Safari in Yala

a hotspot for elephants and leopards

Yala National Park is located in the southeast of Sri Lanka.

Along with several neighbouring and adjoining reserves, this area represents the largest conservation area in the country, extending over 979 sq km (378 sq mi) and with around 60km (36 miles) of ocean beaches.

The landscape is largely comprised of undulating plains, covered by a mix of moist monsoon forests and dry woodlands, punctuated by small open grasslands, rocky outcrops and occasional waterholes. Along the coast there are extensive marine wetlands and patches of mangrove forest.

Mammal species in Yala are headlined by Sri Lankan elephants, Sri Lankan leopards and Sri Lankan sloth bears, with a supporting cast of fishing cats, jackals, golden palm civets, red slender lorises, water buffalos, spotted deers and toque macaque monkeys.

The reserve is perhaps best known for its leopards, which are here in relatively high densities, although their total numbers probably only add up to a few dozen. They are slightly smaller than African leopards and usually have a darker coat with a tiger spot pattern. Although they can be elusive, they do love to sunbathe on various rocky outcrops.

Elephants are rather more numerous and easy to find, with around 300–350 individuals.

One of the greatest highlights are sightings of sloth bears (Baloo from The Jungle Book). Yala is one of the best locations on the Indian sub-continent to search for these wonderful and famously elusive creatures. The best time is May-Jul, when the palu trees are in fruit. This can be a major highlight and may affect the timing of your trip.

Of the 215 bird species of the park, at least six are endemic to Sri Lanka, including Sri Lanka grey hornbills, Sri Lanka junglefowls, Sri Lanka wood pigeons, crimson-fronted barbets, black-capped bulbuls and brown-capped babblers.

An unusually wide range of reptiles includes leatherback turtles, olive ridley turtles, loggerhead turtles, hawksbill turtles, green turtles, mugger crocodiles and saltwater crocodiles, Indian cobras and Russell’s vipers, as well as an impressive 46 endemics.

The reserve is also home to the Sithulpawwa Temple, a place of pilgrimage for local people.

The main activities in the area are vehicle safari inside the main reserve and beach picnics.

Yala is the most visited national park in Sri Lanka and there can be major traffic issues, so traffic avoidance measures are highly recommended. Of the two gates on the western border of the reserve, the more southerly Palatupana Gate (which serves the lodges down by the coast) experiences about ten times the amount of vehicle traffic than Katagamuwa Gate (which serves a much smaller group of more safari-focused camps). So your choice of lodge can have a very immediate and important effect on the quality of the safari experience.

The best time of year to visit the Yala area is generally considered to be during the Jan-Mar dry season, although there are definitely reasons to visit at other times too.

Being located in the southeast of the island, the climate in Yala is influenced both by the southwest and northeast monsoons, but tends to experience relatively low rainfall from both, compared to other parts of the island.

Temperatures are more or less constant year round, with daytime temperatures around 34C/93F, whilst the nighttime low temperatures up at a potentially uncomfortable 23C/73F.

Jan-Mar

The Jan-Mar period is usually quite dry in Yala.

As the season progresses, the various rivers and waterholes dry up, causing the wildlife to become increasingly clustered around the few permanent sources. Furthermore, foliage and grass cover tends to tie back.

All of which should make for much more reliable wildlife viewing.

However, visitor numbers are at their highest at this time, so traffic avoidance measures are strongly recommended.

Apr-May

The Apr-May period sees the southwest monsoon hitting the southwest of the island, but here in the southeast the weather tends to remain relatively dry, meaning that the conditions of the preceding season tend to continue and even become more exaggerated.

On the other hand, if there is significant rainfall, then the animals can start to disperse away from the dry season waterholes, making wildlife viewing a little more difficult.

The southwest winds can whip the ocean up at this time, making the beaches feel rather less welcoming.

The 14th of April is the Sinhalese and Tamil New Year, so you can expect crowds of locals to flood into the reserve and surrounding beaches, for lavish family picnics and other festivities. It’s probably best to forget about wildlife viewing (due to the high traffic) and instead join the party.

During May the festival of Vesak Poya commemorates the birth of Buddha, so once again you can expect crowds and festivities, especially around the various temples.

Jun-Aug

The Jun-Aug period in Yala is quite difficult to predict.

The early part can be quite dry, but may catch the tail of the southwest monsoon. The latter part may catch the front end of the northeast monsoon.

On balance it’s usually quite a good time to be in the reserve.

Another major factor is that May-Jul is the best season to view sloth bears, which can often be found feeding on the fruiting play trees.

However, there is a surge of visitors (especially from Europe), centred on August, when traffic avoidance measures are recommended.

Sep-Dec

The Sep-Dec is the northeast monsoon and the time that Yala experiences most of its rainfall.

As well as adverse weather, the tracks can become more difficult to navigate and the animals tend to disperse into the bush. As the months pass, the foliage thickens, to make wildlife viewing increasingly difficult.

The reserve is usually completely closed in September for maintenance work.

However the bush can look really verdant and pretty, with lots of wildflowers and the lower visitor numbers can be a major positive.

Getting there

The Yala area is usually reached by road. For our guests, this means combining it with various other locations on the island in a private guided overland safari, travelling in the company of an expert driver-guide. Popular connections include …

Galle : 2-3 hours
Kandy : 3-4 hours
Nuwara Eliya : 2-3 hours
Pottuvil : 1-2 hours

The Yala area cannot be reached by train.

Where to stay

Accommodation in the Yala area falls into three main categories …

The first option is to stay at one of the properties along the beaches to the west of the national park. These places tend to be rather more like resorts, each with a large swimming pool and a relaxed atmosphere, whilst also offering a good range of safari activities. However you are exposed to much higher levels of vehicle traffic through the Palatupana Gate into the reserve.

The second option is to stay at one of the tented safari camps in the inland buffer zones to the west of the reserve. These vary considerably in terms of comfort and safari authenticity. The best of them back up great service levels around camp, with expert naturalist guiding out in the bush, accessing the reserve via the much lesser-used Katagamuwa Gate and heading out on full day safaris to more remote sectors, where you can really get away from the vehicle clustering that occurs in the southwest.

The third option is to stay in a private mobile tented camp inside the national park, most notably in the Kumala Sector over on the eastern side, which is arguably the only way to enjoy a properly authentic safari experience and is something we often highly recommend to more experienced safari travellers.

traffic avoidance measures are very important