Protected areas

Lahugala Kitulana National Park is a hidden gem. It is one of the country’s smallest national parks, but despite its size, it is one of the richest in terms of wildlife. The park is known for its large number of Sri Lankan elephants and is a great place to visit if you want a more authentic

Lunugamvehera National Park protects the immediate catchment area of the Lunugamvehera reservoir, serving as a link between the Yala Protected Area Complex to its east and Udawalawe National Park to its west, facilitating the ranging of Asian elephants to and from areas such as Haldummula and

Located in south-west Sri Lanka, Sinharaja is the country's last viable area of primary tropical rainforest. More than 60% of the trees are endemic and many of them are considered rare. There is much endemic wildlife, especially birds, but the reserve is also home to over 50% of Sri Lanka's endemic

The park was originally designated a game sanctuary in 1907 and then upgraded to a Strict Nature Reserve in 1938. After a period of accelerated clearing from the Mahaweli Development Project, which deprived the wildlife of its habitat, the Wasgamuwa National Park Strict Nature Reserve and a

Located between Habarana and Polonnaruwa, the 8,890 hectares of Minneriya National Park features the ancient Minneriya Tank. Constructed in an evergreen forest where sambar deer, leopards, and elephants roam, this tank was built in 3rd century AD by King Mahasena. During the dry season (June to

As the first wetland to be declared a Ramsar site located along the southern coastline of Sri Lanka, this biologically rich national park is famous for its exotic migratory bird species. It consists of marshes, lagoons & sand dunes and invites thousands of migratory birds worldwide, to escape the

The park was established in 1954 to protect the catchment area of the great Senanayake Samudra reservoir constructed by damming Gal Oya river and two other streams in 1948 in an irrigation project to open up some 162,000 hectares of forest for agriculture. Lying in the south east of Sri Lanka just

Udawalawe is undoubtedly the best place in Sri Lanka to see wild Asian Elephants throughout the year: there are about 500 elephants in the park and they often roam in herds of up to 100. Udawalawe National Park is unique in terms of consistency in numbers of elephants roaming the park: it has no a

Yala combines a strict nature reserve with a national park. Divided into 5 blocks, the park has a protected area of nearly 130,000 hectares of land consisting of light forests, scrubs, grasslands, tanks and lagoons. Two blocks are currently opened to the public.

Situated in Sri Lanka’s south-east

The Maduru Oya National Park that spans across the border between the Eastern and Uva provinces protects the immediate catchments of five major reservoirs developed under the Mahaweli Development program. A range of Rocky Mountains can be seen in the south west area of the park.  The park has been