Leopard Safaris Yala

The Leopard Safari near Yala National Park, Sri Lanka The Leopard Safari is tented accommodation. Where do I start, in a short phase DON’T BOTHER ITS A WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY We have done two tented safaris before one in Kenya and one in Zimbabwe. Both were tented safaris and were fabulous. The tented safari in Sri Lanka sadly didn’t live up to expectations. If you are going to do the safari don’t expect to see a diverse range of animals they simply don’t exist. We did see a leopard which was fantastic. What I will do is break this review into Leopard Safaris into two firstly the safari and secondly the accommodation The safari We had three excursions into Yala National park. The Park is separated into five blocks. Only block 1 and block 5 are currently available for safari The morning safari was an early start into block 1. We were on the road at 5.15am. Obviously we were excited to start so early we thought this must be because it’s a great time to see the animals sadly not. The early start was purely to get to the front of the queue before the hoards of other safari jeeps descended on entrance. We had to wait about an 45 minutes before entering the Park by that stage we were told the queue was about 1 1/2 km long ! I’ll go into more detail about this later. We then raced to the area where a leopard had been sighted. When I say raced I am not exaggerating. The queue to view the leopard was long we were in line for about 45 minutes before seeing the leopard asleep in the undergrowth. We drove on stopped for a while for a cup of tea before waiting in line for about 2 hours to pass the same leopard still lying down in the same spot but by now the queue was ridiculously long we were told a jeep had broken down. We never saw that jeep but the waiting made us late for breakfast at the tented camp which meant our driver seemed to think he needed to drive in excess of 70mph to get back to camp. This was completely unnecessary dangerous and quite frankly unacceptable. Having been on two other safaris I’m not sure it’s ethical for there to be no regulation to the numbers of Jeeps entering a park area or surrounding a single animal. The Sri Lankan authorities should seriously consider putting a cap on the numbers entering a particular area but I doubt that will happen because this is a huge money generator. The afternoon safari was in block five which was much further away from our camp. Block five is more open there are a small number of elephants quite a few deer, water buffalo and apparently leopards which we didn’t see. Our guide Danny was very good he spent time showing us the various birds that was wonderful. The birds in Sri Lanka are plentiful and abundant. On our return to camp we were told that we were up early the next day for another safari we said no we’re were booked in for an afternoon safari. Read on wand you will see why the staff were trying to force us onto an early morning safari. On the second full day of

Thank you to all the wonderful staff at leopard safaris. They were all full of smiles and welcomed us. Our guide Srineth was great company and full of so much information. The food was absolutely delicious and we were wonderfully surprised by different and stunning settings for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Thank you to you all!

My family stayed at Leopard Safaris and we had a fantastic time! The accommodations are very comfortable with AC and great beds. Breakfast lunch and diner is amazing with beautiful dishes fresh fruit and great deserts. The safaris were absolutely amazing with the very experienced and happy guides and driver that took us around Yala with a lot of wildlife birds and beautiful scenery and of course leopards! But also on the drives without leopards there was an enormous amount of things to see. We had an amazing time at this gem of a place in Yala with the kindest of people!

A truly wonderful family experience. From the moment you are met at the drop off point it is clear you are in safe hands with experienced staff who will do everything to make your stay excellent. Checking in was swift and easy, the staff laughed and joked with my 5 year old so we could get our luggage installed and clothing changed from our long travel. We shared drinks and stories with the other guests (mostly what animals they'd seen and still wanted to) then we joined together for the most delicious and authentic Sri Lankan lunch feast. The food our whole stay was fantastic. Communal eating so guests swap stories and chat was great. A table full of laughter and food. They catered to my son who can be fussy but he definitely had enough to eat. The safaris themselves were an absolutely unforgettable delight. Maybe we were extremely fortunate but we managed to see an example of every one of the animals at home in the park. My advice is to keep your expectations realistic. You aren't going to see a leopard take down a deer, you just won't, but if you're lucky you may see one basking in the sun. Be patient and stay quiet and you'll be rewarded. My 5 year old has a profound love of nature after his experience seeing expert guides excited to share their knowledge. Prasantha was our guide and has a wonderful way with his knowledge and a gentle and intelligent nature. When you return to camp in the evening it is transformed into a torch lit wonderland. Romantic and inspiring. The rooms and service are excellent and this is a fantastically well managed property. I would 100% recommend this place to anyone who loves nature and wants a luxury experience. I'd return tomorrow if I could. Can't wait to come back and visit the tree my son planted. 5 Great Big Stars! 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

I really can’t say enough about our INCREDIBLE experience with Noel and his team other than we wish we had more time and highly recommend at least 2 nights. We absolutely loved the beautiful property. It is thoughtfully designed with the environment at the forefront of every decision. The tents are beyond luxurious with strong air conditioning and a very unique and private outdoor bathroom and shower experience. The food is fresh, plentiful, sooo delicious and caters to different dietary requirements and levels of spice. Meals are at different locations on the property according to maximum shade in the daytime and an opportunity to stargaze in the evening. The staff is beyond accommodating, friendly and knowledgeable and the safari experience is fabulous. We were 2 families each with a teenage boy and they loved it too. I highly recommend this special experience to anyone heading to Sri Lanka! Thank you Noel and Cecile.

Quite a wonderful place to stay. The staff were helpful and attentive and our accommodation was above expectations. One does need to remember that this is still a camping facility with luxurious touches. The open air shower is fun but this does mean that you may be joined by a frog or gecko whilst abluting. The food was excellant Sri Lankan cuisine. Much effort is made to provide a lovely setting to eat, with torches, fairy lights and a fire in the evening. Meals tend to be a communal affair but provision can be made for sepearate dining, for example when we were leaving whilst the others were on the morning safari. The guides for the safari were knowlegeable and enthusiastic. Personaly we loved our stay. Although some might find things rustic, that is the nature of a campsite over a hotel and for us, part of the attraction.