Jackson Rocky
Sri Lanka boasts plenty of wildlife attractions that include rainforests, big game parks and mountainous biosphere reserves. Here are some of the best wildlife safaris in Sri Lanka.
Udawalawe National Park can be reached within a 4 hour drive from Colombo Airport. It is very famous for its extremely large population of elephants. The park is built in a very convenient manner to watch elephants without being harmed by these gentle giants. If you are an elephant lover then make sure that you visit this great place for a complete view of wild elephants in all different sizes and ages born and bred in Sri Lanka.
The Yala National Park is the most famous and the most visited wildlife park in Sri Lanka. It is situated in the Deep South and can be reached within a 6 to 8 hours' drive from Colombo. Yala is known for its leopard population which is quite high compared with other wildlife parks in Sri Lanka. Yala is also quite a large wildlife safari park with many other endangered species including a large variety of birds dwelling in it. Travelling through the park is only by a safari jeep. The park is open to the public from 6 am to 6 pm. Yala is the second largest wildlife park found in Sri Lanka. The adventure tours that you can have here are absolutely unforgettable.
Wilpattu is located just 30km from Anuradhapura. The River Modergam Aru runs south of the park while Kalay Oya runs north of Wilpattu. The best season to visit the park on safari tours is between February and October. There are plenty of gravel roads that can be taken inside the park which makes it quite easy to view animals and birds in the forests and bushes. There are over 50 wetlands which are called 'villu' that are found in Wilpattu Park. The usual transport mode within the park is using jeeps. You can spot leopards, elephants, sloth bears and deer occasionally here while there are many species of endemic birds that have made their habitat here as well. Travellers care cautioned not to ever get off from the jeeps on the tracks at Wilpattu as life threatening encounters with wild animals can occur.
Wasgamuwa National Park is situated between Habarana and Polonnaruwa in the Matale District and is 225 km in distance from Colombo. Wasgamuwa is considered the best location to study and watch elephants freely. Many 5 star hotels Sri Lanka has to offer including the likes of Heritance Hotels & Resorts organise wildlife safari excursions to such national parks. The peak time to watch large herds of elephants is between November and May. Some of the other interesting wildlife you can spot here includes purple faced languor monkeys, sambar, wild boar, spotted deer and buffalos. Sloth bears and leopards have been sighted by some on rare occasions. The reptiles that you can discover here include mugger crocodile, water monitor, python and estuarine crocodile.
