Yala National Park

About Yala National Park

By the ULTIMATE Sri Lanka Editorial Team

Site Editor: Tara de la Motte

Yala is Sri Lanka’s best-known national park, a mosaic of scrub jungle, lagoons, rocky outcrops and beaches in the far south-east, famous for leopards and also home to elephants, sloth bears, crocodiles and more than 200 species of birds. The western part, Block I, is the most visited. Jeep safaris are run by licensed operators, usually in the early morning and late afternoon, and the Department of Wildlife Conservation sets the rules and the open blocks.

A park on the coast

Yala was first proclaimed a protected reserve in 1900, and became a national park in 1938. It covers close to 1,000 square kilometres, divided into blocks, with more protected land around it. The park runs down to the Indian Ocean, so a game drive can end on an empty beach.

Wildlife

Yala is best known for its leopards, which are often seen resting on rocks or crossing the tracks, but there is much more: Asian elephants, sloth bears, spotted deer, water buffalo, mugger crocodiles and wild boar, and more than 200 species of birds, including peacocks, painted storks and bee-eaters.

Yala was first protected in 1900, and became a national park in 1938.

History inside the park

The park also holds ancient Buddhist sites. Sithulpawwa, a rock monastery inside the park, is still an active place of pilgrimage, and the remains of other monasteries lie in the jungle.

How a safari works

You enter by jeep only, with a licensed driver and a park tracker, and you must stay in the vehicle. Most visitors do a morning drive from dawn and an afternoon drive until dusk; full-day trips are possible. The park often closes for part of the dry season, usually in September and October, so check with the Department of Wildlife Conservation before you plan.

Our advice: choose a licensed operator who limits the number of jeeps at a sighting and does not race to them; go early, when the light is soft and animals are active; bring a hat, sun cream, water and binoculars; and if Block I is crowded, ask about the quieter blocks or Bundala and Kumana instead.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Yala National Park before you go.