Lahugala-Kitulana National Park

The park is one of Sri Lanka’s smallest but most valuable conservation areas for elephants and endemic birds.
Location
Lies in the basin of the Heda Oya, 16Km inland from the coastal town of Pottuvil in Eastern Province. The Pottuvil Moneragla trunk road runs through the south eastern sector of the park.
Access
The route would be the same as the approach to Yala East National Park from Colombo. The routes fork off at Pelmadulla and meet again at Wellawaya, one going via Beragala, Koslanda and the other via Thimbolketiya, Udawalawe and Thanmalwila. From Wellawaya the route would be via Moneragala. It is approximately 318Km from Colombo. The park office is situated at Lahugala.
The terrain is flat with occasional rock outcrops. The park features three tanks, Lahugala (243ha), Kitulana and Sengamuwa, which ultimately drain into the Heda Oya. These tanks are largely silted up and support an abundance of beru grass. The area of the park is 1,554ha.
Mean annual rainfall is 1650mm.
Nearby is the historic site of Magulmahavihara, built for the occasion of King Kavantissa’s marriage to Viharamaha Devi.
Lying in the dry zone, the vegetation surrounding the tanks is dry mixed evergreen forest with scrubs.
Lahugala is traditionally used as a feeding ground by elephants (Elephas maximus). Herds up to 150, attracted by the beru grass, were a common sight at Lahugala tank during the period of July to August. Other mammals also can be seen in the park. The avifauna is diverse and includes a variety of waterfowl, and the usual dry zone forest birds. Amphibians include frogs such as the endemic Bufo athukoralei, Rana limnocharis, Rhacophorus maculate, Kaloula pulchra and Microphyla rubra.
Visitors and Visitor facilities
At present, accommodation can be found at Pottuvil, 23Km away from park.