National Parks from Waikkal?

Hi All

As i would like to visit a national park whilst staying in Sri Lanka in March/April, im looking for some advice on where is best to go considering the LTTE situation and travel etc?? Wilpattu looks like it is close and looks like it has a good range of Wildlife but is this safe? Wasgamua looks alot further away and looks asthough it doesnt have such a verity of wildlife??

Any advise much appreciated.

National Parks from Waikkal?

Hi,

From recent posts it%26#39;s doubtful whether Wilpattu is open yet.

The closest option from Waikkal will then be Minneriya National Park (close to Habarana), about 150 km/4 hours drive.

The other option is Uda Walawe National Park in the deep south, about 250 km/6 hours drive.

Both parks have a good range of wildlife.

As safaris are done at dawn and dusk it will require an overnight stay. Habarana/Sigiriya has better options for accommodation and going to the Cultural Triangle also gives you the opportunity to visit the ancient sites at Polonnaruwa, Sigiriya Rock Fortress and the rock temple at Dambulla.

Hans

National Parks from Waikkal?

Further,

Both UK FCO and Australian Government says that Wilpattu is off-limits.

They both advise against travel to areas north of the A12 road (which runs from Puttalam to Anuradhapura). Wilpattu is in this area and travel there there will be totally at your own risk, i.e. your travel insurance will not cover for even petty incidents.

Hans

Thank you so much for the info. Have you visited both the national parks you have mentioned? If so is there one you would recommend over the other??

Thanks again

Hi there,

Just to jump in a bit. We%26#39;ve done Minneriya once and Udu Walawe twice. We%26#39;d rate them roughly same. Minneriya has a bigger herd of elephants with almost year-round chances of calves, UW has a more nice natural backdrop (big mountains in the distance) though they could be obscured by clouds. Also accomodation near UW park is quite limited, whilst near Minneriya there are lots of star-class hotels.

Also seeing the location where you are, and the chances for combining Minneriya with e.g. Sigiriya rock and an elephantback ride at Habarana, seems a nobrainer to us - go for Minneriya.

All the best,

%26lt;Erik%26gt; %26amp; [Sandya]

Hi again,

I have not visited either of them, but they are on my wish list so maybe when I go back to Lanka in March-April.

I agree with Erik, go to Minneriya. Wider range of good accommodation and you can combine with visits to other interesting places in the Cultural Triangle, e.g. Sigiriya, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Dambulla.

Hans

Thank you both for your help and information.

We went to Yala last year which took pretty much the whole day to drive to as stopped all along the coast and did an over night before a 6am start. We saw elephants with babies and a leopard not sure what the advice is for there at the moment but if you intend doing the south coast/galle etc and it is safe don%26#39;t rule it out