Sri Lanka wildlife safaris and vacation tours … a fabulous travel location that we will focus in this article. Wilpattu, Sri Lanka’s largest park, is situated in the dry lowlands of the island’s north-west and comprises a series of lakes – or villus – with varying degrees of freshness and salinity. The park reopened in 2003 after nearly 15 years of closure. Over time, the wildlife should recover to its former abundance and become more habituated to vehicles – at the moment the animals are wary of any human presence. Wilpattu was famous for its leopards, and big-cat enthusiasts are hoping this reputation will return. The park’s fauna is similar to Yala, but visitors also have a chance of seeing barking deer.

Which has the most leopards? Yala National Park: has a higher density of Leopards compared to Udawalawe and is well known for being one of the best places in the world to spot leopards in the wild. The most popular area at Yala open to tourists is block 1, which has an estimated 25-30 leopards. However, leopard-spotting cannot be guaranteed at Yala and you should only go with the mindset that among all the amazing wildlife you will see, spotting the leopards is more like the icing on the cake. Alas, even if you see them, you will quickly be put off by the sheer number of jeeps queueing (almost climbing on top of each other) to get a good look at these elusive animals. Continue reading below about the crowds at Yala for more insight.

The Temple of the Tooth is a highly sacred place. The temple contains one of Buddha’s teeth. Legend has it that the tooth was taken from the Buddha on his deathbed, then smuggled to Sri Lanka from India. It was smuggled in the hair of a princess, after her father’s kingdom had been besieged. It immediately became an object of great importance and has been celebrated and paraded throughout history. However, many attempts have also been made to steal or destroy the tooth. Twice daily, pujas are held to celebrate the relic and offer visitors and devotees the chance to get a glimpse of the tooth within its casing. At the summit of Adam’s Peak is a footprint cast in stone. It has spiritual significance to a number of different religions, however, there is currently a Buddhist monastery at the summit. To the Buddhists, the footprint is that of Buddha’s; to Christians, the footprint is Adam’s; and to Hindus, the footprint is attributed to Shiva. The site is a popular place of pilgrimage, especially on full moon nights. The trek to the top of the mountain to see the footprint is via a steep staircase containing over 5000 steps. The trail is lined with many tea stalls and food shops which act as places of rest. Most people begin their hike at 2:30 am to reach the summit in time for sunrise. Find more details Sri Lanka Tailor Made Holidays.

It is an unmissable experience to go on safari while in Sri Lanka. There are many national parks with great experiences. I ended up choosing Kaudulla National Park and I was amazed at what we saw. Our group got into an open-top jeep and began cruising through the jungle. We spotted an owl and several monkeys before our jeep rolled out into a clearing. Next thing we knew we were heading straight towards a herd of wild elephants. The herd was massive with more than 100 elephants relaxing near the edge of a huge lake. We cruised slowly, letting the elephants go about their business as we watched calves follow their mothers and males fighting.