Boutique Hotels in Yala

Yala National Park sits at Sri Lanka's southeastern corner, where the dry-zone scrub of the Hambantota lowlands meets the Indian Ocean. Block I — the public safari zone — covers 141 km² of monsoon forest, lagoons, granite outcrops and acacia thorn, and holds the highest density of leopards of any protected landscape in the world. Sloth bears, sambar, spotted deer, elephants, mugger crocodiles and over 200 bird species share the same terrain.
 
The safari calendar runs February to July at peak — the dry months when the leopards concentrate around the remaining waterholes and visibility is highest. The park closes annually in September for the inter-monsoon. Most guests combine Yala with the southern coast (Tangalle, Mirissa, Galle) or with the central Hill Country tea estates, accessed via Wellawaya from the north.