Go on a leopard safari in Yala

What the experience is

Yala National Park covers about 979 square kilometres of scrub, lagoon, rock outcrop and beach on the Indian Ocean, about 270 kilometres from Colombo. It was made a wildlife sanctuary in 1900 and a national park in 1938, and is divided into blocks.

Visitors go in by open-sided jeep with a driver and a tracker. Most drives take place in Block 1, entered at Palatupana, which holds the greatest concentration of leopards. The Sri Lankan leopard is the island’s top predator. It has no larger rival, and it is less shy than leopards elsewhere: it uses the sandy tracks, rests on the granite boulders and is often seen by day.

What else is there

The park has some 44 species of mammals, including elephants, sloth bears, water buffalo, spotted deer and wild boar, and crocodiles in the lagoons. More than 200 species of birds have been recorded, several of them found only in Sri Lanka.

When to go

The dry season, from about February to July, thins the vegetation and draws animals to the waterholes. Block 1 is traditionally closed for several weeks in the drought around September and October, so dates should be checked each year. Morning drives start at first light and afternoon drives in mid-afternoon, with a break in the middle of the day.

Good to know

Yala’s popularity is its weakness. When a leopard is found, many jeeps may converge on it, and the crowding can be uncomfortable for the animal and for the visitor. A good guide will avoid the convoys, enter at first light, and may suggest the quieter blocks, where there are fewer leopards and far fewer vehicles. Passengers stay in the jeep except at marked stopping places. Two or three drives give a reasonable chance of a sighting, but there is no guarantee of one.

Why OKYTO recommends it

For leopards, there are few better places in Asia, and the setting, with elephants near the beach and the sea beyond the dunes, is unlike an African park. Wild Coast Tented Lodge stands on the shore at the park boundary and runs its own drives. The safari combines well with the walled port of Galle, described in Walk the ramparts of Galle Fort, and with the rest of Sri Lanka.