Sri Lanka safaris and holiday tours … an incredible destination that we will focus in this article. Wilpattu, Sri Lanka’s largest park, is situated in the dry lowlands of the island’s north-west and comprises a series of lakes – or villus – with varying degrees of freshness and salinity. The park reopened in 2003 after nearly 15 years of closure. Over time, the wildlife should recover to its former abundance and become more habituated to vehicles – at the moment the animals are wary of any human presence. Wilpattu was famous for its leopards, and big-cat enthusiasts are hoping this reputation will return. The park’s fauna is similar to Yala, but visitors also have a chance of seeing barking deer.
Udawalawe National Park: is equally amazing as Yala, with a multitude of landscapes such as marshes (wetlands), scrublands, forests, mountainous areas and open grasslands. We found grasslands to be more abundant at Udawalawe than Yala, which gave us more opportunities to spot wildlife and make our safari more enjoyable. At the centre of the park lies the Udawalawe Reservoir, a vast body of water which is the perfect backdrop for photos.
One of the most popular tourist attractions in Sri Lanka, the Kataragama Festival takes place every year in July or August and is dedicated to one of the Hindu gods. It takes place over a two-week period and people from all over the world come to join in. The festival is jam-packed with parades of elephants and colorfully dressed performers. There are countless traditional dances that take place; with musicians, acrobats, and fire-breathers feeding into the festival’s contagious energy. There are few places in the world where elephant sightings are so frequent. However, elephants are not the only animals to see within Udawalawe National Park; peacocks, jackals, water buffalo, crocodiles, monkeys and deer also roam the area. Safaris are most popular in the early morning hours when animals are at their most active. The biodiversity of the park can be attributed to its varied landscape; it is flanked by mountain ranges to the north with wetlands and rivers hugging the grasslands and forests at the base of the mountains. See extra info Sri Lanka Tailor Made Holidays.
It is an unmissable experience to go on safari while in Sri Lanka. There are many national parks with great experiences. I ended up choosing Kaudulla National Park and I was amazed at what we saw. Our group got into an open-top jeep and began cruising through the jungle. We spotted an owl and several monkeys before our jeep rolled out into a clearing. Next thing we knew we were heading straight towards a herd of wild elephants. The herd was massive with more than 100 elephants relaxing near the edge of a huge lake. We cruised slowly, letting the elephants go about their business as we watched calves follow their mothers and males fighting.