Knuckles Mountain Range & Environment Protection Area

Knuckles Mountain Range & Environment Protection Area

Knuckles Mountain Range (Sinhala: නකල්ස් කඳුවැටිය; Tamil: நக்கிள்ஸ் மலைத்தொடர்) is located in central Sri Lanka, in the districts of Matale and Kandy. It encompasses a land area of 21,000 ha within an altitude of 115-1,906 m in the Central Highlands of Sri Lanka which was declared a World Heritage Site in 2010 by UNESCO for its rich biodiversity (Karunaratne & Edirisinghe, 2009; Ranaweera & Jayarathna, 2013; Subasinghe et al., 2014; Weerakoon et al., 2010). The mountain range takes its name from a series of recumbent folds and peaks (Perera et al., 2011). Whilst this name was assigned by early British surveyors, the Sinhalese residents have traditionally referred to the area as Dumbara Kanduvetiya meaning mist-laden mountain range (Perera et al., 2011). Geology & characteristics Situated in the Intermediate Zone of the island, the landscape of the Knuckles Mountain Range is considered unique (Karunaratne & Edirisinghe, 2009). Geologically the region forms part of Sri Lank…