The Ingiriya Forest Reserve lies near Horana and is a small area of lowland tropical forest surrounded by rolling hills and rubber plantations. The reserve is a veritable haven for bird watchers as within its boundaries there exists a high concentration of the country’s rare and endemic bird species. It is widely viewed as one of the best places to see the endemic green-billed coucal, and other endemics found here include the hanging parrot, Layard’s parakeet, yellow-fronted barbet, spur fowl, and the grey hornbill. Rare species that can be observed here would be the Tickell’s blue flycatcher, Malabar trogon, emerald dove, dark-fronted babbler, and the black-naped monarch.

Written by Jonathan Roelofsz for Travel Lanka Compass