The park

Enter on its terms.

979 km² of dry-zone wilderness across five blocks and three gates, established as a national park in 1938. Here is how it works — and how to move through it well.

The seven rules

06:00–18:00. Gates open at first light, close at last. No exceptions.
Tracker mandatory. One licensed tracker rides in every vehicle.
Stay in the jeep. Feet on the floor, the whole run. Designated stops only.
25 km/h. The park speed limit. Convoys and off-track driving are banned.
Silence carries. No horns, music, shouting or whistling at wildlife.
Nothing in, nothing out. No feeding. No flash. No single-use plastic.
September closure. The park rests for annual maintenance. Plan around it.

Five blocks, three gates

Block I

Palatupana gate · 14,101 ha · highest leopard density on Earth

Block II

9,931 ha · Yalawela grasslands & Menik River lagoons

III

Block III

Galge gate · 40,775 ha · deep monsoon forest, quiet tracks

Block IV

26,418 ha · widespread forest · expedition permits only

Block V

6,656 ha · the far crossing · multi-day traverses

The landscape

Monsoon forest

Moist and dry monsoon forest concentrates along the Menik River, sheltering leopard and sloth bear among granite boulders.

Pelessa grasslands

Open coastal parkland where elephant, buffalo and spotted deer graze in the early light.

Tanks & waterholes

Maha Seelawa, Buthawa and Uraniya hold the water that pulls every animal into the open through the dry season.

Lagoons & coast

Brackish lagoons and the restless edge at Patanangala Beach — nesting ground for all five globally endangered sea turtles.

Hover a block · tap to set your zone

Book a safari.

Sixty seconds. One QR at the gate.