Udawaththa Kale

Udawatta Kele Sanctuary, often spelled as Udawattakele, is a historic forest reserve on a hill-ridge in the city of Kandy. During the days of the Kandyan kingdom, Udawatta Kele was known as "Uda Wasala Watta" in Sinhalese meaning, "the garden situated above the royal palace". The sanctuary is famous for its extensive avifauna. The reserve also contains a great variety of plant species, especially lianas, shrubs and small trees. There are several giant lianas. Many of small and medium size mammals that inhabit Sri Lanka can be seen here.
Several kinds of snakes and other reptiles might also be seen. Udawatta Kele was designated as a forest reserve in 1856, and it became a sanctuary in 1938.[1] The Sri Lanka Forest Department has two offices in the reserve, one of which (i.e. the one located at the southeastern entrance) has a nature education centre with a display of pictures, posters, stuffed animals, etc. Being easily accessible and containing a great variety of flora and fauna the forest has a great educational and recreational value. Groups of school children and students regularly visit the forest and the education centre. The forest is also popular with foreign tourists, especially bird watchers. The forest is also of religious importance as there are three Buddhist meditation hermitages and three rock shelter dwellings for Buddhist monk hermits.



Flora

The vegetation of the park comprises dense forest, mostly abandoned plantations and secondary formations.[8] Of the 460 plant species that have been recorded in the forest, 135 are species of tree and 11 are lianas. These include 9 endemic species.[9] The forest features an emergent layer, a canopy and an understory.[1] Because of the dense two upper layers, understory is not present everywhere in the sanctuary, especially in areas with the invasive Peru balsam tree, (Myroxylon balsamum) Mahogany trees, (Swietenia macrophylla) and Devil's Ivy, (see Invasive Species section below).

A great variety of species are found in the forest. Some common native tree and shrub species are: Acronychia pedunculata (Sinhalese: "Ankenda"), Artocarpus nobilis ("Wal Del"), Artocarpus heterophyllus ("Kos"), Caryota urens ("Kitul"), Aglaia elaeagnoidea ("Puwanga"), Bombax ceiba ("Katu imbul"), Canarium zeylanicum, Cinnamomum verum ("Kurundu", cinnamon), Ficus virens, Filicium decipiens ("Pihimbiya"), Goniothalamus gardneri, Haldina cordifolia, Hunteria zeylanica, Mallotus tetracoccus, Mesua ferrea ("Na", ”Iron-wood”), Michelia champaca ("Sapu"), Mangifera zeylanica ("Atamba"), Neoclitsea cassia ("Dawul Kurundu”, Wild Cinnamon), Glycosmis sp., Litsea quinqueflora, Micromelum minitum ("Wal Karapuncha"), Pavetta blanda, Psychotria nigra, Vitex pinnata ("Milla") and Walsura gardneri.

There are many vine and liana species growing in the Udawattakele forest, most notable is the giant creeper Entada rheedii ("Pus Wel"). Some other species are Anamirta cocculus ("Tittawel”), Diploclisia glaucescens, Hiptage bengalensis, Hypserpa nitida ("Niriwel"), Morinda umbellata ("Kiri-wel"), and Paramignya monophylla. The Udawatta Kele is probably the best place in Sri Lanka for seeing full-grown rattan palms, ''Calamus'' (palm), of which there are at least two species. Some of the climbing palms here are over 25 meters long, growing up and over trees. Elsewhere in Sri Lanka rattan palms are often cut down when young for making rattan, but in the Udawattakele they are well protected.

Orchid species, mostly epiphytic, include Cymbidium bicolor, Luisa teretifolia, Polystachya concreta, Thrixspermum pulchellum, Tropidia curculigoides and Vanda testacea.

The sanctuary also is home to many species of non-flowering plants, Pteridophytes, such as the large ferns growing on steep banks along the shady road on the eastern side of the hill ridge.[10]

The tree species Alstonia macrophylla, introduced from Southeast Asia, is a common pioneer in previously cleared areas but poses no great threat to biodiversity because seeds sprout only in sunny, open areas, and when the trees get large, native shrubs and trees grow beneath them to eventually take their place.