Wilpaththu

Wilpattu National Park spans the border between the North Central and North Western provinces and is located on the northwest coast about 24 miles (39 km) due west of Anuradhapura. In addition to Portugal Bay and the northernmost portions of the Kalpitiya peninsula and Karativu island, it is bordered to the north and south by the Moderagam Aru and Kala Oya, respectively. The Wilpattu Sanctuary is located inland from the coast, past the Moderagam Aru. It is being explored to expand the park to encompass the nearby Portuguese and Dutch Bays seas as a marine sanctuary for the defence of the dugong.

Wilpattu, one of Sri Lanka’s oldest and most significant protected areas, was designated a sanctuary in 1905 and became a national park in 1938. With three different types of vegetation—a 3 to 6 mile (5 to 10 km) wide coastal strip of monsoon scrub; lush monsoon forests farther inland; and salt grass and stunted shrub along the beach—its flora and wildlife are typical of the dry zone lowlands. Its greatest characteristic is the significant concentration of verdant villus or naturally occurring lake-like basins inside its boundaries. All villus, with the exception of two that are saline, contain pure rainwater and are home to a large number of resident and migratory waterbirds, making them a unique topographical feature of this area of the island.

Wilpattu boasts more than 30 species of mammalian biodiversity, including elephants, leopards, sloth bears, water buffalo, and deer, in addition to its diverse avifauna and reptiles, the most notable of which is the mugger crocodile.