Wilpattu National Park Jeep Safari from Negombo / Waikkal (All Inclusive)

Highly recommended safari

Really appreciate being able to do this special safari with Wondrous Tours. The staff are super accommodating, being willing to adjust the start time around our delayed flight. We did the full day tour and it’s a really long day. We were super taken care of the whole time with plenty of water bottles/drinks available as well as breakfast, snack and lunch. Hats off to the drivers since a full day tour is long for everyone involved. Our transfer driver was great at making sure we stopped at facilities that had Western washrooms and took us to a good spot for us to buy dinner on the way back. Our safari driver was super expert at navigating the park and you can tell he had a lot passion and care for the job with how he totes his own camera with high zoom lens. Seeing such a wide range of animals was really more of a bonus to all of this since it’s not something anyone can directly control. If you come with the mindset of experiencing a great drive through a beautiful and somewhat untouched national park with expert drivers then you’ll have a great time. The safari drivers want to show you the animals as much as they can, but the animals can be elusive sometimes and no one can control that. We were lucky to see just about everything except elephants on our tour day.

A must do -amazing experience

The experience was amazing we took so many photos and had a fabulous day. It is an early start leaving the hotel at 4.00am. The drive to the safari is 2-3 hours. The driver we had was good We arrived at the safari and boarded the safari car. The driver we had for the day was amazing and showed us lots of animals that you might nit have seen. It is totally wild so the animals are not always obvious. The safari lasted 11 hours we had breakfast en route and stopped for lunch which was very tasty. We were so lucky we saw elephants, leopards, crocodiles, water buffalo, monkeys to name but a few. A trip that is exhausting but amazing and worth the money. Thank you for creating so many memories. We are a family of 4 with 2 adult children. Enjoy your trip ….

Great safari experience

All around great experience. Highly recommend for anyone interested in doing a safari while on vacation. It is a long day so be prepared but was well worth it

excellent

Driver was prompt to pick me up in Colombo and off we went – arrived early at the park and enjoyed a great first half of the safari (the jeep driver was excellent, he spotted animals from any which angle). Lunch was also really good. After that we were off to the second part of the safari. Beware you're booking a full day and that might just get a little tiring after a while but simply sitting back and enjoying the absolutely stunning national park makes that truly worthwhile.

Can’t miss

The pick up, food and service was great! Home cooked food! We were lucky enough to see 2 leopards, an elephant and many other birds/mammals/reptiles.

Great safari experience organised by a friendly and efficient team

The staff very organised and professional. The driver turned up on time and as planned and they accommodated my request to change the drop off location. The safari guide was excellent - knowledgeable and made sure I caught sight of a leopard! Really great experience - thank you.

Beautiful park well worth a visit!

My pick up was in Kandy - driver was on time @4am and I slept almost all the way to the park - which was perfect! We started the safari around 7.30am. My driver (I didn’t catch his name) was experienced, knowledgeable of the park and animals and a careful driver! The driver provided a lovely Sri Lanka lunch inside the park… The park was beautiful - we saw lots of animals over the day (elephant, buffalo, crocodile, monkeys, mongoose, deer and lots of birds), unfortunately we did not see a leopard or sloth bear but that’s the nature of of a safari. My driver back was very good and safe in the busy traffic! A fabulous day out and recommend!! 😁😁

Great safari in Wilpattu

We enjoyed our day with Abe. Abe has 25 years experience leading safaris in Wilpattu and he spotted a wide variety of birds and mammals. We appreciated his knowledge and the pace we moved. There was plenty of time to get a good look at the various animals and birds. We had a spectacular encounter with a sloth bear but the leopard stayed away during our visit. There are quite a few jeeps in the park but for the most part you have space. And Abe’s wife provides a delicious lunch.

Great Safari trip in Wilpattu

Superb safari trip with an excellent guide. Went for the full day and managed to see plenty of wildlife, 4 Leopards, crocodiles, monkeys, water buffalo, deer, monitor lizards and too many lovely birds to mention. It's somewhat bumpy, so be prepared for that, but equally pleasureable and memorable. I would certainly recommend this trip.

Awesome experience

We cannot fault our experience here! A great price with our tour company and our guide had many years experience and would spot things for us we would never have seen. 4 leopards, 2 elephants and a sloth bear among others. Highly recommended!

Disappointed

A very long day from Negombo. Joseph the driver was brilliant but we felt the actual Wilpattu safari was disappointing (considering we spent £550 for 4 of us). Didn’t see much - one elephant in the distance, a few peacocks, deer and a water buffalo - all over 10 hours in a bumpy jeep. 5 hours would have been enough to see nothing.

