Udawalawe National Park Safari & Elephant Transit Home

Udawalawe-Nationalpark

Über Udawalawe-Nationalpark

Erstklassiges Schutzgebiet für wilde asiatische Elefantenherden und die Rehabilitation verwaister Elefanten.

Udawalawe National Park is a magnificent wildlife reserve located on the boundary of the Sabaragamuwa and Uva provinces in Sri Lanka, established in 1972 to protect the vital catchment area surrounding the Udawalawe reservoir. Spanning over 30,821 hectares of open grasslands, thorny scrub jungle, and riverine forests, the park is globally acclaimed for offering guaranteed sightings of wild Asian elephants year-round. Unlike denser parks where wildlife can be elusive, Udawalawe’s sweeping open vistas allow visitors to observe large herds of wild elephants—often numbering in the dozens—roaming freely, feeding on tall elephant grass, and bathing in watering holes. The park is also home to sambar deer, water buffaloes, jackals, mugger crocodiles, and over 200 species of birdlife, including the majestic changeable hawk-eagle and white-bellied sea eagle. A major highlight adjacent to the park is the government-run Elephant Transit Home (ETH), established in 1995 with support from the Born Free Foundation. The facility rescues, rehabilitates, and cares for orphaned elephant calves from across Sri Lanka, feeding them with milk bottles four times a day before successfully reintroducing them back into the wild. Udawalawe offers an educational, deeply moving, and rewarding wildlife experience.

Wildelefantenherden, Elefanten-Transitheim, Udawalawe-Stausee