Kaludiya Pokuna Forest

Kaludiya Pokuna complex Kaludiya Pokuna complex Kaludiya Pokuna complex

Kaludiya Pokuna Archeological Forest Site is a forest with archeological remains in Kandalama, in the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka. The site has been handed over to the Girls' High School, Kandy in accordance with the "Urumaya Thani Nokaramu" program organized by the Department of Archeology. For the first time in Sri Lanka, a school was given custody of an archeological site.

The place got its name from a pond that had dark water at ancient times. The site was initially settled in the 2nd century BC. The remains in the site include inscriptions, residences and a monastery.

Kaludiya Pokuna is also rich with numerous biodiversity, both flora and fauna. The forest is home for many endemic and non-endemic species of flora and fauna, that prevail much more secure than other forests in Sri Lanka.

Site is surrounded by farmland and human settlements from the north, east, and west but is undisturbed by humans and the primates are not provisioned. There is no evidence to indicate that hunting, timber extraction, or woodcutting have occurred at the site.

【LK94007580: Text by Lakpura™. Images by Google, copyright(s) reserved by original authors.】

About Matale District

Matale is a town in the hill country of Sri Lanka. The Knuckles Mountain Range is a special landmark of Matale.The Matale administrative district also contains the historic Sigiriya rock castle, Aluvihare Temple and Dambulla Cave Temple . Surrounding the town are the Knuckles foothills called Wiltshire. It is a mainly agricultural area, where tea, rubber, vegetable and spice cultivation dominate.

The Aluvihare Temple, on the North side of the town, is the historic location where the Pali Canon was first written down completely in text on ola (palm) leaves. Situated near Aluvihare are numerous monastery caves, some of which exhibit fine frescoes.

About Central Province

The Central Province of Sri Lanka consists primarily of mountainous terrain. The province has an area of 5,674 km², and a population of 2,421,148. Some major towns include Kandy, Gampola (24,730), Nuwara Eliya and Bandarawela. The population is a mixture of Sinhalese, Tamil and the Moors.

Both the hill capital Kandy and the city of Nuwara Eliya are located within the Central Province as well as Sri Pada. The province produces much of the famous Ceylon tea, planted by the British in the 1860s after a devastating disease killed all the coffee plantations in the province. Central Province attracts many tourists, with hill station towns such as Kandy, Gampola, Hatton and Nuwara Eliya. Temple tooth or Dalada maligawa is the main sacred place in Centrel province.

The climate is cool, and many areas about 1500 meters often have chilly nights. The western slopes are very wet, some places having almost 7000 mm of rain per year. The eastern slopes are parts of the mid-dry zone as it is receiving rain only from North-Eastern monsoon. The Temperatures range from 24°C at Kandy to just 16°C in Nuwara Eliya, which is located 1,889 m above sea level. The highest mountains in Sri Lanka are located in the Central Province. The terrain is mostly mountainous, with deep valleys cutting into it. The two main mountain regions are the central massif and the Knuckles range to the east of Kandy.