Great day in the park as a family!

Our guide was fantastic and helped us see a wide range of animals including the south bear and even leopard. Our 11 and 8 year old kids loved the day as well.

Brilliant day trip!!

We had an absolutely fantastic day. Our guide at Wilpattu (Hera) was brilliant and managed to find us four leopards and four sloth bears! He did say that’s incredibly rare though; we were very lucky. The service from this company was really good. They were very responsive on WhatsApp, everyone was on time, and the food was delicious. Highly recommend.

Organized Safari of a Lifetime!

I was looking for a tour to Wilpattu National Park with transfer from Sigiriya and this tour checked all the boxes. We were picked up on time by a fantastic driver and then handed off to our guide. Our guide at Wilpattu was able to spot animals we would have NEVER been able to see and was able to share so much information about the animals. We saw almost every animal in the park! We were so lucky. We saw 2 sloth bears, an elephant, a ton of stunning birds including an owl, a jackal, water buffalo, and the Crown Jewel-2 leopards. We ate a packed breakfast in the jeep and took a break for an hour to sit down and eat a Sri Lankan lunch that was delicious and fresh! After close to 9 hours of thrilling safari, we were handed back to our driver and took naps on the journey back to Sigiriya. Thank you to Kani who communicated with me in the days and weeks leading up to the safari to ensure everything was in place.

Awesome tour organisers

They are very professional and helpful. They made sure I was comfortable and super asking the way when I wanted snacks etc. The park was beautiful ❤️

The wonderful Sri Lanka

It was a wonderful time I had with Wondrous Tours Travel and Mr. Kani. He did his best to ensure that I had the best experience ever in Sri Lanka. The safari was great, allowing me to see some wild animals I hadn't seen before. I highly recommend Wondrous Tours for a trip to Sri Lanka.

Excellent day in Wilpattu with Wonderous Tours

We had an excellent day in Wilpattu. The driver from Negombo to Wilpattu was very careful and safe. The guide is Wilpattu was clearly a wildlife expert, he spotted owls and birds of prey that we didn't see at first. He tried hard to find leopards and elephants. He found a cub in a bush that was hard to see but with his professional camera he showed us. Although we didn't see elephants we did see a very rare sloth bear, that made my day. We would highly recommend the company Wondrous Tours.

Great experience - if a little long!

The safari was brilliant. Our guide Abi was so passionate about the wildlife and we got to see every animal the park could offer. We were very lucky with this - when we first drove in 3 Leopards walked right in front of us (mum and 2 cubs) on the entry drive. The trip was very well organised and we were really happy with the food we got for breakfast and lunch. The morning driver arrived on time and the drive was fairly quick - we left from Negombo and it took about 2 hours 40. It was a very long day - but we really enjoyed it. We got picked up at 4am and didn’t get back till after 8pm - so take snacks! The tour guide provided plenty of water. The only thing we wished was to maybe leave a bit earlier given how long of a day it was. We left the safari at maybe 4.15 but because of evening traffic and roadworks it took so long to get back to Negombo. Knowing this, we wish we told the tour operator to end the trip at maybe 2.30. Overall very good, thank you Abi!

Much better park than Minneriya

Most importantly Wilpattu is less crowded than other national parks in Sri lanka. I had been to most of the national parks here but this was far better. Many animals were seen with a leopard mother with two cubs, elephant, samber and spotted deer, crocodile, buffalo and numerous birds which I do not know the exact names of. Monkeys in the rest area steal anything from you. Be aware. The Jeep driver assisted us to spot more animals, he was very experienced and knew all the routes inside out. Quite hotter than we expected so suggest you all to bring some sunscreen and hats.

Leopard sighting and diverse wildlife

Easy to book and any question answered via WhatsApp. Pick up from Colombo hotel at 4 a.m. drive to park and back (arrived 9.30 p.m.) safe and on time. We spent 10 hours (!) in Wilpattu so plenty of time to take in the scenery, and wait in a couple of spots for wildlife to show up. This is how we spotted a leopard which took her time to show herself where she hadn't been seen for hours. Many cool birds (i.e. owls, eagles etc.) as well in addition to buffalo, wild boar, elephant to name a few, it was an amazing (long) day. Since I only had a Sunday to do this, next time I would spend a night near Wilpattu and do two full days or 1 1/2.

