Leopards
In the scrub.
Steve Garvie from Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Rohitvarma — CC BY-SA 4.0 · alex merkaba — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Dilanthaonline — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Charles J. Sharp — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Rehman Abubakr — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Chamal N — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ilango Ram — CC BY-SA 4.0
Sri Lanka's most famous national park, covering 979 square kilometres of the south-east coast along the Indian Ocean. It was first protected in 1900 and takes in monsoon forest, scrubland, lagoons, wetlands and beaches. It is renowned for sightings of the Sri Lankan leopard in the wild, along with Sri Lankan elephants, sloth bears, water buffalo, crocodiles and deer; 44 species of mammals live here, along with about 215 species of birds, six of them found only in Sri Lanka. The park is divided into several blocks, of which Block 1 is the most visited, dotted with huge granite outcrops rising from the scrub. The 2004 tsunami hit it hard, and about 250 people died in and around the park. Entry is by jeep only, hired separately. Foreign adults pay about USD 25 plus service charge, vehicle fee and VAT, per visitor guides. Blocks 1 and 2 usually close for about a month at the height of the dry season (in 2026 from 14 September to 15 October, per the Department of Wildlife Conservation), so check before booking; dawn and late-afternoon drives are best.
In the scrub.
At the waterholes.
On the ocean.
Palatupana, near Tissamaharama, south-east coast
Blocks 1 and 2 usually close for about a month at the height of the dry season; in 2026 from 14 September to 15 October, per the Department of Wildlife Conservation, so check before booking.
About USD 25 for foreign adults plus service charge, vehicle fee and VAT, and the jeep on top, per visitor guides.