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Wild Coast Tented Lodge is a Relais & Châteaux camp of 28 canvas-clad suites on the edge of Yala National Park, where the jungle meets a wild stretch of beach on Sri Lanka's south-east coast. Run by Resplendent Ceylon, it is laid out like a scattering of leopard paw prints, its curved, woven-roof "cocoons" rising from the scrub like the boulders around them.
All 28 suites are "cocoons": tented pavilions with double-height, double-glazed facades looking into the jungle, vaulted ceilings, four-poster king beds, campaign-style furniture in bamboo and leather, a freestanding handmade copper bathtub and a private outdoor viewing deck. Each has individually controlled air-conditioning, Wi-Fi, a minibar with an espresso machine and a Sonos speaker. There are three types:
The room choices in our booking box are general categories, so when you send your request tell us which of the three suites you would like and who is travelling, and we will confirm it with the lodge.
Meals are served in the Bamboo Pavilion, two joined domed pavilions built around the natural landscape, where the kitchen gives Sri Lankan cooking a contemporary treatment. The bar sits almost on the beach with seating outdoors, the swimming pool looks out over the ocean, and the library, filled with curiosities and fossils, doubles as a cocktail bar in the evening. The lodge can also set up dinners on the beach and the dunes.
Game drives into Yala are the heart of a stay. The park is known above all for its leopards, and the lodge also runs elephant safaris and trips to Lunugamvehera National Park and the wetlands of Bundala National Park. Closer to home there are guided nature walks, birdwatching at Weerawila and around the Tissa lakes, cooking classes and cultural visits. The Sanctuary Spa offers massage and treatments inspired by the surrounding landscape.
The lodge fronts an undeveloped beach that runs east for a kilometre or more, with soft sand and rock pools and nothing but open ocean to the south. It is a beautiful place to walk at dawn and dusk, but this is a wild coast rather than a swimming beach, so most guests swim in the pool.
Palatupana, beside the park's main entrance, is about 4.6 kilometres away and the fishing village of Kirinda about 11 kilometres, both in a straight line. Tissamaharama, with its lake and ancient stupa, is around 16 kilometres inland, and the pilgrimage town of Kataragama and the rock monastery of Sithulpawwa are within easy reach for a half-day outing.
The lodge is about 197 kilometres in a straight line from Bandaranaike International Airport; by road the journey runs along the Southern Expressway and the coast through Hambantota and Tissamaharama. The simplest way to arrive is our private transfer from Colombo airport to Wild Coast Tented Lodge. Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport is much closer, about 32 kilometres in a straight line.
It suits couples and families who want a safari camp with real design and comfort rather than a conventional hotel, and who plan to spend their days in the park. Two or three nights allows several game drives at different times of day as well as time on the beach and in the spa. For more choice nearby, see our places to stay in Yala.
Bookable activities, tours, and tickets within a 25 km radius.
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Pre-book a private vehicle for arrival, departure, or onward travel.
