Dunumadalawa Forest

Dunumadalawa Forest Dunumadalawa Forest Dunumadalawa Forest

The Dunumadalawa forest reserve, located in the hill capital of Kandy, is also popularly known as Wakarawatte after its original estate name -Walker’s estate. Situated on the edge of the Hantane range just south of the main town this long abandoned tea, coffee and cocoa estate encompasses the watershed for Kandy’s main reservoir. Now a looming mixed forest replete with mature jak trees, wild tea trees and extensive swaths of ironwood, it is home to several troops of toque macaque monkeys, barking deer, wild boar sounders, porcupines, civet cats, golden palm cats, fishing cats and leopards. Since October 2003 investigations have been ongoing at this site in an effort to better understand its leopard population. Whether the leopards rumored to exist in the forest indeed did so and whether they are resident or merely occasional visitors were two of the primary questions of interest.

At roughly 5 km2, the forest reserve is small and the leopards typically elusive. Using camera trap technology and long hours of tracking we have identified one resident female leopard with cub and one male. Discovering that the female was indeed a resident and not merely an infrequent visitor to the forest was significant as it underlines the importance of this reserve. That this is a resident population is further substantiated by the fact that over the past four years 3 leopards have been killed in the vicinity.

Dunumadalawa Forest Dunumadalawa Forest Dunumadalawa Forest
【LK94009119: Text by Lakpura™. Images by Google, copyright(s) reserved by original authors.】

About Kandy District

Kandy district is situated in the centrel province of Sri Lanka. One of the seven World Heritage Sites in Sri Lanka, Kandy was once home to the Kandyan Kings of yore in the 16th-century and a fountainhead for all the music, arts, crafts and culture in the country. About 129 km away from Colombo, Kandy is ensconced amongst a hilly terrain and all eyes are drawn to the centre of the city, where the Kandy Lake forms a charming feature. Kandy retains great religious significance for Sri Lanka, because it is in this charming city that the Dalada Maligawa or "Temple of the Tooth" is located, within which the sacred tooth relic of Lord Buddha lies well guarded.

The Royal Botanical Garden, Peradeniya is situated about 5 km to the west of the city centre at Peradeniya and is visited by 1.2 million people per year. It is the largest botanical garden on the island. The Udawatta Kele (Udawatta Forest) is a protected sanctuary situated in the heart of the city, just north of Temple of the Tooth.

Kandy is a Sinhala majority city; there are sizeable communities belonging to other ethnic groups, such as Moors and Tamils. Kandy is second only to Colombo the center of the Sri Lankan Economy. Many major co operations have large branch officers in Kandy and many industries include textiles, furniture, Information Technology and jewellery are found here. Many agriculture research centers are located in the city.

And a fountainhead for all the music, arts, crafts and culture in the country. About 129 km away from Colombo, Kandy is ensconced amongst a hilly terrain and all eyes are drawn to the centre of the city, where the Kandy Lake forms a charming feature. Kandy retains great religious significance for Sri Lanka , because it is in this charming city that the Dalada Maligawa or Temple of the Toothis located, within which the sacred tooth relic of Lord Buddha lies well guarded.

About Central Provincce

The Central Province of Sri Lanka consists primarily of mountainous terrain. The province has an area of 5,674 km², and a population of 2,421,148. Some major towns include Kandy, Gampola (24,730), Nuwara Eliya and Bandarawela. The population is a mixture of Sinhalese, Tamil and the Moors.

Both the hill capital Kandy and the city of Nuwara Eliya are located within the Central Province as well as Sri Pada. The province produces much of the famous Ceylon tea, planted by the British in the 1860s after a devastating disease killed all the coffee plantations in the province. Central Province attracts many tourists, with hill station towns such as Kandy, Gampola, Hatton and Nuwara Eliya. Temple tooth or Dalada maligawa is the main sacred place in Centrel province.

The climate is cool, and many areas about 1500 meters often have chilly nights. The western slopes are very wet, some places having almost 7000 mm of rain per year. The eastern slopes are parts of the mid-dry zone as it is receiving rain only from North-Eastern monsoon. The Temperatures range from 24°C at Kandy to just 16°C in Nuwara Eliya, which is located 1,889 m above sea level. The highest mountains in Sri Lanka are located in the Central Province. The terrain is mostly mountainous, with deep valleys cutting into it. The two main mountain regions are the central massif and the Knuckles range to the east of Kandy.

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