Located in the South East region of the country, in the Southern Province and Uva Province. The national park covers nearly 400 square miles and is located about 200 miles from Colombo. Yala National Park consists of five parts, two of which are now open to the public.

We would recommend a visit to Yala National Park, a safari tour is well worth the time and effort. The diverse range of extraordinary animals in their natural setting is breathtaking.

The park is extremely important for the conservation of Sri Lankan Elephants, which are best seen between February and July. The park is also known for its birds, around 150 species of birds have been recorded at Yala, many of which have come from the northern winter. These birds include curlews, white-winged black terns and pintails. Local birds include jungle fowl, hornbills, peacocks and orioles and there are thousands of these. The avian highlight, however, is the exceedingly rare black-necked stalk, of which there are only approximately ten in the entire country. The highest leopard concentration in the world can be found here, with over 25 leopards.  The leopard subspecies you may well come across are called “panthera pardus kotiya”, and are unique to Sri Lanka. The best time to spot leopards is February to June or in July, when the water levels in the park are low.  Hopefully you’ll also get to see the shaggy-coated sloth bears or the fox-like jackals. If you’re lucky, you will also see sambars, spotted deer, boars, mongooses, buffaloes, monkeys and crocodiles, all here in their hundreds.

The lightness of the forest can make seeing these animals quite a challenge; however the small grassy clearings and the waterholes the wildlife gather around are key to this park.

Alongside it’s wildlife, the park is known for its fine coastlines and many cultural remains.  This area hosted ancient civilisations.  There is a monastic settlement called Situlpahuwa believed to have been inhabited by 12,000 people.  This is now an important pilgrimage site. There a 1st-century BC vihara, which is a Buddhist complex called Magul Maha Vihara, and a 2nd-century BC chetiya, which is a Buddhist shrine called Akasa Chetiya.

Have a great time, there’s so much to do!