Wilpattu National Park Safari
Wilpattu National Park The ultimate Sri Lanka travel guide
It’s a well-known fact among tourists who Visit Sri Lanka that the natural resources of the country are astonishing. Be it crystal water, lush greenery, or graceful wildlife you can find it in Sri Lanka. Especially the numerous national parks in Sri Lanka indicate this fact. It’s fair enough to say that anyone who travels to Sri Lanka takes a safari trip to one of these national parks. So here’s your chance, through this article let’s talk about Wilpattu National Park Safari which is ideal for this occasion.
About Wilpattu National Park Safari
Wilpattu National Park is one of the oldest national parks in Sri Lanka and was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1938. Wilpattu National Park is famous for its unique biodiversity. Especially the many villus or natural lakes are a highlighted feature of Wilpattu Park. Reportedly there are about 106 of these villas in the park and they are natural sand-rimmed water basins or depressions which are usually filled with rainwater. The main attraction of the park is the rich wildlife population. Hence Wilpattu Park is significant among Sri Lanka tourist places for Safari in Sri Lanka. Wilpattu National Park spread throughout an area of 133000 hectares making the park one of the largest national Parks in Sri Lanka. Because of this Wilpattu Park consists of a total of 5 blocks there at declared in 1938-1973 and a mix of a lot of ecosystemsems with a peculiar heavy forest cover. Most importantly Wilpattu National Park considered a RAMSAR wetland since 2013 and officially named as Wilpattu RAMSAR Wetland Cluster.
Things to do in Wilpattu National Park
Several activities in Wilpattu National Park made the park remarkable in Sri Lanka tourism.
First and foremost you can take a safari trip while in Wilpattu National Park. Especially Wilpattu Park is famous for being a habitat for animals like elephants, sloth bears, and leopards so it’s more likely you will see these animals while you are in Wilpattu National Park.
You can do overnight camping in Wilpattu National Park.
Since the area of Wilpattu National Park is very wide the park contains a lot of interesting ecosystems such as dunes, dry zone forests with thorny scrub, open plains, and value wetlands. So if you are a naturalist this place is ideal for you to observe these aspects of nature.
Wilpattu National Park is situated bordering the coastline of Sri Lanka making the park own some of the finest beaches in the country. Dutch Bay and Portugal Bay beach areas with reddish cliffs are truly a site to see. Moreover, Kalpitiya a city well-known for its beautiful shoreline is just a few kilometers away from Wilpattu Park.
There are ancient ruins related to Kuweni the queen that Sri Lankans believe to be descendants of situated inside Wilpattu Park.
Anuradhapura, the ancient city with an immeasurable historical value is in the vicinity of Wilpattu National Park.
Weather in Wilpattu National Park
The annual average temperature of Wilpattu National Park is about 27.2 C (81 F). The annual rainfall of Wilpattu National Park is about 1000 millimeters and most of the rainfall happens during the northeast monsoon which is from December to February.
Travel Tips for Safari
These are some Sri Lanka travel advice that could be useful in your Wilpattu National Park safari;
To get the best out of your safari trip it would be ideal if you could take equipment like cameras and binoculars with you.
Once you start the journey you wouldn’t be allow to step down from the safari jeep except for Kumbuk Vila and Kudiramale point which are designated by the park management so be cautious about it.
Try to start the journey as soon as possible because that way you have plenty of time to enjoy your safari to the fullest.
Try to dress as conveniently as possible since this trip can be quite adventurous.
Make sure to follow the rules and regulations of the national park and pay attention to what your tour guides are saying.
Animals living inside Wilpattu National Park
Mammals;
There are about 31 species of mammals in Wilpattu National Park.
Wilpattu National Park is world famous for the excessive amount of leopards inhabiting the area. Reportedly there are around 49 individual leopards in Wilpattu Park. This usually considers a high density of leopards in comparison to another national parks in the world. These leopards are quite special since they are endemic to Sri Lanka and identify as Panther padus kotiya Sri Lankan leopards.
