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After the train ride between Ella to Kandy, probably the biggest tourist draw to Sri Lanka is the possibility of seeing leopards. Sri Lanka supposedly has the highest concentration of leopards outside of Africa. Yala National Park boasts the most dense population of leopards in Sri Lanka. A Yala National Park Sri Lanka safari is a must do for all visitors interested in seeing these beautiful creatures. Two years prior, I was fortunate enough to see several leopards in Kruger National Park in South Africa, but I wanted more, so I came to Sri Lanka.

A leopard in a tree in Kruger National Park in South Africa

Wilpattu National Park

My first stop in Sri Lanka after touching down in Colombo was Wilpattu National Park. Wilpattu is located about three hours north of Colombo. I spent two days on safari in Wilpattu and saw at least three leopards. I was not completely sure because some of the sightings could have been the same leopard, so that was why I am not sure of the total count. One of the leopards was even chomping on a dead spotted deer.

Leopard licking his chops after dining on a delicious spotted deer

The only down side of the leopard experience in Wilpattu is that I did not get that defining picture of a leopard out in the open. All the leopards I saw in Wilpattu were either partially or completely obscured by the brush. I almost got a money shot of one stepping into a clearing, but I missed it by one second. Therefore, I decided I wanted another chance at getting a better picture, so I put Yala National Park on my list. I love animals, animal photography, and national parks, so I most likely would have come to Yala. The fact that I did not get a great shot in Wilpattu sealed the deal.

Just missed this leopard’s head as he cleared an opening to head deeper in the jungle in Wilpattu National Park

Yala National Park Sri Lanka off to a terrible start

I loved just about every minute of my time in Sri Lanka; however, I did have one terrible experience. When I got off the bus at Tissamaharama, I was approached by a scam artist who suckered me into a fake tour. The link for this post is below this paragraph if you want to read about that story. After that disappointing misadventure, I booked a tour with Get Your Guide that included a personal driver drop off to Galle, which was my next destination. The package also included a pick up from Ella. Since I did not require this, they only charged me half of the entrance fee, which was not included in the fee.

Related: Yala National Park tour scam

If you book a tour with this dude, you are in trouble – cancel ASAP

Yala National Park Sri Lanka safari pick up

Since I was leaving for Galle after the tour was over, I packed up my bags and left them with the front desk, and walked out front to get picked up at 5:00 a.m. I met Kevin from Germany and we eventually picked up Anna and Megan from the UK. This was our group along with our driver Ishan, who also was the tour guide. In fifteen minutes we were at the front gate. It was so great to see the front gate as the scam I was suckered into the day before turned left just before the front gate and the clown above drove us around the outskirts of the park where we did not see any leopards.

In the entrance queue for Yala National Park

Yala compared to Wilpattu

If you research whether it is better to go to Yala or Wilpattu, the conclusion seems to be that you have a better chance to see leopards at Yala; however, it is much more crowded in Yala. I felt they were equally crowded although I think Wilpattu is bigger so safari trucks are more spread out. Whether it is crowded or not, all the vehicles descend upon leopards once they are spotted (pun intended). The leopard jams were a little intense in both parks and required some skillful driving to situate us in the perfect spot for a photograph. My safaris were during the low season, so I think the intensity of travelers to Yala is much worse during the tourist season between December and April.

View from the safari truck in Yala National Park

The guides alert each other about the animals, so you rarely have a leopard to yourself unless your truck is the first to see them. This is a good and a bad thing because you have more eyes working for you to see a leopard, so your chances of seeing them are exponentially better; but on the other hand, you rarely are alone with a leopard. Being used to the awful Chicago traffic, it just takes a little patience when in a cluster of cars trying to get their clients the perfect view.

The best shot from leopard number 1

First leopard spotted on a Yala National Park Sri Lanka safari

It did not take long to get behind a gaggle of safari trucks hovering like vultures to get a good view of a leopard. We sat for 15 minutes behind a line of cars not even knowing what we were waiting for. We figured it was a leopard, but it could have been a sloth bear or something else. Usually though, you know it is a leopard when the jam is intense. People do not wait in line or stay long for a mongoose.

Related: All Out Africa safari to Kruger National Park

The first leopard was right where two tree limbs meet. It was pretty far away and a lot of foliage was obstructing the view.

