Minneriya National Park Half Day Private Safari With Expert Guide
Description
To reserve a national park, please choose one from the options provided. Each reservation is for one park only, and you may select either a morning or evening safari. Please leave a note to inform us of your preferred park. The Jeep tour will commence from the main entrance of the park near the car park. If your hotel is within a 10km radius of the entrance, you are entitled to a complimentary pickup from your hotel in Habarana or Minneriya. The morning safari starts at 6:00 am, while the afternoon safari begins at 1:00 pm. During the safari, you will have the opportunity to witness groups of elephants, and crocodiles resting on the banks or swimming in the lakes, and vibrant birds of prey fishing. You may also encounter various other birds and animals, including herds of elephants visiting to quench their thirst and rest.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Minneriya National Park is a wildlife sanctuary located in Sri Lanka, famous for its large population of Asian elephants. A half-day safari in this park offers visitors the opportunity to witness these magnificent creatures in their natural habitat, as well as a variety of other wildlife such as Leopard, deer, buffalo, monkeys, and various species of birds. The safari typically lasts for about 4 hours include pickup and Drop-off, with experienced guides taking visitors on a thrilling ride through the park's rugged terrain in vehicles. The park is especially popular during the dry season when elephants gather around the park's central reservoir, offering a unique and unforgettable experience for wildlife enthusiasts and nature lovers. The Minneriya Elephant Gathering is a spectacular display of wildlife and a testament to the importance of preserving natural habitats for these magnificent creatures. It's an experience that should not be missed by anyone visiting Sri Lanka.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Service animals allowed
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(304)
We arranged for an afternoon at Minneriya during our stay in central Sri Lanka. Please do not make the mistakes we made. We arrived at the park entrance at 14:30 in the boiling heat. We met our guide and his dusty jeep. There was no shade and there were another 50 jeeps in the car park. We spent two hours smelling the other jeep’s exhaust as we all raced across the arid landscape one after another breathing in fumes and dust in order to reach the lake area to see the elephants trying to cool down. There were at least 20 elephants surrounded by 50 jeeps each trying to maneuver around each other to get a view of the elephants. Worse than a motorway leaving a city during a holiday period. If you are a safari - nature lover don’t bother. Sri Lanka is not the place for safari’s. The temples and archeological sites are much more beautiful and memorable. Safari’s in Tanzania and Botswana are on another league.
Tharu is very knowledgeable about the elephants. He is also a careful and skilled driver. We can truely recommend him. This company arranged the entrance fee for us, so we could jump the long queu of cars and get into the park faster.
A wonderful nature experience. Our guide, Kumara kept good positions to observe the groups of elephants. However the entrance fee of the National Park is not cheap, it’s worth visiting. We had a great day.
The safari was excellent with good stops seeing different elephant groups and other animals. The driver was flexible to our requests for stops and photos and drove safely in a good quality jeep. They kept us informed all the way from booking to return home with photos of the vehicle to meet, driver name and confirmation of return straight to our hotel. Park tickets were booked in advance so we avoided long queues at the entrance.
We were picked up on time as agreed in an old jeep. Our driver took us to the national park and assisted us with the payment process at the ticket counter. He took us to several elephants and thus well fulfilled our expectations. It was a beautiful experience, so we will definitely spend more time with these special animals again to gain some knowledge about them.
Beautiful experience. We saw a lot elephants. Even if there were a lot of jeeps, the experience is waouh.
Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We are delighted to hear that you had a beautiful safari experience with us. Seeing many elephants in their natural habitat is always a magical and unforgettable moment, and we are happy that you enjoyed the experience even with other jeeps in the park. Our team always does their best to find the best viewing opportunities and help guests enjoy the wildlife peacefully. Thank you for choosing our safari, and we hope to welcome you again for another amazing adventure in Sri Lanka!
Overall good experience. Guide dedicated to make sure I’m happy. Saw elephant herds, some peacocks, monkeys and bird. Pickup at 2:15pm, enter into the park around 3pm, leaving the park around 6pm, and back to hotel around 7pm. Pay park admission fee separately, 45 usd
Thank you for sharing your experience with us! We are happy to hear that you enjoyed your safari and that our guide was dedicated to making sure you had a great time. It is wonderful to know that you were able to see elephant herds, peacocks, monkeys, and various bird species during your visit. Our team always works hard to provide guests with the best possible wildlife experience while allowing enough time to enjoy the beauty of nature. We also appreciate you mentioning the park entrance fee details. As the national park admission fee is paid separately and goes directly to the park authorities, we always aim to keep our guests informed about this before the safari. Thank you again for choosing us, and we hope to welcome you back for another memorable Sri Lankan adventure!
We had an amazing safari experience, and the whole family absolutely loved it. We saw so many elephants, and the baby elephants were incredibly cute. Our safari guide was fantastic – he always gave us plenty of time to watch and enjoy the elephants without feeling rushed. We can highly recommend this tour to anyone looking for an unforgettable safari experience!
Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We are delighted to hear that you and your family had an amazing safari experience with us. Seeing elephants, especially adorable baby elephants, is always a special and unforgettable moment. We truly appreciate your kind words about our safari guide. Our team always focuses on giving guests enough time to enjoy wildlife peacefully and create memorable experiences without feeling rushed. Thank you for recommending our tour. We hope to welcome you and your family back again for another amazing adventure in Sri Lanka!
We were very excited about this safari, and it was truly incredible. The forest is very big and all the elephants can be seen around the water body. It is truly a wondrous sight to see so many, and you can see them at a close distance. we saw some baby elephants as well that were really cute. while there are some other animals like cranes, water buffaloes etc the main highlight is the elephants. there are a lot of birds as well. We enjoyed our safari and totally recommend it.
Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We’re thrilled to hear that your safari experience was everything you hoped for and more. Seeing so many elephants gathered around the water, especially with baby elephants, is truly a magical sight. It’s also great that you enjoyed spotting other wildlife like birds and buffalo along the way. Your recommendation means a lot to us, and we’re so happy you had such an unforgettable experience. We hope to welcome you again on another safari adventure in Sri Lanka!
Amazing time, we saw a lot of elephants and baby elepahnts as well! Definitely recommend it! We also stopped so we can take a walk and saw the place from a hill. The driver was super attentive as well and explained to us about the park and animals! Is better to go on a safari than to go to the Pinnawala elephant orphanage, dont support places like this because they chain the elephants to give them a bath and it is definitely a place that they care about money and tourist taking pics with animals. It is better to go to a safari and see the animals in the wild.
Thank you sir
