Last Rain forest of UVA (Udakiruwa)

The map – Click to enlarge

Would you believe if I said there is a rain forest in the dry mountain zones of eastern Sri lanka??? Yes there are two large patches of forest with plenty of “Hora” trees bordering “Kiri oya” (tributary of Kumbukkan oya) which is enclosed by two mountain ranges. It’s located in the Valley of Udakiruwa in Lunugala. Since I heard about this place for the first time from a friend I wanted to go there and finally I did manage to pay a visit recently. There was a very resourceful article from Rainforest protectors group which was done by a foreign monk who was meditating in this forest. He had done an immense job to protect it though he was not a Sri Lankan. Most of the land with “hora trees” are been cleared off for rubber and other plantations and the sad thing is these land actually belong to villages but I heard that they are ready to sell this precious land to rainforest protectors group and there is a fund raising project for it. For further information it’s better to contact Sriyantha on this. To reach Udakiruwa one needs to pass Lunugala town (if coming from Passara) then you will find a road to the right which starts at Udapanguwagama name board. Traveling 9km’s along winding downhill roads will take you to Udakiruwa. The road ends with a concreted stretch. Walk few hundred meters further and you would meet a small bridge. The left turn after the bridge will take you in to the “Hora forest” (this is a tractor road). Right turn will take you to Weragoda and Pallekiruwa also you could reach the forest hermitage through this path. I took the path through the forest and got down to the river. From here onwards it was a walk in a paradise. While enjoying the surrounding beauty I walked along the river until I came across the waterfall. On the way downstream I found a superb flat sandy area which is ideal for camping. May be I’ll do a camping trip one of this days at this lovely location. After I returned back I did have a conversation with few locals who didn’t forget to treat me with some local hospitality.

Rilaoluwa seen from udakiruwa rd

scenic road to Udakiruwa

through the hora forest

and here i go along Kiri oya which is an tributary of kubukkan oya

morning rays

mushroom life

been filtered by giant Hora trees

rays been filtered

tall trees reaching the sky

couldn’t stop clicking

lovely rain forest

the only forest in the whole eastern region where these could be found

and more

life on barks

plenty of these guys

crystal clear water

orchids

moss

flowing through one of the smallest rain forest in SL

washed away

two foot long giant earth worm

one out of millions which attacked me

webbed

wow

the tall canopy

creepers

flora

flows silently

loved this one

cleared out areas

occasional foot paths

huge trunks

wet forest

living on the dead

dead wild boar

lovely

striving for sun light

my favourite

wow	life is seen everywhere

plenty of wild boar foot prints

a cascade

lovely place for a bath

adding life to kiri oya

flowing down

sun bath

another cascade

main cascade

DOF	“wallapatta” issue

base pool

more mushrooms

ah nice place to camp

tempting

more creepers

wonders of nature

tall trees

cleared for rubber

again some more mushrooms

and another one

Cymbidium ensifolium

ah trying to hide him self

tractor roads

roof top

tractor roads crossing the stream

another one enjoying some sun

the lovely walk

plenty of these

sky scrapers

no bark was spared

Whitish flowers

I will be quoting the article from Rainforest protectors group here since it gives a good overview on this rain forest. Let’s all get together and try to protect this last rain forest in Uva which is a small part of the Lungs of Mother Earth.

Author:  Bhikkhu Nyanatusita

At the eastern edge of the Uva Province hill country, hidden at the bottom of a beautiful, remote valley east of Lunugala, near the village of Udakiruwa, there is a unique and unknown rainforest with large stands of Hora trees.

Normally forests with Hora or Dipterocarpus zeylanicus trees are found in the Southwestern wet zone areas of Singharaja, Galle and Ratnapura, but the local microclimate in the Uva valley has created conditions suitable for large stands of Hora trees of more than 40 meters in height that grow in the valley. There are also some very large Doona or Shorea trees. On the upper slopes of the valley, where conditions are drier, different kinds of trees such as Jack-fruit grow. The climate in the valley is humid and cool, probably due to winds and a brook called Kiri Oya meanders through it. The Kiri Oya or “Milk River” is named after its whitish colour, due to minerals leaching out of the white soils in the valley. The altitude of Udakiruwa village and the main forest is about 500 meters, the same as Kandy town. The village consists of about 50 houses and is relatively prosperous due to its Betel nut cultivations. There is one wild elephant left in the valley, the sole survivor of what used to be a herd of twelve a few decades ago. There are also Sambar deer, Barking deer, wild boar, and fishing cats as well as Grey Hornbills and Black Eagles. Although the main forest is mostly state owned forest, there are also large parts which are privately owned. The main threat to the forest is the conversion of private forest land (which used to be cultivated as hena slash and burn cultivations decades ago) to rubber tree plantations. Due to rising prices of rubber, this has already happened in a few places around the Udakiruwa village and also around the Pallekiruwa village. Last year a forest patch of a few acres with 25 meter high Hora trees was cleared along the Kiri Oya river right in the middle of the main forest area and now rubber trees have been planted here (see picture). A larger patch of forest was also cleared on the slope to the west of Udakiruwa village.

