Tracking Leopards in Yala National Park

After visiting Udawalawe National Park and our unforgettable experience seeing elephants in the wild for the first time, we continued our safari adventure towards the Eastern coast to Yala National Park (read the full 3 week itinerary here). Sri Lanka is so diverse and it is fascinating how the landscape is changing in this 2-hour drive.

WHAT TO EXPECT IN YALA

Yala National Park is Sri Lanka’s second largest national park. It is supposedly the best place to see leopards in the wild as it has the highest concentration in the world (!!) which is probably the reason why it is the most visited park in Sri Lanka. Have we seen any? Keep reading to see if we did!

The park is in fact huge and we spent more than 3 hours driving around just 2 blocks of the park. The fauna in Yala is actually quite similar to Udawalawe yet since the park is much bigger encountering animals is more rare. It also feels more crowded, as they are many more jeeps though the government has now set a quota for the number of jeeps per day to 400.

Bet you are interested in our leopard search. Well, after about 3 hours of exploring and just before the sunset we headed towards the exit. NOOO! But we really wanted to see a leopard! Then the jeep that passed us stopped claiming that they have just seen a leopard on a rock up close. We turned back, drove fearlessly on the bumpy roads for about 5 minutes and got the point where the leopard was! There were a few people already there but no leopard 🙁 Apparently we missed this beautiful scene with a leopard on the rock and the sundown in the background for just a minute or so! We missed it, but even being so close to that beautiful beast felt amazing and now we also have a reason to come back to Yala!

PLACE TO STAY

Well, we didn’t see the leopard in wild, but saw a lot paintings and other leopard artwork in the hotel we stayed at. Nikara Yala is 20 minutes from the park entrance and has a soul of the boutique hotel, giving you all the safari feels. It’s brand new, has a private beach, pool area and my fav – Nikara restaurant! Tip: choose a private villa if available 😉

Even if you are not staying in the hotel, good news is that the restaurant is accessible from the beach and is open to all visitors. And who wouldn’t like a nice evening walk topped with the perfect dinner?Tip: choose a private villa if available 😉

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If time permits you should also visit the surrounding beaches which are really nice – a morning run around this place will make your day!