Sri Lanka wildlife safaris and holiday tours … a fabulous travel location that we will focus in this article. Wasgamuwa is in the dry lowlands of the North Central Province, 40km north of the richly bio-diverse Knuckles Massif. All of the big game is found in Wasgamuwa, but bears and leopards are pretty elusive. However, it is very good for observing family units of elephants, still relatively wild with unpredictable temperaments. Situated in the wet south-west of the island, this is the country’s premier rainforest. The canopy towers up to 45m in places and more than half of the trees here are found nowhere else in the world. Mixed-species bird flocks are a key feature of Sinharaja. Around six endemic birds may make up one flock, including species such as red-faced malkoha, green-billed coucal and Sri Lankan blue magpie. Animals present include leopard, purple-faced langur, barking deer and three types of squirrel.
Which has the most leopards? Yala National Park: has a higher density of Leopards compared to Udawalawe and is well known for being one of the best places in the world to spot leopards in the wild. The most popular area at Yala open to tourists is block 1, which has an estimated 25-30 leopards. However, leopard-spotting cannot be guaranteed at Yala and you should only go with the mindset that among all the amazing wildlife you will see, spotting the leopards is more like the icing on the cake. Alas, even if you see them, you will quickly be put off by the sheer number of jeeps queueing (almost climbing on top of each other) to get a good look at these elusive animals. Continue reading below about the crowds at Yala for more insight.
One of the most popular tourist attractions in Sri Lanka, the Kataragama Festival takes place every year in July or August and is dedicated to one of the Hindu gods. It takes place over a two-week period and people from all over the world come to join in. The festival is jam-packed with parades of elephants and colorfully dressed performers. There are countless traditional dances that take place; with musicians, acrobats, and fire-breathers feeding into the festival’s contagious energy. There are few places in the world where elephant sightings are so frequent. However, elephants are not the only animals to see within Udawalawe National Park; peacocks, jackals, water buffalo, crocodiles, monkeys and deer also roam the area. Safaris are most popular in the early morning hours when animals are at their most active. The biodiversity of the park can be attributed to its varied landscape; it is flanked by mountain ranges to the north with wetlands and rivers hugging the grasslands and forests at the base of the mountains. Discover more info Sri Lanka Holiday Tours.
One of Sri Lanka’s seven World Heritage Sites, this rock-top fortress dates back to the 5th century AD. The atmosphere is more spiritual than militant: in its time it has acted as a royal palace and Buddhist monastery. The site is also regarded as one of the most important urban planning projects of the first millennium, and is home to some of the oldest landscaped gardens in the world. Look out too for the mirror wall, a masonry wall that was so well-polished that the king could see his reflection in it.