Yala National Park
Sri Lanka’s Wildest Wilderness
979 km
35+ Leopards
215+
Block 1
Sri Lanka’s most celebrated national park, Yala is home to the world’s highest density of wild leopards — making it arguably the best place on earth to see these elusive big cats in their natural habitat. But leopards are just one chapter in Yala’s extraordinary wildlife story: the park is also home to sloth bears, elephants, sambar deer, mugger crocodiles, and an astonishing diversity of birds.
The Leopards of Yala
Yala’s Block 1 supports approximately 35 leopards within just 140 square kilometres. These cats are unusually habituated to vehicles, which allows for long, intimate sightings that would be impossible almost anywhere else in the world
Safari Experience
Safaris are conducted in open 4WD vehicles with expert naturalist guides, venturing into a mosaic of scrub jungle, grasslands, rock outcrops, and freshwater lagoons. The best sightings occur in the early morning and late afternoon hours when the big cats are most active.
