Mating Elephants Get Busy On Safari

We recommend about 4-6 hours to fully enjoy Lion Country Safari. Allow one and a half hours or longer on busy days to drive through the four-mile preserve and at least three and a half hours in the walk-through. You are welcome to drive through the safari more than once on the day of your visit.

Otherwise the bush is really getting dry at the moment, and will get even worse in the next 2 months. Waterholes are always busy, and have been giving us some awesome elephant action shots as they enjoy themselves in the mud. The mud also helps them to cool down, helps as a sunscreen and also irritates the parasites on their skin, so it is kind of like a day spa for elephants.

Udawalawe is in our opinion the best safari in Sri Lanka because it provides a truly gratifying experience. You can get very close to animals, particularly the elephants, and you're never bothered by other jeeps and tourists. Whilst your chances of spotting leopards at Udawalawe are less than at Yala, there is nonetheless a healthy leopard population in Udawalawe that sightings do happen, for example when we saw the two cubs playing. You're also almost guaranteed to spot Sri Lankan elephants as well as red-spotted deers, wild water buffalo, sloth bears, crocodiles, monkeys and many different species of birds.

If you have children, Udawalawe is a more child-friendly safari because they get to see the animals close up, especially the elephants. When your only goal is to spot leopards, you will have to wait and be patient, which can get tedious and boring for children. And even if you do manage to spot leopards, they might be quite far away, so binoculars are a necessity. 2b1af7f3a8