See elephants and leopards in Yala National Park, plus birdlife in nearby Bundala National Park. A handpicked shortlist of the best wildlife safaris in Yala.

Wildlife Safaris in Yala: Our Top Picks for Leopards & Elephants

Wildlife Safaris in Yala

One of the best places in the world to see leopards in the wild

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Yala National Park

Our handpicked Yala National Park experiences for seeing leopards in the wild — one of the best places in the world for wild leopard sightings.

Yala National Park Experiences: The Best for Seeing Wild Leopards

Yala National Park Experiences

05.45 AM: We’ll enter the park. 
Listen to the nice Bird Songs. 
Drive towards the Leopards area and find leopards. 
Visit the Leopard Rock area to find the Sloth Bears. 
Drive to the Riverside area for Breakfast. 

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This option is a 7hr game drive in Yala National Park with an experienced safari guide and is perfect for those who have arranged their accommodation separately. The morning game drive will take place from 4:30 am to 12:00 pm and you will see a variety of its wild animals, many kinds of birds, snakes.

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Wildlife Safaris

Take a 7-hour Yala safari with an experienced naturalist guide to spot more wildlife. Morning game drive from 4:30am to noon, with birds and reptiles too.

7H Yala Safari with Experienced Naturalist Guide

7H Yala Safari **Experienced Naturalist Guide

Overall good experiece: good communication while booking the tours, experieced guide/driver, saw a lot of animals. And we were pretty demanding participants with one wildlife/ornitology expert in our group. Just be prepared that all safaris to Yala and Bundala are Jeep Safari and no walking. This was a bit tiring for us.

Overall good experiece: good communication while booking the tours, experieced guide/driver, saw a lot of animals. And we were pretty demanding participants with one wildlife/ornitology expert in our group. Just be prepared that all safaris to Yala and Bundala are Jeep Safari and no walking. This was a bit tiring for us.

I decided on Yala Wild Safaris because of the good reviews, and I am super happy with my decision.

I contacted Malith back and forth to arrange the trip, and right from the very beginning I can tell that Yala Wild Safaris offers a very good service. Super fast response.

For the first safari, we did the Yala National Park for one full day. Malith made sure that we left our accommodation at 4:30 am sharp, and he was there even before that (punctuality is a big plus for me). The reason we left so early was so we could reach the ticket booth earlier that everybody else and amongst the first to enter the park too (which we did ).

I think all the safaris operators are familiar with the leopards’ behavior, but what make Malith more special is because he is actually tracking all these leopards. He could tell you which leopard that we are looking at. He has a good eyes too, he could spot the leopard behind the trees and bushes, and I was like “he? what? where?”. He was super patience with me and my brother (thank you Malith).

I think Malith took us everywhere in the park. There’re times when we did not meet anybody else (which is so great). He took us to a great spot for our snack break (I love that spot).

Second day, we visited Udawalawe National Park for half day (for the elephant). Unfortunately, Malith was not our guide, but we had a great time too. The guides were super super patience with me. I was so excited to see the elephants so close, and the guides decided to stay in one spot for a while and let me took 1,000 pics of the elephants. Most of the time, we’re the first to reach one spot and the last to leave.

In summary, Yala Wild Safaris made my first safari an incredible experience for sure. Their service is beyond expectations. I think all people must understand that: in safari there is no guarantee that you will see the wildlife that you wanted to see. It is wildlife after all. But we're lucky enough to see the leopard, elephants, Sri Lanka national bird (junglefowl), green bee-eater, a lot of peacocks, the grey langur, and so so much more.

Btw, Malith will bring his own DSLR camera and he will share his pics of the leopard with you. OK, which other operators will do that for you?

Thank you Malith and team for the incredible experience.

I decided on Yala Wild Safaris because of the good reviews, and I am super happy with my decision.

I contacted Malith back and forth to arrange the trip, and right from the very beginning I can tell that Yala Wild Safaris offers a very good service. Super fast response.

For the first safari, we did the Yala National Park for one full day. Malith made sure that we left our accommodation at 4:30 am sharp, and he was there even before that (punctuality is a big plus for me). The reason we left so early was so we could reach the ticket booth earlier that everybody else and amongst the first to enter the park too (which we did ).

