Udawaththa Kale Sanctuary
Udawaththa kale famous as the Royal Fortress Park of Kandy for bird watching with surrounding beautiful nature. Also, it is a historic forest reserve on a hill-ridge in the city of Kandy. It is 104 hectares large.
Udawaththa Kale Sanctuary is situated on the hillside behind the Temple of the Tooth Relic. So, this forest extends about 257 acres and is considered to be a vital Bio-reserve for the much populated Kandy City.
The forest is rich with
- Vegetation consisting of a canopy
- Sub-canopy
- Underground layer
Also, the dense plant life restricts sunlight reaching the ground soil surface. The underground layer mostly consists of the seedlings of the canopy layer species and creepers that reaches to the top of canopy layer trees. There is a giant 200 to 300 years old “Pus Wela” or ‘Entada pusaetha’ liana in the forest.
The important places in Udawaththa Kale Sanctuary are the
- Water Pond
- Highest peak “Kodimale”
- The Senkanda Cave
- The Garrison Cemetery
There are also several Buddhist temples and hermitages inside the forest reserve.