Day trip from Negombo to Wilpattu National Park

I had the most amazing experience on the tour of Wilpattu National Park. I was picked up on time from my hotel in Negombo. Driver was great and it felt like a personal tour on my drive there. I was extremely fortunate to see all the animals in the park from elephant, leopard, lyrebirds, buffalo, sloth bear, crocodile plus lots of birds. My driver was amazing and could find the animals well before I could see them. The lunch and breakfast provided was amazing with water and snacks throughout the day. Thanks Kani from Wondrous Tours for organising such a great day :-)

Beautiful park!

Beautiful park. I saw a leopard, a sloth bear, and loads of birds. The tour was very well organized and the transfer from Negombo was safe and on time.

Long day but we saw everything

Great driver to and from the park where we transferred to a Jeep style vehicle. Tour was from about 7 am to 5:30 pm plus the transfers to and from the park at 3 hours each way from Negombo. We saw all the animals and our driver also took great photos.

Well planned safari tour

We were so lucky to start our journey early in the morning from Negombo hotel. We could see lots of elephants at the beginning of the safari. Such an awesome experience. That's the highlight of our jeep safari. Addition to that we saw many endemic birds which we are not aware of. But still it was really interesting to see them and get some pictures of them. Deers and wild buffalos are very common in the park, we saw them at every single place we stopped. Less crowd and full day safari is the best way to discover the beauty of the park. Highly recommend it.

The wild Wilpattu

Despite the fact that it's a bit hot these days in Sri Lanka, we still manage to do a safari in Wilpattu. We always wanted to visit Wilpattu as we have visited almost all the national parks in Sri Lanka. Compared to other parks in Sri Lanka, this one offered the greatest variety of animals seen so far including a large group of deer, lots of beautiful birds, rabbits, leopard and many more. This is a true gem of Sri Lanka. It's WELLLL worth a several day visit. Definitely will come back.

Leopards!!

We saw leopards in their natural habitat! Our guide was very observant, knowledgeable and drives very comfortably through the rough terrain. I have been to other parks in Sri Lanka but often times the safari guide only drives through the route with nothing to add. What is wonderful about our guide Nuwan was that he isfriendly and answered our gazillion questions about the park/animals well. We booked through Hiran who was also very attentive and responded quickly. Highly recommended.

Well worth safary

It was our last days of the round tour, having done Minneriya National Park Half Day Jeep safari with hundred of elephants we wondered whether it was worth the trip to Wilpattu. Luckily the safari went really well. We saw many creatures including 3 leopards at the end of the safari. Driving around the lake was very enjoyable. Even if you don't see anything, it is a a great excursion into nature. Besides, the park is full of different types of birds and reptiles. For bird lovers I recommend to go early in the morning and spot more birds. Our guide was superb and drove the jeep very carefully to spot the best. Good day to remember.

Day trip to Wilpattu, Sri Lanka's largest and arguably most spectacular National Park.

Staying near Colombo with just a day to spare it was possible to spend almost 9 hours in what must be one of the most amazing national parks. It's a 4am start to be driven the almost 200km north to Wilpattu Nat Pk. There, around 8.30am, we boarded a modified Toyota 4WD tray top with 6 raised seats and open sides with a shaded roof. Nuwan our park guide, also a keen photographer and very knowledgeable on the park's wildlife, was an expert driver along a variety of tracks, some fairly challenging. His most amazing talent was to spot wildlife from up to 300m away including first to see a female with 2 cub leopards which we observed for over 45min, a sloth bear, occasional elephants, jackals, crocodile, deer, countless varieties of birds all in their natural environment. We later came within 10m of a large male leopard reclining on a tree that we observed for over 30min. Leopard sightings however are not guaranteed as it is up to Mother Nature! Our guide provided a more than adequate breakfast, lunch, snacks and water. The tour left the park around 5.30 and back in Colombo around 9pm for what was an unforgettable day.

Fantastic safari, great guide, well worth the trip

The safari really went above our expectations, in terms of the amount of animals we saw and how close we got to them, it really is full day of animal spotting! We ended up seeing the big 5 all in one trip plus many others, in total we saw 3 leopards, one less than 3 metres from the jeep! The tour guide was very knowledgeable and a very skilled animal spotter, he cared a lot and really hustled to get us good spots. Breakfast, lunch, snacks and water were provided, local food, it was good considering you’re in the middle of nowhere. We went from Colombo through the tour company, about 3-3 1/2 hours to get there, air conditioned van, no complaints. Most of the animals are quite close, there were a couple in the distance, so if you have binoculars I would suggest to bring them, we didn’t have them, which was fine in the end. Given the early start, and rural location if you need caffeine in the morning I suggest to bring it with you.