I think all the safaris operators are familiar with the leopards’ behavior, but what make Malith more special is because he is actually tracking all these leopards. He could tell you which leopard that we are looking at. He has a good eyes too, he could spot the leopard behind the trees and bushes, and I was like “he? what? where?”. He was super patience with me and my brother (thank you Malith).

I think Malith took us everywhere in the park. There’re times when we did not meet anybody else (which is so great). He took us to a great spot for our snack break (I love that spot).

Second day, we visited Udawalawe National Park for half day (for the elephant). Unfortunately, Malith was not our guide, but we had a great time too. The guides were super super patience with me. I was so excited to see the elephants so close, and the guides decided to stay in one spot for a while and let me took 1,000 pics of the elephants. Most of the time, we’re the first to reach one spot and the last to leave.

In summary, Yala Wild Safaris made my first safari an incredible experience for sure. Their service is beyond expectations. I think all people must understand that: in safari there is no guarantee that you will see the wildlife that you wanted to see. It is wildlife after all. But we're lucky enough to see the leopard, elephants, Sri Lanka national bird (junglefowl), green bee-eater, a lot of peacocks, the grey langur, and so so much more.

Btw, Malith will bring his own DSLR camera and he will share his pics of the leopard with you. OK, which other operators will do that for you?

Thank you Malith and team for the incredible experience.

We had a brilliant afternoon safari to Bundala National Park with Yala Wild Safaris. Our driver Chula was incredibly knowledgable about all the wildlife and could name every bird species that we saw - and there were many! The scenery was beautiful, the place was heaving with birds and we also saw a wide range of other wildlife including crocodiles, buffalo, tortoises, hates, elephants, sea turtles and monkeys. One of the highlights was seeing a fish eagle catch a fish then fly down onto the track, landing about two metres behind our safari truck!
 It was a very quiet park which was great, we only saw one or two other trucks on our trip.
 An amazing experience.

We had a brilliant afternoon safari to Bundala National Park with Yala Wild Safaris. Our driver Chula was incredibly knowledgable about all the wildlife and could name every bird species that we saw - and there were many! The scenery was beautiful, the place was heaving with birds and we also saw a wide range of other wildlife including crocodiles, buffalo, tortoises, hates, elephants, sea turtles and monkeys. One of the highlights was seeing a fish eagle catch a fish then fly down onto the track, landing about two metres behind our safari truck!
It was a very quiet park which was great, we only saw one or two other trucks on our trip.
An amazing experience.

We had a great day tour organised by Malith and driven by Manju . We had been on a half day tour with Manju the day before to Bundala and it was good to be with the same guide again. Manju was great guide, skilled driver and knowledgable about the wildlife . We were lucky today see 4 leopards. Manju had excellent knowledge of the park and wildlife and I feel due to his expertise and patience we saw so many animals and biirds during the day. He knew the names of all the birds and had a bird guide which was very interesting to read more details about the birds as we spotted them.
 Truly a wonderful experience. Highly recommend Day Safari to Yala and half day safari to Bundala National Park.

We had a great day tour organised by Malith and driven by Manju . We had been on a half day tour with Manju the day before to Bundala and it was good to be with the same guide again. Manju was great guide, skilled driver and knowledgable about the wildlife . We were lucky today see 4 leopards. Manju had excellent knowledge of the park and wildlife and I feel due to his expertise and patience we saw so many animals and biirds during the day. He knew the names of all the birds and had a bird guide which was very interesting to read more details about the birds as we spotted them.
Truly a wonderful experience. Highly recommend Day Safari to Yala and half day safari to Bundala National Park.

I booked a morning half day tour of Yala and afternoon tour of Bundala. I opted for breakfast and lunch to be provided as I assumed that there would be few, if any, food places at either park. I was collected promptly by my driver and taken to Yala. There was a huge queue of jeeps waiting to enter the park, but one inside, they dispersed. I saw loads of animals, but not the elusive leopard, and had my breakfast on the beach. What I didn't realise was that there would be a few hours between the tours, so I was dropped back at my accommodation with lunch, which was home cooked Sri Lankan food and enough for 3 people! This did break up the day somewhat so I wasn't disappointed. I was collected in the afternoon and taken to Bundala. I was lucky to have a park ranger with me, who pointed out loads of birds and animals. The park itself was really interesting with different landscapes and a sand dune which we drove up to find a stunning cove behind. I was dropped back at my accommodation around 13.5 hours after my initial pick up having had a great day. The booking process was easy and all communication with Yala Wild was great.

