Sithulpawwa Rajamaha Viharaya

Sithulpawwa Rajamaha Viharaya is one of the greatest ancient Buddhist monastery located in Hambanthota District in Southern Province of Sri Lanka. The history of the monastery is date back to 2nd century BC. It is believed that this place was built by King Kawanthissa ( 205–161 BC). According to Buddhist literary, this place was center for Buddhist education for Buddhist monks and once there had been 12,000 arhat monks around this location. A number of caves temples, images houses, stupas, and ponds located around this large area are bear witness for this story.

Yala National Park lies within Monaragala District of Uva Province and Hambanthota District of Southern Province.  The park covers about 979 km2 and one side is bounded by South East coast of Sri Lanka. The park was first declared as as a protected area in 1900 and it was gazetted as National Park in 25th February 1938. The entrance to the Yala National Park is located in Tissamaharama. There are many tour companies who operate jeep safari at Yala and visitors can select suitable one. Vegetation This area is characterized by semi-arid thorn scrub habitat. However it has been modified by human activities making it a secondary forest of few hundred years old. Fauna The main species of the park are mammals such as elephant, wild buffalo, spotted deer etc… There are variety of bird species are also present. However, depending on the environment the species are vary in different regions of the park. External Links Department of Wildlife Conservation National Parks declared in Sri Lanka  

Kirinda Temple is a Buddhist temple in Hambantota District of Southern Province. It is located closer to the Southern coast of Sri Lanka. The temple is built on a summit of a large rock located closer to the coast giving a magnificent view of the beautiful Indian Ocean. The history of this temple is dates back to the reign of King Kawanthissa ( 205–161 BC). As per the story of  Queen Viharamahadevi, Kirinda is the place where she was brought by sea and landed. The king Kawanthissa has built this stupa commemorating the incident.

Dry Zone Botanic Gardens, Mirijjawila is one of the five botanical gardens in Sri Lanka and It is the first Dry Zone botanic gardens in the country. This was the first time a botanic garden was set up in Sri Lanka after 130 years. The garden is located in Mirijjawila in Hambanthota District. The construction work of the garden was commenced in 2006 and the first stage was opened for visitors in 2013. The gardens consist of plants, trees and herbal plants that are grown in the dry zone, a butterfly garden, a plant nursery, a student park, a plant conservation unit, a flower garden, and ornamental bushes.   External Links Department of National Botanic Gardens web.archive.org