Yala National Park
Yala National Park is Sri Lanka’s most popular wildlife park due to the presence of many leopards. Sri Lanka is one of the few countries in the world where the population lives side-by-side with free-roaming animals. It isn’t uncommon to see elephants crossing roads or sneaking into a hotel lobby – a unique and beautiful way of living. Unfortunately, there can be negative encounters, and parks like Yala provide a safe space for the animals. Here’s everything you need to need about Yala National Park in Sri Lanka.
Yala National Park Tourism
Sprawled over 979 square kilometres, Yala National Park in southeast Sri Lanka is the nation’s largest and most-visited wildlife conservation zone. As Lanka’s oldest wildlife sanctuary, Yala shelters a vast area of unspoilt jungles, grassland and lagoons bordering the Indian Ocean, home to the highest population of leopards on the planet, alongside Sri Lankan elephants, crocodiles, and over 400 bird species.
Yala National Park is sectioned into five blocks, and there are eco-friendly campsites all over. By paying an admission fee of USD 15, you can enter through one of the four gates: Katagamuwa, Palatupana, Kataragama Road, and Galge. The fascinating thing about hiking here is discovering the park’s diverse terrain, ranging from marine wetlands, deciduous and thorn forests, freshwater lakes and ponds, mainly composed of Precambrian-era metamorphic rocks.
A large section of the park is covered by marshes and sandy beaches, where families enjoy picnics and swimming. Further inland, Sithulpawwa is an ancient Buddhist monastery where caves display centuries-old rock paintings. Magul Vihara is another pilgrimage site displaying ancient ruins within the park. The best way to enjoy a Yala National Park tour is to take Jeep safaris with a driver, but you can blaze your own trails with bicycles.
