Dunumadalawa Forest Reserve – a habitat island in Kandy City By Arundathie Abeysinghe   Dunumadalawa Forest Reserve also known as Wakara-watta (known by locals for decades) or Walker Estate (its former estate name) is a forest cover overlooking Kandy City (part of the forest reserve is within Kandy City) located at a height of approximately 548- 875 meters (1800 -3200 feet) above sea level. Dunumadalawa Forest Reserve is a semi-isolated, hill country wet-zone forest reserve situated in Kandy City. There are 13 endemic bird species, 29 endemic subspecies and 10 restricted range bird species in the forest reserve. As there are endemic as well as restricted species, Dunumadalawa Forest Reserve is considered as a habitat island in the midst of a city. As such, environmentalists are of the view that the forest reserve should be conserved due to its biological significance and unique features. The forest reserve has an area of approximately ...

Read More →