Top 05 Wildlife Parks in Sri Lanka – Where The Wildlife is as Exotic as The Land

A wildlife safari is undoubtedly the best mode of experiencing the exotic wildlife of Sri Lanka, and one of the best places to indulge is Wilpattu National Park. You can always trust the park to unveil a few leopards, as well as, herds of spotted deer, the national bird the jungle fowl on a scout for food, and beautiful peacocks in full plumage. Delve further into the park, and you will pass, lazy crocodiles, faking sleep with their jaws open, large monitor lizards skulking around the banks of ponds and cute star tortoises, looking for a spot of shade. The park is also home to a few lumbering elephants and many more amazing animals and birds.

Majestic Yala is the islands most popular wildlife sanctuary. Home to one of the largest leopard concentrations in Asia, Yala offers the perfect dose of bucolic splendour. A jeep safari into the wilds comes highly recommended, but make sure you choose a dawn or late afternoon tour, for the best sightings. Situated in the deep south, going inland from the coast, this dry zone park is just one of the rustic wildlife reserves Walkers Tours and other leading tour operators in Sri Lanka cover. As beguiling and enchanting as the wildlife is, Yala offers the nature lover, spectacular environs to relish, from scrub jungles, to shimmering lagoons and ponds, to large grassy plains and boulder-strewn beaches. You may just spot a herd of wild elephants along the coast or catch a leopard hunting prey, while wild buffalo, crocodiles, other slithering creatures, birds of innumerable variety and mammals of many kinds, are sure to cross your path.

Kumana although fascinating for wildlife, is more a birders paradise. The place boasts a stupendous variety of feathered friends from hawk eagles, ibis, egrets and godwits to the very rare black-necked storks. A must include on any Sri Lanka safari itinerary, this park has its fair share of mammals too; these include elephants, sambar and spotted deer. The surroundings too are quite magical, made up of the Kumana Villu swamp and patches of lush woodland.

The most impressive aspect of Bundala National Park is the terrain; made up of sand dunes, scrub jungle, salt pans, lagoons and long stretches of coastline, this section of paradise is truly one to savour. Bundala too, is a birders friend, home to a large variety of migratory birds. There you can spot elephants, wily crocodiles, wild boar, the spotted fishing cat, deer and many more, residents of the wild.

A park that is always covered on the most popular wildlife tours in Sri Lanka, Minneriya is best known for its large population of migratory elephants. To say the park will offer you sights of over, 200 elephants on one safari is not an exaggeration, especially during the high season of August. Close to Sigiriya and the UNESCO protected Lions Rock Fortress; this is a park not to be missed by elephant lovers and those hankering for sights of lush surroundings, thorny scrub jungles and a vast lake around which the many animals gather.