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View all Galle toursUdawalawe National Park Full-Day Safari from the Galle and Mirissa Coast
A private day inland from the south coast to Udawalawe for elephants, crocodiles, buffalo and birds, with your own jeep and tracker rather than a shared seat.
Highlights
- Around 600 resident elephants on open grassland where nothing is hidden
- A private jeep and tracker rather than a shared seat
- Crocodiles, buffalo, jackals and excellent birding along the reservoir
- Near-certain sightings rather than the leopard lottery at Yala
- Hotel pickup from anywhere on the Galle to Mirissa strip
Udawalawe National Park Full-Day Safari from the Galle and Mirissa Coast: Key Facts
| Price | From $123 per person |
|---|---|
| Duration | 8 hours |
| Languages | English |
| Tour type | Guided Tour |
| Booking | Direct with the local operator — no OTA markup |
Choose from 2 available options
Morning Safari
Morning / Afternoon Safari Tour
Full description
Udawalawe is two and a half hours inland from the Galle-to-Mirissa strip, and it is the park to take from the coast if you want to actually see animals rather than hope.
The reason is the terrain. Udawalawe was created in 1972 around a new reservoir, and the farmland that was flooded out became open grassland. There is nowhere for an elephant to hide, which is why the roughly six hundred resident animals here are usually in sight within twenty minutes of the gate, and why sightings are near-certain rather than lucky. Yala, three hours further, has the leopards and the crowds; Udawalawe has the elephants and the space.
Water buffalo, spotted deer, golden jackals and mugger crocodiles along the reservoir edge fill out the drive, and the birding is genuinely good — crested serpent eagles, changeable hawk-eagles, painted storks, and a heavy winter influx.
A private jeep is what separates this from the shared version. The tracker works better when the vehicle is not chasing a schedule, and you can sit at a waterhole for as long as the animals are there rather than moving on because nine other people are ready.
Sri Lanka's national parks are seen from an open jeep, and each has one thing it is best for. Yala, in the south-east, has the highest density of leopards anywhere, most often seen in the early morning on the rocks and roads of Block 1; it is closed for part of September and October each year. Udawalawe is elephants, reliably, in open grassland around a reservoir, with the Elephant Transit Home for orphans nearby. Minneriya and Kaudulla, near Sigiriya, host the Gathering from about July to October, when several hundred elephants come to the shrinking tanks in the late afternoon. Wilpattu, in the north-west, is the largest park and the quietest, with leopards, sloth bears and villus, the natural lakes. Safaris run at 6:00 and 14:30, take three to four hours, and the park ticket is paid at the gate in addition to the jeep.
Tour Itinerary
The schedule below is a suggested plan and can be adjusted to suit your preferences.
Pickup on the coast
An early start for the drive inland.
Udawalawe gate
Permits and entry.
Private game drive
Three to four hours at your own pace.
Leave the park
Breakfast, then the drive back.
Drop-off
At your hotel.
Detailed Itinerary
Hotel pickup
Two and a half hours each way. Sleep on the first leg.
In the park
Open grassland around the reservoir. Tell the tracker what you actually want — a private jeep can wait at a waterhole.
The coast
Drop-off at your hotel.
Includes
- Private vehicle with driver from your south coast hotel, a private 4x4 safari jeep with driver and tracker, the game drive, drinking water.
Excludes
- The national park permit, paid in cash at the gate, meals, gratuities for the driver and tracker.
Important information
Meeting point
Hotel pickup in Galle, Mirissa, Unawatuna, Weligama or Hikkaduwa; confirmed after booking.
Weather
This runs outdoors, so the operator can call it off for rain, wind or sea conditions, and that decision is usually made on the day. If they cancel, you choose: another date, or your money back in full. We do not keep a booking fee on a tour that did not run.
Know before you go
- Free cancellation available up to 24 hours before the activity starts
About this activity
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Traveler Reviews
Great trip to Udawalawa. Long journey from Galle and weaving mopeds and tuc tucs safely and skilfully negotiated by our driver. Our guide Batu was excellent , very knowledgeable and eagle eyed , spotting birds monkeys and lizards we would have missed. Lots of close encounters with elephants and we saw buffalo, mongoose, crocodiles, wild pigs, monkeys and loads of birds. A great trip and highly recommended!
We had an amazing trip to the National Park! Both our driver and jeep driver at the park were very friendly and helpful. Would definitely recommend this trip to anyone! Especially if you want to see elephants!
Excellent tour to the safari park. We saw lots of elephants which was the highlight, and crocodiles, buffalo, deer, monkeys, peacocks, jungle fowl, eagles and lots of other birds. Our guide was great and really good at spotting things that we would have missed.
We had a great tour and can definitely recommend it! Our guide made a big effort and was able to show us many animals that we probably would have never spotted on our own. We also had a lot of fun the whole time. A really wonderful experience!
Navee was very knowledgeable and great at spotting wildlife - I was really happy to have him as our guide. We were incredibly lucky and saw so many elephants, and one even walked right next to the jeep! In the national park we managed to see all the animals except leopards. It was a long day and the transport pick-up wasn’t the nicest, but it was still an incredible experience. Being so close to the elephants was truly mesmerising - I love them so much. We also asked to stop at the Elephant Transit Home before heading back to watch them feeding. They were so funny, and this felt like a much more ethical way to see elephants compared to some other tours. I highly recommend this tour and experience.
An amazing experience in Sri Lanka! The highlight was seeing many elephants up close, including families with small baby elephants- truly unforgettable. Our guide was friendly, professional, and very knowledgeable, which made the safari even more enjoyable. The comfortable safari jeeps offered great visibility and made it easy to take beautiful photos. A must-do experience for anyone visiting Sri Lanka and a paradise for elephant lovers!
We seen a lot of animals and we had a great time with our guide. The transport was efficient, always on time. I really recomend this trip. It was even better than Yala Block 5&6 Safarii which we took 2 days later.
The day out was amazing. The driver at the safari was knowledgeable and told us lots about the animals we saw. We were able to see water buffalo’s, loads of elephants, crocodiles, monkeys, eagles, peacocks and chameleons. He was able to spot animals that we would definitely have missed if he hadn’t pointed them out. The driver who took us there and back from Mirissa was efficient and friendly.
We had amazing views of the elephants after a very easy pick up! We would definitely recommend to anyone as the wildlife is all incredible
We had an amazing safari! The guide was very knowledgeable and showed us lots of animals including many elephants. He had binoculars with him & helped us take cool photos.