Udawalawe Safari Guide (Seeing Wild Elephants On Your Sri Lanka Safari)

Last Updated: June 29 2021

As soon as we arrived in Sri Lanka we knew we wanted to go on a jeep safari. The question was where to go? There are over 20 national parks in Sri Lanka so trying to find the perfect one for us was a task. We came across Udawalawe National Park and saw that it was one of the best spots to see wild elephants in Sri Lanka. After that, our minds were made up and we started to plan our Udawalawe safari!

At first, we had originally wanted to go to Yala National Park but had heard that it can get really busy. We also heard that the jeeps often overcrowd the elephants. However, we have heard that people have had great experiences at Yala, so I suppose it all depends on the company you choose. If you are looking for the ultimate Sri Lanka safari, then we definitely recommend Udawalawe.

In this blog post, we will go through all the information you will need for your Udawalawe National Park safari including which company to choose, and the price you can expect to pay.

Here is all the information you need for the perfect Udawalawe safari!

Udawalawe National park is the perfect place to go on safari in Sri Lanka, and to see wild elephants of course!

Udawalawe National Park is found about 180km from the capital city of Colombo, and around 100km away from Yala National Park. The closest town is Udawalawa which is a 15-minute drive from the main entrance of the park. This is where most guesthouses and hotels are located for people who want to stay in the area.

How to get to Udawalawe National Park

The first point of call when wanting to reach Udawalawe National park is to travel to Udawala. Udawala can be reached by public bus, tuk-tuk or taxi depending on your budget. Tuk-tuks and taxis can take you straight to the entrance of the park, or you can organise to meet your safari driver somewhere in Udawala.

We used the taxi service of our safari company to pick us up from Tangalle at 5 am in the morning so we could do a morning safari. If you are travelling to or from Tangalle, and want to save some money then you can get the public bus. There are two options for this journey, and here they are:

1. Tangalle – Embilipitiya – Udawala

2. Tangalle – Matara – Udawala

If you are travelling from Mirissa to Udawalawe, the journey is supposedly very similar. We found that if you give your final destination, the bus drivers will always help you on your way and give you the route you need.

The price of a Udawalawe safari  

The price of a safari will differ depending on which company you decide to go with, and how many people will be in your jeep. Prices will vary so it is best to shop around and see which company suits you best.

Most companies will offer a package which includes the rental of a jeep, a driver and your entrance tickets. We paid 14,500 LKR (about £60) and we had a jeep to ourselves which was pretty cool! The jeeps hold up to 6 passengers, so if you do it in a larger group it will work out a lot cheaper per person. Generally, the tours are from around 12,000 – 20,000 LKR as the price is by jeep, not per person.

We picked Udawalawe Safari Fun for our jeep safari and we couldn’t recommend them enough! They took us off the beaten path, had bird books in their jeep so they could show us the different bird species and they didn’t bother the animals at all which we were super happy about!

Which wildlife species could you see?

Udawalawe National Park is known as one of the best places to see wild elephants in the world! We spoke to people who had gone to other national parks and had seen far fewer elephants than we had; some only seeing one or two elephants.

However, it isn’t just elephants that can be found here. You also have the chance to see sambar deer, wild boar, water buffalo, jackals and crocodiles. So if you are looking to see plenty of wildlife in Sri Lanka, then a safari in Udawalawe National Park is a must!

Our experience at Udawalawe National Park

Our day started with a 5 am pick up from our taxi driver, to take us to Udawalawe National Park. We reached the drop-off point at about 6:30 am, where our jeep picked us up and we headed to the entrance. Our entrance tickets were included in the price so there was no need for us to do anything.

Within 5 minutes of arriving in Udawalawe National Park, we had already seen our first elephant. He was just minding his own business, munching away and came and stood right by our jeep. Definitely a bucket list moment for the both of us! We then drove around the park encountering more elephants, crocodiles, lots of beautiful birds and even a jackal at the end.

Our drivers also tried to go off the beaten track away from all the other jeeps, meaning we saw lots of elephants and had them all to ourselves. They had books about the native birds, which meant they could show us each one we saw.

One thing to know is that the dirt roads are so bumpy, so make sure you hang on. We had sore bums at the end of the day haha! After around 4 hours in Udawalawe National Park, we left for the entrance and were blessed with one more elephant sighting to end the day on. They dropped us off at the bus stop, which we had requested and then we paid the agreed price.

We had the most incredible time, and still to this day we are dumbfounded that we got to see wild elephants! If you are coming to Sri Lanka for the wildlife, then this is definitely your place! We left Udawalawe so grateful that we got the experience to do this, and we know we will never forget this day.

Where to stay?

If you want to visit Udawalawe National Park, there are plenty of options for you. You can stay in numerous towns around the coast of Sri Lanka, with most safari companies offering a taxi service for an extra fee.

However, if you want to stay close to the park, the best option is Udawalawa. Most guesthouses here will help you organise a jeep safari, and they usually include free pick up and drop off in the Udawalawa area.

Where to stay in Udawalawa? 

Budget – Canal Side Safari Resort

Mid Budget – La Pentera

Luxury/High Budget – Udawalawe Safari Camp ground 

To look at more places to stay in Udawalawa click here.

If like us you want to fit your safari in with staying at the beach, this is totally doable. We stayed in Tangalle and arranged a taxi pick up with our safari company. As we mentioned previously, you can even get a public bus from Tangelle and Mirissa if you are planning to do an afternoon safari.

Tour companies in other towns such as Hikkaduwa and Ella also offer safari’s, but we aren’t sure what the prices of transport are and which national parks they go to. Tour companies in nearly every town we stayed at offered safari’s, it just depends on which national park you want to visit and how long you want the trip to take.

The other big safari players in Sri Lanka

Although this post is a guide to Udawalawe National Park, there are other national parks in Sri Lanka that you may want to visit. Obviously, we are not going to make a huge list here, but the other popular safari destinations include:

Yala National Park – Yala National Park is known for its elephant and leopard sightings, with it probably being the most popular safari in Sri Lanka. We heard bad and good reviews about going on a Yala safari, so it may be a good idea to do some research first.

Minneriya National Park – Minneriya National Park is known for being the largest meeting place of Asian elephants in the world. The best time to see this incredible gathering is between the months of May and October. However, generally, you can see elephants here all year round.

Kaudulla National park – Kaudulla is also another popular national park. If you want to see endangered animals in Sri Lanka then Kadulla is another great option as it has both elephants and leopards and is much quieter than Yala and Udawalawe.

These National Parks are just some of the other options if you want to do another safari in Sri Lanka. We definitely would have if we had the money!

Thank you for reading this post. We really hope you have enjoyed this post and that it helps you plan the perfect Udawalawe National Park Safari!

If anybody has visited Udawalawe or any other national park in Sri Lanka we would love to hear about it. Drop your stories in the comments below so we can have a read of your experiences! Definitely one for the bucket list!

If you are backpacking in Sri Lanka, then going on a safari here is just something you have to do.

P.S If you want to follow our journey, why not follow our Instagram.

Thanks,

Jack & Abbie.

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