The lowland rainforest of Sinharaja is the largest expanse of lowland rainforest in Sri Lanka. It was declared a World Heritage Site in 1988. It is one of the critically important sites for a vast number of endemic fauna and flora, which are threatened due to deforestation. In this tour we aim to see close to 20 of the 33 endemic birds of Sri Lanka, which include Red-faced Malkoha and Sri Lanka Blue Magpie. The focus will also be on the mixed species bird flocks, which is a unique foraging strategy adopted primarily by insectivorous birds in the rainforest.
Close to 14 species on average move through the densely vegetated forest, flushing out insects in the process, which are eaten by the birds occupying in various stratified layers in the forest. You will be able to see the flock leader Orange-billed Babbler, which is the steering wheel of the bird flock and Crested Drongo, which acts as the policeman of the flock safeguarding the flock from of Hawks & Eagles by uttering Alarm calls. In addition, for awesome birding, the tour also focuses on the vast diversity of flora, which include 45-meter towering canopy giants such as Thiniya Dun, Weli-piyanna & Beraliya. Nearly 60 % of the flowering plants in Sinharaja is found only in Sri Lanka. We will also focus on the largely ignored nocturnal fauna of the rainforests & micro fauna such as Butterflies. Lunch is at Martin’s Simple Lodge, which is one of the most popular base of eco tourists at Sinharaja. It offers spectacular views of the virgin jungle.