Kaudulla National Park
Kaudulla National Park
4.5
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Monday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Tuesday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Wednesday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Thursday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Friday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Saturday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Sunday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
About
A safari in the Kaudulla national park in Sri Lanka is a bucket-list aspiration for many tourists, which mean the place is an absolutely incredible wildlife spectacle. Located in the historic city of Polonnaruwa in Sri Lanka, Kaudulla national park presents an ample of opportunities for travellers to spot majestic elephants in their natural habitats. In addition to the elephants, sambar deer, Sri Lankan axis deer, chevrotain, wild boar, Asian spoonbill, grey-headed fish eagle, painted stork and openbill stork are common visuals at the park. Aside from these, one could rarely capture the glimpse of leopard and sloth bear in the forest. Going on a bumpy ride through an evergreen forest of Kaudulla national park along the small trails is a great adventure, wildlife enthusiasts can’t say ‘NO’ to. The Kaudulla reservoir being the life blood to the wildlife of the park, attracts herds of elephants during the dry season from nearby Minneriya, Wasgamuwa and Somawathiya national parks.
Duration: More than 3 hours
Meets animal welfare guidelines
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£45.13
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4.5
1,050 reviews
Excellent
644
Very good
262
Average
86
Poor
30
Terrible
28
Stephanie C
56 contributions
Aug 2023 • Couples
Elephants, Elephants and more Elephants! So many I lost count after 30! We did three safaris in Sri Lanka (Yala and Udawalawe too) and here is where we saw the most elephants. Some came within 3/4 meters of the jeeps! We had a few put on a show for us too - cleaning themselves with the water and trumpeting! After a while watching one mum and her baby, our driver turned the jeep on to drive away, this did sadly spook the mum who then started to run at the jeep. Thankfully we got away fine! Such a brilliant experience and would highly recommend! We did an afternoon Safari (1:30 - 5pm) in August.
Written 24 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Neil S
Ludlow, UK157 contributions
Aug 2023 • Friends
Went for a half day safari in the afternoon and saw at least 200 elephants in multiple groups at close quarters.
Beautiful park but do not go if expecting to see more than elephants.
Appears to be one way in and one way out. We arrived early but leaving we got stuck by at least 50 vehicles coming in as we were leaving. Being earlier seems to improve your view and you would avoid the chaos.
One picture taken on way out when it was busy to illustrate how the viewing changed.... Does not show the sheer number of other vehicles though.
Beautiful park but do not go if expecting to see more than elephants.
Appears to be one way in and one way out. We arrived early but leaving we got stuck by at least 50 vehicles coming in as we were leaving. Being earlier seems to improve your view and you would avoid the chaos.
One picture taken on way out when it was busy to illustrate how the viewing changed.... Does not show the sheer number of other vehicles though.
Written 4 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Julie A
Sandbach, UK94 contributions
Dec 2022 • Friends
This was an amazing tour for the money charged the tour lasted 3.5 hours. We saw so much wild life in this park including wild boar, peacocks and rare birds. We got up close to elephants and a herd family.
We had an excellent guide who pointed out animals and rare species.
We had an excellent guide who pointed out animals and rare species.
Written 4 December 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ruwani K
Colombo, Sri Lanka73 contributions
Aug 2023 • Friends
One of the best experiences and worth the money! Best time to leave from damnulla/sigirya is after 1pm.. 2-4pm is a good time to see the elephants. The jeep picked us up
From the hotel (stayed at sigirya), it was like a 35mins drive to the park. The driver helps you with the tickets, expect to wait for 20-30mins based on the crowd. It was crowded when we went but we still got a good experience. Charith was our Jeep safari guide. The elephants are lovely, you’ll see many of them, one of the best experiences. It’s best to be quite when your near the elephants, some of the visitors did make noise which wasn’t good because it raises tension for the elephants and they could just run
Away or towards.. so best to enjoy quietly!!
