UNESCO World Heritage Site

Sinharaja Forest Reserve

Sinharaja Forest Reserve is a natural UNESCO World Heritage Site in Sri Lanka, inscribed in 1988.

Located in south-west Sri Lanka, Sinharaja is the country's last viable area of primary tropical rainforest. More than 60% of the trees are endemic and many of them are considered rare. There is much endemic wildlife, especially birds, but the reserve is also home to over 50% of

Located in south-west Sri Lanka, Sinharaja is the country's last viable area of primary tropical rainforest. More than 60% of the trees are endemic and many of them are considered rare. There is much endemic wildlife, especially birds, but the reserve is also home to over 50% of Sri Lanka's endemic species of mammals and butterflies, as well as many kinds of insects, reptiles and rare amphibians.

Country
Sri Lanka
Region
Asia
Category
Natural
Inscribed
1988
UNESCO reference
405
Area
8,864 ha

View the official UNESCO listing

Counts are based on Zikzak's current UNESCO World Heritage dataset, sourced from UNESCO. Last updated 7 August 2026. UNESCO insights

Collections featuring Sinharaja Forest Reserve

More UNESCO sites in Sri Lanka