Photography by Valji Varia
www.natural-variation.com
Yala National Park is divided into 5 blocks, the park has a protected area of nearly 130,000 hectares of land consisting of light forests, scrubs, grasslands, tanks and lagoons. The blocks have individual names such as, Ruhuna National Park (Block 1), and Kumana National Park or 'Yala East' for the adjoining area. Situated in Sri Lanka’s south-east hugging the panoramic Indian Ocean, Yala was designated a wildlife sanctuary in 1900 and was designated a national park in 1938.
Yala is home to 44 varieties of mammal and 215 bird species. Among its more famous residents are one of the highest concentrations of leopard in the world, Sri Lankan elephants, sloth bears, sambars, jackals, spotted dear, peacocks, and crocodiles.
The best time to visit Yala is between February and July when the water levels of the park are quite low, bringing animals into the open. The Yala National Park is the most visited park in Sri Lanka.
Wildlife highlights: Sri Lankan Leopard (Panthera pardus kotiya), Sri Lankan elephant, Sri Lankan sloth bear, wild water buffalo,Toque macaque, golden palm civet, red slender loris, monitor lizard.
