Established in 1997, the Minneriya National Park extents across 88 square kilometers surrounding the historically significant Minneriya reservoir build by King Mahasen (277 – 304 AD) protecting its unique biodiversity. The park consisting of scrubs, forests and wetlands with dry zone vegetation. Trace of wildlife includes axis deer’s (Axis ceylonensis), sloth bears (Melursus ursinus inornatus) and leopards (Panthera pardus kotiya). The park is also home to two endemic and most endangered monkeys; the purple-faced Langur (Semnopithecus vetulus) and Toque Macaque (Macaca sinica). For bird lovers, the national park gathers birds such as little cormorants, painted storks, herons and large pelicans to its waters. Bird species endemic to Sri Lanka such as the hanging parrot (Loriculus beryllinus), the grey hornbill (Ocyceros gingalensis) and the junglefowl (Gallus lafayettii) are only a few among the precious sightings in Minneriya. The Minneriya national park is one of the iconic places in the world to watch wild elephant gatherings. The endangered Sri Lankan elephants (Elephas maximus maximus), one of three recognized subspecies of the Asian elephant, gather on the grass fields by the reservoir to feed and bathe especially during dry season from May to September. Nearly 700 wild elephants have been accounted to be dwelling within the parks range. This joyful sight has been the single most reason for many visitors to be attracted to the wilderness of Minneriya.
