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Partly in the arid zone, this 500 square miles of National Park is dramatically different from lush jungles and paddy fields that cover much of the island. Composed of dry thorny scrub and dusty glades, it is so easy to imagine you are in an African bushfeldt, right down to the long-thorn bushes. Such ideal background to view elephant, leopard, wild boar, spotted deer, crocodile and panting jackal that an entrepreneurial South African, Englebrecht, who was shipped over as a POW after the Boer War instigated the Sanctuary at the turn of the century. Refusing to swear oath to The Queen for a ‘pardon’, along with 2 countrymen he turned hunter, had many local wives and children. A village of his descendents live on the Hambantota coast; they must feel at home on this Savannah.
Sri Lanka is known for the highest leopard density in the world and Yala, the most eco-friendly, attracts more tourists than any other park for this reason. Once you catch sight of a male leopard crossing the road at dusk to stalk a Sambur deer, phantom-like behind a bush you know this is real. The bird population is profuse, stunning and in November-January, the fantail peacocks everywhere is unforgettable.
Once the ancient kingdom of Ruhuna, Yala was the land of Queen Viharamahadevi, who was cast adrift in the sea as sacrifice to Ye Gods. She fetched up on the Kirinda coast to be saved by King Kavantissa. So ancient temples, ruins and caves which housed female bikkhus are within the sanctuary itself, and the pada yathra pilgrim’s route from Batticaloa to holy Kataragama knifes through it. Best time to see most animals is dawn and dusk. As befits Sri Lankan logic, the park shuts at 6.30! Try to avoid weekends or Poya days.
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