What is a safari trip
You will explore the wildlife in the special jeep car. Your guide will explain all things about wild animals and the national park. You will see elephants, crocodiles, buffaloes, monkeys, peacocks, mongooses, and many other animals and birds which reside in the biodiversity of Udawalawe National Park. It is absolutely not like a zoo where you see the caught wild animals, it is a visit to real wildlife where animals live like it make always for many many years. It is an amazing experience to see how they find food, care about the child, hunt, make a herd and communicate.
How long is the safari in Udawalawe park
It is one of the important questions that you must discuss with your guide before your trip. For the first-time visit, the most common option is a half-day safari which is around 3-4 hours. The best guides may offer you an option “while you have not seen all most interesting”, it is around 4-5 hours, so it is undoubtedly recommended if you have enough time for the visit.
There is also the option of an “all-day” safari which is about 7 hours, but it is more expensive and a little bit exhausting. The all-day trip may be a good option if you are a professional photographer and ready to spend hours on the perfect shot.
What option is better – morning or afternoon safari
There are a lot of debates about the best time, but is really no best time for animals, only the best time for you. You will undoubtedly see a lot of elephants and other animals whatever time you choose. So if you stay in Udawalawa and you are a morning person you may start your trip with sunrise around 6 a.m.
But you miss nothing if you make it later at any time before noon.
What season is the best in Udawalawe
The best time in terms of weather is from late November to early April and at June and July. At this months more chances for the clear sky, and you will be comfortable watching the animals. From July to October the visit also has its own charm, it will be more rainy but sometimes even more animals can be seen right after the rain’s end.
Overnight options
There are overnight options where you stay at night in the land of the National park. It is really not cheap and not super comfortable, but it is an amazing experience.
First of all, you need a book your bungalow. It is only one way to do it on the Department of Wildlife Conservation eService. The price per person is around $125, per couple around $200 per night plus you must buy the full day tickets which are twice expensive as normal ones.
It may be a nice start or a nice finish to your safari, so you must ask your guide to arrange a transfer to/from the bungalow from the National park gates.
A few words about children
Safari is amazing experience for adults and children, but a long trip may be exhausting for small children, so it is recommended to separate the way to Udawalawa from your location and safari trip. You may ask your guide about the place to stay before/after your safari or find one of many options on booking.com or AirBnB.
It is no problem to ask the guide to finish the trip at the moment your child a tired if you hire a jeep for only one family, so it will be a better way to have one car per family if you are traveling in a big group.
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