Udawalawe National Park: Private Safari Exploration with Knowledgeable Naturalist
5.0
31 Ratings
Udawalawe National Park
Embark on a private safari exploration of Udawalawe National Park with a knowledgeable naturalist. Learn about Sri Lankan elephants and discover the park's diverse birdlife.
Duration: 3 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Udawalawe National Park - This short but unforgettable safari will take you to some of the best haunts of wildlife within the Udawalawe National Park. With the support of your safari guide you will be able to catch sight of a number of flora and fauna native to Sri Lanka. The safari is designed to give you an understanding of animals in the wild, and will bring you many steps closer to raw nature.
    You will be travelling in the rough terrain open Safari Jeep for the most part. But there may be points where your guide may suggest getting off and walking closer for a clear view of birds and other small wildlife. However, the safari takes serious consideration of your safety and therefore, with regards to the wild elephants and other larger wildlife, it is strongly advised that you do not descend from your jeep for safety purposes (especially when coming upon lone elephants, which may get aggressive when disturbed).
What's Included
  • Experienced safari driver.
  • Complimentary Hotel pickup and drop-off within 5km of park entrance.
  • Experienced English-speaking naturalist.
  • 4x4 Safari Jeep (Maximum of 6 Passengers).
What's Not Included
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off if outside of 5km of park entrance gate.
  • Entrance fees for Jeep-only bookings (entrance fees to be paid in cash).
  • Food and drinks.
  • Gratuities.
Additional Information

(SKU: LK50A02000) Enjoy a guided safari with our naturalist, Ruwan joining you in the back of the jeep and provide uninterrupted commentary during the safari, where you have a chance to explore the amazing Udawalawe National Park. Travel through the marshes, forests, and grasslands of the park that was created as a sanctuary for wildlife in the 1970s.

The park is famous for its Sri Lankan elephants and with Ruwan you can learn all about the gentle giants and what makes the Sri Lankan elephant different from its Indian and African cousins.

Although famous for its elephants, Udawalawe National Park is a famous birdwatching hotspot. Ruwan is a trained bird watcher with a hawk eye to spotting Udawalawe’s most exotic collection of birds. Be sure not to miss out on the park’s avian life.

Location
Udawalawe National Park
Park Entrance Gates of Udawalawe National Park
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
5.0
(31 Ratings)
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Miroslav_markov
Jan 30, 2024
Amazing experience - Guaranteed to see elephants! We saw 6 elephants, lots of peacocks, green bee eater, storks, great egrets and many other birds, spotted deers, water buffalos, mongoose, lizard and some crocodiles. Our guide (naturalist) was well experienced, sent to us huge information about park and animals. The driver was perfect for this off road trip.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Wendy
Aug 25, 2023
Magical sunset elephants and wildlife - This was such a magical experience for our whole family! To see elephants at sunset was one of the highlights of our entire trip. The guide and driver were both really experienced and answered all the questions we had about birds, wildlife and of course, elephants! My daughter kept a tally and we saw 30 elephants in 6 or 8 distinct groups. In addition to elephants, we saw numerous green bee eaters, kingfishers, storks, egrets, hawks and eagles. We watched as a crocodile caught fish and an eagle ate lizards from a tree. There were mongoose, hares and tons of adorable monkeys. We learned a lot about how old the elephants are and about their lives, as well as understanding more about how climate change is affecting their water supply and population.
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Rachel_27487
Aug 21, 2023
Great Safari! - I booked a private safari for 12 people as part of a company gathering with a team of different nationalities and ages. Ashan was very responsive throughout the easy booking process and made my life much easier! The team really enjoyed the tour and loved seeing the elephants but all of the different animals they wouldn't have spotted on their own. Great experience all round
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Jouwei
Feb 22, 2023
Great day out with experienced naturalist - Excellent day out with Ruwan! Very knowledgeable and friendly naturalist. Spotted a load of animals we wouldn't have noticed.
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Voyage14525697898
Feb 18, 2023
Great experience with elephant s - It was a most wonderful experience during our visit to udawalawa.my baby was very happy when she sow the lot's of elephants.we enjoyed this visit including beautiful nature......
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935aur_liec
Mar 11, 2022
Amazing Safari!! - I 100% recommend this safari with Ruwan!! Ruwan was so nice and funny, we saw a lot of animals that we couldn't have seen without his amazing eyes :) The National Park is wild and super natural, you can get close to the animals while preserving their safety and well-being. Thanks so much Ruwan, hope to see you again. We had so much fun with you! The 2 frenchies
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780nadines
Jan 6, 2022
Amazing experience with a really knowledgeable guide - I can not recommend Ruwan and this safari, more highly, it was a truly amazing and perfect trip! Ruwans knowledge and experience really made this extra special. He knows where to go and what to look out for, and enabled us to see so much of this beautiful national park. HIs English was great and he was very funny and engaging.
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Marcello256
Dec 1, 2021
Great, would do it again - We had a really good time on this safari. We were picked up punctually at the national park gates, actually we were the first ones to enter the park. Our guide was very knowledgeable and also spoke good English. We saw elephants (really up close, within touching distance), crocodiles, a lot of birds, dear, wild boar. The tour took 3 hours which was enough. I can recommend it very much. I would suggest doing the morning tour as it gets very hot.
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Woodford10
Mar 22, 2020
Incredible Safari with an Amazing Guide - We (two of us) booked the 6 hour tour only a couple days before we wanted to take the Safari, Lakpura confirmed our tour very quickly and Ruwan kept in contact the whole time meaning they picked us at our hotel at half 5 in the morning no problem. They took us to the park and our driver ran to pick up our entrance tickets, which are in addition to the driver and car fee (what you pay for online), so was just less than 8000LKR (the driver gave us our change), they give you the option to go pick up your tickets yourself but you'll end up further back in the queue, unless you sprint. On a side note I was reluctant to book a whole jeep for just two of us but actually it seems like almost everyone does this. You're then in the park and it's pretty incredible, we saw elephants almost immediately. This is where Ruwan really came into his own, the amount he spotted was crazy all manner of birds and animals, letting us use his binoculars to get a better view. I honestly don't think we would've noticed all the crocodiles without Rowan, he also clearly knew all the best haunts for elephants and the like. I really can't write enough praise for Rowan, his passion made the Safari, and also took loads of pictures of us and sent them across. My last comment is that I recommend the 6 hour trip, it made sure we saw loads of animals and you have that extra more quiet period in the park where the 3 hour tours leave.
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Tarakirkland
Mar 14, 2020
Best Safari Guide! - Ruwan was an amazing guide - he was funny and very knowledgable. He was also flexible (he stopped at the store on the way so we could buy lunch and he also brought us home a bit early as we had a long trip ahead of us). We saw many elephants including babies, not to mention monkeys, many many birds (including the rare shy bird), lizards, water buffalo, crocodiles, etc. We also stopped at a beautiful river for a picnic lunch and fed rice to the fish! Highly recommend! Things to be aware of (and this goes for any tour in the park) - only one toilet stop all day and they're drop toilets, so consider bringing some tissues. Bring sunglasses for the ride to the park, as you are in an open vehicle and there are lots of bugs that hit your face. It is a very long day to do the full safari - toward the end we were losing interest as two grown adults, so perhaps the half day is more suitable for children. Bring binoculars if you have some - Ruwan gave us his to share, but I sometimes wished I had another pair!
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