Spotting elephants in Udawalawe National Park (Sri Lanka)

If you want to go on a safari in Sri Lanka, Udawalawe National Park is a good choice. We saw many elephants upclose, so here are my tips.

What to expect in this article

About Udawalawe National Park

Udawalawe National Park, situated in the southern part of Sri Lanka, is a great place for people who like to see animals or want to experience a safari.

In addition to that, it is a protected area and 124.69 square kilometers, it has become mostly famous due to the amount of wild elephants. Additionally, you can also spot lots of buffalo, crocodiles, birds, and even some leopards if you are lucky.

It is located about 200 kilometers from Colombo and is easiest to reach from places in the south or Ella.

Why we visited Udawalawe Park

I visited Sri Lanka with my family for the first time in 2023, while my dad was born there. For my mom, sister, and me it was already a dream to finally be in Sri Lanka, but my mom has been dreaming about a safari since she met my dad. If you take a look at our house, you can see elephants everywhere, that is how crazy my mom is about them.

Before going here, I did some research and asked others about their experiences if they had specifically seen elephants and most of them said yes. As it was so highly recommended, I was keen on visiting this park with my family, even though it was a 2-hour drive from Ella.
Apparently, your chances to see elephants are the biggest in this park, as it is also Sri Lanka’s smaller National Parks. Around 500 elephants live here and so far everyone I spoke to, has seen elephants.

Our experience in Udawalawe Park

After a two-hour drive, we arrived at the National Park. Here we paid around 15.000 Rupees (40 euros) per person, this includes the 2/3h safari, the jeep, and a tip.
We did have a jeep all to ourselves (we were with the 5 of us) and visited in June 2023.

Our driver was a kind man who explained a lot and answered all our questions.
During the safari, we saw beautiful landscapes, especially one part where you can see a water body against the mountains. Of course, many buffalos were bathing and drinking here.

The best of everything was the elephants. We saw quite a lot (let’s say 20) with their babies! One time the driver decided to stop right next to an elephant and her baby. If I had stretched my arm out, I would easily have touched them.
Cool, but pretty scary at the same time, as elephants are wild animals and I thought mothers with babies would be even more protective. That does make me wonder why this happened.
But it was amazing to see elephants crossing the road with their little mischievous babies.

Next to that, we also saw baby crocodiles (not very seeable), cute birds, peacocks but also an eagle on the ground. Lastly, we only saw one other jeep during our safari. Maybe we were lucky, as I have heard stories it can be very crowded.
Our first experience doing a safari was really great and my mom’s dream came true!

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Other National Parks of Sri Lanka

Yala National Park: Sri Lanka’s second-largest wildlife reserve, spans 979 square kilometers. It is based South-east and it’s mostly famous because of the leopard population. Eventhough there is a population, other still recommended me to go either early in the morning, as leopards are not so active during the day.

Minneriya National Park: Covering 8,889 hectares, this park is famous for its massive elephant gathering. I’ve heard stories of hundreds of elephants all gathered, feeding and socializing.
During the dry season, the Tank turns into a critical water source, attracting hundreds of elephants.

If I ever would go back to Sri Lanka (which I will, as I want to visit my family again), I would love to visit both parks. For now, one National Park was enough.

Tips for visiting Udawalawe National Park

The park opens at 6 AM. I would recommend you go on a safari as early in the morning as you can. Apparently, most animals are very active then and it is not that hot. We went around 11, as we had to drive 2 hours from Ella. We still got to see many elephants grazing.
Make sure to go to the bathroom before hopping in the jeep
Take water with you and food, but leave the food in your car
For people with long hair, tie it. The road from the entrance to the Park is at least a 10 minutes drive, and the driver races over the road. The jeep is open and there is a lot of wind.
Official website link