Highlights of Sri Lankan Wildlife Leopards, elephants, bears, and whales(10 Days)

Once you arrive at the airport in Katunayake, your personal chauffeur will escort you to Wilpattu, the perfect place to start your wildlife adventure. The Wilpattu National Park is one of Sri Lanka’s less-frequented parks but is nonetheless highly rewarding with the wide variety of wildlife seen here. Enjoy a short walk in the wilderness close to the campsite while an optional Safari can be organised - depending on the time of your arrival. Dinner and an overnight stay will be organised at the Big Game Tented Camp, keeping you in the lap of luxury while at the same time, close to nature.

A comprehensive Full-day Safari at the Wilpattu National Park with packed breakfast and lunch awaits you on Day 2. Known as Sri Lanka’s oldest and largest National Wildlife Parks, Wilpattu will give you the chance of experiencing some of the country’s most renowned wildlife highlights including the majestic Sri Lanka Leopard, Sloth Bears and a host of endemic bird species. After dinner, you can take a night walk with our resident naturalist in expectation of encountering the Park’s nocturnal animals, like the Ring-tailed Civet Cat, Gray Slender Lorises, owls and chameleons.

At the earliest light of day, it will be time to wake up and take breakfast at the campsite. You will be transferred to Kandy. (Approx. 5 hours travelling distance). The city of Kandy is one of much history and culture. In the evening you will visit The Temple of the Tooth Relic (Sri Dalada Maligawa) is the most sacred site for Buddhists the world over, as this is where the most important object in the Buddhist world, a tooth fragment recovered from the funeral pyre of the Buddha, is located. The relic itself is kept in a golden casket amidst heavy security in the Inner Chamber of the temple. The temple complex is adorned with paintings and sculptures depicting the life of the Buddha and a museum documenting its history.

You will get an early start on Day 4 with a transfer to Udawalawe where you will first visit the Elephant Transit Home, a project that has proven vital in the conservation of elephants, some of which are orphaned or separated from their herds. Later on in the day, you can anticipate enjoying an Evening Safari at the Udawalawe National Park before dinner and then an overnight stay at the Big Game Tented Camp in Udawalawe.

Your first full day in Yala will be spent thoroughly exploring the Yala National Park with a Full-Day Safari inclusive of packed lunches. While the Sri Lankan Leopard is the star of the Park, it also boasts a stunning array of other creatures, from: Sloth Bears, Golden Palm Civet cats, the Wild Water Buffalo to Hornbills, Black-capped Bulbuls and peacocks. After your adventure in the wild, you will once again be able to rest and relax in your cosy tented camp with a campsite dinner, before an optional night walk with your guide.

On Day 7, you will be transferred to Nuwara Eliya. Fondly dubbed “Little England” by locals, Nuwara Eliya enjoys sub-temperate climate and so is quite pleasant and cool all throughout the year. The highlights of the town are its colonial-era buildings, the Race Course, the Royal Nuwara Eliya Golf Club, established in 1889, and the symbolic Gregory Lake.

Tea Plantations are aplenty around Nuwara Eliya, as this area is famous for producing the world’s best tea. You will visit a tea plantation where skilled tea pluckers make their way through a maze of tea bushes, and a tea factory attached to it. Witness first hand, how tea is processed from raw leaves to the final product that is seen internationally.

Following your tour of Nuwara Eliya, you can look forward to winding down and your overnight stay at a Nuwara Eliya hotel.

The Horton Plains National Park is next, after breakfast on Day 8. Considered one of the world’s best National Parks, it is an area of serene beauty and very high biodiversity. Sambar deer, spotted deer, giant squirrels, wild boar, and the rare Horton Plains slender loris – an endemic primate to the National Park – call this area home. The grasslands are interspersed with montane forest, giving it a unique position among Sri Lanka’s National Parks. Vehicles are strictly prohibited in the area, and the only way you can see this amazing National Park is by a guided nature walk. Unmissable sights in Horton Plains are: Baker’s Falls, the Chimney Pool, and World’s End, a 3700ft (1130m) sheer drop providing fantastic views of the area below and the horizon.

After breakfast you will be transferred from Yala to Mirissa. After check in to the Mirissa Hotel, you can stay relax rest of the day on the beach after having back to back safaris. Mirissa is located along the southern coast of Sri Lanka. Relax on the golden sandy beaches of this vacationer’s paradise and rejuvenate yourself. You can spend the day basking under the sun, explore the area and learn about the local culture or even stay at your hotel and enjoy the facilities available to you. You will be staying overnight at a beautiful and serene hotel, located close to the famous Mirissa Beach.

Another early start awaits you in Mirissa, with an exciting whale watching tour scheduled in the early hours of the morning (season from November to March). These coastlines are known as some of the best locations globally, to spot pods of Blue Whales and Sperm Whales. You will be taken to the Mirissa harbour by 6.15 a.m. where you will set off to catch a glimpse of the whales on their migratory path from the Horn of Africa to the Bay of Bengal. Later on in the afternoon, you will visit the Galle Dutch Fort which was built by the Portuguese and later fortified heavily by the Dutch in the 17th century. Fort is considered a historical and archaeological heritage monument, surrounded by interesting boutiques to venture into. For dinner, you will head back to your overnight stay hotel.

Choose to do as you wish, on your last day on the tour. Lounging on the beaches of Mirissa maybe the ideal way to do it: reflecting on the numerous memories you have acquired throughout this exciting tour of Sri Lanka. You will be taken to the Bandaranaike International Airport, well ahead of time, to catch your flight back home.