Udawalawe National Park: elephants, ePermit and the road in

Choosing Udawalawe for elephants in open country

Sri Lanka Tourism calls Udawalawe "undoubtedly the best place in Sri Lanka to see wild Asian Elephants throughout the year", with about 500 elephants that often roam in herds of up to 100. The park lies on the boundary of the wet and dry zones, where plains dominate, with marshes, forest and grassland around the reservoir and the Walawe river. The Kalthota Range and Diyawini Falls lie in the north of the park, and the rocky outcrops of Bambaragala and Reminikotha stand inside it. The Uva Provincial Council's tourism site gives the area as over 30,000 hectares.

Choose Udawalawe when herds in open country are the aim, and Yala when leopards are. Give the park one night and the morning after: the first-trip guide says Yala and Udawalawe each need a day of their own, so it does not fit a travel day between two other stops.

Sleep in the Udawalawe area, which puts you nearer the park than any coastal or hill base and suits a single night before the safari. The where-to-stay guide covers rooms and how the island's other bases compare.

Getting to Udawalawe by road

Udawalawe is reached by road with a driver, from the south coast, from Ella and the hill country, and from Colombo. Our transport guide explains how to check a driver's Sri Lanka Tourism registration number and what the fuel quota means for the car.

The German Foreign Office (checked on 17 October 2026) finds night driving outside towns not advisable, so plan to reach your lodge in daylight, and plan the road leg to Udawalawe as a transfer day.

No official page publishes the road distance or time to Udawalawe from Ella, the south coast or Colombo, a bus timetable, or the distance from the village lodges to the park gate; ask your driver.

Booking the park permit

Gazette 2292/11 of 8 August 2022, which the Department of Wildlife Conservation applies from 2 September 2022, puts Udawalawe in its top fee category: a foreign adult pays US$25 for a daytime visit in the tourist season and US$20 in the rest of the year, a child aged 6 to 12 pays US$15 or US$10, and a child under 6 goes free. A foreign group also pays US$10 per vehicle for tourist services, and government taxes come on top of every charge. The gazette names no months for the tourist season; the Department sets it, so the ePermit shows the amount that applies once you choose the park and the date. The jeep is a separate private charge that no official page publishes. You pay online with Visa or Master cards or eZcash, and the Department adds a convenience fee for online payment. The booking system shows the number of permits remaining once you choose the date and the park.

Book the permit online before you travel. The Department's Day Visitor ePermit guide gives the steps:

• Open the Department's website, go to eServices, then Day Visitor ePermits, and choose to reserve park permits online.
• Read the instructions and continue, then choose the date and the national park from the drop-down list.
• Fill in the reservation details, then the details of your group, which must include drivers, guides and similar staff.
• Enter the vehicle's information, check the details and proceed to payment.
• Pay and save the receipt to show at the park entrance, and take a printout of the permit: the booking page calls the printout mandatory, and the QR code on it is what the entrance checks.

Getting in: the park officer, the vehicle and the hours

The ePermit terms, as listed on the Department's booking page on 17 October 2026, say that an officer of the Department, nominated by the park's game ranger or officer in charge, accompanies you throughout your stay and rides in your vehicle, and that every guide and driver you bring must be named on the permit. You may enter from 05:00 to 18:00 and must be out by 18:30. Permit holders may not travel inside the park between 18:30 and 05:00. These are the Department's general conditions and name no park.

Wrong vehicle details on the ePermit may mean extra payment at the park gate. No official page says how jeeps are hired or what they cost at Udawalawe, whether you may drive your own vehicle in, or which gate hours and safari slots apply to the park; ask your lodge when you book.

The safari and the Elephant Transit Home

A safari takes you across open plains and marsh around the reservoir. Sri Lanka Tourism names the morning and evening as the best hours and adds that late evening offers photographic opportunities against the sunsets. The Uva council's tourism site says morning and evening drives are the best times to see active wildlife in cooler weather. The park records 184 species of birds, 33 of them migratory, 43 species of mammals and 135 species of butterflies. The Uva site says leopards are occasionally seen, especially on early-morning or late-evening safaris, and lists jackals, spotted deer and crocodiles among the animals.

A lodge near the park describes the Elephant Transit Home as a rehabilitation centre for orphaned calves, with the aim of returning them to the wild; it says visitors watch the calves drink from large bottles at feeding time and asks them to keep a respectful distance. No official page lists the feeding times or the fee; ask at your lodge or at the gate.

Elephants, crocodiles and how to behave in the park

The UK Foreign Office (checked on 16 October 2026) says that some Sri Lankan animals can be dangerous and that wild elephants and crocodiles will attack humans on occasion; its advice is to follow authorised guides or your travel operator when in doubt. The permit's conditions tell you to obey the directions of the Department's officers for visitors' safety. They also forbid shouting, clapping, singing or playing a musical instrument where it may disturb an animal. France Diplomatie (checked on 16 October 2026) says never to give food to animals in parks and near archaeological sites, because monkeys and elephants can become aggressive.

When to go and what to bring

Sri Lanka Tourism says the elephant herds show no seasonal variation, so any month can work. The Uva council's tourism site adds that sightings are more frequent in the dry season, May to September, when animals gather around waterholes. Our best-time guide gives the monsoon calendar for the roads you will travel on the way in. No official page publishes closure dates for Udawalawe.

The Uva council's safari essentials are light, neutral-coloured clothing, sunscreen, a hat, insect repellent, and a camera or binoculars. Add water; a morning drive starts before the heat.

No official page names a restaurant or a local speciality in Udawalawe, so the dishes below are the national ones that Sri Lanka Tourism describes; look for them on lodge menus and in the village.