Wayfaring Views

EXPLORE BEYOND THE OBVIOUS

EXPLORE BEYOND THE OBVIOUS
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Destinations
  • Alternative Itineraries
  • Offbeat Adventures
    • Street Art
    • Literary Travel & Books
    • Camino de Santiago
    • Road Trips
    • Outdoor Adventure
    • Hiking
    • Walking Tours
    • Wildlife & Conservation
  • About
    • Work With Me
    • Contact
Home » Asia » Sri Lanka Wildlife Safaris: Five Places Not to Miss

Sri Lanka Wildlife Safaris: Five Places Not to Miss

Last updated July 15, 2018 By Carol Guttery

1.1Kshares

Safaris aren’t just for Africa anymore. The nature in Sri Lanka is just as varied and plentiful. Sri Lanka wildlife safaris cover iconic species such as elephants and leopards. But if you keep your eyes open, you can also see jackals, loris, wild buffalo, crocs and spotted deer. And those are just the land animals.

Build yourself the best safari in Sri Lanka with the following five parks and reserves and you are guarantees to see some astonishing wildlife.

(this post contains affiliate links, which means that if you chose to purchase, I’ll make a small commission)

Elephant wildlife in Sri Lanka
A cranky male elephant thinking about charging

Read More: Plan your entire trip using this handy Sri Lanka travel guide, which includes practical tips and links to other blog information.

Your Sri Lanka Wildlife Safari

Birds & Elephants in Kaudulla National Park

Kaudulla and nearby Minneriya National Parks provide a migratory corridor for approximately 10% of Sri Lanka’s elephant population. Kaudulla is sited around a very large lake which also attracts migratory birds, sloths, deer, bear monkeys and small cats. The park is located right in the center of Sri Lanka’s golden triangle, so if you’re seeing the country’s cultural sites anyway, it is easy to add on a game drive.

Pro Tip: you don’t need to visit both Kaudulla and Minneryia because the elephant population moves between the parks. Just ask the safari provider or tour guide which park is best for the time that you are visiting.

Read More: Check out some of Sri Lanka’s amazing UNESCO cultural sites and to round out your itinerary.

Bear Monkey Kaudulla National Park on Sri Lanka Safaru
Spotting a Bear Monkey on the Kaudulla Sri Lanka safari

(click on the pics below to view a full sized slideshow)

Wildlife in Sri Lanka Kaudulla elephants
Mama, auntie and baby
Open bill stork in Sri Lanka
Open bill stork
Indian Blue Roller Bird in Kaudulla National Park
Indian blue roller

Elephants, Peacocks & Jackals in Udawalawe National Park

Udawalawe is located about two hours drive south of the Nuwara Eliya and Ella tea growing areas. The park was established in 1972 and is known for having large herds of elephants. We also spotted a lot of buffalo, jackals, peacocks and parrots and other native Sri Lankan wildlife.  The landscape is grassland rather than forest, making the animals very easy to spot, especially along the reservoir.

You can also visit the Elephant Transit Center which is only fifteen minutes from the park. The Transit Center cares for injured and orphaned elephants. The center provides food and medical care for the animals. Their goal is to prepare the elephants for a re-introduction into the wild.

Pro Tip: Carefully time your visit to the transit center. You’ll want to go during feeding time but the center doesn’t have a website, so ask your hotel to check the times for you or get the contact info from Trip Advisor.

Read More: Check out these luxury hotels in Sri Lanka. They are each conveniently located near one of these national parks.

Jackal in Udawalawe Sri Lanka wildlife
Jackal spotted on our Udawalawe Sri Lanka safari
Elephant with peacock in Sri Lanka
Elephant and peacock sharing space
Wild Parakeet in Udawalawe Sri Lanka
Wild parakeet
Elephant transit center Sri Lanka wildlife rehabilitation
Feeding time at the transit center

Leopards & Elephants in Yala National Park

Yala is the crown jewel of wildlife parks and one of the most popular spots for a Sri Lanka wildlife safari. Yala was born in 1938 during the British Colonial period. It is home to over 44 mammal and 215 bird species but everyone goes for the leopards. It has the largest concentration of them in the country.

But beware, the leopards are nocturnal creatures and aren’t always willing to put on a show for the tourists. We did see a leopard when we were there, but finding it was like playing Where’s Waldo. And once spotted, we had to queue up with other jeeps to get a peek at the animal.

Pro Tip: Try to leave some space in your itinerary for multiple game drives into Yala. That way, if you don’t see a leopard on your first time out, you can try again later. There are plenty of other animals to make your wildlife safari an eye-opener.

Read More: Get inspired for your trip with these books set in Sri Lanka

Leopard butt in Yala on Sri Lanka wildlife safari
Elusive leopard sending a message about our intrusion into its space
Bee eater bird Yala National Park
Bee eater
Spotted Deer in Yala Sri Lanka
Spotted deer
Large land monitor lizard Yala Sri Lanka wildlife
Land monitor
Yala national park peacock display
Peacock
Baby elephant in Yala national park
Just plain adorable
Sunbathing croc
Sunbathing croc

Read More: If you love wild cats, check out this piece on a conservation program saving Fishing Cats in Colombo.

