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Uda Walawe

This national park was established in 1972 to protect the catchment area of the Uda Walawe reservoir, crucial to the livelihoods of the farmers in the south east dry zone. While not as wild or remote as parks such as Wilpattu or Yala, with the land only recently reverting back from cultivation, the park has some fascinating characteristics that make it well worth a visit.

Not least of these is the large elephant population. Uda Walawe is the most reliable place to see elephants in their wild habitat year round. Some 400-500 elephants live in the park and herds of up to 50 are commonly seen. If you want to observe groups of elephants and their absorbing social interactions there are few better places than the wide open plains of Uda Walawe.

The open plains are covered in thick manna grass up to the borders of the large reservoir in the centre and the Walawe river. The park is also covered by some abandoned teak plantation and dense scrub jungle. This variety in habitat makes for a rich variety of wildlife and game. As well as elephants, leopards live in the park (though you will be very lucky to spot one), toque monkeys, grey langur, spotted deer, wild pig and sambar. There are numerous bird species of course and Uda Walawe is particularly rich in raptor species, among them the white bellied sea eagle and the crested serpent eagle.

The Elephant Transit Home is also at Uda Walawe. This is a home for baby elephants separated from their herds in the wild right across Sri Lanka. In the transit home they are treated by vets and fed until they are ready to be released into the park aged about 3 or 4 years. Once released they are tagged and monitored until they gain acceptance into a herd.

The Home is gaining an excellent reputation for its sterling conservation work and the elephants here seem not to be exploited for their tourism or domestic uses.

Accommodation around the park is very limited indeed. Although there are hotels, we suggest you are probably better off visiting from the resorts on the south coast. Tengalle is the closest. The park makes a great stop off point on route down from the mountains and in particularly Haputale, Ella and Bandarawela, to the coastal resorts.

If you would like a truly special experience, Kulu Safaris offer their luxury camping trips in the park. This is a truly glorious place to wake up, while supper watching the elephants and the haunting quality of the reservoir at sunset is a truly humbling experience. Contact us to enquire when Kulu are in Uda Walawe.

It is also possible to camp here with the Mahoora Luxury and Mahoora Standard camps.

For those with the time to get here, Experience Sri Lanka sincerely recommend Uda Walawe and the Elephant Transit Home above the far more well known, Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage.