Yala and Udawalawe
The planet's highest density of leopards on one side, elephants at arm's length on the other: the southern savannahs offer Asia's most accessible safari — provided you choose your jeep and your park.
Suggested stay — 2 nights
Yala, block 1, claims the highest leopard density in the world: the cats parade on the rocks and tracks, almost indifferent to the jeeps. The flip side is well known: on high-season mornings, jeeps mass at the gates and radios crackle at every sighting. There are workarounds — enter by the Katagamuwa gate, aim for block 5, go in the afternoon on a weekday — and the park remains, despite it all, a great moment: leopards, then, but also elephants, sloth bears, mugger crocodiles and peacocks by the hundred under the tamarind trees.
Udawalawe, two hours further west, plays a different score: fewer people, an open landscape of grassland around the reservoir, and elephants absolutely guaranteed — 600 residents, families at the bath, lone bulls crossing the track three metres away. It's the park to favour with children, or if elephants matter more than the leopard grail. The neighbouring Elephant Transit Home, which rehabilitates orphans before release (public feedings at fixed times), rounds off the day without the unease of the selfie 'orphanages'.
Don't miss
- A morning safari (5.45 am at the gates) or an afternoon one in Yala's block 1 or 5
- Udawalawe's elephants around the reservoir in low evening light
- The calf feedings at the Elephant Transit Home (fixed times)
- The rock monastery of Sithulpawwa, a sacred enclave deep inside Yala
Our tips on the ground
- Book the jeep through your guesthouse the day before and negotiate a genuinely early start: being 20th at the gate or 3rd changes the whole safari.
- Insist on a driver who cuts the engine at sightings and refuse the radio-fuelled leopard chase: the best scenes are earned by waiting at the waterholes.
- Yala usually closes block 1 in September-October (drought): check before building the itinerary, and fall back on Udawalawe or Wilpattu, the big north-western park, wild and underrated.
Our flagship guide — €29
Guide available“Sri Lanka on your own”, the complete edition, is out
10 chapters: day-by-day itineraries, driving and transport, a costed budget and checklists — the same method as our Namibia guide.
The guide is currently written in French — an English edition is in the works.
Before you go
Readers' questions about Yala and Udawalawe
Yala or Udawalawe if you only do one safari?
A matter of temperament: Yala to try for the leopard (50-70% odds on one safari, far more on two) at the cost of the morning scrum; Udawalawe for certain elephants in a breathable park. With two nights, doing both back to back is the real right answer — they are nothing alike and complement each other two hours apart.
How much does a safari cost, and what does the price include?
Two separate lines: the jeep with driver (€25-40 for a half day, shareable by up to 6) and the park tickets paid at the gate (~$30-40 for two at Yala, a little less at Udawalawe, taxes and vehicle charge included). A half day for two therefore comes to €90-120 all-in. Full days are only worth it at Yala, with a very good driver-guide.