Safari

Situated on the northwest coast of Sri Lanka and bordering the Indian Ocean, Wilpattu National Park is interspersed with a number of floodplain lakes. This vast expanse of land and forest boasts impressive varieties of wildlife, including deer, elephants, wild boar, sloth bears and leopards. Head out on a Jeep safari and witness firsthand as much of the park and its 31 resident species of mammals as you can.

Located close to the towns of Habarana and Sigiriya are Minneriya and Kaudulla national parks. The centrepiece of Minneriya National Park is the large Minneriya tank, which attracts vast numbers of elephants as water dries up elsewhere during hotter times of the year. Despite its relatively small size, the park boasts an unusually wide range of habitat types, from dry tropical forests to wetlands and grasslands. The principal attraction here is undoubtedly the elephants however other inhabitants include purple-faced langur monkeys and an enormous number of birds.

The strictly controlled nature reserve, Yala National Park, boasts a protected area of over 320,000 acres of land consisting of light forests, scrubs, grasslands, tanks and lagoons. Bordering the coast in the southeast, Yala is home to many varieties of mammal and species of bird. Among its more famous residents are one of the world’s largest concentrations of leopards, as well as majestic elephants, sloth bears, sambars, jackals, spotted dear, peacocks, and crocodiles. Head out on night safaris, when a number of the park’s inhabitants venture out into the open.

As well as much of the wildlife found in the other parks, Udawalawe National Park is also home to the Born Free Elephant transit camp. Fed by the Walawe Ganga, the park’s 76,000 acres centre on the large Udawalawe Reservoir, which provides favourable conditions for the native elephants for the majority of the year.