Dolphins & Whales in Marissa

Sri Lankan wildlife lives in the sea as well as on land. Their waters boast blue, sperm and fin whales along with Risso’s, common, bottlenose, striped and spinner dolphins. The whales and dolphins migrate seasonally between the eastern and western sides of the island. But if you visit between December and April, you can go out on a whale watch from Marissa. It’s located about 2-1/2 hours west of Yala or an hour south of Galle. Whales make me cry, and if they make you cry as well, you really should make time for them in your Sri Lanka wilflife safari.

Pro Tip: You can either get onto one of the larger tour boats, such as Whale Watching Marissa or Marriott Cruise, or you can hire out a smaller panga. The larger boats are more stable but more crowded. The smaller boats are more nimble but more puke-inducing. You can check out your options and book your whale watch on Trip Advisor.

Spinner Dolphins Marissa Sri Lanka
Spinner Dolphins in Marissa
Sperm Whales Marissa Sri Lanka
Sperm whales in Marissa

Muthurajawela Marsh

This wetland reserve is part of the Negombo lagoon. From within the reserve you can spot crocs, macaque monkey, monitor lizards, kingfishers, egrets, herons and ducks. Taking a Sri Lanka safari in this reserve will take you way off the beaten path.

Many people stay in Negombo at the beginning or end of their trip because of the proximity to the airport. But they often don’t venture past the beach. You can avoid the crowds of the more popular national parks and have the lagoon to yourself with a visit to Mutharajawela.

Pro Tip: You can take a tuk tuk to the reserve, but the long haul getting out there is likely to asphyxiate you with gas fumes. So unless you have a rental car, ask your hotel to book the trip for you or do it through Trip Advisor.

Muthurajawela reserve crocodile
Crocodile in Muthurajawela
Muthurajawela Reserve Negombo Lagoon Sri Lanka
Muthurajawela landscape near Nebomgo

The Best Way to Book Your Sri Lanka Wildlife Safari

If you are traveling on a tour, then your guide will handle the transfer to the park, hiring the wildlife safari guide and your entrance fees.

We hired a private guide/driver for our trip and he was great. If you would like a referral, contact me and I’ll connect you with him.

If you are traveling independently, then you will need to use a variety of methods to find the best provider.

  • For Minneriya/Kaudulla and Udawalawa, get a recommendation from your hotel or guesthouse because it’s difficult to figure out how to find a provider otherwise.
  • The Elephant Transit Center can easily be visited independently, but have your hotel check in advance for the feeding time, which is the best time to visit.
  • For Yala, if you stay at one of the luxury properties, like Cinnamon Wild, then they will arrange the safari add-on for you. The benefit of this is that they are located right next to the park entrance and the safari provider serve only the hotel guests, which means that you get on site faster. If you want stay in Tissa at one of the inexpensive guest houses, you can ask your provider to arrange a safari pick-up, but it will be a longer day because of the time spent doing the pick-ups and drop-offs. The upside is that the safari will be much cheaper.
  • For Marissa, it’s easy enough to arrange something through Trip Advisor, as mentioned above and then get yourself to the harbor.
  • For the Muthurajawela Marsh, catch a cab or tuktuk from town.

These five parks and reserves will give you a Sri Lanka safari with the best wildlife that the country has to offer. Enjoy your trip and happy trails.

Get more Wayfaring Views and subscribe to the newsletter

Encourage your friends to take a Sri Lanka wildlife safari and pin this post:

Sri Lanka Wildlife 5 places to visit

1.1Kshares

Related

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Asia, Itinerary, Outdoor Adventure, Sri Lanka, Wildlife

About Carol Guttery

Carol Guttery is the founder of Wayfaring Views, and is a travel writer, photographer, and philanthropy consultant. She's been tackling the world for forty years and has been to 43+ countries and territories.

Comments

  1. Beth says

    June 30, 2017 at 2:20 pm

    So many amazing species on this special island … can’t wait to get out to Sri Lanka!

    Reply
  2. Haze says

    May 18, 2017 at 9:35 pm

    Wow! I need to go back and check the wildlife in Sri Lanka. They got good beaches there, too. Oh, not to mention, beautiful people and delicious food! Very tasty!

    Reply
    • Carol Guttery says

      May 19, 2017 at 6:56 pm

      What’s not to love?

      Reply
  3. Megan Claire (@mappingmegan) says

    May 16, 2017 at 7:09 pm

    I would love to get to Sri Lanka for a wildlife safari – I find that for some reason people do only associate Africa with the safari experience, when Asia is just incredible and diverse in terms of landscape and wildlife. Incredible photos, I think Sri Lanka is one of those places which is going to be an up and coming hot destination very soon!