Beautiful Park

We did a full day safari beginning in January 2024. Park is stunning, filled with Nature, animals and pleasantly surprised to see two leopards in the middle of our game drive. Our jeep driver was such a gentleman and helped us throughout the safari. Showed us many interesting places and explained everything. Very knowledgeable. My suggestion is for others to start as early as possible. Full day safari is a bit hectic one but 100% worth doing.

Full-on Safari Experience with Muddy roads and wildlife!

Great day on safari. Many animals including elepants and leapard seen. Easy coordination with driver from Colombo hotel

Safari experience

Absolutely fantastic safari and Abi the guide was superb. I couldn't have asked for more. Even Though it felt like a long day, it was still a park with such amazing scenery to see. The lunch area was great even with all the monkeys around which were trying to steal your food. Get a naturalist like Abi to do the safari and go with you around the park. They are the guys who make the trip way more exciting with interesting stories. Overall great tour.

Unspoilt national park with so much to see

Absolutely loved the safari and food. The best thing about the national park is it was less crowded than other parks in sri lanka. Full day safari do justice for the price. There was so much to explore in a day plus the diversity in the ecosystem in Wilpattu is great. We suggest you bring some binoculars and a good camera so you can capture some great pictures. Definitely Recommended !!

December Safari ‘23

The safari was great and Nuwan Wilpattu is the best! He provided us with such an amazing safari experience, we saw so many different animals with his help and good eye!

Great!

Great guide Great place, Great experience. Was picked up in Negombo driven to the park. The beauty of the park is stunning, as it’s the wet season the roads weren’t always that great but I had fun bouncing around. Saw most of the animals I wanted to see. Not all but most. Guide was friendly and knowledgeable.

Excellent Safari of a lifetime!!!

Excellent trip from start to finish. Our driver arrived at the hotel perfect time and drove us carefully to Wilpattu national park despite numerous floods along the way. We then Embarked on the safari of a life time seeing more animals than I could have imagined including a leopard mum with her 2 cubs! Breakfast, hot tea, lunch & refreshments were severed during the trip by the MOST amazing guide ever! Some of the wildlife we saw were bears, leopards, buffalo, snakes, deer, birds, monkeys, crocodiles and many more! Could not recommend enough! Just watch out for the cheeky monkey who like to steal orange juice ☺️

A must do tour in Sri Lanka for sure!!

We were staying at Heritance Negombo hotel on our first day in Sri Lanka. Searched for something to do surfing the internet and we came up with this full day safari to Wilpattu National Park. Even Though it was a last minute booking the company was very prompt with their replies and gave us clear information about the tour. We were picked early in the morning to the park. Long drive but served breakfast when we arrived. Then the best part of the tour begins. Drove all over the park for hours to see so many different animals and birds. Three leopards are the highlight of this tour. Since they are not very likely to be seen, we were so lucky to see three. We had a refreshing pack during the safari too. It was very enjoyable and worth every penny.

Full day safari is a must

Me and my partner took a day tour from Negombo to Wilpattu National Park a few weeks back. Started early in the morning at 04.00 am at this park. After nearly three hours I managed to arrive at the park. Lots of credit to the guide who knew how to find the animals. We gave the Guide a very good tip 5000 Rupees for his very efforts. We were lucky to have Abey who was the driver. His objective is to show you Leopards first. Some wildlife you can expect are Wild Water Buffalo, Monkey, Sri Lankan Flapshell Turtle, Sri Lankan Junglefowl, Peacock and Deer. It is a highly valued wildlife destination for both local and foreign tourists. And if you are looking for a day tour from negombo, this is the one you should keep an eye on.

Great opportunity to see lots of wildlife

We had a fantastic day on safari. It's a very long day with the travel at either end but you spend a full day in the park which gives you the opportunity to see lots of wildlife. We had breakfast and lunch which was lovely. Managed to see a leopard and elephants as we were leaving the park at dusk.

Day tour from Negombo

We were looking for day tours from Negombo while we were staying there. The best option suggested was going for a full day safari for wilpattu national park. To be honest that went really very well. The best thing about the safari is it is very quiet no jeeps charging about so makes for lovely uninterrupted game viewing. We saw Leopards, bears, crocodiles, monkeys, buffalo, snakes and many more. Wilpattu doesn't disappoint. It is truly a nature lover's paradise for all people. For a day tour we would definitely recommend this tour.