I booked a morning half day tour of Yala and afternoon tour of Bundala. I opted for breakfast and lunch to be provided as I assumed that there would be few, if any, food places at either park. I was collected promptly by my driver and taken to Yala. There was a huge queue of jeeps waiting to enter the park, but one inside, they dispersed. I saw loads of animals, but not the elusive leopard, and had my breakfast on the beach. What I didn't realise was that there would be a few hours between the tours, so I was dropped back at my accommodation with lunch, which was home cooked Sri Lankan food and enough for 3 people! This did break up the day somewhat so I wasn't disappointed. I was collected in the afternoon and taken to Bundala. I was lucky to have a park ranger with me, who pointed out loads of birds and animals. The park itself was really interesting with different landscapes and a sand dune which we drove up to find a stunning cove behind. I was dropped back at my accommodation around 13.5 hours after my initial pick up having had a great day. The booking process was easy and all communication with Yala Wild was great.

They arranged our pick up from Ella and all the transportation and safaris (Udawalawe, Yala and Bundala) for a fair price. It was our first experience in a safari and we absolutely loved it! Saw plenty of animals except the elusive leopard.

3 safaris in 2 days plus the travel was a bit exhausting, nonetheless we highly recommend Malith and his company for giving us a great experience.

They arranged our pick up from Ella and all the transportation and safaris (Udawalawe, Yala and Bundala) for a fair price. It was our first experience in a safari and we absolutely loved it! Saw plenty of animals except the elusive leopard.

3 safaris in 2 days plus the travel was a bit exhausting, nonetheless we highly recommend Malith and his company for giving us a great experience.

We stayed here in October and I am still telling friends about it! Malith runs the tidy and comfortable hotel and is a charming host with excellent English.

A Scandinavian couple put us on to this and we followed their advice not to go to Yala but to ask for a tour of Bundala instead. We were not at all disappointed! Malith is an excellent guide and knows a tremendous amount about the wildlife and flora in the reserve. Where other wildlife parks are packed with jeeps and drivers vying for spots to see elephants and racing around after leopards at Bundala we were treated to a gorgeous landscape filled with beautiful birdlife, wild elephants undisturbed by hordes of people. There were crocodiles, wild buffalo, monkeys and reptiles. Malith followed his senses and drove us quietly about providing an excellent interpretive tour. He would spot birds and animals hidden in the foliage and gave us good binoculars to view them. Truly a wonderful trip - I recommend it highly and would happily go again with either Malith or his partner. Thank you for an exceptional memory :)

https://www.tripadvisor.co.nz/ShowUserReviews-g1102395-d2148201-r549762185-Hotel_Tissa-Tissamaharama_Southern_Province.html#

We stayed here in October and I am still telling friends about it! Malith runs the tidy and comfortable hotel and is a charming host with excellent English.

A Scandinavian couple put us on to this and we followed their advice not to go to Yala but to ask for a tour of Bundala instead. We were not at all disappointed! Malith is an excellent guide and knows a tremendous amount about the wildlife and flora in the reserve. Where other wildlife parks are packed with jeeps and drivers vying for spots to see elephants and racing around after leopards at Bundala we were treated to a gorgeous landscape filled with beautiful birdlife, wild elephants undisturbed by hordes of people. There were crocodiles, wild buffalo, monkeys and reptiles. Malith followed his senses and drove us quietly about providing an excellent interpretive tour. He would spot birds and animals hidden in the foliage and gave us good binoculars to view them. Truly a wonderful trip - I recommend it highly and would happily go again with either Malith or his partner. Thank you for an exceptional memory :)

https://www.tripadvisor.co.nz/ShowUserReviews-g1102395-d2148201-r549762185-Hotel_Tissa-Tissamaharama_Southern_Province.html#

We loved our half day private tour to Yala National Park with our guide Malith. We were worried that the park would be overly busy (from reading other reviews) and that we wouldn't get the chance to see much more than other jeeps, and sure enough it was very busy in the queue into the park, but with Malith we got to see a very quiet side of Yala as he took us off the busy roads and really took his time to try and find rare birds and other wildlife. We are into birds and Malith took time and care to find species we wanted to see as well as finding ones we had never heard about. He also stayed an extra hour in order for us to get the best chance of seeing a leopard and at the very last minute we did! It was an amazing moment and I feel if our guide had not been so patient we would never have been able to. We also saw elephants, crocodiles, wild boar, deer (2 kinds), jackals and like I said lots of beautiful birds. We also went on a half day tour of Bundala National Park with Yala Wild Safaris and it was amazing - again Malith really knows his stuff so we saw lots of birds as well as a flock of elephants and it's a beautiful park well worth a visit. Couldn't recommend this company enough if you are really into wildlife (and especially for bird lovers!)

