ANURADHAPURA

  Anuradhapura is a very old city. A long time ago it was the capital of Sri Lanka. We can see the ruins of the buildings of the old city even today. The Ruwanmeliseya dagaba and the sacred bo tree are two very important places in Anuradhapura.    

Sigiriya

SIGIRIYA

  Sigiriya is an ancient palace built on the top of a rock. The entrance to this rock was shaped like a lion’s mouth. Therefore this rock was called Sinha Giri or Sigiriya.

The Story of Sigiriya

A long time ago a king called Dhathusena ruled in Anuradhapura. He had two sons named Moggalana and Kashyapa. Kashyapa was younger than Moggalana but, he wanted to become king first. So he killed his father and became king. Moggalana was very angry. He wanted to kill Kashyapa and become king. So Kashyapa ran away from Anuradhapura and built a beautiful palace on top of a rock, so that nobody could catch him and kill him. This rock was called Sigiriya. He built many beautiful buildings on Sigiriya and painted beautiful pictures on the sides of the rock. Even now we can see some of these pictures and some ruins of the buildings.

  

Sinharaja Rainforest

  The Sinharaja forest is the only undisturbed rainforest left in Sri Lanka. It is about 9000 hectares in extent. Many of the plants are very rate. Over 60% of the tree species are found only in the lowland wet zone of Sri Lanka. If these species of trees are allowed to get destroyed, the world would lose them altogether. So it is important that much effort is made to conserve this rich, valuable and fragile habitat.

  The Sinharaja rainforest is the largest rainforest reserve in Sri Lanka. In 1840 Sinharaja became a crown property. In 1988 the Sinharaja was made a National Wilderness area. In 1989 UNESCO included the Sinharaja Forest in the World Heritage list, as the first National Heritage of Sri Lanka.

  The Sinharaja forest is home to many rare animals, birds, butterflies, insects, reptiles and trees. Ferns and mosses grow well as the climate is humid because of heavy rainfall.

DEER

  Deer, which originally lived in the Mediterranean and Asian regions, can now also be commonly found in England. This is because they were taken from their original habitat to other places and bred. Deer belong to the Cervidae family.

  The male is much larger and heavier than the female Deer, which is called a Doe. Adult Deer develop lovely, branched out horns, which are called antlers. A Doe can produce up to 2-3 cubs at a time. Deer live along or in herds, in places where there is a lot of vegetation. They mainly feed on tender leaves and grass. The life span of a Deer is about 20-25 years.