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Lavendish Wild Safari is a 27-room hotel at Hadungamuwa in Wasgamuwa, in 3.5 acres of garden on Dunuwila Wewa, close to Wasgamuwa National Park. The lawn looks across the water to the Knuckles range. It is run by the Sri Lankan group Lavendish Leisure and is built for people who come for the wildlife: a quiet base with a pool, a restaurant and a lawn running down to the water, from which game drives into the park can be arranged.
The hotel has a main block of rooms with balconies, plus a couple of separate cottages in the grounds. The names below are the ones you will see when you choose a room.
Both categories take up to three adults, or two adults with up to two children, so a third adult will need an extra bed. Families who want more space can book two rooms side by side; mention it when you book.
The main building is a modern two-storey block with a glass-walled upper floor under a pitched red roof, and a white wing of rooms with balconies facing the garden. Outside there is an outdoor swimming pool with a separate children's pool, a sun terrace and a broad lawn that runs down to a fence along the edge of the tank. There is a restaurant and a bar. Wi-Fi is free, and the hotel has its own parking.
The hotel was built as a base for Wasgamuwa National Park, and jeep safaris into the park can be arranged with the hotel or with us. The park was declared in 1984 to give a refuge to wild animals displaced by the Mahaweli development scheme, and it is one of the better places in Sri Lanka to see elephants away from the crowds of the more famous parks; sloth bears, deer and a long list of birds live there too. Morning and late-afternoon drives give the best chance of seeing animals. The park lies along the Mahaweli River, the longest river in the country.
Wasgamuwa is a rural area of paddy fields, small villages and reservoirs; see our guide to Wasgamuwa for the wider area. The hills on the horizon are the Knuckles Mountain Range, a protected forest and walking area to the south-west. To the north lies the ancient royal capital of Polonnaruwa, and beyond it Minneriya and Kaudulla national parks, famous for the large herds of elephants that gather on the grassland in the dry season. To the south-east, the town of Mahiyangana has the Mahiyangana Vihara stupa and the ancient Sorabora Wewa reservoir.
Wasgamuwa is in the dry zone east of the central hills, a long drive across the island from Bandaranaike International Airport, and the last stretch is on rural roads with no public transport worth relying on. The simplest way to arrive is a private transfer from Colombo airport to Lavendish Wild Safari, which takes you all the way to the door. Many travellers instead fit Wasgamuwa into a round tour between the Cultural Triangle and Kandy.
It suits couples, families and small groups who want a comfortable, modern room, a pool for the hot afternoons and easy access to a national park that few tour groups reach. It is not a luxury tented camp; it is a straightforward hotel in a beautiful position. Two nights gives you time for a morning and an afternoon game drive and a lazy hour by the water. For more choice in the area see our places to stay in Wasgamuwa, or the other Lavendish Leisure hotels around the island.
Bookable activities, tours, and tickets within a 25 km radius.
from LKR 8,800
from LKR 9,600
from LKR 23,200
from LKR 5,570
from LKR 6,400
Pre-book a private vehicle for arrival, departure, or onward travel.