From the hotel (stayed at sigirya), it was like a 35mins drive to the park. The driver helps you with the tickets, expect to wait for 20-30mins based on the crowd. It was crowded when we went but we still got a good experience. Charith was our Jeep safari guide. The elephants are lovely, you’ll see many of them, one of the best experiences. It’s best to be quite when your near the elephants, some of the visitors did make noise which wasn’t good because it raises tension for the elephants and they could just run
Away or towards.. so best to enjoy quietly!!
Written 11 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Gayanath W
5 contributions
Apr 2022
On a good day you can see a large herd of elephants of all sizes. It is an amazing site to see close to 60-70 wild elephants roaming around. Great scenery and can get some really good photos
Written 13 April 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mary D
3 contributions
Aug 2024 • Family
Worth spending time. Seen more than 50 elephants. Good ride safari. Nearly 2 hours ride. Best Jungle View Safari . Contact any safari rider before you planned to visit
Written 20 August 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
psusc
45 contributions
Dec 2022
Probably the best location in Sri Lanka to watch and experience elephants. Best book a 4 wheel drive which are available. If the driver recommends, get a Tracker for the trip. Will have to buy tickets to enter the park. Overall very good experience.
Written 23 December 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Csilla
Budapest, Hungary13 contributions
Oct 2023 • Couples
It was a very great experience and great time in the national park.
We went trough the park with a jeep. We saw many many elephants, very close, some monkeys, peacocks, birds, mongooses and a snake crossed our way.
I could recommend you to go to the park.
We spent there around 3 hours.
We went trough the park with a jeep. We saw many many elephants, very close, some monkeys, peacocks, birds, mongooses and a snake crossed our way.
I could recommend you to go to the park.
We spent there around 3 hours.
Written 1 November 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
amano010
Rotterdam, The Netherlands6 contributions
Nov 2015 • Couples
Please don't get me wrong, the park itself is beautiful and it's great that there is still a place for animals like elephants to live in their natural habitat.
But... We as people/tourist are totally ruining it. I'm disgusted of meself that I've been one of these people that couldn't resist the temptation to see the few remaining elephants in the wild. And actually paid for it!
This park isn't at all what I expected/hoped it would be. First of all, at the entrance my girl was totally ignored when she wanted to pay for entrance. Only after she became mad and I walked by this jerk finally helped her while he just looked away.
But that wasn't the worst at all. Inside the park it became very clear that this hasn't anything to do with the well being of animals. About 60 jeeps were driving like mad men to be the first reaching the elephants. There isn't a road at all near the lake so lots of grass (the animals' food) were distroyed and many cars got stucked in the mud because of guys who couldn't drive at all. Fact is, those drivers don't need any license and basically there are no rules at all to protect the animals or the natural environment. Jeeps (mostly filled with big, fat white people and Chinese people who acted like they were war heroes) constantly drove closer and closer and blocked the way for other elephants that were looking how to join the group. One mother elephant with 2 kids got very stressed and stormed by the jeeps which could easily have let to trouble. The most disgusting thing was that most of the tourist seemed the enjoy this and didn't realised at all that this elephant behaved like this because she felt she and her babies were in danger.
I will never again visit any park like this. It just business and I've got no idea where all the money goes. One thing is for sure, it isn't used for the well being of those beautiful creatures. So please, don't be as stuped as I was and try to be informed about the national park you want to visit in the future. Hopefully this review helps a little to inform people before they pay lots of money to enter any wildlife parkl
But... We as people/tourist are totally ruining it. I'm disgusted of meself that I've been one of these people that couldn't resist the temptation to see the few remaining elephants in the wild. And actually paid for it!
This park isn't at all what I expected/hoped it would be. First of all, at the entrance my girl was totally ignored when she wanted to pay for entrance. Only after she became mad and I walked by this jerk finally helped her while he just looked away.
But that wasn't the worst at all. Inside the park it became very clear that this hasn't anything to do with the well being of animals. About 60 jeeps were driving like mad men to be the first reaching the elephants. There isn't a road at all near the lake so lots of grass (the animals' food) were distroyed and many cars got stucked in the mud because of guys who couldn't drive at all. Fact is, those drivers don't need any license and basically there are no rules at all to protect the animals or the natural environment. Jeeps (mostly filled with big, fat white people and Chinese people who acted like they were war heroes) constantly drove closer and closer and blocked the way for other elephants that were looking how to join the group. One mother elephant with 2 kids got very stressed and stormed by the jeeps which could easily have let to trouble. The most disgusting thing was that most of the tourist seemed the enjoy this and didn't realised at all that this elephant behaved like this because she felt she and her babies were in danger.
