It was finally time for a safari in Sri Lanka! Our first safari in this country - we are planning another one - was in Minneriya National Park near Sigiriya in central Sri Lanka.
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Safari in Sri Lanka
Going on safari in Sri Lanka is very popular. There are a whole bunch of national parks scattered throughout the country, the most famous and most visited of which is Yala National Park. All the parks offer the chance to see a wide variety of wildlife, with elephants being the most likely to be seen.
Other animals that can be seen on safari in Sri Lanka include wild boar, water buffalo, deer, macaques, sloth bears and various reptiles and birds. If you are really lucky, you may also see leopards. Which animals you see depends on your luck, of course, but also on the time of day and the national park you choose.
Minneriya National Park
We chose to do our first safari in Sri Lanka in Minneriya National Park. We chose this park because it is close to Mount Sigiriya which we visited just before, and because our driver recommended it.
We bought tickets the day before, at a simple roadside ticket booth. We paid about 1300 SEK for four people in a safari car, for a tour of about 2.5 hours. During the low season you don't need to book in advance at this park, but during the high season (November - January) the pressure can be high.
Animals in Minneriya National Park
What animals did we see? First of all, we saw a lot of birds. Lennart and Beata are experienced bird watchers and were ready with super binoculars and experienced bird watching eyes. From time to time they whispered "stop the car!", because they had seen some exciting bird.
We saw an intense blue kingfisher (too fast for my camera) and several other birds. The green pippin below, according to our birdwatching friends, may belong to the "thornbill genus". An eagle and a peacock were also captured on camera.
We also saw a chameleon in a tree, although it was clearly trying to blend in with the surroundings. It was our safari driver who spotted this and stopped the car.
Last but not least, we saw elephants. Several of them stood right next to the bumpy roads where we drove, paying very little attention to our cars. One of them wagged her ears as she crossed the road in front of us. Maybe that meant something? Several of the elephants also had their nice little kids with them. Great to see these big animals in their element!
Other experiences during our safari
Our safari in Sri Lanka was a pleasant experience that took around 2.5 hours. We drove in our own small jeep, with a driver, on the muddy roads through the countryside. We saw maybe a total of 6-7 other jeeps out during our trip. One of them had the misfortune to get stuck in the mud. When we got to them, they finally got free ...
At the end of the tour we drove to a small hill with a viewpoint. It rained just before we went up, and when the rain changed to sunshine, we got to see a beautiful and sharp rainbow over the green nature. We were very happy with the trip, and plan to go on another safari in Sri Lanka. Then we will try to choose a park where it is possible to see other animals than the ones we saw this time.
Have you ever been on safari? What are your experiences?
See more in Sri Lanka
If you are travelling around Sri Lanka, there is of course much more to see and do. Here are some suggestions for places of interest, not too far from Minneriya National Park:
- Lion Mountain Sigiriya is exciting to climb
- Dambulla is a small town, famous for its golden cave temple.
- Anuradhapura also offers temples and monkeys
If you are interested in animals and nature, there are also many interesting experiences in the country. Here are some more tips:
- Maduganga River offers an exciting river safari
- Animals in Sri Lanka - a bit like safari everywhere!
Facts about Minneriya National Park
- Country: Sri Lanka
- Location: The national park is located 182 kilometres from the capital Colombo in the central part of the country. The nearest major city is Polonnaruwa.
- Price: We paid about 1300 SEK for four people in a safari car, for a tour of about 2.5 hours (2018).
- Think about: Book well in advance if you are here in high season, at least a day in advance.
- Accommodation: You cannot stay inside the park. Hotels and other accommodation are available in Sigiriya, Polonnaruwa, Habrana and Giritale.
Animals in Minneriya National Park
- Mammals: There are 24 species of mammals in the park, including elephants, leopards, sloth bears, axis deer, sambar deer, wild boar, mongooses, anteaters and various types of monkeys.
- Birds: Over 170 different species of birds have been spotted in the park. You can see, among others, the pied flycatcher, the rayan hornbill, the ceylontimalia and many others.
- Reptiles: There are 25 known species of reptiles in the park, 8 of which are endemic. It is home to the marsh crocodile and various species of frogs and lizards.
Travelling to Minneriya National Park
- Car from Colombo: Driving from the capital takes about 4 hours (182 kilometres).
- Car from Anuradhapura: From Anuradhapura it takes about 1.5 hours to drive (82.5 kilometres).
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Ama de casa says:
Oh what a wonderful safari trip! Love to go on safari and have done it in several places. Just in Sri Lanka we chose Wilpattu and were then lucky enough to see two leopards 🙂 Of the elephants we only saw the tracks. That is, the poop 😀 But we saw wild elephants elsewhere anyway. Love that kind of nature experience!
28 December 2018 - 9:16
Helena says:
Cool that you got to see leopards! I also hope to see that 🙂
28 December 2018 - 12:53
Mr Nils-Åke Hansson says:
Safari what an experience. Yesterday there was a programme about Thailand and elephants that they returned to the wild. The elephant has been the symbol of Thailand.
Let's see what animals you see next time.
28 December 2018 - 9:27
Helena says:
Great experience! And of course, elephants thrive best in the wild, which is their true element!
28 December 2018 - 12:54
Lena - good for the soul says:
Oh how exciting. I really have a dream of going on safari! But then probably in Africa. Maybe it will happen in the fairly near future!
Cool birds you got in the picture too!
