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View all Kandy toursUdawattakele Bird Watching Morning from Kandy with a Guide
An early morning walk through Udawattakele, the 103-hectare forest reserve directly behind the Temple of the Tooth, with a guide who knows the birds and the Kandyan-era ruins hidden in it.
Highlights
- 103 hectares of forest reserve in the middle of Kandy, protected since 1856
- Dawn birding for Layard's parakeet, hanging parrots and babblers
- A guide who identifies by call, which is how most of these birds are found
- The Senkanda cave and the surviving Kandyan royal ponds
- Purple-faced langurs, giant squirrels and monitor lizards along the trails
Udawattakele Bird Watching Morning from Kandy with a Guide: Key Facts
| Price | From $71.5 per person |
|---|---|
| Duration | 5 hours |
| Languages | English |
| Tour type | Guided Tour |
| Booking | Direct with the local operator — no OTA markup |
Full description
Udawattakele is the strangest thing about Kandy: 103 hectares of genuine forest sitting immediately behind the Temple of the Tooth, in the middle of a city. It was the royal forest garden of the Kandyan kings, off limits to commoners, and it was protected as a reserve in 1856 — which is why there is still primary-adjacent forest inside a capital.
Go at dawn and it is full of birds. Layard's parakeet, the Sri Lanka hanging parrot, brown-capped babblers, orange-billed babblers, and, with luck and a guide who knows where to look, the Sri Lanka spurfowl calling from the undergrowth. A guide matters here more than at most sites, because much of what is worth seeing is heard first.
The walk also takes in what is left of the Kandyan period: the Senkanda cave, where the hermit the city may be named after lived, old royal ponds, and the British-era paths that still form the trail network. Giant squirrels, purple-faced langurs and monitor lizards are all common.
The going is easy — made paths, gentle gradients — and the whole thing is done by late morning, which leaves the rest of the day for the city.
Tour Itinerary
The schedule below is a suggested plan and can be adjusted to suit your preferences.
Pickup in Kandy
An early collection — the birds are active first.
Enter the sanctuary
Tickets at the gate, then into the forest.
Birding the trails
Working the main loop slowly with the guide.
Senkanda cave and ponds
The Kandyan-period remains inside the reserve.
Return to Kandy
Drop-off at your hotel.
Detailed Itinerary
[{"time": "06:00", "title": "Hotel pickup", "description": "The reserve is minutes from the centre of Kandy."}, {"time": "06:30", "title": "Sanctuary gate", "description": "Entry is paid here. The fee for foreign visitors is modest."}, {"time": "07:00", "title": "The main trails", "description": "Easy walking on made paths. Progress is slow because it should be."}, {"time": "09:30", "title": "Senkanda cave", "description": "The hermit's cave the city may take its name from, and the old royal ponds nearby."}, {"time": "10:30", "title": "Kandy", "description": "Drop-off, with the rest of the day free."}]
Includes
- Hotel pickup and drop-off in Kandy, an English-speaking naturalist guide, the guided forest walk.
Excludes
- The sanctuary entrance fee, paid at the gate, binoculars, meals and drinks, gratuities.
Important information
Meeting point
Hotel pickup in Kandy; the exact address and time are confirmed after booking.
Know before you go
- Free cancellation available up to 24 hours before the activity starts