Overview
About this safari
Udawalawe offers the most reliable elephant sightings on the island — herds are visible on almost every drive, year round. It is a short drive from our base, which makes it the easiest safari to combine with a south-coast stay.
- From our base
- About 1 hour from Ambalantota
- Best for
- Wild elephants, on almost every drive
- Best months
- Good all year round
- Game drives
- Morning, afternoon or full day
Why Udawalawe Is Different
Udawalawe National Park surrounds a large reservoir on the edge of the southern plains, and its open grassland makes wildlife easy to see. It is home to hundreds of wild Asian elephants, and herds with young calves turn up on almost every drive, whatever the season.
Water buffalo, spotted deer, jackals, crocodiles and a wide range of birds, including eagles and bee-eaters, are common too. Leopards live here but are rarely seen — come for the elephants.
The Elephant Transit Home
Just outside the park, the Elephant Transit Home cares for orphaned baby elephants until they are ready to return to the wild. Visitors can watch the calves come in to be fed at set times during the day, which is easy to add before or after your safari.
How Your Udawalawe Safari Works
We collect you from your hotel anywhere in the south — Udawalawe is about an hour from our base — and arrange a private safari jeep for your group. Park tickets are quoted separately, with the exact figure before you book.
Udawalawe also sits neatly on the way between the south coast and Ella or Nuwara Eliya, so it can break up that journey.
Good to Know
About an hour by road from Hambantota or Ambalantota.
Choose Udawalawe for elephants — sightings are close to certain — and Yala for the chance of leopards and a wider range of animals. Many people do both on consecutive days.
Early morning or late afternoon, when it is cooler and the animals are most active.
