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Flood Plains - Nature Reserve

The park spans the Mahaweli Ganga in Polonnaruwa district in the North Central province. The town of Manampitiya lies just outside the park's eastern boundary, a stopover on the Batticaloa-Polonnaruwa road and the railway passing through the park.

Flood Plains National Park is central to the integrity of the Mahaweli system of protected areas, both for its unique villus and as a corridor for wildlife migration between grazing lands in Wasgamuwa and Somawathiya Chaitiya National Parks. It is particularly important for the long-term survival of elephants within the Mahaweli catchment area. Together with the adjacent Somawathiya Chaitya National Park, it provides a refuge for a wide variety of resident and migratory waterfowl species.

There is an unfortunate sight of elephants at the garbage dump on the edge of this park trying to consume whatever food they can retrieve.

Access

The easiest route from Colombo is via Kurunegala, Dambulla, Habarana and Polonnaruwa. The range office is in Polonnaruwa town. The park lies 145 miles (233 km) from Colombo.

Cultural Heritage

This section of the Mahaweli Ganga was connected to the ancient irrigation network in the vicinity. On the right bank of the river, at the edge of Mutugalla Villu, are ruins of an ancient cave monastery with inscriptions dating back to between the 2nd and 7th century BC.

Visitors and Visitor Facilities

The park is at present closed to visitors.

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