Yala National Park

About Yala National Park

Yala National Park is home to many diverse range of wildlife’s, beautiful natural landscapes, and coastal area regions. Park primarily witnesses an abundance of wildfires especially from its animals like leopards, elephants and aquatic birds.

Yala National Park is the most visited and second largest national park in Sri Lanka. Park divided into 5 blocks (currently only 2 blocks are open to the general public) with an area of 1, 30,000 hectares of land filled by the beautiful grasslands, forest, scrub and lagoons.

At present Yala National Park contains 44 varieties of mammals and 215 sorts of bird species. Despite Leopards and elephants, the park also witnesses animals like sloth bears, sambars, jackals, spotted deer’s, peacocks and crocodiles.

Visitors can explore the beauty of Yala along with visiting some of the pilgrims' sites and landmarks under the park such as The Monastic settlement of Sithulpawwa and The Restored Rock Temple.

Related Search: Komodo National Park.

What to Do in Yala National Park

1. Bird Watching

Since it is a home of many wildlife’s, the park is also blessed by the good numbers of birds including migratory birds too. Paradise for birdwatchers, where visitors spot over 200 species of birds including both migratory and endemic species. Birds include waterfowls like Garganey and Whistling Duck and Cormorants like Grey Heron, Black headed Ibis and Asian Openbill and medium sized waders are more popular.

2. Explore Diverse Wildlife’s/ Animals

As we discussed earlier Yala National Park is home to a wide variety of faunas. Major animals like Leopards, Elephants and birds are available to explore every corner of the national park. But despite that, sloth bears, sambars, jackals, spotted deer, peacocks and crocodiles and reptiles are also easy to watch here. Due to the high density of leopards, it is considered as one of the prime locations in Sri Lanka for wildlife enthusiasts and photographers.

3. Yala Nights

Park is introducing Yala nights, a series of wildlife bungalows operated by the park that can afford nature enthusiasts at night time. These bunglows are unique and promote open space, and unforgettable experiences especially during night in the animal kingdom. Visitors can book bunglows and be out on the beaten track.

4. Beach Walks

Yala National Park is located in coastal areas and stretches of coastlines offering opportunities for beach walks and beach activities. Beach offers take a stroll on the golden sandy beaches usually open to the public. Your beach walk includes bungalows which were wiped out by the Asian Tsunami with occupants. Along with beach activities include marine wildfires and turtle watching’s.

5. Camping

Visitors can also seek campsites within Yala National Park. Campsites accommodate a maximum of 10 -peoples at a time and allow a family with 2 kids (below the age of 6). Campsite includes onsite toilets, parking, and camp equipment. Visitors need to book campsites in advance without any refund options. Make sure that campers need to fill the registration form on arrivals and obey the guidelines of the camping.

6. Ancient Temples

Sithulpawwa and Magul Maha Viharaya are the 2 major ancient sites located within the park. Sithukpauwwa is an ancient rock temple belonging to the native peoples for worship. Rock is considered as the house of a total of 12,000 monks. Magul Maha Viharaya is another attraction having a significant historical background, where it is believed that Magul Maha Viharaya have provided the setting for the marriage of King KavanTissa to Vihara Maha Devi.

7. Landscapes

Perhaps you come across Yala National park wildlife, camping, birds and beaches, but more importantly the park is also filled by the beautiful surrounding landscapes. Park blends with the combinations of shrublands, lagoons, rivers, wide coastal areas and diverse habitants. Its diverse landscapes offer perfect scenic views and rich environments for wildlife’s.