Alongside Sri Lankan leopards; elephant (Elephas maximus maximus), water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis), and sloth bear (Melursus ursinus inoranatus) are considered as threatened species that inhabit Wilpattu National Park.
There are common mammal species in Wilpattu Park such as spotted deer (Axis axis ceylonesis), sambhur (Rusa unicolor unicolor), mouse, mongoose, and shrew.
Birds;
Wilpattu National Park is home to many water birds like whistling teal (Dendrocygna javanica), garganey (Anas querquedula), spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia), pintail (Anas acuta), black-headed ibis (Threskiornis macrocephalus), purple heron (Ardea purpurea), cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis) and large white egret (EEgretta alba modesta).
Other birds like the openbill, Sri Lankan junglefowl (Gallus lafayette), the painted stork, and little cormorant accompanied by many species of gulls, owls, kites and eagles can also be spotted in Wilpattu National Park.
Reptiles;
Reptiles such as mugger crocodile (Crocodylus palustris), Indian python (Python molurus), common cobra (Naja naja), rat snake (Ptyas mucosus), monitor lizard (Varanus bengalensis), the soft-shelled turtle (Lissemys punctate) and pond turtle (Melanonchelys trijuga) are the most frequent reptile species in Wilpattu national park.
Because of this huge variety of wildlife, Wilpattu National Park often stands out from other Sri Lanka travel places.
Q&A’s
Where is Wilpattu National Park?
Wilpattu National Park is located between the North Western and North Central provinces of Sri Lanka. There are two entrances to Wilpattu Park from Hunuwilagama (Anuradhapura) and Eluwankulama (Puttalam). Below are the approximate distances to these entrances from the main cities of Sri Lanka. You can check them out to make your Private tour of Sri Lanka more convenient;
From Hunuwilagama (Anuradhapura) in kilometers
Colombo – 190
Kandy - 156
Anuradhapura - 35
Puttalam - 64
Galle - 301
From Eluwankulama (Puttalama)
Colombo - 165
Kandy - 160
Anuradhapura - 106
Puttalam - 30
Galle - 283
You can easily get a taxi to visit Wilpattu National Park from any of these places.
What is the best time to take the Wilpattu safari?
Wilpattu National Park safari usually happens all year round but the peak time to take Wilpattu National Park Safari is from February to October. This is the reason that the annual rainy season lowers around February and from May to September it’s the drought period so the animals come to water holes and the forest costs are reduced making it easier to observe wild animals.
How to choose Wilpattu National Park Jeep Safari?
You can easily book a safari to Wilpattu National Park through websites like TripAdvisor. There are various Sri Lanka tour packages you can choose from. You can use your vehicle for the safari in Wilpattu but the vehicle should be appropriate to the journey and should be accompanied by a tour guide provided by the park authorities. You can apply for an entry permit to Wilpattu National Park ahead of your journey through the official website of the park.
How long is the ideal Wilpattu safari with kids?
If you accompany kids the most ideal safari is the daytime safari which would take around 3 hours. The best times of the day to take a daytime safari in Wilpattu National Park are from 6 a.m. to 10 A.M. and from 3 P.M. to 6 P.M.
You can arrange an overnight safari to Wilpattu National Park too, but this is ideal if you visit without kids.
Since the Wilpattu National Park area is very huge, if you want to observe the entire park the best trip is 3 nights and for days in the park.
What do you take on a Wilpattu Safari?
Equipment which comes in handy when you observe wildlife like cameras and binoculars would be ideal to take with you to your Wilpattu Safari.
To avoid sunlight coming in the way of your observing you can take something like a hat.
It’s better to avoid taking food that can attract animals to the park, but water and snacks like biscuits would be ok.
So don’t forget to visit Wilpattu National Park and take a safari there during your Holidays in Sri Lanka to make your Sri Lanka tours worthwhile.
