Kurulu Kele - The Forest Reserve and Bird Sanctuary

Kurulu Kele - forest reserve and bird sanctuary is located in Kegalle which is fully conserved by the Forest Conservation Department of Sri Lanka.

It is really easy for anybody to travel by either a public transport or a private vehicle to get there. Being located in the Golahela Grama Seva Division in Kegalle, one has to arrive Kegalle town via the Colombo-Kandy main road. Then you need to take the Bandaranayake Mawatha and from there, you need to enter through sanctuary monastry to visit Kurulu Kele. 

The altitude of the land is nearly between 580-750m and the most distinctive feature of Kurulu Kele is the vast 'Pus' vine running over the heads of the forest. It is considered the largest 'Pus' vine of South Asia but it is getting destroyed due to some damages done by people. Apart from 'Pus' vine there are vines such as Hidaru, Kudumirissa, Girithilla, Mawewel, Bambarawel, Walgammiris, Hathawariya, Kambarossa etc. 

There are about 190 types of trees found here but the most abundant tree in Kurulu Kele is WalDel. The endemic trees to Sri Lanka such as Kekuna, Katukithul, Lentheri, Walpichcha are also available in this forest reserve. Apart from those, Kurulu Kele get filled with Milla, Pihibiya, Jak, Rukatthana, Sooriyamara, Tamarind, Kahata, Mora, White Sandlewood, Batuna, Mawewel etc. There can be seen some shrubs which are normally grown in dry zone such as Daluk, Nawahandi in Kurulu Kele too. 

Kurulu Kele is a home of about 92 species of birds. The Jungle fowl, Grey parakeet, Sri Lanka hill myna, Sri Lanka spur fowl, Black capped bulbul, Ceylon small barbet, Sri Lanka grey hornbill, Yellow fronted barbet, Spotted winged thrush, Green filled coucal are endemic to Sri Lanka and live in Kurulu Kele. Apart from those birds the following bird species too can be seen in Kurulu Kele abundantly. They are Pardise fly catcher, Crested serpent eagle, Rose ringed parakeet, Ceylon little minivet, Green imperial pigeon, Red vented bulbul, Black headed orCole etc. 

Not only the birds but also there are 22 species of mammals in Kurulu Kele that are endemic animals of Sri Lanka. Due to all these specialities, Kurulu Kele was declared as a sanctuary in 1941. 

📷 courtesy- slees.org, srilankaq.com