    Reply
    • Carol Guttery says

      May 19, 2017 at 6:57 pm

      You are so right. Tourism is on the rise there but it’s still an affordable destination

      Reply
  4. Christopher says

    May 16, 2017 at 3:57 pm

    Oh wow this is incredible. I have a work colleague from Sri Lanka and she talks about the culture all the time and she mentioned the importance of the elephants but I never imagined safaris. Sperm whales too. Wow. Great post. Sri Lanka is already on my to go to list but even more so now.

    Reply
    • Carol Guttery says

      May 19, 2017 at 6:57 pm

      All the more reason to go

      Reply
  5. wanderingchocobo says

    May 15, 2017 at 4:24 am

    Love this! I already mentioned I had two friends who did a trip like this for their honeymoon and they just loved it. It looks like you were able to really see all the big animals in a beautiful. Thanks for the pro tips, they will make anyones trip a bit easier to plan.

    Reply
    • Carol Guttery says

      May 19, 2017 at 6:58 pm

      I hope so

      Reply
  6. Siddhartha Joshi says

    May 14, 2017 at 8:25 pm

    Wonderful pictures and a great guide. Sri Lanka is in my neighbourhood and sadly I haven’t even been there yet…in that sense your guide is very inspirational.

    I also love your pro-tips. I will use them all on my trip there 🙂

    Reply
  7. Astrid Vinje says

    May 14, 2017 at 3:20 pm

    Udawalawe National Park sounds interesting, especially with the Elephant Transit Center. And I didn’t realize you could do whale watching in Sri Lanka! Thanks for this info!

    Reply
    • Carol Guttery says

      May 19, 2017 at 6:58 pm

      I’m so glad to hear that. Sometimes those little tips make all the difference

      Reply
  8. Indrani says

    May 14, 2017 at 12:47 am

    All the national parks sound promising in terms of experience. I wonder how they are located.
    If all are included in one itinerary how much distance would that be?

    Reply
    • Carol Guttery says

      May 14, 2017 at 10:53 am

      These are rough times for driving, buses and trains would take longer. Check google directions for accuracy.
      Colombo to Kaudulla: 2.5 hours. But it’s very close to the Golden Triangle sites so you can do a lot in a small-ish area
      Ella to Udawalawe: 2 hours. (I went from Kaudulla to Kandy then took the train to Ella. If you drove the whole thing: probably 3.5 from Kandy and 5?? from Kaudulla)
      Udawalawe to Yala: 1.5 hours
      Yala to Marissa: 2.5 hours
      Marissa to Negombo: 2.5 hours on the toll road

      Reply
  9. ellisveen says

    May 13, 2017 at 1:20 pm

    I was In Sri Lanka last year and was amazed by all the Wildlife there. Near Kaudulla & Minneriya there is even a third park called Hurullu Eco Park. That is where the elephants were when I was there.

    Reply
    • Carol Guttery says

      May 13, 2017 at 1:56 pm

      Thanks for the info- very helpful

      Reply
  10. Annie says

    May 13, 2017 at 1:04 pm

    Aahh I want to go to Sri Lanka so badly! Your tips are super helpful, like calling ahead to find out when feeding times are, because that is truly an amazing way to experience an animal.

    Reply
    • Carol Guttery says

      May 13, 2017 at 1:10 pm

      The logistics in Sri Lanka aren’t always smooth as silk so having a guide or friendly hotelier is very useful. I’d also recommend buying a local SIM card. They are super cheap and make managing the logistics easier.

      Reply
  11. Kat | finding Malokoko says

    May 13, 2017 at 11:31 am

    Great post! I visited Sri Lanka back in 2000 when it was still very undeveloped in terms of tourism and i didn´tz get the chance to visit the parks – must go again soon ;). I´ve heared especially good thinhs about Minneryia!

    Reply
    • Carol Guttery says

      May 13, 2017 at 12:17 pm

      Since you’ve already seen the cultural sites, you could do a whole itinerary around beaches and wildlife. Awesome right?

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Follow Wayfaring Views

About Wayfaring Views

Carol Guttery Welcome to Wayfaring Views. While here, you'll get insanely practical guides with alternative itineraries and offbeat adventures. Visit the about page for more info and resources.

Popular posts

21 Cool Things to Do in Reykjavik, Iceland

29 Murals in Nashville: A Practical Guide to Mind-Blowing Art

Three Days in London- An Alternative Itinerary to the Rick Steves Guide

Uniquely SF: 33 Unusual, Weird & Cool Things to Do in San Francisco

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Destinations
  • Alternative Itineraries
  • Offbeat Adventures
  • Contact
  • Work With Me
  • Privacy Policy
  • Travel Resources

Search

Affiliate Note

We are a participant in the various affiliate programs including the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Wayfaring VIews Copyright © 2019