Sure enough, we finally got a glimpse of a leopard in a tree about 500 meters away. It was tucked away in between two limbs. It was sitting when we first saw it, but it eventually moved to a more prone position. There were many tree limbs in the way, so it was difficult to get a good angle. At one point, I gave my camera to the guide because he was in the only position to see it. Being in the cab and a little lower than us, he had a great angle. Unfortunately, I forgot to tell him how to focus. All the pictures came out blurry. We came back for a second turn going the other direction. I took about 30 pictures, but only one really came out good.

The best shot that our guide got. It was a good vantage point, but there was brush in the way and the camera will focus on the what is in front first, so you have to manipulate the focus.

More than just leopards in Yala National Park

Leopards are the main attraction as far as fauna is concerned in Sri Lanka. Being an island, they don’t have the number of species one finds in Africa or India, but they do have elephants and sloth bears as well. Africa has the big five, but Sri Lanka has the big three (leopards, sloth bear, and elephants). We did not see any bears, but we did see a few elephants including one that took a mud bath right in front of us and turned and started walking in our direction giving us a great look.

Elephant wading in a wetland

Yala National Park elephant

Yala National Park spotted deer

We also had a great look at four golden jackals running across the savanna right out in the open. It seems they are also called Sri Lankan jackals or southern Indian jackals. The other stand out mammal we saw was a ruddy mongoose. This was one species I actually saw on the bogus tour the day before. Other mammals included wild pigs, water buffalo, and spotted deer.

Two golden jackals running together

A lone golden jackal out in front of the others passes in front of two bathing water buffalos

Frogs enjoying a strange shaped lily pad

Ruddy mongoose

Ruddy mongoose

Leopard sighting number two

Later in the morning, we came around the bend to find many bunched up safari trucks. We knew what this meant. Sure enough, a sleepy leopard was dozing on a rock about the same distance away. Again, we did two passes, so we got angles from both sides of the safari vehicle. The leopard was mostly sleeping, but it would rouse every couple of minutes, which would lead to a volley of more photographs and jockeying of the safari trucks to get a more interesting shot than a sleeping leopard. We did get some good shots, and we extracted ourselves from the jam and continued the tour.

Sleepy leopard on a rock

Yala National Park Sri Lanka bird life

Just like everywhere in Sri Lanka, the bird life was next level off the charts. As soon as we got near to Yala, we started seeing beautiful bee eaters and Indian peafowl (AKA peacocks). There were wetlands and waterholes in the park and they were inhabited by storks, egrets, and herons. Notable sightings included a Painted stork, Asian open-billed stork, black-necked stork, great egret, and the Eurasian spoonbill. I was happy to see the spoonbill because that is one species I had not seen so far on this trip.

Eurasian spoonbills – My only sighting of this trip

Painted stork

Great egret

One highlight from the bird kingdom was seeing a hoopoe. This was my first sighting of one, but unfortunately, I did not get a picture. It came out of the forest and landed on the road. Our truck scared it into the trees adjacent to us. I yelled at Ishan to stop the truck. The hoopoe flew away into the forest before I could get a bead on him. There is always one that gets away. Soon after we saw what I believe was a changeable hawk-eagle on the ground, and I got a cool picture of it flying away.

Not sure, but I think this is a changeable hawk-eagle

Half day tour of Yala National Park Sri Lanka

We concluded the trip with one more run past the sleeping leopard, and then we exited the park. Ishan proceeded to drop us off at our hotels. My driver arrived to take me to Galle soon after, and it was off to the next destination. I still did not get the out in the open great picture of a leopard I was looking for, but I did get one awesome pic of the leopard in the tree with its beautiful eyes. It is now the screen saver on my phone.

Best to leave sleeping leopards lie

How to get to Yala National Park Sri Lanka

I could write a whole post on this as there are multiple ways of arriving to Yala. The town of Tissamaharama is the closest town to Yala National Park and the gateway. There is a direct bus from Ella. In Ella, I was told that  I had to transfer at Katagarama, but the Katagarama bus goes through Tissamaharama, so there is no need to transfer. You can always book through a tour company like Viator or Get Your Guide and do day trips even from Colombo or a transfer like I did. There is no train to Tissamaharama, but there are trains to Ella and Galle from Colombo and buses or personal drivers can be arranged from there depending on budget.

Black-necked stork in front of a black ibis

Green bee eaters were frequently seen

Yala National Park Sri Lanka

Place to stay near Yala National Park

I stayed at Chaarya Resort in Tissa and it was a wonderful hotel. It was around $50.00 in the offseason and had a beautiful swimming pool. The night buffet was one of the most incredible arrangements of food I have ever come across. Everything was delicious and there were so many choices. The buffet was only $12.50 USD.

For more information on Yala, check out the national park visitors guide.

Adventure on!