You are here: Home / Destinations / UDAWATTAKELE - KANDY
Udawattakele or Royal Forest Park is declared as a forest reserve in 1856 and 1938 as a sanctuary. The extent of this forest is about 257 acres and located behind most sacred Sri Dalada Maligawa or Temple of the Tooth of the Buddha. This was a important place in establishment of Kandy city. One of the hermit named 'Senkanda' who meditate in 'Senkandalena' cave shelter in this forest who informed king Wickramabahu (1371 A.D.) to establish Kandyan kingdom. The new kingdom also named as 'Senkadagalapura'. As tradition the royal palace and tooth temple also was constructed near the forest. The British constructed, The Pavilion building or the president house.
The historical and important places’ within the forest are, The Garrison Cemetery, Lady Horton Street, Senkanda Cave Shelter, Pus Wela - the Liana, Kodimale (flag mount), Royal Pond. The garrison cemetery is the place where the dead bodies of the soldiers and generals of the British Army were buried during their period. There are 167 nicely prepared tombs existing in the cemetery. Lady Horton Street named after the wife of 1834, the governor of Ceylon, Sir Robert Horton. Senkada cave shelter is the place of Senkanda hermit who meditate here. There is a 200-300 years old giant endemic liana called Pus (Entada pusaetha). Kodimale is the highest peak among other small peaks that situated within the forest. In ancient time different flags were hoisted during special occasions there. The Royal pond were used by royal family..There is a large number of endemic plants and animal species showing adaptations of different environmental conditions within the forest. Three storied vegetation namely the canopy (dominant), sub canopy and underground layers can be identified here. Toque monkey, porcupines, mouse deer's, birds and butterflies are very common in this forest. Some common birds and mammals are found in the forest. The endemic birds of the forest are Sri Lanka Lanyard's Parakeet, Sri Lanka Hanging Parrot, Sri Lanka Hill Myna, Sri Lanka Brown Capped Babbler, Sri Lanka Yellow Fronted Barbet, Sri Lanka Gray Hornbill, Sri Lanka Wood Pigeon.
 "Hello my dear friend Mr. Cyril We are all fine dear, I have visited Sri Lanka and I loved the country, Insha’Allah I will visit again your country, it is amazing place. This is the first day at work , really I enjoy the tour to sri lanka with my family and it was very nice and I wish to go again to sri lanka and of course you were very good and polite and respectable guy -thanks a lot for every thing and I wish you ..." Nasser Mohamed from Oman
 "CyrilWe are now back at home after the lovely time with you in Sri Lanka, andvisiting Hong Kong.Thank you for driving for us while we were in Sri Lanka.In particular, we appreciated - your smooth, calm and efficient driving through varied traffic conditions - your calmness when things did not go quite as expected - your being available at all times of day - I'm remembering our late arrival at the airport, and our late departure - your information about all sorts of ..." Cliff Hooker and Jean from Australia
 "We had an excellent and memorable trip and all credits to Cyril. In-depth knowledge about the places, roads and history and culture. From the airport assistance - Food, accommodation provided and the vehicle was excellent. Very matured and patient, We being on safe hands. Thanks for making it a memorable experience for all of us. " Aubry De Souza and group from Dubai
 "Dear Cyril, Yes that's the one that we were calling all the time. Her name is Celia and by now she has a little sister. My dear Cyril, of course we can't forget your companion and we are always telling about you when we are talking about our trip to Sri Lanka. I wish you good luck with your company and I hope that you will have whatever you want. I want to tell also that I was very happy when I learned that you are a grandfather now. Best regards, Chris Greece 26/07/2011" Cristos Pravitas - Greece
 "Thank you so much for wonderful Sri Lanka trip.We had a great time. The trip was very relaxing as well as fun. My daughter MAHI who lovingly started calling you "Cyril Dada"(grand farther) Had a memorable trip. She cannot stop talking about elephants. Our trip to Sri Lanka will be full of great memories, its because of you. Thank you for showing us your beautiful country the way we wanted, eating local food, lots of King coconut and Corn stops. We will be surely coming back to see rest o..." Mithil Patel
 "Traveled in April 2013 with Cyril . Family with three young children. Cyril match the trip plan problem on his part. Familiar with every corner of this beautiful island and we have managed to produce a great 17 days. Prices respect as well - we tested three competing proposals and was the cheapest. The fact that he was working independently and not through an agency that collects coupon trips generally significantly reduces the price of the package. A modern and spacious vehicle (van with seven ..." Maozd
 "Cyril was our driver and guide for the last nine days. We had the comfortable white Toyota van shown in the pic - it was just as clean and shiny, and not a scratch on it. He is clearly a very skilled driver. He is particularly knowledgeable about the history of the many places we visited. We were pleased we had Cyril as our driver. He had been recommended to us by an acquaintance. Andrew Speirs Melbourne, Australia Travel period 04 Jan - 12 Jan 2018" Mr. Andrew an Mrs. Suzy Speirs from Australia
 "Dear Cyril, Thank you very much for wonderful holiday. Your attention to detail and care of your clients is extraordinary. We certainly hope to cross paths again and we will recommonding you to all of our friends and to family too. Many thanks again. Paul nad Machelle Brisbane, Australia. Visited during 10/10/2012 - 26/10/2012" Mr. Paul and Mrs. Machelle from Australia
 "We found Cyril on-line and after checking with lots of other guides we decided he is the one for us, that decision was the best one we did for our trip From the beginning, in our emails, Cyril listen to us and was very helpful, he gave us information and helped us to create the best trip for us.We had 10 days trip, for our honeymoon, to many parts of Sri-Lanka. the country is amazing, green, nice people and good food.Cyril was a great driver and even greater guide, he has so much knowledge and e..." Coral and Oded from Israel
 "Cyril Tours is a very good agency. Because we did use it from 01st of March to 14 March 2013. From the start till end of our emails, he has (Mr.Cyril) given all required details. Also he send us very detailed itinerary with pictures. Actually no need guide after go through it.Cyril Tours is not a big agency. He was a guide in Sri Lanka more than 26 years. Many clients recommend him to their friends and to relatives who want to visit Sri Lanka.They asked from him to travel, that is why he be..." John and Mary from Canada