We loved our half day private tour to Yala National Park with our guide Malith. We were worried that the park would be overly busy (from reading other reviews) and that we wouldn't get the chance to see much more than other jeeps, and sure enough it was very busy in the queue into the park, but with Malith we got to see a very quiet side of Yala as he took us off the busy roads and really took his time to try and find rare birds and other wildlife. We are into birds and Malith took time and care to find species we wanted to see as well as finding ones we had never heard about. He also stayed an extra hour in order for us to get the best chance of seeing a leopard and at the very last minute we did! It was an amazing moment and I feel if our guide had not been so patient we would never have been able to. We also saw elephants, crocodiles, wild boar, deer (2 kinds), jackals and like I said lots of beautiful birds. We also went on a half day tour of Bundala National Park with Yala Wild Safaris and it was amazing - again Malith really knows his stuff so we saw lots of birds as well as a flock of elephants and it's a beautiful park well worth a visit. Couldn't recommend this company enough if you are really into wildlife (and especially for bird lovers!)

Visiting the nearby national parks is high on the agenda with catching sight of the big four in Yala and seeing herds of elephants in Udawelewe. We did a full day at Yala, which is fully recommended to see everything (and there’s lots), and only an afternoon half day at Udawelewe.

Booking: we visited the store front on Main Street and were met by Malith the boss who helped explain all possibilities without overselling. We asked about water, which is included, cost (9500Rs for yala and 5500Rs for Uda), binoculars are in each Jeep, and start times: 4am pick up for full day til 6:30 for full yala, and 1:15 for Uda.

Yala’s organisation was fantastic. We were driven by Prasanna who definitely knew knowledge of the animals just required questions of interest. 1L of water was given each for morning and afternoon per person. Lunch involves a packed buffet of rice, dahl, potatoes, green beans and chicken. Watermelon and pineapple were also provided. This was during our mandatory 2hr break during the day at the beach (cannot swim or wander), a good time for a nap. Bring snacks for the long day! Lots of animals were seen, especially in the morning. Or perhaps we just managed to spot them. The day was definitely worthwhile! It wasn’t packed with Jeep’s. Our driver found us wonderful places with no one else in sight. We felt really special and attended to to see a range of animals. His skill for spotting was amazing.
 Only negatives/suggestions: some seats were broken and the Jeep could use some oil (squeaky). The binoculars promised were actually broken.

Udawelewe was a little less organised in that we did not get a confirmation text of our drivers name (can use WhatsApp). Our driver, Susa, didn’t speak much English, couldn’t confirm the company name. Luckily I also asked whether he had water, he misunderstood and took us to a supermarket to buy. After a phone call he bought each person 1L as initially expected. The park is 1hr’s drive from town which you drive to via your Jeep. Our driver once asked for directions which made us doubt his experience. Once in the park we basically followed lots of other Jeeps. We were easily lucky to see the elephants congregate around the large lake. Lots of Jeep traffic though. If felt like our driver kept following other Jeeps and never having initiative to go off and find animals. Thankfully what we saw (a large herd with 3 babies) made everything all the better but we still felt that we were given the most basic of services/safari’s. Also to note the driver had no binoculars either. Seats and comfortability was reasonable.

Pick up from and to our hostel for each safari was excellently prompt. Our experience with the company overall was definitely positive and we achieved seeing all animals considering the time of year. The company is recommended but make sure you ask questions, both at booking and on safari. Enjoy!

Visiting the nearby national parks is high on the agenda with catching sight of the big four in Yala and seeing herds of elephants in Udawelewe. We did a full day at Yala, which is fully recommended to see everything (and there’s lots), and only an afternoon half day at Udawelewe.

Booking: we visited the store front on Main Street and were met by Malith the boss who helped explain all possibilities without overselling. We asked about water, which is included, cost (9500Rs for yala and 5500Rs for Uda), binoculars are in each Jeep, and start times: 4am pick up for full day til 6:30 for full yala, and 1:15 for Uda.

