Udawalawe National Park

Udawalawe National Park, on the border of Sabaragamuwa and Uva provinces in southern Sri Lanka, about 165 km from Colombo, is the most reliable park in the country for seeing wild elephants, which gather around the reservoir and open grassland. It suits travellers moving between the south coast and the hills.

Created in 1972 for animals displaced by the reservoir

Udawalawe was declared on 30 June 1972 to shelter animals displaced by the Udawalawe Reservoir on the Walawe River and to protect the reservoir's catchment. It covers 30,821 hectares and gets about 1,500 mm of rain a year. Embilipitiya is the nearest town.

A resident herd of about 250 elephants

A herd of about 250 elephants is thought to live in the park year-round. Forty-three mammal species and 184 bird species, 33 of them migrants, have been recorded.

The Elephant Transit Home

The Elephant Transit Home nearby, founded in 1995, cares for orphaned calves before releasing them into the wild; nine were released in 1998 and 2000, and eight more in 2002. Visitors watch feeding times from a platform. Time your visit with a feeding session there.

Morning and afternoon jeep safaris

Safaris run in the morning and afternoon, and the park is good year-round, at dawn or late afternoon. Budget for the park fee plus jeep hire. The park is about four hours from Colombo and fits well between the south coast and the hills.