srilankatraveltours.com
Sri Lanka Travel Tours

Sinharaja Rain Forest Day Tour

Sinharaja Rain Forest Day Tour

Departing from Colombo or as per your request

Sinharaja Rain Forest, which UNESCO named a World Heritage Site in Sri Lanka, is an ideal day trip for nature enthusiasts who visit Sri Lanka. The trip starts at 6 a.m. from Colombo and will take 3 hours to reach the entrance of the Sinharaja Rain Forest. You can decide how far you are going to walk inside the jungle, depending on your capacity. You can have your lunch once you come out of the jungle, or ask our driver to organize a picnic meal for you so you can enjoy the meals during the picnic.

Visiting Sinharaja Rain Forest during the Sinharaja Day Tour: Sinnharaja Forest Reserve is a national park and a biodiversity hotspot in Sri Lanka. It is of international significance and has been designated a Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

The hilly virgin rainforest, part of the Sri Lanka lowland rain forest ecoregion, was saved from the worst of commercial logging by its inaccessibility and was designated a World Biosphere Reserve in 1978 and a World Heritage Site in 1988. The reserve’s name translates as Kingdom of the Lion.

The reserve is only 21 km from east to west and a maximum of 7 km from north to south, but it is a treasure trove of endemic species, including trees, insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

Because of the dense vegetation, wildlife is not as easily seen as at dry-zone national parks such as Yala. There are about three elephants, and the 15 or so leopards are rarely seen. The most common larger mammal is the endemic Purple-faced Langur.

An interesting phenomenon is that birds tend to move in mixed feeding flocks, invariably led by the fearless Greater Racket-tailed Drongo and the noisy Orange-billed Babbler. 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 and Hump-nosed viper, and there are a large variety of amphibians, especially tree frogs. Invertebrates include the endemic Common Birdwing butterfly and the inevitable leeches. 

Itinerary
  • Pick up from the Colombo hotel and transfer to Sinharaja Rain Forest (approximately 3 hours’ drive).
  • Take part in a trekking trip of 5 to 6 hours (7 AM to 1 PM) covering the most important areas of Sinharaja Rain Forest to see Birds such as Jungle Fowl, Brown-capped Babbler, Spot-wing Thrush, Skaly Thrush, Malabar Trogon, and many other birds, butterflies, and endemic plants. Sinharaja is a biodiversity hotspot in Sri Lanka. It is of international significance and has been designated a Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
  • Picnic refreshments during the trek
  • Lunch at a recommended restaurant
  • Afternoon village trek bordering Sinharaja Rain Forest from 3.30 p.m. to 6 p.m. to see different types of birds such as Layard’s Parakeet, Hanging Parakeet, Sri Lankan Mynah, Yellow-fronted Barbet, White-faced Starling, and
  • Transfer back to Colombo: approximately 4 hours’ drive
Places of visit during this trip
  • Sinharaja Rain Forest
  • Bordering village of Sinharaja Rain Forest