Wasgamuwa National Park in Sri Lanka
Wasgamuwa National Park is one of the oldest forests in Sri Lanka. This forest is spread over three provinces and mainly two districts. Its boundaries can be stated as follows.
Northern limit :- Parakrama Sea, Amban River.
Western boundary :-Alahera and Bakamoona areas.
Southern boundary :-Dunuwila Oya, a tributary of Mahaweli River.
Eastern boundary :- Mahaweli River.
Accessing the Wasgamuwa National Park is a very difficult task as it is bordered by mountain slopes, gorges and water gorges.
Mainly two entry ways can be seen here. One of the routes is the one that comes to Kandy and turns at Hasalaka junction on the Mahiyangana road and travels 45 km.
The other route is Matale Laggala which comes to Wilgamu and travels 16 km. The distance from Wasgamuwa National Park to Polonnaruwa is 10 km.
The history of this forest dates back to prehistoric times. There are many folk tales and news related to Wasgamuwa, which is believed to have lived in this country thousands of years ago.
At that time there was a Yaksha tribe settlement in Laggala area near Wasgamuwa Park. According to Prof. Wilhelm Geiger, Laggala region is known as "Lanka Giri" and "Lanka Pabbata" in Pali genealogies. According to Professor Vijaya Wimalasuriya, the "Lanka city" of the Yaksha tribes is located in Laggala area, not far from Wasgamu. Similarly, Vijaya Kuveni legend also mentions about this Laggala.
There are also many stories related to King Dutugemunu and Wasgamuwa. When King Dutugemunu went to Anuradhapura to fight with Elara, he had to fight with the Dravidians. King Dutugemunu has succeeded in defeating the Dravidian army there.
According to history, the Malagamuwa lake in the Wasgamuwa forest was built by King Dhatusena with the help of the Yaksha tribes that lived around it. A dam was built across the Mahaweli River to divert water to the Malagamuwa Lake and to the dykes in the Polonnaruwa area. The place where King Dhatusena built the dam with the Yaksha tribe is known today as Yakundawa and the current Minipe Canal was known as "Yakun Bedi Ala" at that time.
King Maha Parakramabahu, who reigned in Polonnaruwa, built and repaired many tanks along Mahaweli River, Amban River and Kalu River, which are connected to Wasgamuwa. Parakrama Samudra, Kalinga Yodha Canal, Wilmitiya Lake, Kandurupitiya Lake and Dikpitiya Lake in the northern border of Wasgamu were the creations of the then King Parakramabahu.
Considering the vegetation classification of Sri Lanka, Wasgamuwa belongs to the intermediate zone classification. This forest consists of evergreen tropical forests, grasslands, swamps and scrubland. This is why it is called a dry mixed evergreen forest.
There are several big and small mountain passes in Wasgamuwa. Sudu Kanda, Elune Kanda, Bombaragala, Dematagala, Weheragala, Walasgala and Thavalamgala are the main among them.
Mahaweli Ganga, Kalu Ganga, Amban River and Dunuwila Oya are fed by the streams of Wasgamuwa Oya, Elagolla Oya, Karapane Oya, Kanda Bidunu Oya, Waddige Oya and Yodha Oya flowing through this forest.
The endemic birds of Sri Lanka such as the black-headed shrike, the black-headed shrike, the red-billed crane and the haban kukula, as well as the common birds such as the duck, peacock, axe-eater, black eagle and lake eagle, and the migratory birds such as the Malayan clay crane, . Specially can be seen in Wasgamuwa.
