Udawatta Kele Sanctuary, often spelled as Udawattakele, is a historic forest reserve on a hill-ridge in the city of Kandy. During the days of the Kandyan Kingdom Udawatta Kele was known as "Uda Wasala Watta" in Sinhalese meaning, "the garden situated above the royal palace". The sanctuary is famous for its extensive avifauna. The reserve also contains a great variety of plant species, especially lianas, shrubs and small trees. There are several giant lianas. Many of small and medium size mammals that inhabit Sri Lanka can be seen here. Several kinds of snakes and other reptiles might also be seen. Udawatta Kele was designated as a forest reserve in 1856, and it became a sanctuary in 1938. The Sri Lanka Forest Department has two offices in the reserve, one of which (i.e. the one located at the southeastern entrance) has a nature education centre with a display of pictures, posters, stuffed animals, etc. Being easily accessible and containing a great variety of flora and fauna the forest has a great educational and recreational value. Groups of school children and students regularly visit the forest and the education centre. The forest is also popular with foreign tourists, especially bird watchers. The forest is also of religious importance as there are three Buddhist meditation hermitages and three rock shelter dwellings for Buddhist monk hermits.
It has been recorded that the Brahmin called Senkanda, from whose name the city's original name Senkandagalapura derives, lived in a cave in this forest. The rock-shelter or cave now known as the Senkandagala-lena is located on the slope above the temple of the tooth and can be visited. The legend says the brahmin brought a sapling of Jaya Siri Maha Bodhi here and planted it in the present day site of Natha Devale. It was used as a pleasure garden by the Kandyan kings. The forest was reserved for the Royal family and the pond situated in the forest was used for bathing. The public was restricted from accessing the forest hence the name Thahanci kele (Sinhalese for Forbidden forest).
During the colonial era some of the land near the Temple of the Tooth was used to build the Kandy garrison cemetery. In 1834 Governor Horton built a path, Lady Horton's drive, within the forest in remembrance of his wife. Henry W. Cave mentions the trail is about three miles long. Lady McCarthy's drive, Lady Torrington's road, Lady Anderson's road, Gregory path, Russell path, Byrde lane and Lady Gordon’s Drive on which the Trip Advisor listed Kandy Cottage is located are the other named walks in the forest. Some are abandoned and overgrown now.
Udawatta Kele is situated on a hill ridge stretching between the Temple of the Tooth and the Uplands-Aruppola suburbs. The highest point of the ridge (7°17'55.41"N, 80°38'40.04"O) is 635 meters above sea level, and 115 meters above the nearby Kandy Lake. The sanctuary contains three Buddhist forest monasteries i.e. Forest Hermitage, Senanayakaramaya and Tapovanaya, and three cave dwellings for Buddhist monks, i.e. Cittavisuddhi-lena, Maitri-lena and Senkadandagala-lena. The sanctuary also acts as a catchment area for the supply of water to the city of Kandy.
