Sri Lankan Eco Tourism

Sri Lanka is an ideal destination of Eco tourism with a wealth of activities for the whole family. From nature trails, hiking, cycling, bird watching, photography or wild life safaris are just the beginning of the list. You could also visit a tropical forest, relax in the beach or hike to natural forest reserves. No part of the country is just a step away from Eco friendly activities.

Sri Lanka is a country blessed by nature. Though it is an island, a mere dot on the world map, it is filled with a wide variety of beautiful and ecologically important natural habitats. Sri Lanka harbors a vast amount of wildlife, far larger in proportion to her size, because of its environment and its tropical conditions. Elephants, leopards, deer and wild boar are some of the main attractions of wildlife enthusiasts. Bird life is a major portion of Sri Lanka's wildlife. The abundance of Sri Lanka's bird life makes it an ornithologist's paradise.

To the botanist this is indeed a land of plenty. The different climate zones allows for trees, tropical as well as temperate to flourish. The luxuriant undergrowth and tall majestic trees of the wet-zone tropical forests contrast with the arid scrub land and galipot palms of the dry northern and eastern regions of the island.

Sri Lanka is a paradise for animal lovers who enjoy animal or bird watching. There are many national parks and sanctuaries in Sri Lanka that offer you an opportunity to observe “real” wildlife at least once in your lifetime! The animals that roam the national parks and sanctuaries are many in variety. Example of animals that you can see in a national park such as Yala National Park are elephants, leopards, sloth bears, deer and monkeys, wild buffalo s  wild boars, porcupines, ant-eaters, civet cats, jackals, mongooses, Loris (unique to Sri Lanka), several varieties of lizards, squirrels, reptiles and amphibians.

Today Sri Lanka preserves 12 National Parks, 51 Sanctuaries, and 3 strict Natural Reserves (Horton Planes, Knuckles range and Peak Wilderness). There are 628 vertebrates (84 mammals, 379 birds, 133 reptiles and 32 amphibians), a myriad of invertebrates and about 900 species of fish. Out of these, 10 mammals, 21 birds, 70 reptiles, 15 amphibians and 17 fishes are endemic, i.e. found only in Sri Lanka. Out of the 242 species of butterflies in the island, only 6 kinds live above 4000 feet elevation. There are more than 3000 species of plants, about five times the number in the United Kingdom. Of these about 25% of the flowering plants are endemic.

Source:-http://www.sereneonline.com