Hug Lena
28 December 2018 - 9:49
Helena says:
Safari is exciting! And Africa is perhaps safari's number one continent 😉.
28 December 2018 - 12:56
Travelsis says:
Safari is an amazing experience. We have been on safari in Sri Lanka, Nepal and Kenya. The safari in Kenya was clearly the best with so much wildlife. But the safari on SL was with the children and our youngest was 1.5 years old then and he loved it, it was absolutely fantastic to see him when he saw wild elephants and crocodiles. Right now Magdalena is in South Africa on safari and they were very pleased with their trip. /Pernilla
28 December 2018 - 13:12
Helena says:
What exciting safaris you have been on! Understand that it is a little extra wonderful with a child who discovers all the wild animals! 🙂
28 December 2018 - 16:41
åsa/nalta norrland says:
Lovely, lovely. Such a fun thing 🙂
Seeing wildlife in its proper environment must be an experience.
Thank you for nice pictures <3
28 December 2018 - 13:15
Helena says:
Glad you liked our pictures! Great to see animals in the wild!
28 December 2018 - 16:42
Johnny Friskilä says:
Nice! I myself was in Minneriya on safari two years ago, it was a big disappointment as there were few animals and I had a driver who took zero account of the animals we actually saw and even less account of the fact that we were actually some travellers in the jeep who wanted to photograph the animals we actually saw. Udawalawe this year was a much more pleasant experience. I'm glad that your experiences with Minneriya are more positive than mine.
28 December 2018 - 13:42
Helena says:
Sorry you had a bad experience here! We may not have seen many large animals either, but our driver was very sensitive to the fact that we were also interested in birds and lizards, for example.
28 December 2018 - 16:43
Seija Viitamäki-Carlsson says:
We have been on safari in Tiger Tops Nepal and Yala in Sri Lanka. The tiger scouting in Nepal was amazing, however, saw well a wild boar herd chasing a deer. The elephants and black bear were most fun in Yala and all the cool riding in the jeep. Have a good continuation?
28 December 2018 - 15:13
Helena says:
What cool safaris you have been on, and interesting animals you have seen!!!! Thank you the same, wish good continuation!
28 December 2018 - 16:45
Ditte says:
Glad that it felt like a successful trip. We have been to more in Sri Lanka. A couple of visits we made in Yala, also in Wilpattu and Udawalawe. All were good visits and we saw besides elephants (plenty of them) we saw leopards, snakes and lots of birds.
Wishing you continued good days.
28 December 2018 - 15:21
Helena says:
Interesting to hear about your safari experiences in Sri Lanka Ditte! And thank you, we are enjoying the trip!
28 December 2018 - 16:46
Britt-Marie Lundgren says:
Safari is really cool! Without a doubt, our best ones have been in Botswana, where we have seen wild dogs hunting impala, countless lions including playful cubs and beautiful leopards.
Then we went on safari in Tanzania, South Africa and India.
I am so happy when someone other than me calls a bird species a "green pippi".!!! I enjoy them just as much anyway.
28 December 2018 - 16:02
Helena says:
I understand that there are amazing safaris in Africa! What amazing animals you have seen!!!! And haha, I am bad at birds and like to call everyone "pippi", but I like to take pictures of them 🙂 Our friends are much more knowledgeable about birds!
28 December 2018 - 16:48
Maria / Magnolia Magis says:
What great pictures, especially of the elephant! She looks so wise. No, I have not been on safari and am probably not really the type either that appreciates it. However, I would love to walk among all the temples and ancient buildings! Fun you get to experience both one and the other!
28 December 2018 - 17:11
Helena says:
There are plenty of temples in Sri Lanka, and all sorts of different experiences! 🙂
29 December 2018 - 6:27
BP says:
Cool to see the animals in their true element - the wild, where they belong. Have never been on safari, mostly because of the uncomfortable journey on bumpy roads and hard seats. Typical me/us, then.
As I said, there are advantages to riding shotgun with you!
Great pictures:-)
28 December 2018 - 20:40
Helena says:
You are welcome to ride free with us! 🙂 It was a bit bumpy of course, but we thought it was ok 🙂 .
29 December 2018 - 6:28
Berit Swensson says:
We were in Yala on our safari. The guide in the jeep was very excited that we saw elk. We came from northern Norrland so moose for us is not something unusual to see.
Their elk is actually a very large deer with unusually large horns, I don't really remember the name of it. We also saw an elephant with tusks growing in crosses. Unfortunately, it did not feel so good but seemed in short quite angry.
28 December 2018 - 21:06
Helena says:
Very interesting! But haha, maybe we Swedes are more used to that kind of animals 😉.
05 January 2019 - 13:49
The Whole Map says:
Yes, we were in the same park last May and liked it too, although we thought they "challenged" the animals a bit too much and some jeeps drove a bit too aggressively close.
Have written about it here https://www.thewholemap.com/rundresa-pa-sri-lanka-bland-elefanter-och-tempel/
Nice to read your posts from Sri Lanka by the way! Really good and interesting!
/Gustav and Julia
04 January 2019 - 18:24
Christine - 29°. says:
Always fun and exciting with safaris, something I would like to experience more times. I have been on safari in South Africa, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. And on the safari in South Africa, we were told that when an elephant starts wiggling its ears, it is irritated. And that may be true, because there we were chased by a huge male elephant and it waved its ears a lot at that time. 🙂
07 January 2019 - 15:46