Wilpattu National Park
One of the oldest national parks in Sri Lanka, 1,317 square kilometres of dry zone forest on the northwest coast. It is known for its willus, natural sand rimmed basins that fill with rain, and more than a hundred such lakes and tanks lie scattered through it.
- Where
- Puttalam, North Western Province, Sri Lanka
- Grade
- Heritage site
- Worth
- 10 points collected on site, plus 3 for its grade
- Coordinates
- 8.4333, 80.0000
Get the Wilpattu National Park stamp
Open LOQAH when you are at Wilpattu National Park. It checks where you are once, at that moment, and the stamp is yours: confirmed on site in gold and struck with the date. It goes into your North Western Province volume with your photos and a note.
Near Wilpattu National Park
Kalpitiya Fort 34 km
A Dutch fort built between 1667 and 1676 to command the entrance to the Puttalam Lagoon. The land around it was cinnamon country, and the Dutch dug a canal via Negombo to Colombo to carry the spice.
Abhayagiri Vihara 44 km
The ruins of a vast monastery north of ancient Anuradhapura, once a great centre of Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Its humped dagaba rises above bathing ponds, carved balustrades and moonstones, and it was the first keeper of the Tooth Relic on the island.
Isurumuniya 44 km
A temple built against the boulders beside the Tissa Wewa in Anuradhapura, known for its stone carvings. The finest are a pair of embracing lovers, elephants carved above a pond and a group known as the Royal Family.
Samadhi Buddha 44 km
A seated Buddha in deep meditation, carved from dolomite marble and a little over two metres tall, in Mahamevnawa Park. It may once have been gilded with jewelled eyes, and is the only one of four figures around a bodhi tree shrine to survive largely intact.
Thuparamaya 44 km
The earliest documented Buddhist temple in Sri Lanka, built when the monk Mahinda brought Buddhism to the island. Its small bell shaped stupa is ringed by slender stone pillars that once held up a roof over it.
Ruwanwelisaya 45 km
A great white stupa built by King Dutugemunu around 140 BC, said to enshrine the largest collection of the Buddha's relics anywhere. Also called the Maha Thupa and Swarnamali Seya, it is the heart of worship in ancient Anuradhapura.
Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi 45 km
A sacred bo tree grown, by tradition, from a cutting of the tree at Bodh Gaya under which the Buddha attained enlightenment, brought here by the nun Sangamitta, daughter of Ashoka, in 236 BC. At more than 2,300 years, it is the oldest living tree planted by people with a known date.
Lovamahapaya 45 km
The remains of a great building between the Ruwanweli stupa and the Sri Maha Bodhi, called the Brazen Palace because its roof was covered in bronze tiles. What survives today is a field of some 1,600 stone pillars.
Questions
Where is Wilpattu National Park?
Wilpattu National Park is in Puttalam, North Western Province, Sri Lanka. The nearest other LOQAH stamps are Kalpitiya Fort (34 km), Abhayagiri Vihara (44 km), Isurumuniya (44 km).
How do I get the Wilpattu National Park stamp?
Open LOQAH when you are at Wilpattu National Park and get its stamp. The app checks where you are once, at that moment, and the stamp goes into your North Western Province volume, confirmed on site, with the date.
I have been to Wilpattu National Park before. Can I still have the stamp?
Yes. Add it from Earlier trips in your North Western Province volume, with the date if you know it, or import your Google Timeline and LOQAH matches the places you were.
Collect your first stamp.
LOQAH is free on iPhone and Android, in India and 20 more countries, with more countries on the way. Stand at a place, collect its stamp, and keep every trip in a passport that grows.