Sri Lanka Wildlife 2015 Trip Report / Blog
Leopard - Yala National Park
Sri Lanka Trip Report written by Liz
A while ago I read an article about Sri Lanka and its leopards, it said Yala National Park’s block 1 (also known as Ruhuna National Park) is one of the best places in the world to see wild leopards. We had visited Sri Lanka back in 1999 and had seen first-hand how rich with wildlife the country was and that trip wasn’t even focused on wildlife watching. We needed to go back for a wildlife adventure to see for ourselves if leopards were easier to spot here than Africa and India.
I am a subscriber and avid reader of the BBC’s Wildlife Magazine, I had seen adverts for the company Jetwing Eco Holidays in the magazine and when a couple we met in Kenya told us about the wonderful trip they had with them, our minds were made up.
Jetwing Eco Holidays are a Sri Lanka based tour operator. We used their Big 5 Tour itinerary as a starting point, but tailored it to meet our requirements (extra nights in Wilpattu & Yala to maximise our wildlife spotting chances). Throughout the booking process the Jetwing staff were friendly, helpful and answered our queries promptly.
We booked our own flights with Emirates, flying via Dubai with Jetwing starting their services from Sri Lanka’s Bandaranayake International Airport, transferring us to Kalpitiya where we stayed for two nights. We had planned to go out to view marine animals on a boat trip from Kalpitiya, it is supposed to be a good place for a chance of seeing sperm whales, but our plans changed and we had a relaxing day on land spotting the local wildlife instead.
Sloth Bear - Wilpattu National Park
We moved on to Wilpattu National Park, where we spent the next four nights/three days viewing birds, insects, reptiles and mammals, highlights included seeing sloth bear, leopard, elephants, giant squirrels, mongoose, buffalo and wild boar.
Then we were driven down to Yala National Park with a night in Ratnapura to break up the journey. We spent five nights/four days in Yala National Park, looking for leopard, sloth bear and more birds! Yala did live up to its reputation with the leopard sightings being some of the best we have ever experienced.
Finally we moved on to Galle for three nights for a marine tour to see blue whales and dolphins from Mirissa.
Jetwing Eco Holidays were a good tour operator, we had a few moments with our guide Lakshman where his attitude was slightly strange (like going for his lunch only 5 minutes from our hotel and making us wait for him), but there were moments when we laughed together so hard it brought tears to our eyes. The hotels they had chosen were all of an acceptable standard, Lakshman was always on time and worked hard to ensure we spotted Sri Lanka’s wildlife highlights. If we should return to Sri Lanka for another wildlife based trip we would happily use their services again.
You can see our pictures & videos and read about our trip by clicking / tapping the link below.
Blue Whale - Mirissa
Comments
-
Hi Liz and Alan, hope you have another great adventure, OK I know you will.
The first photo in the car in Sri Lanka, I hope the car you're in is passing someone, it's right hand side drive, and you're in the right hand lane Hmmm, in these places it's not a good look.
Great side profile shot of you Alan, although you could do with a shave, long flight was it ;o)
Have a great and safe trip.
Robert -
Hi Robert, we're having a great time thanks, a little tired, but loving Sri Lanka and its awesome wildlife.
I'm sure Alan will fill you in on the details of the local's driving, let's just say my right ankle is aching a bit from trying to hit the virtual brake!
I like to think that side profile pic is one of Alan's best portraits, lol.
Cheers, Liz (Alan's outside getting sunset pics) -
Happy Birthday Liz.
-
Thanks Rob T :)
Print