During the last school holidays, I went to the Minneriya National Park with my family to watch elephants. This national park is very famous for watching elephants. In the months of July and August, there may be over 400 elephants.
The late afternoon is the best time to watch elephants. You have to hire a safari jeep, and you are not allowed to get out of the vehicle until you come out of the park. The travel in the safari jeep itself is an adventure. Please see the recap video.
There are few other aminals in the park. You can see lots of birds. The view of the Minneriya wewa(a large tank) is fantastic. Most of the animals will be gathered around the wewa during the late afternoon.
Enjoying life…
Tuskers
#LetsGuide tips
Opened 6.00 am - 6.00 pm
Better to visit the park in the afternoon
Never get down from the jeep
Take water and a small snack with you
The standard charge for the safari jeep is between Rs. 5000/= - Rs 6000/= depending on the starting point
Ticket prices are as follow.
Foreigner - 15 (US $)
Foreign Child- 8 (US $)
Vehicle Entry - 250 Rs
Service Charge - 8 $ (for any number of ticktes)
15% VAT for the total
The following picture collage shows a few photos I took during the safari.
That’s awesome @AnuradhaP to see elephants roam in packs without being in an enclosed pen. Even the elephants get hot in Sri Lanka (flapping their ears to keep cool!) = )
I am curious what would be the local admission prices if you are a local vs a foreigner like me?
Minneriya is a A grade National Park and hundred of elephants live in there.there are another 2 national parks close together. Kaudulla National Park and Hurulu eco park.in any case if you cannot see the elpehants in Minneriya definitely you can see them in Kaudulla or hurulu eco park.Time to time they travel park to park.
in following link you can check about National park traffic (jeeps) , and it will give you and idea where the elephants are in.
It’s a great post. I loved seeing elephants when I went to Thiland… But these are in the wild so even more special. The more you post about your country the more I am desperate to visit.
That would be an incredible trip + with you as a tour guide… It would be nothing less than perfect.
Ps you should create a list of the top places I should not miss if I had 2 weeks exploring the island…
I just don’t remember the name of the park that I visited in Sri Lanka… Maybe you will recognize it? I guess it was between Colombo and Kandy cities.
