Best Safari In Sri Lanka: Yala Or Udawalawe? 

Planning your trip to Sri Lanka? If you’re planning on doing a safari while in Sri Lanka, this post is for you. During my trip to Sri Lanka, I visited Yala National Park and Udawalawe National Park. If you have to pick between the two, here is a comparison between both safaris so you can make a decision.

Kindly note that the biggest national park in Sri Lanka is actually Wilpattu National Park. This park is located in the northwest of Sri Lanka. Since we visited Sri Lanka in December-January, we avoided the rainy season in the north and we headed South instead.

Before we start with both parks, I’ll share my experience with you guys. Feel free to skip to the comparison using the table of content if you’d rather have a fast answer. That said, make sure to check out our Sri Lanka itinerary for 10 days.

My Experience Visiting Yala and Udawalawe National Parks

Since Sri Lanka was my dream, my partner let me organize the whole trip. When researching the best safaris in Sri Lanka, I was hesitant about the national parks – which one was better? Would I have the chance to spot a leopard?

I had a few criteria:

• I’m not a big fan of crowds, so I wanted to try and avoid big crowds and I had heard that Yala National Park can be super crowded.
• I wanted to maximize my chances to spot a leopard.
• I wanted to see the elephants.
• I wanted to do camping.

When researching the options for safari, I wanted to have a great experience, but more importantly, I wanted to relax for my holidays. That said, I wanted to use a luxury camping operator that organize safaris instead of having to book accommodation and safaris separately.

My research led me to a few companies. I emailed a few companies and I decided to book with Master Campers.

Why?

• It was the only operator I found that was providing safaris in both Yala and Udawalawe. Most operators only go to one park and most of them only do Yala National Park. Since I’m not a big fan of crowds, I didn’t want to do two safaris in Yala.
• It was the cheapest option amongst the luxury camps (about USD 550 per person for two nights including two days of safaris, meals and drinks).
• It was highly recommended by other travel bloggers I know.

Overall, we had an amazing experience in both parks and with Master Campers. Although, the camping wasn’t luxurious camping. Our tent was filled with mosquitoes and it looked much better on photos. I don’t know if we got the oldest tent since some tents seemed to be in better condition, but it wasn’t as nice as I thought it would be.

Although, the meals were excellent with a romantic touch. The staff was lovely, helpful and super kind. The safari experiences were also amazing because we had great drivers but also animal spotters in the jeep with us. So, I’d say this part mattered the most to us and it erased the “not-so-luxurious-camping”.

Would I do it again? YES! You could pay $100 or $200 more to get the proper luxury camping experience, but you won’t be able to visit both parks. So, overall, it doesn’t really matter – the safari experience is more important than the tent.

If I had to pick between Yala and Udawalawe, I’d say I preferred Udawalawe National Park. Although, I did manage to spot two leopards in Yala National Park and this is quite unique! I’ll give you more information in the following section where I’ll be comparing both safaris, so keep reading to learn more.

Udawalawe or Yala?

Let’s compare both national parks. At the end of this section, you should be able to make a decision. You may want to visit both parks too. If so, I recommend booking with Master Campers. If your budget is limited, you can also book safaris separately.

Udawalawe National Park

Udawalawe National Park is known for its elephants. It’s one of the best safaris in Sri Lanka especially if you want to admire wild Asian elephants. Udawalawa is home to about 500 elephants. It’s common to see big herds of elephants across the park. 

Best time to visit: Anytime! You can see elephants at any time in the park since there is no seasonal variation. The best hours to visit are early morning and late afternoon to maximize your chances to spot elephants.

Animals: You can expect to see elephants, crocodiles, peacocks, eagles, colorful birds, water buffalos and mongooses. Note that there’s a tiny number of leopards in the park, but they are hard to spot in Udawalawe. So, it’s not likely to happen.

Landscape: The landscape is pretty flat. Depending on the season, you may see water holes, green forests and grass patches.

Crowd: Udawalawe Park was pretty crowded especially in the morning. All the jeeps are waiting in a queue for the opening. Then, when the gate is open, all the jeep drivers are running to get tickets. So our first few stops in the park were also quite crowded. Later on, we had spots for ourselves. Since we had an animal spotter in the jeep with us, he knew where to go for tranquility. Although, most jeep driver without animal spotters call each other so great spots can get crowded quickly.

General opinion: Overall, the safari in Udawalawe National Park was excellent. It was crowded if I compare to Yala (block 5), but we saw many elephants including babies. We had an amazing time. I highly recommend this park.

Yala National Park

Yala National Park is the second-largest national park in Sri Lanka. Located in the southeast of the country, it’s known for its leopards. Yala is divided into different blocks. The block 1 is the most popular one and can get super crowded. Yala was flooded a couple of weeks before our visit to Sri Lanka. That said, Master Campers recommended another block for our visit (block 5). This block has a higher concentration of leopards, and we got lucky – we spotted two leopards during our safari in Yala.

Best time to visit: The best time to visit Yala is during the dry season (February to June). We visited in January and some of the roads were too muddy, wet since it rained the day before. Although, we were there during the best time to see the leopards. The best hours to see the leopards are early morning and late afternoons since the day time can get quite hot.

Animals: You can expect to see elephants (in block 1), leopards, crocodiles, peacocks, eagles, monkeys, colorful birds, deers, water buffalos and mongooses. We didn’t see any elephants in block 5, but we have three on the road on our way out of the park. So, we got lucky again!

Landscape: The landscape was more diverse in Yala. We saw water holes, reservoirs, forests, hills, etc. The landscape is prettier in Yala than in Udawalawe.

Crowds: Block 1 is known to be super crowded, but since we went to block 5, we were sharing the whole block with a total of 6 or 7 jeeps. That said, it wasn’t crowded at all! It was amazing. 

General opinion: Our safari at Yala National Park was also great, but there was a lot of waiting. You got to be patient if you want to spot leopard. That said, you may be waiting in one spot for long periods of time. We were lucky enough to spot two leopards and it was a unique experience.

Final Thoughts – Yala or Udawalawe?

Overall, my partner and I preferred our safaris in Udawalawe National Parks. Although, we had a unique opportunity to see leopards in Yala National Park (block 5). We are glad we got to experience both parks.

Keep reading if you want some packing tips for your safari in Sri Lanka as well as tips for choosing your tours and/or accommodation.

What to Pack for Your Sri Lanka Safari

Here’s what we had in our day backpack during our safaris. Although, feel free to add snacks and waters if it’s not already included with your tour. You can get a full packing list here.

• Binoculars – We had to share one pair of binoculars during our safari. Sometimes, there was only us and our animal spotter, but having your own binoculars will make your experience more fun.
• Jacket – It can get cold in the morning and in the evening.
• Mosquito repellent
• Sunscreen
• Camera

Alternatives for Accommodation

Here are some options for accommodation close to Udawalawe National Park for any budget.

Budget: Chill House Safari Resort / Canal Side Safari Resort / Leopard Safari Resort

Mid-range: Jungle Paradise / Royal Tusker Hotel / The Leaf Udawalawe

Luxury: Centauria Wild Resort / La Pentera / Hotel Le Green Udawalawe

Here are some options for accommodation close to Yala National Park for any budget.

Budget: La Safari Inn / Tissa Resort / Yala Wild Safaris

Mid-range: Go Yala Farm Villa / Ariya Tissa / Nil Sisila Beach Resort Yala

Luxury: Jetwing Yala / Flameback Eco Lodge / Cinnamon Wild Yala