I will never again visit any park like this. It just business and I've got no idea where all the money goes. One thing is for sure, it isn't used for the well being of those beautiful creatures. So please, don't be as stuped as I was and try to be informed about the national park you want to visit in the future. Hopefully this review helps a little to inform people before they pay lots of money to enter any wildlife parkl
Written 7 November 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
True Sri Lanka
Dambulla, Sri Lanka52 contributions
Oct 2018 • Friends
It was Amazing Safari in Kaudulla National Park. Got to do a safari if your in Habarana or anywhere near these park. Kaudulla national park, Minneriya National park, Hurulu Eco National park. These Three national park have in Habarana. Seen as More than 200 elephant. Elephant, Painted stork, Ibis, Pelican, lesser Adjutant, Gray headed fish eagle, peacock, November is best time to visit.
Written 7 November 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Does anyone know how much the entrance fees are? including any extra taxes and fees but excluding the jeep safari? Thanks!
Written 20 November 2023
Hi Everyone who like get an amazing Safari Experience with low budget? Here is a Solution please Search on Google " Pigeon Island Car Rental Service" and log There Website And get more information and services Kaudulla Minneriya Hurulu Eco Willpatthu Udawalawa Yala Kalawewa Wasgamuwa bundala Kumana National Park Jeep Safari & Pigeon Island Snorkelling, Corral Island Snorkelling, Wheal & Dolphin Watching, Diving & Diving Courses Currency Exchange Service, Restaurant in nilaveli, Airport Pick-up Drop-off Day tours multi day tours and many more with your budget join Compare prices and book your tour & share link among others who visit Srilanka find us on WhatsApp Viber Imo We Chat messenger Facebook instrgram Google TripAdvisor log on " pigeon Island Car Rental Service" Your Travel Partner further assistance +94713227050 Whatsapp who like Join with us call now
Written 22 September 2019
Top Rated on TripAdvisor
Written 23 September 2019
Hi can anyone recommend a driver\ company to book an elephant safari for 6 adults please? We have transport to and from the park so looking to book a driver at the park itself . Any help greatly appreciated, thanks!
Written 14 September 2019
Check it out
Kalum Jeep Safari
Habarana
+94772300865
Written 15 September 2019
Hi, I will be visiting Habarana in mid-August. Would it be better to go to Kaudulla or Minneriya to see the gathering of elephants? Thank you!
Written 7 July 2019
Hi log in to pigeon Island Car Rental Service we are the best & cheapest Safari provider in the Area log in to our website and get more information and services as well as Share my link among the friends It will help full for every one visit Srilanka
Written 18 September 2019
Hi, is June a good time to see the elephant herds? We will be based in Kandy, wondering about the probability of seeing them given the long distance to travel there. Thanks!
Written 6 April 2019
Mostly elephants will be in kaudulla national Park and you can see the animals gathering.
Written 6 April 2019
Is it advisable to do a full day safari at Kaudulla for wildlife photography?
Written 27 March 2018
feel the difference experience with us
Written 27 March 2018
Can anybody recommend a good safari jeep contact to visit the park, prefer someone who is good at tracking birds as I am interested in a full day safari
Written 19 December 2017
cantact kalum Jeep Safari for your inquiry.
+94772300865
Written 20 December 2017
How long do the elephants remain in this park? We are visiting Sri Lanka at the beginning of November....will they still be there? Any suggestions on how best to see them?
Thanks in advance
Written 10 September 2016
How long do the elephants remain in this park? We are visiting Sri Lanka at the beginning of November....will they still be there? Any suggestions on how best to see them?
Thanks in advance
Written 10 September 2016
I think they will be going south by then.
Written 14 September 2016
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