Udawalawe Elephant Safari – Private & Shared Jeep

Our morning safari was absolutely incredible and it far exceeded our expectations. Our guide Lahiru was outstanding and he couldn’t have made the experience better for us. All communication prior to the day was thorough, his knowledge about the park and the animals knew no bounds and his sense of humour and kindness made the morning really fun and interesting. What made our trip so good was he did not follow the crowds or other jeeps, we also saw lots of animals including a two month old elephant which was right next to us. It was my daughter’s 10th Birthday and it’s one she’ll never forget. A five star experience!

We had a wonderful experience at the park. We booked an early morning private safari with lahiru Prasad (+94 76 272 6799), which also helped us to organise the transport and find the accomodation. Highly recommended. In the safari we saw two elephants families and several lone male, together with crocodiles, eagles, deers, mangusts, camaleons. We were probably lucky. It was very early morning but totally worth it. Probably also evening would be a good time.

A vast and beautiful wildlife sanctuary with excellent flora and fauna. The entry through private operators owned safari vehicles is unregulated with private operators charging tourists as they like without any regulations on fees,which needs to be checked. The entry fee for foreign nationals is again very confusing with no clear signboard with details. The charges are vague with entry fee,vat,huge service charge and other charges which includes a local tourist fee of safari jeep driver being billed on tourists.This needs to be streamlined to attract more tourists. Rest rooms are in the main ticket reception area. Advised to use them before start of safari which takes around 3 + hours.Also advised to wear hats and carry sufficient water and basic snacks. Safari route is extremely scenic and traversed through open fields and lush dense forests , a beautiful lotus filled pond to a still water body. There are many elephants in the jungle who riam around in hordes. Wildlife sighting was great with family if elephants including baby elephants having bath and enjoying the water, running around, deers, eagles, mongoose, fox, wolves,crocodiles, wild buffaloes,etc; Many different colourful birds are also seen. All along elephant dungs are visible. The entire safari is scenic and beautiful with good sightings of wild animals ,reptiles and birds. Definitely a must visit destination for wildlife and nature lovers.

We had afternoon safari, we were picked up by Lahiru and his driver just before 2.00. We saw Elephants (plenty, even with long tusks), dears, buffalo, chameleon, peacocks, a mangouste, birds (including rare ones). ! Lahiru is the spotter, not the driver. That makes an immense difference versus other companies. He has extremely good eyes (took us 2 min to spot a chameleon he saw while driving fast) and knows the national Park inside out. He does not stay with other jeeps or follows them, and brought us in places nobody else would go. Felt we had park for ourselves sometimes. Jeep was nice, all seatbelts were working, good condition. The driver was fantastic, very very careful, driving slow when needed, which was great for my little ones. Yes he was a bit more expensive than other quotes I got but if you want the best, you know where to go. Def worth the extra money, should not be compared to safari with just a driver that would miss all hidden animals. His WhatsApp: +94 76 272 6799

Amazing experience, the team did excellent in explaining each animal and there habitat throughout

Best safari in Udawalawe, can’t recommend enough! We were picked up on time from our accommodation and driven into the park where we saw an elephant almost immediately! Our guide was so kind and experienced, and he took the time to show us many different types of animals from the big (elephants including a baby one!, buffalo, crocodiles etc) to the small (eagles, kingfisher, jackals, chameleons, mongoose etc) and knew so many facts about each one! Our driver knew exactly where to go to find all of the animals and it meant we had such a private and special experience. Watching the sunrise with the animals was amazing. We had great conversations and it’s clear how passionate both are about wildlife and conservation. Couldn’t recommend this tour enough, was such a highlight of our trip here!

We had a wonderful experience at Udawalawe National Park this morning! Our guide Lahiru Prasad (‪+94 76 272 6799‬) made it so special and was very knowledgable on where to go to find different animals, making it a very successful trip full of elephants, crocodiles, birds and jackals! We did the sunrise tour which I would highly recommend for seeing as much as possible. The guides were very relaxed and stayed away from animals where possible - although one elephant was very eager to see what food we had in our jeep and came right up to us! Would highly recommend Lahiru for the safari - thank you for making it so wonderful :) I have also included some photos Lahiru took through the binoculars on our phone of some beautiful animals..

Amazing experience , Guide Lahiru Safari +94 76 272 6799 (WhatsApp) , Very good Guide for the Safari , 100% recommended for family . start your journey sharp 2pm it will be amazing. knowledgeable person , safe and fun 100% , Just Don't miss in your Sri Lankan travel .

We did two tours through and our guide was Shanaka. He was so great the first day, we requested him the second day! He spotted animals so quickly, including many species of birds. Highly recommended! We booked him through Buddika Safari & Resort, also highly recommended!

Incredible safari experience! We loved the tour of the park. Our guide, Lahiru Prasad, was excellent: very punctual, attentive, kind, and always mindful of us. Additionally, he explained everything during the tour and made every effort to ensure we could see as many animals as possible. Thanks to him, we saw crocodiles, elephants, monkeys, and eagles in their natural habitat. The entire tour was very fun, exciting, and well organized from start to finish. Without a doubt, a completely recommendable experience. If you do the safari, request Lahiru as your guide because he made the tour even more special.