Uda Walawe National Park
Uda Walawe National Park, whose entrance is located
about 21 km north of
Embilipitiya off the main south coast to Ratnapura road,
is renowned for its outstanding scenic beauty and
wealth of animal species, particularly mammals and birds.
The park's 30,821 hectares centre on the large Uda Walawe Reservoir,
fed by the Walawe Ganga. Of all Sri Lanka's national parks,
this best rivals the savannah reserves of Africa, with herds
of elephants, wild buffalo and sambar deer, and leopards.
There are about 500 elephants in the park in herds of up to 100.
Uda Walawe NP is known to be the best place to see wild elephants
in Sri Lanka, because of the elephant-proof fence surrounding the reserve,
which prevents elephants from getting out and cattle from getting in.
There are also populations of sambar, spotted and barking deer, wild boar,
and water buffalo. Other mammals include toque macaque and
common langur monkeys, silver-backed jackal, sloth bear,
toddy and civet cats, leopard, and mongoose.
For bird watchers, there are large numbers of warblers, together with
the usual low country birds in forested areas, and a variety of raptors.
Water birds found on the reservoir include rare visitors and breeding
residents such as the Indian cormorant and osprey. Notable endemic species
are the Sri Lanka spurfowl and junglefowl, Malabar pied hornbill,
Sri Lanka grey hornbill, and the brown-capped babbler.
The Elephant Transit Home (ETH) in Uda Walawe NP is an excellent way of seeing
baby wild elephants at close quarters in their natural environment.
This conservation project takes in baby wild elephants
that have been separated from their mothers and cares for them until they can
be returned to the wild. The young animals spend their days roaming freely in
a section of the park, being observed at a distance by a few members of the ETH staff.
They are fed at three-hour intervals in a specially constructed feeding yard,
and this is the only time that they can be seen by tourists, who watch from
a viewing platform separated from the yard itself. At no point can the tourists
have physical contact with the animals. The sight of feeding time is very
popular with local and foreign tourists alike as the elephants are enthusiastic,
relaxed and full of character, unlike the elephants at Pinnewala Elephant Orphanage.
Most of the best wildlife
areas in Uda Walawe NP can be visited in a 3-hour jeep safari en route
or a 6-hour jeep safari from Tissamaharama (Tissa).
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