Yala’s organisation was fantastic. We were driven by Prasanna who definitely knew knowledge of the animals just required questions of interest. 1L of water was given each for morning and afternoon per person. Lunch involves a packed buffet of rice, dahl, potatoes, green beans and chicken. Watermelon and pineapple were also provided. This was during our mandatory 2hr break during the day at the beach (cannot swim or wander), a good time for a nap. Bring snacks for the long day! Lots of animals were seen, especially in the morning. Or perhaps we just managed to spot them. The day was definitely worthwhile! It wasn’t packed with Jeep’s. Our driver found us wonderful places with no one else in sight. We felt really special and attended to to see a range of animals. His skill for spotting was amazing.
Only negatives/suggestions: some seats were broken and the Jeep could use some oil (squeaky). The binoculars promised were actually broken.

Udawelewe was a little less organised in that we did not get a confirmation text of our drivers name (can use WhatsApp). Our driver, Susa, didn’t speak much English, couldn’t confirm the company name. Luckily I also asked whether he had water, he misunderstood and took us to a supermarket to buy. After a phone call he bought each person 1L as initially expected. The park is 1hr’s drive from town which you drive to via your Jeep. Our driver once asked for directions which made us doubt his experience. Once in the park we basically followed lots of other Jeeps. We were easily lucky to see the elephants congregate around the large lake. Lots of Jeep traffic though. If felt like our driver kept following other Jeeps and never having initiative to go off and find animals. Thankfully what we saw (a large herd with 3 babies) made everything all the better but we still felt that we were given the most basic of services/safari’s. Also to note the driver had no binoculars either. Seats and comfortability was reasonable.

Pick up from and to our hostel for each safari was excellently prompt. Our experience with the company overall was definitely positive and we achieved seeing all animals considering the time of year. The company is recommended but make sure you ask questions, both at booking and on safari. Enjoy!

Both trips were of really good value and cheap for wat we got.
 In Yala, we have seen the most important species that you can find there,
 unfortunely it started to rain at 10.30 so we missed our breakfast on the beach. The Bundala trip was our favoured: a very attentive driver who took care of our wishes and was very familiar whith the park, so we saw marvelous birds all over the place. Jan and Mieke, Belgium.

Both trips were of really good value and cheap for wat we got.
In Yala, we have seen the most important species that you can find there,
unfortunely it started to rain at 10.30 so we missed our breakfast on the beach. The Bundala trip was our favoured: a very attentive driver who took care of our wishes and was very familiar whith the park, so we saw marvelous birds all over the place. Jan and Mieke, Belgium.

Yala Wild Safaris based out of the Hotel Tissa provided a perfectly acceptable half day tour of Bundala. Jeep was in good condition, competent safe driver and a guide who knew just enough - that is slightly more than us, but only in terms of knowing the names of birds. He delivered us successfully to the lagoons where the birds spoke for themselves! We had our own binoculars and if you don't, then you'll not see much unless you find a tour operator that will provide some. I would say Bundala is a paradise for birdwatchers, and we had a fabulous morning there. But if you aren't into birds you will likely wonder why you bothered.

Yala Wild Safaris based out of the Hotel Tissa provided a perfectly acceptable half day tour of Bundala. Jeep was in good condition, competent safe driver and a guide who knew just enough - that is slightly more than us, but only in terms of knowing the names of birds. He delivered us successfully to the lagoons where the birds spoke for themselves! We had our own binoculars and if you don't, then you'll not see much unless you find a tour operator that will provide some. I would say Bundala is a paradise for birdwatchers, and we had a fabulous morning there. But if you aren't into birds you will likely wonder why you bothered.

Yala Wild Safaris is a team of four enthusiastic and responsible naturalists who know the national parks of Yala, Bundala, Udawalawe &amp; Lunugamwehera very well. The team's main goal is to give their customers a truly immersive experience of being in the wild, therefore they prefer to drive roads which are less frequented by others and take their customers off the beaten path.

Yala Wild Safaris

Yala Wild Safaris is a team of four enthusiastic and responsible naturalists who know the national parks of Yala, Bundala, Udawalawe &amp; Lunugamwehera very well. The team's main goal is to give their customers a truly immersive experience of being in the wild, therefore they prefer to drive roads which are less frequented by others and take their customers off the beaten path. 


7H Yala Safari **Experienced Naturalist Guide

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