THE BEST SAFARI IN SRI LANKA – YALA VS UDAWALAWE

BEFORE WE DIVE INTO THIS we want to give a massive shout out to Mindful Travels (Instagram @mindful.travels) who helped us put the whole thing together. From park entry to transport, they took care of it all and made the experience that much more enjoyable! Go check them out if you’re planning a journey to Sri Lanka and I’m sure they’ll be able to give you a helping hand!

After a ton of research and months of planning our itinerary around which park to visit, we ultimately chose to do them both; AND WE’RE GLAD WE DID!

Yala National park and Udawalawe National park are two of the most popular national parks in the country and both have their respective perks. Extensive research led us to believe that Yala was the better park and had rave reviews due to the higher possibility of spotting leopards, whereas many people who visited Udawalawe loved it for its tranquility and greater animal to size ratio! At the end of of this blog we’ll give you our experience and what we feel is the better bang for your buck!

NUMBER CRUNCHING

Yala National Park is the most visited and second largest national park in Sri Lanka. It borders the Indian Ocean and consists of 5 blocks in which 2 are open to the public. Created in 1938, the park covers 979 square kilometers and is best known for its variety of animals and importance for the conservation of Sri Lankan elephants, leopards and aquatic birds.

Udawalawe National Park was established in 1972 to provide a sanctuary for wild animals that were displaced by the construction of the Udawalawe Reservoir which sits on the Walawe River. The park covers 308 square kilometers and is an important habitat for water birds and Sri Lankan elephants. It is the third most visited park in the country!

WHEN TO VISIT THE PARKS

Other than September and October when Yala National Park is closed for maintenance, both these National Parks can be visited year-round. At Yala, all the animals can be seen year-round, but your best chances are during dry season (which runs from February to September) where the water level decline and animals tend to gather around watering holes and lagoons for refreshment.  Animals at Udawalawe on the other hand can be spotted year-round. Udawalawe has the greatest concentration of Sri Lankan elephants and your odds of spotting them in bunches is extremely high. PLUS, if you show up during mating season (from October to January) ), you’ll be able to spot a ton of baby elephants to spam your Instagram stories with!

WHAT WILDLIFE CAN BE FOUND IN THE PARKS

Yala National Park has the largest concentration of leopards IN THE WORLD! That may be an astounding statistic and we would hate to crush your dreams, but don’t plan your entire safari around spotting these beautiful cats as they don’t make an appearance very often. They’re the equivalent of the legendary dogs found in the Pokémon GSC series! Apart from leopards, the park is home to 215 bird species, 44 mammals, many reptile species, amphibians, fish and just a couple invertebrates. During our visit we were lucky enough to spend 5 minutes with a magnificent leopard which was the icing on the cake to day in which we saw a few crocodiles, hordes of water buffaloes soaking in water pools, about a dozen elephants and numerous beautiful bird species. Among other notables were foxes, monkeys, mongoose, sambar deer and hundreds of lizards!

Udawalawe National Park is home to about 250 Sri Lankan elephants who permanently reside here due to their attraction to the Udawalawe reservoir. Elephants are sometimes hard to come by in open habitats, so if you feel like you didn’t get your fix, you can always make your way to the Elephant Transit home! Udawalawe National Park is also a great birdwatching site, with many of the 184 species found here being endemic to Sri Lanka. 21 fish, 12 amphibians, 33 reptiles, and 43 mammals all share the beautiful marshes, forests and grasslands of Udawalawe National Park

The Udawalawe Elephant Transit Home was established in 1995 for the purpose of looking after abandoned elephant calves until they’re deemed old and ready enough to fend for themselves

THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE VISITING

You will need to hire a safari jeep either before or upon arrival at the park. If you show up to the park without a jeep, one is assigned to you, who expects a tip at the end whether he does a good job or not! We also recommend you hire your own, rather than show up and hop on board as you’ll have the freedom to move around inside the Jeep and not worry about having to step on peoples toes to see animals.

Make sure to pack yourself a lunch with numerous snacks, especially if you’re doing an all-day safari. There aren’t any places to purchase food & water once you’re inside the park. Both parks give you an hour or two break around noon to eat and refuel yourself, so you want to make sure you’re well equipped for a full day of sightseeing.
A pair of binoculars are handy to have lying around as sometimes you may spot animal sin the distance and your eyes may just not cut it. In the odd chance you spot a leopard, you’ll be thankful you brought your trusty leather Indiana Jones satchel looking binoculars!
It might also be handy to have some extra camera batteries, or portable chargers as the day can be long and there wont be any place to charge your devices.


Also, please be mindful when travelling inside the park. Don’t exit your Jeep to chase after an animal for a picture, and don’t pressure your driver to get closer than you need to to the animals. Remember, were in their home and we need to preserve the wildlife we still have on this planet, or more and more places will start to close the doors to the public. There is so much beauty to be seen and you can get closer than you think, but just be mindful of the wildlife residing at the parks!

PRICING

Both Yala and Udawalawe National Park’s entry fee for foreigners is just shy of $20 CAD for the day. This doesn’t include the cost of hiring a Jeep, which can run you a cost anywhere between $25-$35 CAD for half a day, and $55-$75 CAD for a full day tour. This does not include a guide, although most drivers know the terrain and the wildlife very well, however, only know very limited English. A safari jeep will fit around 4-8 people (depending on the size of the vehicle), so when you share the cost, it’s not that expensive.

WHICH PARK IS BETTER?

In our opinion, Udawalawe National Park is the better of the two because it truly does allow you to fully immerse yourself in nature. The calmer setting allows you to get up close and personal with many of the species roaming the lands and you’re rarely bothered by other jeeps and tourists. Although your chances of spotting a leopard are significantly lower than Yala, sightings can occur at Udawalawe as there is still a small healthy population residing there; although I wouldn’t plan my day around it. You’re also almost certain to spot Sri Lankan elephants as well as wild water buffalo, sloth bears, red spotted deers, monkeys, crocodiles, and many different species of water birds.

HOWEVER, we strongly recommend you see both parks as they both have tremendous experiences to offer. They are teeming with wildlife and watching animals roam free in their natural habitat is truly a sight to behold. Get lost in the Sri Lankan elephants’ eyes as they look into your soul as you watch them walk across the dirt road protecting their cubs, or have your breath taken away by a beautiful leopard that appears as often as a lunar eclipse. The 110km distance between the two parks allow you to do them both in quick succession. In Udawalawa, we stayed at the Elephant Trail Hotel which was 3 minutes away from the national parks main entrance, and we visited Yala when we passed through Tangalle, which resided approximately 91km away!

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