Eye to eye with a leopard,in the wildest corner of the island.

Yala is Sri Lanka’s most celebrated national park, and its leopards are the reason. Its scrub jungle, lagoons and great granite outcrops are home to one of the highest leopard densities on Earth — along with elephants, sloth bears, crocodiles and more than 200 species of birds.

Safaris here begin before sunrise. As your open-top jeep rolls through the gate, the forest is alive: peacocks displaying in the clearings, painted storks in the lagoons, a mugger crocodile sliding into the water. Then your naturalist raises a hand, the engine falls silent, and there — draped along a branch or padding down a sandy track — is a leopard.

Granite outcrops like Elephant Rock rise above the plains, and the park runs right down to wild, empty beaches on the Indian Ocean. Nearby Udawalawe is one of the best places in Asia to see wild elephants, while Bundala’s wetlands are a haven for migratory birds.

Nights are spent in a safari camp or lodge on the park’s edge, where dinner is served under the stars and the sounds of the jungle carry you to sleep. Main areas of the park usually close for part of September and October, and we plan your dates around it.