About this experience
This is a private jeep safari from Sigiriya into Kaudulla National Park, a protected area in the North Central Province of Sri Lanka. Your safari jeep collects you from your hotel in Sigiriya and drives you straight to the park, and brings you back to your hotel once the safari is over.
The park is built around the Kaudulla tank, one of the irrigation reservoirs made by King Mahasen, which was restored in 1959 after a long period of abandonment. Dry evergreen forest and open grassland surround the water, and the park has been identified as an Important Bird Area. Sri Lankan elephants, sambar deer, axis deer and wild boar are among the 24 species of mammals recorded here, and the rare grey slender loris, sloth bear and chevrotain are also found in the park. Spot-billed pelicans and lesser adjutants are among the 160 or so bird species that live in or visit the park.
Kaudulla is closely tied to neighbouring Minneriya. Elephants move between the two parks with the seasons, heading to Minneriya in the drier months and returning towards the Kaudulla tank around September, when large herds can come to the grassland by the water. It is a seasonal movement rather than a daily sight, and wild animals keep their own schedule, so no safari can promise a particular sighting or a particular number of elephants.
Inside the park your experienced driver is also your tracker. Because the tour is private, the jeep is for your party alone. Hotel pickup and drop-off at a Sigiriya-based hotel, a bottle of water per person and all taxes and service charges are included. Food and drinks, gratuities and expenses of a personal nature are not included.
Children must be at least five years old to join. The tour is not wheelchair or stroller accessible, infants cannot sit on laps and infant seats are not available. It is not recommended for pregnant travellers or for people with back problems or heart conditions.
