The World Heritage Committee (WHC) at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has decided to add a mountain range in Sri Lanka’s hill country to the World Heritage List.

The World Heritage Committee holding its 34th session in Brasilia from 25 July to 3 August said today it has decided to add the Central Highlands of Sri Lanka considered as a super biodiversity hotspot.

The added hills region in the south-central part of the island includes the Peak Wilderness Protected Area, the Horton Plains National Park, and the Knuckles Conservation Forest.

Describing the Sri Lanka’s highlands the WHC said the “montane forests, where the land rises to 2,500 metres above sea-level, are home to an extraordinary range of flora and fauna, including several endangered species such as the western-purple-faced langur, the Horton Plains slender Loris and the Sri Lankan leopard.

The World Heritage List now boasts 892 sites worldwide of which 8 are found in Sri Lanka.

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