Rubber tree plantations are monocultures and are comparable to deserts: instead of a great variety of plants, insects, birds and animals, only one species, the rubber tree, is found here to the detriment of all the other species. Rubber latex is used in the manufacture of car tires, and the mass usage of cars leads to further pollution and destruction of the environment. Villagers regularly burn the slopes of the valley to create grassland that is used for hunting and cattle grazing. It’s obvious that several areas of former forest are now grass land due to past logging and frequent burning. There are also plans for a road between the villages that could further open up the valley for developments that could be adverse to the forest. The Udakiruwa rain forest is said to be the largest natural rainforest left in the mountains of Uva province. Elsewhere in the mountains of Uva, such as in the nearby Lunugala valley, the forests have all been cut down and converted to tea, pine, eucalypt and rubber plantations. The Udakiruwa rain forest and valley is therefore a kind of natural museum that reminds us of how Uva province looked in the past before the large scale plantation industries were started by the British. Disappearance of the rain forest here will reduce water supplies downstream and in the low country. The Kiri Oya is one of the two main tributaries of the Kumbuk Oya that flows through the Monaragala District. In areas in the valley where the forest has been cut down and replaced with grasslands, the streams quickly dry up after rains whereas on forested slopes the streams continue to run. Although cutting down forest can support short term economic development at the individual and regional level, in the long term there will be a great loss to the economy on the communal, national and international level because of reduced water supplies, soil erosion, lost flood controls, disappearance of plants and trees that are of great medical and horticultural value, loss of tourist revenue due to loss of scenery and wildlife.. The forest, with its majestic 40 meter high Hora trees with huge trunks and lush undergrowth consisting of shrubs and smaller trees also act as a large carbon-dioxide sink, reducing global warming. Protection of remnant rain forests such the ones in the Udakiruwa valley is therefore of great importance. Not only are the Hora trees unusual here but also various other plants that normally occur in the Southwest wet zone areas such as Freycineta walkeri, Asplenium nidus (Bird nest ferns), Dorstenia indica, Chirita zeylanica, Leptaspis urceolata, Elatostema surculosum, Daemonorops fasciculatus, Ophiorrhiza nemorosa, Gomphandra tetrandra, Amomum spp. Several wet zone epithetic orchid species such as Agrostophyllum zeylanicum, Flickingeria macraei and Schoenorchis nivea grow on trees in the valley and the elusive leafless, saprophytic orchid Aphyllorchis montana grows on the forest floor. Pattana areas with lemon grass (pengiri-mana) cover some areas of the slopes. Plants specific to mountain pattana grasslands such as Centranthera indica and Exacum trinervum grow here. The valley runs from north to south, parallel to the Lunugala valley. It is situated west of the Bibile – Monaragala road and east of the Lunugala – Passara road. Over the hill ridge to the east of the Udakiruwa valley the southeastern low country starts, and starting with the mountain ridge on the western side of the valley there are the tea, pine and eucalypt plantations of the mountains of Lunugala and Badulla. The largest areas with Hora stands are around 7° 2’44.37″N & 81°14’2.74″O between the Udakiruwa and the Weragoda and Pallekiruwa villages. There is also an area of Hora forest further downstream in the valley, south of the Pallekiruwa village (around 6°59’29.82″N, 81°13’42.10″O). The valley and its forests can be viewed in great detail through Google Earth. It would be a great loss to the Sri Lankan natural heritage if this beautiful, unique rainforest would be lost to rubber cultivation and other developments which have a short term benefit, but lead to a great long term loss. Hopefully naturalists will pay more attention to the area and call for greater protection so that future generations will be able to enjoy the natural splendors of the valley.