Wild Life

Minneriya National Park

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Sri Lanka is popular for its elephant population. if you wish to see the elephants up close, you could go on an elephant safari or visit an elephant orphanage to see them. But nothing beats the thrill of witnessing hundreds of elephants all at once in their own natural habitat. If you agree to this, Minneriya National park is the place for you to be

The specialty of Minneriya National park

Minneriya National Park is an 8,900 -Hectare protected reserve. A part of the popular Minneriya Tank which covers 4670 acres build by King Mahasen who was known for building tanks is situated within the Minneriya national park and this serves as a source of water which never empties. So herds elephants start to congregate around the waters of the tank when other sources of water are scarce. Talking about Minneriya, heard doesn’t mean groups 20 or 30 elephants. We are talking about hundreds of them. .Minneriya is considered to be THE LARGEST meeting place of Asian Elephants in the world. Close to three hundred elephants gather around the water tank during the season the period of August to January. This is called the ‘Gathering’. but throughout the year you will find elephants in abundance.

Jeep Safari

the only way for you to explore the park is through Jeep safari. You can arrange your Jeep safari according to your preference. You can take a safari in the morning, during daytime or in the evening. Generally, a Jeep safari takes about 2.5hrs to 3.00 hrs. The major attraction of the park is its elephant population and a 3-hour safari is ideal to see the Elephants. But you can go on a half day tour if you wish to see more of the park and for bird watching.

Morning tour – Morning tours will give the chance see many birds such as peacocks, Pelicans, Eagles, cranes etc . you can see 20% of the elephant gatherings in the mornings. Also, you will find rabbits, deer, wild boar and if you’re lucky you can spot a sloth bear or a leopard rarely

Evening tours – you can see most of the elephant gatherings during the evenings and also many birds. evening tours are highly recommended if you wish to see more elephants.

Half day tours – If you wish to do some bird watching additionally, you can go on a half day tour.

The park has recorded over 150 species of birds and it serves as an important habitat for many water birds. You can find Woodland Piper,spot-billed pelican, Malabar-pied Hornbills, Rufus Woodpecker, Grey Hornbill, Brown-capped Babbler, Sri Lanka Jungle Fowl and many more bird species here.

Other major Tourist attractions located close to Minneriya national park

Sigiriya village tour

Elephant safari

Sigiriya – The lion rock

Polonnaruwa – popular for ancient ruins and temples.

Elephants are a must see if you ever travel to Sri Lanka and Minneriya National Park is the best place for you to be.

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