A month or so ago I went up to Colombo with the family for a few days while our main gate was being fixed. Because I worked a few days straight I had two extra days off and decided to head up to Udawalawe National Park. (This was May 23)
I hopped on a bus around 9:15 towards Matara for 120 Rs (78 cents). I arrived in Matara at 10:40 and immediately caught a bus to Emblilpitiya and paid 120 rs again. This bus ride was about 2.5 hours long. This was a quieter road as soon as we left the coastal road and drove past banana, sugar cane, and rice fields. About an hour into the ride a guy sitting across from me asked me if I was going to Udawalawe for a safari-this wasn’t a long shot in the dark as not much else is around. I said yes and he told me he owned a truck and did tours through the park. He quoted me 3000rs for 3 hours which was a lot better than the 4,500 the place I was staying at offered. I had planned on going for a sunrise safari the next morning but Kuma informed me that the sunset safari was much better as it would be cooler so more animals would be out. The elephants also go to the watering hole in the evening so we would have a better chance of seeing them. He showed me pictures of previous safaris and I decided this would be a good idea. We hopped off the bus in Embilipitiya and I grabbed a bite to eat before we caught the next bus to Udawalawe. Kuma was super helpful with showing me which bus to take and then having the bus driver drop me off right in front of the place I stayed at. I had about an hour before Kuma was going to pick me up so I checked in. I stayed in a little cabin at a place called Kottawatta Village. It was a great outdoorsy location right by a bus stop and close to town with little huts in the jungle-bungalows with air-conditioning near a pool and a line of safari-styled tents. There were a few standard rooms by the office as well. I checked in and received a cold towel and juice before walking over a bridge to my cabin. There was a large building used for the kitchen and dining area where a few cats were roaming around. The man who checked me in pointed out a monkey and warned me they might be chatty the next morning. I relaxed a bit before being picked up by Kuma.
I sat up front and we drove to the park where we paid for entry. We drove a bit further before I hopped up top for a 360 view. I wasn’t prepared for how bumpy it would be and chose a chair with one armrest to help me not fall out. The road was a one lane dirt road with more ruts than level ground. First we came across three water buffalo bathing in mud.
One of the great things about this park is the respect they have for the animals. We were not allowed to get out of the truck, shout, or disturb the animals if they were walking on the road or crossing. We did a lot of sitting and gazing at the animals as they went about life. After the buffalo we saw a few peacocks walking across the road. They had all just shed their long tail feathers so they were not as magnificent as usual but still great to see.
We drove for a bit further before seeing a small herd of elephants – about 6 females (cows) with two babies (calves). Kuma told me the cow will stay with the calf and other females but the males (bulls) generally stick to themselves unless it is mating season. It takes 22 months for a calf to grow in its mother before being born-makes the 9 months for humans seem like a walk in the park. We watched this herd for a while as Kuma told me all different facts and pointed out other animals around.
He also helped me learn my first two Singalese words : Stooty: thank you and Aubowan : you’re welcome. He hopped in the back and pulled out a few fresh lemons and fresh pepper from his home in Udawalawe.
A few trees were filled with monkeys near the top and toucans were flying from tree to tree along with some hawks. There are 5 different types of hawks in the park and by the time the safari was over we saw all of them. There was also a small herd of deer in the bushes we saw for a quick second before they ran away. We continued on the way to a waterhole where we saw crocodiles, land monitors, and turtles. Around the next bend was a solo bull having a wash in the waterhole. After about 5 minutes he came out right behind the truck to give himself a dust bath.
Next we saw two cows with a pretty young calf walking with them down the road. A few minutes later we came across another herd and waited for them to cross the road.
We were in search of a leopard and found prints near a large rock – most likely a mom with two cubs according to the paw prints. We didn’t get a glimpse of them but as it is quite rare to see them I wasn’t too disappointed. It was closing in on 6pm which is when we had to be out of the park or the rangers would give Kuma a bit of a hassle. We had maybe 7 minutes to get out so Kuma put the pedal to the medal as much as he could on the bumpy roads. We joked we could just saw an elephant was blocking the road and a minute later that was the case.
We made it out just in the nick of time. In the 3 hours we were in the park we had seen only 1 other jeep one time for a minute or two. It felt like we were the only ones for miles which might have been the case. It was such a peaceful beautiful park and I highly recommend going. Most people who come to Sri Lanka go to Yala National Park on the west coast. This is a much bigger park but only a few more leopards and many many more jeeps. One of the main complaints of going to Yala is having 5 or more jeeps in pictures of elephants because there are so many people. This makes the elephants have a much less natural life and they become used to vehicles. Because I came in the off season the elephants were much more wary of vehicles as there were not too many visitors. In all we saw about 35 elephants and even Kuma kept saying it was a very successful safari.
I am more than happy with my experience in Udawalawe and so glad I was able to meet Kuma. It’s crazy to think about timing and how everything works out especially when I woke up the next morning and it was raining-most likely the safari would have been cancelled if I would have held off until the morning. I had breakfast where I stayed and chilled in a hammock under the shelter until checkout time.
I stopped at the Elephant Orphanage before heading back. It is also a rehabilitation center and they have a little museum you can walk through to learn more about what they do. The viewing area is probably 100 meters from the elephants and there are signs all around sawing to whisper and to keep the elephants experience as natural as possible. They have as little human interaction as possible- only with a few staff members who feed, water, and treat them. There is a sign that states “Jungle is silent, you too be silent.” Over 100 baby elephants have been released back into the wild. The 45 elephant calves being cared for roam freely in the jungle and come for milk every 3 hours. The center monitors them using radio collars which confirm that 13 females are having their own babies. There is no difference between wild and rehabilitated elephants thanks to their successful program.
I cannot recommend this trip enough. I learned so much about elephants and loved every minute of the safari. If you are planning a trip come in May or June to miss the crowds. Give Kuma a ring to get a great informative safari. He was raised in Udawalawe and almost grew up in the park. He has been doing tours for over a year now and is fantastic – always finding any moving thing, pointing it out, and telling you an interesting fact about it. Here is his number: 0771693347.
the nomadic nanny 