Safari and national parks

 Sri Lanka has a lot of national parks with lots of wildlife. Below are some of the ones we have visited.

Yala
This is probably the most famous National park in SL and most of its fame comes from its 35 leopards. The scenery is very beautiful and it is also the home to many other animals.

Here is their official site: Yala Sri Lanka
Our touroperator was Shehan Safari and we were happy with our driver. We went for a 5 hour morning drive, but morning and afternoon are supposed to be equally good. No leopards to be seen, but we were told that the fullmoon the night before had made them hunt all night and it was time to sleep the next day.


Udawalawe National Park
Very close to Yala you will find  Udawalawe national park. We have not been there but I have been told that there are more elephants in this park.
Inside the park there is a transit home for orphan baby elephants. You can read more her: Elephant transit home
Kaudulla National Park
"The Elephant gathering" takes place either in Kaudulla or in Minneriya each fall.

We visited Kaudulla in september and there were lots of elephant herds roaming free. You are definetly not alone on this safari, but the trip is certainly worth it. The safaris can easily be booked through your hotel or in Habarana. Cost for the jeep with the guided driver is apx rs 5000, plus entrancefee to the park.
There are other animals like waterbuffaloes and exotic birds, but the elephants are the main attraction.

It is easy to book a driver either at your hotel or in nearby Habanare. The safarijeeps in this park can open the top, which seems to be something everyone really enjoyed.
The rent of the jeep and driver/guide (although more a driver than a guide) costs apx Rp 5.000. Entrance fee to the park is in addition.

Kumana National Park
Kumana is in the northern part of the more wellknown Yala National park.
We did not see any elephants nor leopards the morning we visited although they are inhabiting this park. Our closest encounter with an elephant was on the road going to the park. There we met up with the angry lonely male that already had attatcked the first safarijeep and made us wait for an hour before we could be picked up in another jeep.

There are both saltwater and freshwater crocodiles in this area, and at the end of the safari our driver showed us a swampy area with freshwater crocodiles.

It is also possible to go for a tuktuk safari.

For safaritour to the Kumana National Park I recommend Arugambay tours. The owner Imam is not only good a arranging the tour, but is also concerned about the local community and how tourism can interact with the locals in a sustainable way.
At the end of the tour we had a traditional breakfast in a village home.