Yala National Park

I had an incredible time on our Yala National Park safari. The experience was both thrilling and peaceful, as we journeyed through the diverse landscapes of the park and encountered a wide variety of wildlife. We were lucky to spot a sloth bear and even caught a glimpse of a leopard, though from a distance it was perched on a tree devouring its catch, which was an unforgettable sight. The park was teeming with peacocks, spotted deer, sambar deer, crocodiles, majestic elephants, and buffaloes. Bird lovers will be delighted too we saw green bee-eaters, black-headed cuckooshrikes, woodpeckers, as well as several hawks and eagles soaring above. I highly recommend opting for the full-day safari and starting the tour at dawn. This gives you the best chance to see a wider range of animals while avoiding the midday heat. Do keep in mind, though, that leopards and sloth bears are quite rare, so spotting one is a matter of luck, if you do, consider it your lucky day! One thing to note is that most safari drivers focus heavily on tracking leopards or bears, which sometimes means other wildlife might get overlooked. A little more balance in the tour approach would be ideal. Feedback for Yala National Park management: Since this is a major tourist destination, it would be great to see improvements made to the toilet facilities at the rest stop near the beach, currently, they could be better maintained and cleaner for visitors. Overall, it was a fantastic experience, and we would definitely recommend it to nature and wildlife enthusiasts. Just be sure to bring your camera, patience, and a sense of adventure!

It was the first safari in my life and I enjoyed it a lot. It wasn't crowded (mid-June afternoon), the drivers were passing informations of rare animals nearby, so we managed to see many elephants, rarest kinds of birds, wild boars, few crocodiles, jackal, monitor lizards, monkeys and snakes. Wish we could spot a leopard, hopefully next time.

Yala National Park was an unforgettable experience! The park's stunning landscapes and diverse wildlife made for an exciting safari adventure. We spotted a variety of animals, including elephants, leopards, and crocodiles, in their natural habitats. The guides were knowledgeable and enthusiastic, adding depth to our tour. A must-visit destination for nature lovers and wildlife enthusiasts in Sri Lanka!

Amazing experience we saw elephants, buffalo, crocodiles, deer, monkey, mongoose and birds. The leopard was seen by some people but it stayed hidden for us. We would definitely recommend. Just remember although it does get busy on these safaris the local economy needs this income source to function. It also ensures the government can keep the animals safe and remember around 80% of the national park is closed to public.

The nature is very beautiful but there is not a lot of variety of animals. You will see lots of deer and gazelles. The chance of seeing a bear is very low, so go there knowing that there is also not a lot of leopard population. Fortunately, we were lucky and we were able to see one from a distance after a big chase. The animals we saw were monkey, elephant, buffalo, deer, crocodile, leopard, monitor lizard, peacock, mongoose, rabbit, eagle.

The night before it rained for 5 hours and roads were very wet with pools of water, the jeeps did very well in this, we did the 3.5 hour tour and left at 6 from the park, we spotted the leopard early on as he started to nap around 8 am were he was hunkered down in the bushes. I really wanted to see the elephant and glad on our way back we spotted one , the guide told us they walk in groups at night but alone during day/ morning

Although you cannot control wild animals in their natural habitat, we were lucky to see baby elephants and elephants crossing between the jeeps. We also saw crocodiles, monkeys, birds, deer, mongooses, buffaloes, a snake, and lots of birds. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any leopards—just their footprints around. Bear in mind that once you arrive at the park in the morning, you’ll have to wait in line until it opens. The park has toilets and restaurant/café options.

Mother Nature blessed this world by giving us leopards and elephants (and other animals too I guess). A day here will make you realise how important animals are to this world! 🌍 I didn’t realise that there were only 50 🐆 in Yala, with all the commotion about highest density or something. Maybe I raised my expectations too high, because I could say I was disappointed to not see a leopard and her cubbies. Especially with people rubbing it in our faces. (We saw the tail and eye of two leopards, how nice) finding animals PURELY depends on luck, (so don’t try and get the best driver out there, just make sure your driver is in contact with other drivers, to make sure they know where the pot is!) so, luck was on our side, to a certain extent. In our 2 day morning safaris, we saw a family of elephants, including 2 tuskers. 2 leopards, the second one was from quite a distance away. A family of deer with two new borns. 40 peacocks. A near dead buffalo. And an uncountable number of birds. What you’ll need here - binoculars and patience. And NOT to loose your mind while waiting hours under the hot suns just to see a butt of a leopard. One more thing, if you see a leopard like I did, be grateful, maybe about 90% of people who come here can’t see one. About 5 hours from Colombo, Yala has the highest population density of leopards (yes, 50). I personally thought Yala was life changing, what do you think? #YOLO