 20%.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sinharaja Rain Forest Sri Lanka {{!}} Wildlife Places in Sri Lanka|url=https://www.ceylonexpeditions.com/sinharaja-rain-forest-sri-lanka|access-date=2020-09-29|website=www.ceylonexpeditions.com}}</ref>
=== Natural === 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 km<sup>2</sup>).<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-12-17|title=Sri Lanka's Sinharaja rainforest reserve to be quadrupled in size|url=https://news.mongabay.com/2019/12/sri-lankas-sinharaja-rainforest-reserve-to-be-quadrupled-in-size/|access-date=2020-09-29|website=Mongabay Environmental News|language=en-US}}</ref>
== Human activity == The reserve is well-integrated with the local population who live in some dozens of villages dotted along the border. The locals collect herbal medicine, edible fruits, nuts, mushrooms, other non-timber forest products including bees honey and a sugary sap collected from a local palm species of the genus Caryota.
In 2013, UNESCO requested to halt the widening of the ancient road linking Lankagama area to Deniyaya along a 1-km jungle patch inside the protected area after a complaint from the Centre for Environmental and Nature Studies of Sri Lanka. A group of environmentalists carried out a big social media campaign and asked the authorities to stop
Mr. Martin Wijesinhe was one of the most significant people in Sri Lanka in connection to the Sinharaja,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gunatilleke|first=Nadira|title=Unofficial 'caretaker' of Sinharaja|url=http://www.dailynews.lk/2019/04/01/features/181828/unofficial-%E2%80%98caretaker%E2%80%99-sinharaja|access-date=2020-09-29|website=Daily News|language=en}}</ref> unofficial guardian and caretaker of it since the 1950s till his death in 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Lokuliyana|first=T.P.|title=Unofficial caretaker of Sinharaja, Martin Wijesinghe, dies|url=https://ceylontoday.lk/news/unofficial-caretaker-of-sinharaja-martin-wijesinghe-dies|access-date=2021-12-31|website=Ceylon Today|language=en}}</ref>
== Tourism == The Sinharaja Forest Reserve is open to the public and accessible to tourists through four main entrances: Weddagala (north-west), Rakwana (north-east), Neluwa (south-west), and Deniyaya–Mederipitiya(South-East).
In accordance with conservation regulations, all visitors are required to enter the forest accompanied by a licensed guide. A variety of guided hiking tours are available, led by certified Sri Lankan tour guides, offering insights into the forest's rich biodiversity and ecological significance.<ref>https://thealwayswanderer.com/sinharaja-forest-sri-lanka/</ref>
== Endemic Mammals == Source:<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sinharaja Rain forest {{!}} Trekking in Sinharaja Rain Forest {{!}} Sinharaja Forest Reserve, Sri Lanka|url=https://bestoflanka.com/wildlife-safaris-sinharaja-forest-reserve-sri-lanka.php?lId=01|access-date=2020-09-29|website=bestoflanka.com}}</ref> * Sri Lankan elephant (''Elephas maximus maximus'') * Sri Lankan leopard (''Panthera pardus kotiya'') * Sri Lankan deer (''Rusa unicolor unicolor'') * Sri Lankan spotted chevrotain (''Moschiola meminna)'' * Sri Lankan jackal (''Canis aureus naria'') * Toque macaque (''Macaca sinica'') * Red slender loris (''Loris tardigradus'') * Purple-faced langur (''Semnopithecus vetulus'') * Sinharaja shrew (''Crocidura hikmiya)'' * Golden palm civet (''Paradoxurus zeylonensis'') * ''Paradoxurus aureus'' * Golden dry-zone palm civet (''Paradoxurus stenocephalus)'' * Sri Lankan brown palm civet (''Paradoxurus montanus)'' * Yellow-striped chevrotain (''Moschiola kathygre'')
== Gallery == Source:<ref>https://thealwayswanderer.com/sinharaja-forest-sri-lanka</ref> <gallery> SL Sinharaja Forest asv2020-01 img13.jpg|A waterfall in Sinharaja Rainforest SL60butterfly.jpg|Common Birdwing SL Sinharaja Forest asv2020-01 img01.jpg|Yellow-browed bulbul SL Sinharaja Forest asv2020-01 img22.jpg|Purple-faced langur with baby SL Sinharaja Forest asv2020-01 img08.jpg|A stream in the reserve Tree canopy in Sinharaja.JPG|The high tree canopy in the reserve Xenochrophis asperrimus.jpg|''Fowlea asperrimus'' </gallery>
== See also == * Protected areas of Sri Lanka
==Notes and references== {{Notelist}} {{Reflist|2}}
{{World Heritage Sites in Sri Lanka}} {{Biosphere reserves of Sri Lanka}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:1978 establishments in Sri Lanka Category:Forest reserves of Sri Lanka Category:Important Bird Areas of Sri Lanka Category:Protected areas in Sabaragamuwa Province Category:Protected areas in Southern Province, Sri Lanka Category:Sri Lanka lowland rain forests Category:Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Category:World Heritage Sites in Sri Lanka