Dry Zone
Big Game Camp Yala
Big Game Camp offers an amazing tented wilderness experience, just 20 minutes from an entrance to Yala National Park. With accommodation in the form of comfortable canvas tents, guests can enjoy modern comforts whilst still being totally immersed in the Sri Lankan Bush. The campsite is located close to the less commonly used Katagamuwa gate of the park, offering a more exclusive safari experience in an otherwise every busy national park.
A typical day at the camp would begin with a morning safari, setting off at 5:30am. The early starts are justified, as morning and night are the prime times for wildlife viewing. Guests return to the camp for breakfast, and then are at leisure until lunchtime. The evening game drive starts around two hours before sunset, giving a perfect opportunity for sundowner drinks inside the park.
Dining at the camp is a fabulous experience, with table set up in scenic areas on the site. In the evenings chefs sometimes cook a barbeque, and guest can enjoy drinks around a roaring campfire. At the Big Game Camp, it truly is a harmonious mix of nature and first class hospitality.
Facilities
Tents have desks, seating area, mosquito net and ensuite shower and toilet. Bottled water, tea and coffee are also provided.
Local Wildlife
Sri Lanka’s second largest national park (at 378 sq miles) and its premier wildlife location, Yala offers an almost African safari experience as well as important Buddhist sites. On game drives by jeep, one can view wild elephant, buffalo and boar, huge monitor lizards, macaque monkeys and many rare and endemic bird species: it is also the best place in south Asia to spot the elusive leopard, frequently seen and admired. Situated in the dry semi-arid climatic zone, the park holds 215 bird species including six Sri Lankan endemics, 46 reptiles (including five endemics) and 44 mammal species.
Alan Godwin
Area Specialist
If you have any questions regarding our Sri Lanka tours, please feel free to contact me on +44 (0)1803 866965
We were absolutely thrilled by the whole experience and can only commend the helpfulness and friendliness of everyone who made our holiday so special. We cannot speak highly enough of all of our guides who were extremely knowledgeable and went above and beyond to enhance our Sri Lankan wildlife encounters. We felt very privileged to be with guides who have so much expertise.