Udawalawe National Park Safari

Once we arrived in the village of Udawalawe (by bus and tuktuk from Weligama), we started an afternoon safari from the hotel. The absolutely nice guy organized a jeep for us, including a guide and food, and we enjoyed three hours of tranquility in nature and the impressive wildlife in the almost empty national park.

Thanks to the current off-season, we were only the 53rd jeep of the day and hardly saw any others. Otherwise, there are about 300 jeeps visiting the park every day.

Absolutely fascinating how the elephants roam there and how close you can get to them in an open jeep. Besides the many elephants, we discovered water buffaloes, crocodiles, two snakes (which is very rare), as well as jackals, various small and large birds, turtles, and smaller lizards.

The approximately three hours were absolutely worthwhile and we are looking forward to the next animal encounters, as there are supposedly leopards to observe in Yala National Park.