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Itineraries  /  Leopard & Bear Safari
SL03 · Sri Lanka · Big-Cat & Bear

Leopard & Bear Safari

Wilpattu National Park · Yala National Park
Duration
9 Days · 8 Nights
The route
Wilpattu National Park · Yala National Park
Style
The island's two great predator parks
Best season
February – October · best
The route

8 nights, 2 stops — the island’s two great predator parks.

Wilpattu National Park → Yala National Park.

Round trip · returns to Wilpattu

WilpattuYala
What you're tracking

What you'll see

Sri Lankan leopard
Around the forest lakes.
Sloth bear
Among Asia's best for them.
Asian elephant
At the villus.
Spotted deer
In large herds.
Day by day

The journey, one day at a time

01Colombo → Wilpattu National Park

Arrive Wilpattu National Park

The journey begins.

Arrive in Wilpattu National Park, met and transferred to your accommodation. Wilpattu gives the same headline animals as Yala with space to enjoy them — the thinking traveller's choice.

02Wilpattu National Park

Wilpattu National Park

A full day in the field.

Search the palu groves for bears and the lakesides for cats. Game drives among the villus for leopard and sloth bear.

03Wilpattu National Park

Wilpattu National Park

A full day in the field.

A long, quiet day in the wilderness, working the forest lakes. Arrive at Colombo and transfer to Wilpattu National Park. Game drives among the villus for leopard and sloth bear.

04Wilpattu National Park

Wilpattu National Park

A full day in the field.

Dawn and dusk drives for predators around the water.

05Wilpattu National Park → Yala National Park

To Yala National Park

On to the next.

Transfer to Yala National Park. Game drives in Block 1 for leopard, with elephant and crocodile by the lagoons. Arrive at Colombo and transfer to Yala National Park.

06Yala National Park

Yala National Park

A full day in the field.

Dawn and dusk drives targeting the cats on the rocks and tracks. Search the palu groves for sloth bear and the scrub for leopard.

07Yala National Park

Yala National Park

A full day in the field.

Search the palu groves for sloth bear and the scrub for leopard. A full day in the park, working the coast and the waterholes.

08Yala National Park

Yala National Park

A full day in the field.

A full day in the park, working the coast and the waterholes. Yala put Sri Lanka on the safari map — leopard sightings here rival the best private reserves anywhere.

09Depart Yala National Park

Departure

The journey ends.

A final morning in Yala National Park — a last outing or a slow start as time allows — before the transfer onward and the journey home.

When to travel

The season changes what you see.

February – October

Peak season

Dry season. Long viewing window for leopard and bear; Jun–Jul peaks for bears.

November – January

Good season

Greener and quieter after the rains, with good general game.

Destinations

Where this journey goes

Wildlife you may see
Elephants Leopard

Make it yours.

Add nights, swap a park, extend to the coast — this route is a starting point, not a fixed menu. Tell us how you travel and we'll route the rest.

Field notes, now and then.

Where to go · When to go · Wildlife in season

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