Wilpattu National Park is the largest national park in Sri Lanka.Wilpattu is one of the oldest national parks in Sri Lanka. North-Eastern, North-Central and Northern Provinces. The Park can be reached via Puttlam – Anuradhapura A12 Road. It spans over 1,317 square kilometers across
The unique feature of this park is the existence of "Willus" (Natural lakes) or depressions that fill with rainwater. Nearly 60 lakes (Willu) and tanks are found spread throughout Wilpattu. Hence, the name “Willu-pattu” (Land of Lakes) has been used, which finally has turned to Wilpattu.This contains saltwater, even though it is located 13 km inland.
In 1938 it was upgraded to the National Park status. Wilpattu is in the Northwest coast lowland dry zone of Sri Lanka. The annual rainfall is about 1000mm and the annual temperature is about 27.2°C. The northeast monsoon (December – February) and Inter-monsoonal rains in Marchare the main sources of rainfall.
The crown jewel of Wilpattu is the leopard population. there could be over 100 leopards living within the Park. Apart from that, around 30 species of mammals. have been identified within the park. Among them, elephant, sloth bear, spotted deer, barking deer and sambhur are prominent. Sri Lankan Sloth Bear is the only bear species living in Sri Lanka.
Being a shy animal by nature,Wilpattu is the home for numerous bird and reptile species.
Specially due to its abundance of lakes and tanks, this park has become a haven for migratory birds. Apart from the ecological importance of Wilpattu, there is a high archaeological value as well. These ruins closer to Kali Villu, are believed to be the Palace of Kuweni, who lived in 6th century BC.
Thammanna Beach and Kudiramalai which is related to the folklore around Prince Vijaya, is situated within Wilpattu. That will be covered in a different episode.
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