Elephant herds
Grazing on open plains.
PIERRE ANDRE LECLERCQ — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ji-Elle — CC BY-SA 3.0 · M.S Dulan De Silva — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ji-Elle — CC BY-SA 3.0 · M.S Dulan De Silva — CC BY-SA 4.0
Udawalawe National Park protects 30,821 hectares of grassland, scrub and forest around the Udawalawe Reservoir in southern Sri Lanka, on the boundary of Uva and Sabaragamuwa provinces. Declared on 30 June 1972, it is one of the country's most visited national parks and among the surest places on the island to see wild elephants, in any season. It was set aside for animals displaced when the reservoir was built on the Walawe River in the 1960s, and to protect its catchment. Former shifting cultivation left the open grassland that makes animals easy to spot, and dead trees still stand in the water. A 2011 study identifying elephants individually estimated that about 800 to 1,160 use the park, and found tusks on only about 2 per cent of adult males. Drives cross open plains where herds with calves graze, alongside water buffalo, spotted and sambar deer, mugger crocodiles and golden jackals. Some 184 bird species are recorded, from pelicans, painted storks and cormorants on the reservoir to eagles over the grassland; leopards and the rarely seen sloth bear live here too. Most visitors go by open jeep, hired separately. Per visitor guides, foreign adults pay about USD 25 plus service charge, vehicle fee and VAT, and the gates open from about 06:00 to 18:00. Go at dawn or late afternoon, and never feed roadside elephants, which is an offence. The Elephant Transit Home, which raises orphaned calves for release, is a short drive away, and the park fits easily between Ella, about 90 km away by road, and the south coast.
Grazing on open plains.
Waterbirds and crocodiles.
Eagles over the grassland.
Main gate on the Thanamalwila road, Udawalawe
Elephants are seen all year; go at dawn or in the late afternoon, when animals are most active. Most rain falls from October to January and from March to May, when the tracks can turn muddy.
A Department of Wildlife Conservation centre opened in 1995 that raises orphaned elephant calves and releases them into the wild, mostly into this park, once they can fend for themselves. Visitors watch the calves being fed at set times through the day, for about USD 5 per foreign adult plus VAT; guides give different times, so check them locally.