Janet's Journal

A nature lovers paradise, the Udawalawe National Park was established in June 1972.  The 31,000 hectare park provides sanctuary for the animals displaced by the construction of the reservoir.  Marshland, forest, scrub and open grasslands support a thriving diversity of species.

The thrill of seeing elephants in the wild never wanes and with total numbers in excess of 400 it is a great place to see these gentle giants in various different habitats.  

The smallest baby elephants will always be well protected by their mothers and aunties while the ‘teenagers’ are more curious to see visitors.

When they are old enough they treat the disturbance of jeeps and people with distain only getting agitated if vehicles try and get too close.

They can be surprisingly difficult to see sometimes, like this elephant who decided it was cooler in the shade of the tree

Logs floating in the water turn out to be mugger crocodiles lying submerged with just their eyes above the surface.  More crocodiles can be seen lurking at the water’s edge.

Several species of deer, water buffalo, langurs, macaques and wild boar are among the larger mammals that inhabit the park together with a host of smaller mammals.  

Bird watchers will delight in spotting many of the almost 200 species, especially in January when large numbers of migrant birds from Europe make their home around the reservoir.  

Abundant land birds live in the parkland.

Several large birds of prey, notably five different species of eagle, can be seen perched on a tall tree stumps or soaring overhead.

My excellent safari driver set off in a different direction from the other vehicles once inside the park.

I was able to have almost three hours peaceful viewing of the birds and animals guided by him before any other vehicles came into sight. He charged Rs8,000 for himself and vehicle. The park entrance was about Rs13,000

I booked to stay for three nights at the excellent Kuma Safari Lodge. It is very close to the entrance to the park but as it is not on the main road it was very quiet.

Kumara organised the safari and also arranged for transport so that I could relax and look at other sites in the local area. Kumara’s Mother runs the lodge, keeping it immaculately clean and providing excellent breakfasts and delicious home cooked dinners