Wilpattu National Park

Wilpattu covers around thirteen hundred square kilometres and takes its name from the villus, natural rain-filled basins ringed with sand that dot the park and draw animals in. It is the largest national park in the country and the least crowded of the leopard parks, because the vegetation is thicker and sightings take longer, which is exactly why some people prefer it. Sloth bear, elephant, spotted deer and a long bird list are here alongside the leopards.

Background

The park lies in the lowland dry zone of the northwest coast, 26 kilometres north of Puttalam and 30 kilometres west of Anuradhapura, and spans 131,693 hectares from sea level to 152 metres. Nearly one hundred and six lakes and tanks are scattered through it. It became a sanctuary in 1905 and a national park on 25 December 1938, and the Wilpattu Ramsar Wetland Cluster was designated on 2 February 2013. Visitors can reach only approximately 25% of the park. Rain totals about 1,000 mm a year, with a mean temperature of about 27.2 °C. Wilpattu holds 31 mammal species, and a camera trap survey from May to September 2018, covering approximately 660 km2, recorded 133 individual leopards.

Source: Wikipedia, "Wilpattu National Park"

What you'll find

• The villus - natural sand-rimmed lakes that give the park its name and draw the game.
• The leopards - a healthy population, harder to see than at Yala but with far fewer jeeps.
• The sloth bears - most active around June and July when the palu fruit ripens.
• The scrub forest - dense dry-zone vegetation covering most of the park.

When to go

February to October is the dry window and the best for sightings. The park closes for part of the northeast monsoon in some years. Early morning drives are the most productive.

Before you go

Sightings take much longer than at Yala because the bush is thick; visitors expecting guaranteed leopards are often disappointed. Roads inside are rough. Jeep and tracker are compulsory.

Nearby

Anuradhapura is east, and Mannar is north.

Key facts