✦ Southern & Uva Provinces
Yala
Sri Lanka's best-known national park — leopards, elephants and sloth bears between jungle and sea.
Photo: Manelka Jayasundara / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Destination guide
About Yala
Yala National Park stretches along the south-east coast and is Sri Lanka’s most visited wildlife park. Block I, the most visited section, is known for one of the highest densities of leopards anywhere, alongside elephants, sloth bears, crocodiles and a rich variety of birds.
Safaris run in the early morning and late afternoon by jeep, usually from Tissamaharama or Kirinda. Parts of the park may close for a period each year during the driest months (often around September–October), so check before travelling.
Why visit
- Leopard sightings
- Elephants, sloth bears and birdlife
- Coastal scrub, lagoons and jungle
- Combines easily with the south coast
Things to do in Yala
- Morning or afternoon jeep safari
- Birdwatching at the lagoons
- Visit Kataragama and Sithulpawwa nearby
- Continue to the south-coast beaches
Tours that include Yala
Luxury
Colombo–Cultural Triangle–Kandy–Ella–Yala–Galle
Luxury Sri Lanka 10-Day Grand Tour
Frescoed maidens high on Sigiriya's rock face set the tone for ten days that also take in drumming at Kandy's Temple of…
- 10 days / 9 nights
- Colombo → Galle
Luxury
Yala–Udawalawe
Luxury Wildlife 6-Day Safari Tour
Dawn in Yala comes with the call of peacocks and red dust rising behind the jeep as it passes granite outcrops where…
- 6 days / 5 nights
- Yala → Udawalawe
Honeymoon
Kandy–Ella–Yala–South Coast
Sri Lanka Honeymoon 7-Day Private Escape
Picture an open train window with tea slopes sliding past, a quiet jeep at dawn in Yala and a long beach with…
- 7 days / 6 nights
- Kandy → Galle
Photography
Colombo–Cultural Triangle–Kandy–Ella–Yala–Galle
Sri Lanka Photography Grand Tour 12-Day
Light is everything on this twelve-day route. Golden mornings at Sigiriya, saffron robes against the grey stone of Gal Vihara, tea pickers…
- 12 days / 11 nights
- Colombo → Galle
Safari
Wilpattu–Minneriya–Yala–Udawalawe
Wild Sri Lanka 8-Day Wildlife Tour
Dawn mist lifting off Wilpattu's lake-like villus, elephants massing on the grassy shores of Minneriya, Yala's rocky outcrops where leopards sometimes rest:…
- 8 days / 7 nights
- Wilpattu → Udawalawe
★ Featured
Beach
Yala–Tangalle–Galle
Yala Wildlife and South Coast 5-Day Tour
If fortune smiles, a leopard may be stretched across a rocky outcrop on your first Yala drive. From the wild south-east, this…
- 5 days / 4 nights
- Yala → Galle
Where to stay near Yala
Yala
Ceylon Wild Safaris
A six-tent safari camp opened in 2018 beside Kotchipathana Lake, on the western edge of Yala National Park and about 25 minutes…
Yala
Cinnamon Wild Yala
Wildlife-themed resort near Yala National Park.
Yala
Jetwing Yala
Large beach and safari-oriented resort near Yala.
Yala
Kulu Safaris
A tented safari camp beside Kochchipathana village lake, run as a base for Yala National Park by Kulu Safaris, which describes itself…
Yala
Leopard Trails Yala
A safari camp inside Block 1 of Yala National Park, in scrub jungle close to lakes and lagoons.
Yala
Uga Chena Huts
Luxury safari accommodation near Yala National Park.
🍛 Local flavours
Food to try in Yala
- Buffalo curd with kithul treacle
- Fresh seafood from Kirinda
- Rice and curry
Best time to visit Yala
- JanPossible, with more rain or heat
- FebUsually the best months
- MarUsually the best months
- AprUsually the best months
- MayUsually the best months
- JunUsually the best months
- JulPossible, with more rain or heat
- AugPossible, with more rain or heat
- SepPossible, with more rain or heat
- OctPossible, with more rain or heat
- NovPossible, with more rain or heat
- DecPossible, with more rain or heat
February–June; check seasonal closures (often around September–October)
Sri Lanka has two monsoons, so when one coast is rainy the other is usually dry — weather varies from year to year.
Yala on the map
Destinations near Yala
References / Sources
- Department of Wildlife Conservation, Sri Lanka: https://www.dwc.gov.lk
- Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau: https://www.srilanka.travel
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