The Hill Country - Sri Lanka - page 428

Tickets are sold at the main Forest Department office at Kudawa and at Deodawa, 5km
from Deniyaya on the Matara road.
The drier months (August and September, and January to early April) are the best times
to visit.
See www.sinharaja.4t.com for detailed information on the history, flora and fauna, and
the challenges faced by the Sinharaja Forest Reserve.
Sights
Kotapola, 6km south of Deniyaya, has a superb early-17th-century rock temple . It's well
worth the climb. The Kiruwananaganga Falls , some of the largest in Sri Lanka (60m
high and up to 60m wide), are 5km east of Kotapola on the road towards Urubokka. The
Kolawenigama Temple , 3km from Pallegama (which is 3km from Deniyaya), is of mod-
est proportions but has a unique structure that resembles Kandy's Temple of the Sacred
Tooth Relic. It was built by King Buwanekabahu VII in recognition of the protection given
to the tooth relic by the villagers. The shrine has Kandyan-style frescoes.
Sleeping & Eating
It's most convenient to visit the reserve from Deniyaya if you don't have your own wheels
and accommodation is much better value here than around the northern Kudawa entrance.
Deniyaya
Deniyaya Rest House HOTEL
( 041-227 3600;r Rs 2000)
Like most former government rest houses in Sri Lanka, this place has the best location in
town, with great views over the countryside. The large, good-value rooms are ageing
gracefully, and there's a bar-restaurant where you can tally up your leech bites over a stiff
drink. It's just off the main road in the town of Deniyaya.
Sinharaja Rest GUESTHOUSE
( 041-227 3368; [e-mail] ; Temple Rd;r incl breakfast Rs 3500-4000; )