Wilpattu the largest national park in Sri Lanka
Wilpattu National Park is situated at 30km west of Anurdhapura UNESCO world heritage site. It is the biggest national park in Sri Lanka. The north western border of the park is Indian ocean and the southern border is Modergam Aru river. The northern border is River Kalay oya and eastern border is Colombo-Puttalam A3 highway. Wilpattu national park was declared a wildlife sanctuary on the year 1905. From December 1988 to 16 March 2003, the park was closed due to the Sri Lanka’s civil war.
This park is one of the best places in Sri Lanka to spot sloth bears and leopards (Panthera pardus kotiya ). But a total of 31 mammal species live in the park including elephants (Elephas maximus maximus)
Wilpattun national park is as big as 1317 square kilometers and the highest elevation is 152 m from sea level. The annual temperature is 27 Celsius and the annual rainfall is not less than 1000 mm. Deforestation with the help of few ignorant positions is the major threat to this national park.
