Uda Walawe is one of Sri Lanka’s best-known National Parks due to its proximity to Colombo and the predictability of elephant sightings.
Uda Walawe is one of Sri Lanka’s best-known National Parks due to its proximity to Colombo and the predictability of elephant sightings.
Uda Walawe is a superb place to watch elephants. An estimated 600 elephants in herds to up to 100 live here. Uda Walawe lies south of the central hills. The dry season is best to watch the many herds of elephant that roam the park; which is usually between May & September.
Elephants have thrived in Uda Walave for centuries. The Panamure kraal was held here frequently up to 1950, testifying to the large herds of elephants in these jungles.
The park also hosts water buffalo, sambar, leopard and sloth bears. It also supports a thriving population of water birds and birds of prey.
Uda Walawe was established as the fifth national park of Sri Lanka in 1972. Its dry zone landscape consists of scrub jungle, grasslands and an abandoned teak plantation. The water reservoir at the core of the park encompassing a surface area of nearly 3,500 hectares is the largest reservoir in the region. The total area of the national park is almost 31,000 hectares, making it one of the biggest on the island.
The most common type of environments are dry grasslands, abandoned teak plantations and scrubland. Ebony trees are found in these dry lowlands, famous for their dense black/brown hardwood. Unlike most wood, ebony is dense enough to sink in water. It is finely textured and has a mirror finish when polished, making it valuable as an ornamental wood.
Tall reedy Pohon grass covers almost the entire park, providing a very favourable environment for the elephants for a substantial portion of the year.
There are many national parks where one can see elephants, but Uda Walave uniquely offers a chance to witness large herds, consisting of tightly knit family groups of up to four generations of related adult and subadult females and young.
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