Yala National Park: Tips for Spotting Sri Lanka's Leopards
With the world's highest density of leopards, Yala is a wildlife photographer's paradise. Here's how to maximize your safari experience.
Yala's leopards have grown up largely undisturbed by vehicles, which means they're often remarkably relaxed around jeeps — draped over a rock or crossing the track in full daylight, seemingly indifferent to the cameras pointed their way.
Book your jeep for the first entry of the morning or the last of the afternoon. Sightings cluster heavily around dawn and dusk, when the heat breaks and the park's animals become active again after resting through the middle of the day.
Bring the longest lens you have. Even in a park known for close encounters, most leopard sightings are still across open scrub at real distance, and a 200mm+ zoom makes the difference between a keepsake photo and a blurry dot.
Beyond leopards, Yala's block one holds one of the densest populations of Asian elephants anywhere, along with sloth bears, crocodiles, and — around the lagoons — some of the best bird watching on the island.
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