Safari at Udawalawe National Park
Come to Ratnapura on the Colombo-Ratnapura road travelling about 101km. From there on your way to Embilipitiya turn at Udawalawe Junction to Thanamalwila road. Proceed from there, along the bund of Udawalawe Reservoir towards Thanmalwila. And you will see the entrance to the Udawalawa National Park on your left.
Udawalawe is the second largest national Park in Sri Lanka. And, the place which you can see the Sri Lankan elephants’ natural behaviors.
This is why the park is full of local and foreign tourists. In general, if you expect a safari at Udawalawe, you will have to rent a luxury Safari Jeep in which about 7-8 passengers can travel. Hire safari drivers are well aware of the forest and have an experience of acting in an emergency situation.
You can get an hour-by-hour experience with a ticket at a very affordable price. You can see a large number of wild elephants, wild boars, leopards, crocodiles, deer, and many species of birds traveling through the Gonaviddagala at Udawalawe. During the Safari, you will have a little rest time to get down from jeeps and walk around near the Gonaviddagala.
A visit to ‘Eth Athurusewana’ the Udawalawa Baby Elephant Orphanage adjacent to the main entrance of the Udawalawa National Park will make you an enjoyable experience. You can see the baby elephants during their feeding times which is a delightful sight for your eyes. At 9 am, 12 noon, 3 pm, and 6 pm, you can see them being fed with milk. If you like, you can help baby elephants to feed their milk.
You have nothing to worry about the facilities and accommodations in the Udawalawa area. Most hotels have Safari Jeeps also. While your stay to Udawalawe, you can visit the ancient Sankapala temple close to Embilipitiya and Maduwanwela walawwa (an ancient mansion built in the British colonial era) on the way to Sooriyakanda which is a cold small town situated on a top of a high mountain.
