Where to Stay
Every captivating tailor-made itinerary needs a perfect base. Our team has handpicked this collection of properties to give you luxury options in styles to suit any adventure.
-
Our Team
Steppes Travel is made by the people who work here. Incredible holidays are made possible because of their vast travel experience and the great enthusiasm they bring to their work.
-
Our Tour Experts
We carefully select our experts based on their knowledge, companionship and influence, ensuring that you can travel with the most knowledgeable leaders in the field.
-
Heroes and Heroines
The people who lead the way when it comes to those things which matter to us: exploration, the environment, women’s empowerment and education.
The National Parks
Sri Lanka’s isolated island location, heavy rainfall from two annual monsoons and a wide range of altitudes give Sri Lanka biodiversity normally found across an entire continent.
Sri Lanka is home to some of the most beautiful and unexplored National Parks that are abundant with wildlife. Visiting a park during your holiday to Sri Lanka is always a rewarding experience.
Yala National Park
Situated in the south-east of the country, bordering the Indian Ocean, Yala is the second largest national park in Sri Lanka. Yala is divided into five zones, zone one and five are open to the public. Depending on how many jeep drives you do, you will likely spend the majority of your time in zone one where the greatest number of sightings are reported. Zone five, however, is very beautiful and still worth visiting. Yala can have a reputation for being busy due to its popularity and leopard sighting success, but you can avoid the crowds and still get a unique eco-friendly wildlife experience. Yala does remain the best place, worldwide, to spot leopards. Yala National Park closes for six to eight weeks each year, typically from the beginning of September onwards.
Leopard Safaris and Noel Rodrigo’s Leopard Trails offer tented camping options with jeep safaris into the park included. This unique camping experience is hands-down the best way to see Yala. Staying on the border of the park and dining under the stars is an unforgettable experience. It’s great for anyone looking to add a little adventure to their trip.
Read More
Minneriya
Minneriya is usually visited during a tour of the cultural triangle as it’s only a one to two-hour drive from Sigiriya and Dambulla.
Large numbers of Asian elephants can be found here at certain times of year during their migrations between the various parks. They are most numerous from July to October, peaking in August and September when water elsewhere dries up and as many as three hundred or more come to the tank’s ever-receding shores to drink, bathe and feed on the fresh grass that grows up from the lake bed as the waters retreat – as well as to socialize and search for mates.
Uda Walawe
If you love elephants and are wondering where to see them during your holiday in Sri Lanka, Uda Walawe National Park is where you’ll find hundreds of elephants roaming free. Uda Walawe is about a third of the size of Yala and typically less crowded, located on the southern boundary of the central highlands. A visit here works well on a journey from the Tea Country to the beaches on the south coast and Galle. With herds of elephants, wild buffalo, sambar deer and leopards, Uda Walawe is a fantastic park and arguably rivals the savannah reserves of Africa. Due to its light vegetation, it is easy to spot and watch the game.
Knuckles Mountain Range
The Knuckles Mountain Range spreads across the districts of Matale and Kandy in central Sri Lanka. It is named after the appearance of its conical peaks which resemble a giant set of knuckles poking out of the ground. The Knuckles range is a stunning UNESCO World Heritage Site and popular with wildlife enthusiasts and hikers. With cascading waterfalls, quaint villages, terraced rice fields and a high level of biodiversity, this region displays the best of Sri Lanka’s diverse natural beauty. Spending a few days in here is extremely rewarding.
You’re not likely to see leopards and elephants here – although they are around, the numbers are very small and the chances of a sighting are rare. The Knuckles is more about smaller things: birdlife, lizards, butterflies, frogs, and loris.
Wilpattu National Park
Once off-limits during the civil war, Wilpattu has been beautifully preserved, receives much less tourism than other parks and is actually Sri Lanka’s largest national park. Wilpattu is often compared to Yala given their similar size and diverse range of wildlife. However, Wilpattu is notably much greener than Yala with forests and lakes making up a large part of it. Wilpattu is located on the north-west coast of Sri Lanka, extending inland to the ancient capital city of Anuradhapura. Wilpattu is also 30kms from Puttalam and 190kms from Colombo.
The many lakes and sand-rimmed water basins attract a wide range of aquatic birds. Wilpattu is also a great place for spotting leopards and sloth bears.
Gal Oya
The picturesque Gal Oya nature reserve is Sri Lanka’s most remote and least visited wilderness areas. This beautiful national park is home to a large elephant herd that can often be seen swimming across the reservoir, best viewed by boat safari. In fact, Gal Oya is the only national park on the island where you can view elephants swimming by the boat. It’s a breathtaking experience.
Most people come to Gal Oya for the elephants, but there’s much more in the park. Expect a vast array of aquatic birdlife, wild boar, sambar and axis deer, among other things. It is also possible to spend time with the local forest-dwelling tribe, The Veddas.
Experiences
It’s all here. Things to see and do, places to explore and moments to discover.
Sri Lanka
Chena Huts Yala
Nestled among the dunes and trees at the edge of the Indian Ocean lies Chena Huts. Described as huts they are in fact extremely luxurious with beautiful views of Yala National Park and ocean. Each of…
Sri Lanka
Gal Oya Lodge
Gal Oya Lodge offers environmentally responsible tourism from a nine roomed wildlife lodge, set on 20 acres of private forest. There is two bedroom villa perched at the highest point of Gal Oya Lodge, which has…
Sri Lanka
Wild Coast Tented Lodge
Resplendent Ceylon’s Wild Coast Tented Lodge (sister of Tea Trails and Cape Weligama hotels) offers a spectacular tented camp close to Yala National Park. A Relais & Chateaux property, this is a five-star resort offering state…
Sri Lanka
Kulu Safari Yala
Kulu Safaris offer comfortable accommodation with a minimal ecological footprint while experiencing a definitive wildlife experience.
Meet our experts
A passion for travel runs right through every one of our experts - meaning they're always ready with first-hand insight about their specialist countries.
Kate Hitchen
My travels were first inspired by my love of the UK, which I take as much pleasure in exploring as countries far and wide. For me, travel is all about the adventure, the people I meet and the food I sample along the way.
Talk with our experts
- 1 800 571 2985
Start planning your trip
Explore other regions
Colombo
Colombo exudes culture and history, the atmosphere is exotic and exciting.
Cultural Triangle
The Cultural Triangle is home to five of the eight UNESCO World Heritage sites in Sri Lanka.
Galle
Located in the southern region of the country, Galle is known for its stilt fishermen and the fortified old town, a Unesco…
Kandy and The Tea Country
Kandy and the Tea Country have a fascinating history that's central to the heritage of Sri Lanka.
Jaffna and North East
Sri Lanka’s north and east coast region are alive with a newfound buoyancy and electric vibrancy.
Why Choose Steppes?
Our knowledge and expertise set us apart. So too our curiosity. It is this that drives us to create a journey that is really bespoke to you, all the while ensuring we travel and operate sustainably.
Are you ready to discover extraordinary once again?
Featured in the press
