The Yala National Park is in the southeast of Sri Lanka. He's after that Wilpattu National Park the second largest national park in the country and has an area of 979 km², it is distributed over the Southern province, the province Uva and the Eastern Province.
background
Dynamic cards
Essentially two parts of the national park are accessible to visitors:
- Yala West. Also known as Block I. or as Ruhunu National Park based on the old Sinhalese kingdom in the south of the country.
- Yala East. Referred to as Kumana National Park, this name refers to the Kumana River, whose waters and riparian zones are specially protected areas for water birds. This part of the park was also fought over during the civil war.
The other blocks II, III, IV and V are partly strict protected areas. This includes an area along the coast where all types of endangered sea turtles come ashore to lay their eggs.
history
The first areas of the park were placed under protection as early as 1899, the national park was established in 1938.
landscape
The park is in the dry zone. There are extensive wetlands along the coast during the rainy season. Inland the vegetation is similar to the African thorn bush savannah, in the interior it is partly monsoon forests
Flora and fauna
Big Five
When it comes to wildlife observation in Africa, one speaks of the Big Five, that is elephant, rhinoceros, buffalo, lion and leopard. In Sri Lanka "only" the elephant and the leopard occur. Nevertheless, the five big animal species are doing well for tourist reasons, here they are just defined differently: the elephant and leopard are joined by them Sloth bear as land animals, and the other two are large animals from the water: sperm whale and blue whale. These last two can only be observed off the coast, there are plenty of opportunities for whale watching in the port cities of the south. It is not uncommon to see elephants in Yala Park, allegedly around 350 animals live here, and the rangers know where they are. It gets more difficult with the leopards. The park is said to have a high density of leopards, there are said to be 35-40 animals, but they are quite shy and not particularly easy to recognize due to their camouflage. The nocturnal sloth bear is even rarer; although it is a predator, its prey is mostly insects.
Other mammals
- Water buffalo
- Wild boars
- Axis deer
- Several species of monkeys
- Mongooses
Reptiles
- Monitor lizard
- Marsh crocodile
Birds
In the marshland you can see numerous water birds, including storks, flamingos, pelicans and cormorants. Hornbills can be seen quite often in the branches, several chicken birds live on the ground, the blue peacocks are not to be overlooked. Also striking are different types of pigeons and the brightly colored bee-eaters.
climate
getting there
- The 1 Hambantota Airport is only about 20 km from the entrance gate.
- The national park can be reached via the A2, it comes from Hambantota in the south and goes to Wellawaya to the north and further to Badulla.
A road leads to the south of the villages of Kataragame and Tissamaharama Yala West first to the information center with the possibility of a toilet stop, a little further east is the entrance gate to the park. It is open from 5:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., access is only allowed in a vehicle, tourists must be accompanied by a guide. Therefore, the price to be paid always depends on the number of people in a jeep and the vehicle costs, the number of local companions (1-2) and the duration of the tour. That is around 15 USD entry per person, with 6 people including jeep you have to reckon with around 35 USD per person.
mobility
For safety reasons, it is not allowed to leave the vehicle during the sightseeing tour. There are a few resting places in the park.
Tourist Attractions
- 1 Yala National Park Information Center
- 2 Yala National Park Entry Gate
activities
Jeep safaris:
