WILDLIFE AND LEOPARD SAFARIS IN YALA AND WILPATTU NATIONAL PARKS SRI LANKA.

Home to the highest biodiversity in Asia, Sri Lanka’s National Parks provide the visitor with the opportunity to enjoy some of the richest varieties of flora and fauna in the world, from leopard safaris in Sri Lanka’s Yala National Park or Wilpattu National park to watching wild Sri Lankan elephants at Gal Oya National Park, the richness and diversity of Sri Lanka’s wildlife has to be seen to be believed. Sri Lanka’s 26 national parks cover nearly 6,000sqkm, that’s almost 9% the island’s total area set aside as a protected space for wildlife. And what incredible wildlife awaits you in Sri Lanka, they don’t come much bigger than Sri Lanka’s ‘Big Five’. The ‘Big Five’ of Sri Lanka are the Leopard, the Sri Lankan Elephant, the Sloth Bear, the Blue Whale and the Sperm Whale. But let’s not forget the smaller wildlife, much of which is endemic to Sri Lanka. The island is home to over 450 species of birds, 33 of which are endemic and one of the richest diversity of amphibians in the world with more than 140 species of which 109 are endemic to Sri Lanka (in fact Sri Lanka has one of the world’s highest rates of bio-endemism with 16% of the fauna and 23% of the flora unique to Sri Lanka). Is there a best national park in Sri Lanka to see all this incredible wildlife? Well, as you would expect the diversity of this wildlife is partly as a result of the diversity within Sri Lanka’s geography, creating as it does a wide variety of environments across the island from the dry zone in the north, the temperate highlands in the centre of the island and the wet zone in the south. A perfect reason to contact the Secret Retreats concierge and create a tour of Sri Lanka to fully enjoy the differing flora, fauna and landscapes across Sri Lanka’s national parks.