A national park in Sri Lanka is called Wilpattu National Park (Willu-pattu, "Land of Lakes"). The occurrence of "Willus" (natural lakes), which are rain-fed water basins or depressions with sand rims, makes this park special. The park is situated in Sri Lanka's northwest coast lowland dry zone, 30 kilometers (19 miles) west of Anuradhapura and 26 kilometers (16 miles) north of Puttalam (about 180 kilometers (110 miles) north of Colombo). The park's size is 1,317 km2 (508 sq mi) (131,693 hectares), and its elevation ranges from 0 m to 152 m (0-499 feet). Wilpattu is home to around one hundred and six lakes (Willu) and tanks. The largest and one of the first national parks in Sri Lanka is Wilpattu. The leopard population (Panthera pardus kotiya) in Wilpattu is well known worldwide. The Wilderness and Wildlife Conservation Trust performed a remote camera study in Wilpattu from July to October 2015; forty-nine individual leopards were photographed there. The core area density of the survey region was between that of Horton Plains National Park and Block I of Yala National Park.
Due to security concerns related to the Sri Lankan Civil War, the park was shut down from December 1988 to March 16, 2003, and then reopened to the public sixteen years later. Only around 25% of the park is now accessible to visitors; the rest is covered in deep forest or brush. The months of February through October are the busiest travel times, however there are a few private ecotourism organizations that provide safaris all year round.
The second-largest and most popular national park in Sri Lanka, Yala National Park is located along the Indian Ocean. The park is made up of five blocks, two of which are now accessible to the general public, as well as adjacent parks. The blocks are identified by their unique designations, such as Block 1 for Ruhuna National Park and Block 2 for Kumana National Park, or "Yala East" for the nearby area. It is located in Southern Province and Uva Province in the southeast of the nation. The park is roughly 300 kilometers (190 miles) from Colombo and has a total area of 979 square kilometers (378 sq mi). Yala was established as a wildlife sanctuary in 1900, and it was one of Sri Lanka's first two national parks, along with Wilpattu, when it was established in 1938. The variety of wild creatures in the park is its best-known feature. It is crucial for the preservation of aquatic birds, leopards, and elephants in Sri Lanka.
Around Yala, there are three animal sanctuaries and six national parks. National Park Lunugamvehera is one of the biggest. The northeast monsoon is when the park receives the majority of its rainfall because it is located in a dry, semi-arid climate zone. Yala is home to a variety of habitats, including freshwater and marine wetlands as well as moist monsoon forests. It is one of Sri Lanka's 70 Important Bird Areas (IBAs). Six Sri Lankan indigenous bird species are among the 215 bird species found in Yala. The park features 44 animals that have been identified, and it boasts one of the greatest numbers of leopards in the world.
𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲:
Yala National Park The second-largest and most popular national park in Sri Lanka, Yala National Park is located along the Indian Ocean.
