ARRIVAL AT UDAWALAWE NATIONAL PARK, Sri Lanka, 2019.12.13

Day 9 (3 of 4).

After the morning walk to the Little Adam’s Peak and Nine Arches Bridge, we returned to Zion View Ella Green Retreat for a quick breakfast. The car came to Zion View Ella Green Retreat to pick us up right at 10:30.  We bid farewell to the two German shepherds and hopped on the car.  We left Ella behind and slowly descended from the hills.  Our next destination was Udawalawe, a small town between the hill country and the southern beaches.  The two hour drive from Ella to Udawalawe brought us from tea plantations and green hills to grasslands, marshes and forests, the home of diverse wildlife.  After world heritage historical sites and hills of tea plantations, our focus shifted once again to the natural treasure of Udawalawe National Park.

Established in 1972 as a sanctuary for wildlife displaced by the construction of Udawalawe Reservoir, the 30,821 hectares national park has become the third most visited park in the nation.  With an annual rainfall of 1,500mm, the park lies at the boundary between Sri Lanka’s wet and dry zones.  Within the park, there are marshes, grasslands and forests.  Udawalawe is famous for its 250 or so Sri Lanka elephants. Other mammal species found in the park include Sri Lankan leopard, rusty-spotted cat, sloth bear,  Sri Lanka sambar deer, Sri Lankan axis deer, wild boar, water buffalo, jackal, civet, monkey, mongoose, etc.  The park is also a good venue for bird watching, and so as reptiles including lizards, crocodiles, and snakes.

Passing the Rawana Ella Falls on the Wellawaya Ella Kumbalwela Highway signified our departure from Ella.

The more we get closer to Udawalawe, the higher the chance we might see wildlife along the highway.

Domestic water buffalo are kept for their milk (curd and ghee) and rice cultivation.

Sri Lankan elephant is undoubtedly the superstar in Udawalawe, and can often be seen along the road.

Elephants are highly intelligent animals.  According to our driver, some of the curious males have learnt to approach the highway fence regularly to greet tourists in exchange for easy treats like bananas.

Roadside stores near Udawalawe offer visitors a convenient stop for fruits, and perhaps have indirectly encouraged the unnatural habit of the highway approaching elephants.

Despite the popularity of the national park, the town of Udawalawe is relatively tourist-free.  There is hardly any tourist souvenir shops along the main road.

Bakery tuk tuk is quite common across the country.  As soon as we heard the music of Beethoven’s Fur Elise, we knew one of these mobile bread vendors must be nearby.

Our guesthouse Green View Safari Resort was at a side street across the road from R/Emb/Udawalawa Primary School.

Hidden from the dusty main road, our guesthouse for the night Green View Safari Resort was a simple little retreat.

Facility was clean and simple.  The guesthouse owners arranged both the afternoon and morning safari for us.

Dinner and breakfast were included in our one-night stay at Green View Safari Resort.

To reach the national park from Udawalawe, our jeep would pass by Udawalawe Reservoir, a place of potential wildlife sighting before reaching the park entrance.

Locals came to the dam to catch the sunset.

The Udawalawe Dam separates the lush green forest on one side and the peaceful reservoir on the other.

The Udawalawe Dam provides a high ground to watch the distant scenery.

The lush green forest revealed what the area might have look like before the construction of the reservoir.

Local wildlife has adapted to the man-made environment of Udawalawe Reservoir.  The water has even attracted wildlife including birds and elephants.

Beyond the reservoir, we finally arrived at the ticket office of Udawalawe National Park.

We chose Udawalawe National Park over Yala National Park was an attempt to avoid overcrowding.  During our first safari visit, the entry route into the park was loaded with tourist 4×4 vehicles.  Luckily, as we ventured deeper into the park, we would have the park pretty much by ourselves.