Horagolla National Park

Hi all, hope you are doing well. Today I’m going to take you to another national park of Sri Lanka. That is Horagolla National Park. But it is not a large park like Udawalawe National Park or Yala or Wilpattu. It is one of the smallest parks in Sri Lanka with an area of 28 acres. The park is situated in Horagolla.

Horagolla National Park sign board

According to Wikipedia, it is one of the latest national parks in Sri Lanka. The park has been previously declared as a wildlife sanctuary, in 2014 it has been escalated as a national park. Refer Wikipedia for more details on history of Horagolla National Park.

viper on leaves
Our first sighting

According to the records of the park, there are 10 species of Mammals, 64 species of Birds, 7 species of Fish and 28 species of Butterflies. (It is indicated in the signboard in the first image.) But sadly I couldn’t spot many. I couldn’t cover the whole park and also it seems to be off season for birds. But I definitely experienced the extensive ‘floral diversity’ of the park.

The mostly found tree is ‘Hora’ (Dipterocarpus zeylanicus). The generous presence of Hora trees might be the reason for the area to called as Horagolla.

Hora seed
Hora Seed

(Have you ever seen a Hora (Dipterocarpus zeylanicus) seed falling down? It comes down, rotating like a helicopter blade.)

Footpaths have been created to walk around the park. Walking along them is a nice experience. The surround is really calm.

Horagolla National Park

Horagolla National Park

Horagolla National Park

You might already be feeeling it. At some points of the park, benches are placed, so you can have a seat for a while.

Bench in the park

Another common thing in here is the large vines. There are a number types of vines in Horagolla National Park, especially ‘Entada pursaetha’ (‘Pus Wel’ in Sinhalese).

Pus Wel (Entada pursaetha)

vines

The park has a high annual rain, it is 2000-2500mm. Therefore the surround is very cool and contains moisture always.

little mushrooms

Due to that consistent moisture, lots of snails can be found there.

snail on tree

snail on tree

spider and prey
Spider and its prey
spider and prey
Don’t come to conclusions that you will only find snails and spiders here in Horagolla National Park. As I told you earlier also, this might be off season for birds and I missed some parts of the park, especially the lake and the ‘Hog Deer Project’. So if you cover the whole park and if you have patience, you will see more animals.
The aforementioned Hog Deer Project is a conservation project of Hog Deers. According to the red data list, Hog Deers are an endangered species. There few more Hog Deer conservation projects in Sri Lanka.

How to Reach…?

If you are interested in visiting Horagolla National Park, here is the exact location.

As usual, visit the Image Gallery below to watch the full set of (larger) images.
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So that’s about Horagolla National Park. It is not a very large park and there are not so many attractions (unless you are a deep nature lover). So, don’t make it the main destination of your trip. 3 or 4 hours are enough to cover the whole park.
If you have queries or if you need further details, just leave a comment below. I’m more than happy to help you. See you in the next article.

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