Yala National Park Facts
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Yala National Park is the most visited and second largest national park in Sri Lanka, bordering the Indian Ocean.
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Yala National Park covers 979 square kilometres (378 sq mi).
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The area around Yala has hosted several ancient civilizations. Two important pilgrim sites, Sithulpahuwa and Magul Vihara, are situated within the park.
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The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami caused severe damage on the Yala National Park and 250 people died in its vicinity.
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On 1 March 1938, Yala became a national park when the Flora and Fauna Protection Ordinance was passed into law by D. S. Senanayake, the minister of agriculture.
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Yala is one of the 70 Important Bird Areas (IBAs) in Sri Lanka.
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Yala National Park consists of five blocks, two of which are now open to the public, and also adjoining parks.
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Yala was designated as a wildlife sanctuary in 1900, and, along with Wilpattu was one of the first two national parks in Sri Lanka, having been designated in 1938.
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Yala National Park has a variety of ecosystems including moist monsoon forests, dry monsoon forests, semi-deciduous forests, thorn forests, grasslands, marshes, marine wetlands, and sandy beaches.
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The Yala area is mostly composed of metamorphic rock belonging to the Precambrian era and classified into two series, Vijayan series and Highland series.
