The Maduru Oya National Park is located in the Dry Zone and is 300 k.m. away from Colombo and 58,849 hectares in extent. A wide variety of wildlife including some endemic birds species and reptiles are found here. Maduru Oya is rich in ancient ruins found in different places and its southern parts provide veddhas, indigenous people their living environment. Endemic purple monkey is among the important animal species that can be seen in addition to Sambhur, a member of the cat family etc. There is some endemic avifauna also found within this Park.

Maduru Oya is surrounded on the west and north by Mahaweli development areas and on the south and east by teak plantations and jungle. The dominant feature is the 8-kilometre long range of mountains in the southwest of the park. Water bodies, which constitute over 15% of the total area of the park, include the Maduru Oya, Ulhitiya, Ratkinda, NDK, and Henanigala reservoirs, as well as the tributaries of the Mahaweli Ganga and Maduru Oya.

Species of mammal include the elephant, Sri Lanka sloth bear, Sri Lanka leopard, water buffalo, slender loris, toque monkey, Sri Lanka grey languor, Sri Lanka jackal, Indian fishing cat, wild boar, barking deer, Sri Lanka spotted deer, and Sri Lanka sambhur. Aquatic species are plentiful, such as the painted stork or tantalus, white-bellied sea eagle, spot-billed pelican, great cormorant, and little cormorant. Forest species include the Sri Lanka jungle fowl, the very rare dollar bird or broad-billed roller, the tailor bird with its unique nest of leaves sewn together, the white-rumped shama, black-hooded oriole and red-faced malkoha.