Udawalawe national park

The Udawalawe national park is a national park in the south of Sri Lanka. It was created in 1972 when the Udawalawe dam was completed and related area was flooded, as a place where to give shelter to the wildlife. The park has an area of 308 km² and consists mostly of plains covered by grass. The park is located 165km southeast of Colombo. Inside the park there are over 600 Sri Lankan elephants as well as other large mammals and several species of birds and reptiles.
Visitors to the park must use one of the authorised jeeps. These are large, open air cars where tourists sit on a chair in the back and can observe the animals. A jeep costs LKR 3500 for two hours. Foreigners pay a LKR 5025 entrance fee. The tour across the park usually involves a loop starting at the park entrance and proceeding northeast until the Mau Ara reservoir and back.
How to get to the Udawalawe national park
The Udawalawe national park is accessible by road, either by bus or by car. Inside the park visitors may only move with the park jeeps
Accommodation
There is no accomodation inside the park. South of the park there are several hotels and guesthouses along the road.