Wildlife and Leopard Safaris, Sri Lanka
Wildlife Holidays and Leopard Safaris in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka Leopard Safaris:
Without doubt, one of the most unique products that Sri Lanka has to offer is leopard tracking safaris… this is a brave claim as noone would sell a destination purely on leopards even in Africa…Sri Lanka can!
Yala National Park offers clients the unique opportunities to see Asian Leopards in their natural environment. Yala is thought to have up to one leopard per square kilometre…on recent research and experience I would suggest these numbers are higher!
Leopards are every wildlife enthusiasts highlight and the Asian leopard is no exception. With such a high volume of leopards, Yala National Park offers photographers and enthusiasts probably the best chance to see these curious Big Cats in the wild. There do not seem to be too many distinct differences between Asian and African Leopards however at first glance the Asian Leopards do seem to have slightly darker coats and the male Asian leopards are big!
Sri Lankan Leopard Safaris and Tours can be organised at any time of the year and you will still have a great chance of spotting them. The best time however is between the months of March and October; this is when the vegetation starts to die back making sightings easier in the thick scrub of Yala National Park.
Yala National Park is a lovely park located on the south east coast of Sri Lanka. A mixture of scrubland and forest dotted with man made water tanks providing the ideal riverine habitat for the Asian Leopard.
Wilpattu National Park is also a great place to spot leopards in the wild. Sadly at this moment in time it is still waiting to be declared safe for tourism so watch this space!
The Elephant Gathering:
This truly is a spectacle not to be missed! Once a year, the Asian Elephants of Sri Lanka gather in Minneriya National Park on the shores of the Minneriya Tank/Reservoir, an ancient man-made lake built in the 3rd Century AD. This is the largest gathering of Asian Elephants anywhere in the world and is ideal for wildlife photographers, wildlife enthusiasts or the casual observer as herds gather in numbers reaching over 300! This is a sight to see as bulls go in search of receptive females, matriarchs lead their young to water, and juveniles play in the mud…
Elephants can be seen year round in a variety of parks including Minneriya and Yala; the best time for The Gathering however is during the months of August and September.
Minneriya National Park is a lush park within easy driving distance of Colombo providing the best chances of seeing Asian Elephants in the wild and some unique photographic opportunities during The Gathering.
Whale and Dolphin Watching:
An exciting new product for Sri Lanka and one of the few places in the world where you can see Blue Whales only a few miles off the coastline!
World Big Cat Safaris organises morning trips to see a variety of marine life off the coast of Sri Lanka including Blue Whales, Humpback whales, Bride Whales, occasional Killer Whales and pods of up to 600 dolphins! This is an ideal morning excursion from Mirissa Harbour (and soon to be Trincomalee Harbour). Sri Lanka is now one of the preferred destinations to watch this spectacle as a variety of whales feed off the Sri Lankan coastline with the leak months being between December and April.