Huge Park with so much wildlife

I think this is the largest national park in sri lanka, with so much wildlife to see. But you can not see all its glories at once, you have to be patient. If you want to see some unspoilt wilderness then wilpattu national Park is the best place. We were picked early in the morning from our hotel in Negombo. There was plenty of wildlife to discover, and we were very lucky to see leopards. Saw many deers, elephants and birds. Full day safari is a bit tiring but worth it for sure. If you are a wildlife enthusiast, this would be a great chance to discover. After the safari it took about another 3 hours to reach Negombo. The day was full of excitement and enjoyment. We loved it.

Best safari experience ever

If you are in Sri Lanka, Wilpattu National Park should be on your bucket list. I think this is the largest from all the national parks in Sri Lanka. We are very happy that we made the decision to do a safari here. It was a long day starting at 4AM and ending at 9PM. But it was all worth it. Best part of the safari was we got to see elephants, bears, deer, leopard and many birds. It is a truly gorgeous park and aside from the wildlife it is very attractive to do a safari.

No guarantees, but you might be lucky.

We took a full day tour and went hoping to see leopards and elephants but knowing it was all down to luck. In the morning we saw water buffalo, jungle fowl, peacocks, monkeys and a crocodile, and sat waiting in an area where a leopard had been seen the day before, but he wasn't there today. We took a break for lunch and as we were driving back to see what else we could see another jeep flashed its lights and suddenly we were in a 15 minute off road dash to check out a reported sighting. Honestly, that drive was a huge highlight of the day 😂. I've paid for off road trips before, but they were nothing like that! Our luck had changed. In the afternoon we saw! two leopards at a distance and a sloth bear no more than 3 metres away who just bimbled about munching from the forest floor for ages. No elephants, but an excellent day nonetheless.

Awesome!

The trip was amazing! We saw the big 4; amazing!!! Our driver was really kind and we had a volunteer guide with us who could tell us everything about the animals and the park super fun!! The food was nice, we were well taken care off. The day however is very long, but in my opinion definitely worth it!

Worth a visit if never seen any animals in the wild.

Wonderful experience - but must go with attitude that it’s nature and nothing is guaranteed Sadly we didn’t see a leopard but our excellent driver tried so v hard to find one. Huge park with many trails and jeep excellent viewing . Not suitable for those who can’t climb in and out v easily. Many lakes and v tranquil with varied wildlife. Our start was 6 am - Dawn so left hotel so early with packed breakfast. Toilet facilities inside park .

Wilpattu national park for the best safari

It is said to be Wilpattu National Park is the best national park in Sri Lanka to spot leopards. And guess what, that is 100% true. We saw 2 leopards at once. And deers, jackals, bears, and many birds as well. The park is huge and a full-day safari would be ideal for anyone who is willing to see more wildlife. You can reach to like 4 hours from Negombo. We were staying at a hotel in Negombo and our driver picked us up at 4 AM the morning. And straight to the park. If you are a wildlife lover, this is highly recommended.

Great experience

Our day started with a little bit of drizzle. Luckily it did not continue too long. My driver from Negombo took me to Wilpattu National park. Only saw a couple of elephants in the beginning but in the afternoon was lucky enough to see about a dozen. Leopards were not in our card. But I was lucky to see a Golden Kackle, Sloth Bear, Spotted Deer, Barking Deer, Buffalo, Sambar Deer, Mongoose, Monitor Lizard and Mugger Crocodile. On our way to the exit, we saw Serpent Eagle, Jungle Fowl, Peacocks and many Birds.

Nice drive and lots of animals to see

Had a good fortune to visit wilpattu national park this year and highlight is seeing leopard. Very lucky to be in the right place at the right time to see these magnificent creatures at our full day jeep safari. Hats off to our driver who picked us from our hotel in negombo and gave us the guidance we wanted. We saw bear, elephants, buffalo, crocodiles, golden jackal, dear and various bird species. finally a lovely memory for all of us with wonderful sights.

Wilpattu national park visit

The park is beautiful so much to see. When we driving through the park, we saw a number of animals and birds. The park was well maintained by the authorities. The lunch area was great even with all the naught macaque monkeys around. We got a great naturalist mr. Thushan to go with around park they are a source of knowledge makes the trip way more exciting. We knew what he was doing his knowledge is above average. Great expereince.

Absolutely loved the experience

I did not know that the wilpattu national park is the largest national park in sri lanka till i visit. The safari tour went perfect and ended up been one of favorite parks in sri lanka. We thoughts Negombo is too far from the park which is not actually. Took like couple of hours to reach and It was easily, as our driver picked us early in the morning. Full day safari would be great option who seeks adventure and wildlife. e got the opportunity to see so many local birds, spotted deers, buffalo, crocodiles and so many. cheers.