Kaudulla National Park · Sri Lanka
When the Minneriya gathering breaks up in October, the elephants walk north into Kaudulla. Fewer jeeps, more forest, the same herds. Open 4×4s, experienced driver-trackers, free pickup within 5 km of Habarana town.
When to come
Kaudulla sits on the elephant corridor between Minneriya and Wasgamuwa, so the herds move through it rather than living in it. As the Minneriya tank refills after the first rains, they walk north into Kaudulla — numbers here climb from around October and hold through January, exactly when Minneriya quietens. We track them daily and take you to whichever park they are actually in, free of charge.
Tour packages
Every package runs in an open 4×4 safari jeep with a raised roof and an experienced driver-tracker. Take a seat in a shared jeep, or take the whole vehicle. Food and drinks are not included on any of them.
Pickup is free for any hotel within about 5 km of Habarana town. Further out we charge for the transfer based on the distance, and we always confirm that figure with you before you pay anything.
The fine print, up front
No surprise charges at the gate. Everything below applies to all four packages unless a line says otherwise.
From our own drives
Every photo here was taken on one of our safaris. Tap any of them to open it full size.
Not only elephants
Kaudulla is a birding park with a serious elephant habit. The tank draws storks, spoonbills and kingfishers, and the forest edge holds hornbills and the endemic Sri Lanka junglefowl. Bring the zoom lens — your tracker carries a field guide.
From booking to gate
Choose the package, the date and how many of you are travelling. The price updates as you go — no quote request, no waiting.
Checkout runs on the Sampath Bank payment gateway with 3-D Secure. Visa, Mastercard and Amex, charged in Sri Lankan rupees at the day's rate. Your card details never touch our server.
A booking reference appears on screen straight away, and the same permit lands in your inbox and on WhatsApp within a minute.
Your driver messages you the evening before with his name, plate number and exact pickup time. He waits in your hotel lobby.
Instant booking
Fill this in, pay, and your permit is issued on the spot. Prefer to talk it through first? Send the same details to WhatsApp with one tap.
Questions
Kaudulla is at its best from roughly October to January. As the Minneriya tank refills after the first rains, the herds that gathered there through August and September walk north into Kaudulla, and numbers here climb just as Minneriya quietens down. Sightings are good the rest of the year too, but that is the window. We track the herd daily and take you to whichever park they are actually in, at no extra cost.
It depends on the month. Minneriya has the bigger numbers from June to September, during The Gathering. Kaudulla takes over from around October to January. Kaudulla is also the quieter park all year — fewer jeeps, more forest track, a more natural feel — which suits photographers and anyone who dislikes a queue of vehicles around one elephant. If you cannot decide, take the combo and do both in one day.
A seat in a shared jeep starts at €25 per person for a 3-hour drive; a private jeep starts at €60 for the whole vehicle, up to six people. Park entrance tickets are separate and set by the Department of Wildlife Conservation — about €30 per adult and €15 per child, including service charge and VAT. You can add tickets at checkout so there is nothing to pay at the gate. Food and drinks are not included on any safari, and an English-speaking safari guide is an optional LKR 4,000.
In a sharing jeep you buy a seat and travel with up to five other guests, which keeps the cost down. In a private jeep the whole vehicle is yours — you set the pace, stop where you want, and the driver works to your photography rather than to a group. Private is the better call for families, photographers and anyone who wants a specific pickup time.
Free within about 5 km of Habarana town — that covers most Habarana hotels and guesthouses. Sigiriya, Dambulla, Kandalama, Polonnaruwa, Trincomalee and anywhere further out carry a transfer charge worked out from the distance. Pick your location in the booking form and we confirm the figure in writing before you pay anything, so there are no surprises.
Yes. The moment your card payment clears, the system issues a booking reference and sends your permit to your email and your WhatsApp — usually inside a minute. There is no waiting for someone to reply. The evening before your safari, your driver messages you his name, the jeep's plate number and the exact pickup time.
No. Food and drinks are not included on any of our safaris, including the full day and the two-park combo. Bring water and something to eat — a 3-hour drive in the dry zone is thirsty work, and 10 hours certainly is. Tell your driver at pickup and he will stop somewhere you can buy supplies before the gate.
Your driver is an experienced tracker who finds the animals and knows the park's moods. A safari guide is a separate English-speaking naturalist who rides with you and talks you through what you are seeing — species names, behaviour, the history of the tank. It costs LKR 4,000 for the guide, whatever the size of your group. Most guests skip it; birders and photographers usually take one.
Cancel more than 24 hours before pickup and you get a full refund to the original card, usually within five working days. Inside 24 hours we refund half. Date changes are free at any time, subject to availability. If the park closes or the drive is cancelled by weather, you choose between a full refund and a free reschedule.
Kaudulla holds around 24 mammal species and well over 150 birds. On most drives you will see spotted deer, sambar, water buffalo, toque macaques, grey langurs, land monitors and peafowl, plus painted storks, spoonbills, kingfishers, bee-eaters and the endemic Sri Lanka junglefowl around the tank. Sloth bear, fishing cat and Sri Lankan leopard live here too, but sightings are rare and nobody should promise you one. If you want the birds named as you go, add a safari guide at checkout.
Yes. The tracks are rough but the drive is slow, and our jeeps have seat belts, a roll bar and a raised roof for shade. Children under six travel free on a parent's lap. Tell us in the booking notes if you need a child seat, step assistance or a wheelchair-accessible vehicle and we will arrange it.
Close enough to fill a frame with a 200 mm lens, and no closer. Our drivers keep a respectful distance, never block a herd's path to water, and switch the engine off rather than chase a sighting. Crowding elephants is how animals get stressed and people get hurt — we don't do it, and we will say so if another jeep does.
Your permit is on its way to your email and WhatsApp.
