Yala National Park

Yala National Park Safari Trips & Tours

Yala National Park

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4.9/5 (911 reviews)

Travel and Leisure Worlds Best Awards for number 1 tour operator in the world 2024 and number 2 tour operator in the world 2025
We're one of the World's Best Tour Operators!
Voted No.1 in 2024 and No.2 in 2025 by Travel+Leisure
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Yala National Park Safari Trips & Tours

A famous, leopard-speckled slice of nature to make your big cat dreams come true.
For a generous slice of Sri Lanka’s safari action, pop Yala on your travel list. Undoubtedly the country’s most well-known national park, it may already be on your radar, but the hype is absolutely worth it. Sloth bears, water buffalo and elephants roam wild through a diverse terrain of jungles, grasslands, lakes, plains and even a caramel-coloured beach or two, but the biggest drawcard is the leopard. Not only does the park have the largest population of the spotted cats in the world (60 in 380 square miles at the last count), they are also King of the food chain and can be spotted slinking around their natural habitat with relative ease. Any month of the year should yield sightings, but your best chance is probably from January to July, which handily coincides with the palu tree fruit season in late June and early July and the sloth bear’s nirvana.
Trips

Yala National Park Safari Trips & Tours

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Classic Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka

Classic Sri Lanka

13 nights from $9.2K per person

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or call us on: +1 (646) 542 0667

Meg

Meg Yash

Global Travel Specialist

Jonty

Jonty Medcalf

Africa and Antarctica Travel Specialist

Jessica

Jessica Klauzenberg

Asia Travel Specialist

Things to do

What to do in Yala National Park

If you're hoping to add close encounters with Sri Lanka's wildlife to your trip, Yala National Park is one of the best places to do so. Explore the diverse landscape on game drives or guided walks, eyes peeled for sloth bears, water buffalo, elephant, wild boar and slinking leopard - it's home to the largest population in the world! This is Sri Lanka so the beach could still be on the cards and on a boat trip off the coast, you could spot turtles, dolphins and whales.

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Historical Places

Walk through Sithulpawwa in Yala National Park

Wildlife

Spot Yala's diverse bird life on a walking safari

Wildlife

Keep your eyes peeled for sloth bears in Yala

Why you'll love it

Why you'll love it

Yala is astonishingly beautiful, with an even more astonishing array of wildlife, birdlife and flora and if you’re looking for a spot of Lankan safari, this is the place to be.
Off the beaten track

Off the beaten track

Live out your safari dreams in a tented camp. Yala offers everything from rustic, eco-camps in private forests to carpeted, candle-lit teepees, butler and bathtub included.
Something to think about

Something to think about

As might be expected from a place of such legend, there can be a bit of a jeep scramble to enter the park at dawn and dusk. Alleviate the rush by choosing to stay as close as possible to the gates, or just go with the flow and don’t let it worry you. It’s a small price to pay to see the magnificent of all the big cats.
Best time to visit

When to go on a Yala National Park Trip

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Reviews

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Based on 911 Feefo Reviews

Guest
June 2026
14 nights in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana
see previous description
Awesome safari and South African trip.
Guest
Awesome safari and South African trip.
June 2026
25 nights in South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe
Our trip went without a hitch! Couldn't be happier with the organization of the whole thing. Of course, Meg was fantastic. She gave us so much information up front and spent the time with us to help us figure out what would be best for us and what we really would want to do since it was our first time. I can't say enough about how much we appreciated that as well as how accessible and responsive she was for questions. I think having someone who has been to all the places and really knows how it will be is so helpful to people who have not done a safari before. I definitely would recommend to friends and family to use Timbuktu.
The perfect South African/Botswana African safari
DAVID ZEBROWSKI
The perfect South African/Botswana African safari
June 2026
15 nights in South Africa, Botswana and Mauritius
I really enjoyed working with Jenna and Nadine on planning our perfect African safari. Jenna chose the two most perfect camps for our stay. Both are super detail oriented and nothing fell through the cracks. It was great having them, knowing I can rely on both of them to ensure the trip went smoothly and we had the best experience possible. I will absolutely use Timbuktu when planning my next safari vacation.
Awesome trip to Peru with Timbuktu
Guest
Awesome trip to Peru with Timbuktu
June 2026
16 nights in Peru
I want to book all my future vacations through Timbuktu! I enjoyed working with Carola to plan and fien tune our vacation to Peru. She gave great advice and was always available to answer questions. Our service on the ground was seamless. The attention to detail and personal service made travelling virtually stress free, allowing us more time to enjoy and relax.
Max Balderas
June 2026
9 nights in Egypt
Laura Cooke
May 2026
13 nights in Sri Lanka

Why travel with Timbuktu?

We design tailor-made journeys for travellers who want more than a holiday, from first-time safaris, gorilla treks and multi-generational family adventures to once-in-a-lifetime honeymoons - and everything in between. And here's why so many choose us to plan them.

Tailor-Made Since 2014

Tailor-Made Since 2014

We've been crafting one-of-a-kind journeys since 2014 — over 2,500 trips across 40+ countries, each one built from scratch around your interests and dreams.

Specialists Who've Been There

Specialists Who've Been There

Our team only recommends places they've slept in, eaten in, and happily keep going back to. Condé Nast Traveler named 11 of them Top Travel Specialists in 2026, and Travel+Leisure made three A-List Advisors.

The World's No 1 Tour Operator

The World's No 1 Tour Operator

Travel+Leisure's readers voted us the World's No.1 Tour Operator in 2024 and No.2 in 2025 — the travel industry's biggest readers' award, judged by people who actually travel.

Every Trip Makes A Difference

Every Trip Makes A Difference

$50 from every booking goes to female empowerment, tech education, and conservation projects across the countries we love. We have donated $78,000 so far – and it's going up!

Collaboration Is Key

Collaboration Is Key

Your travel specialist is with you the whole way, dreaming up the trip, building the itinerary, checking you in, and answering the 2am question from the other side of the world..

Loved By Our Guests

Loved By Our Guests

We are rated 4.9 out of 5 from 911 verified Feefo reviews. And these are the words of people who actually went, not us talking about ourselves.

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11 Condé Nast Traveler Top Travel Specialists 2026

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No. 1 & No. 2 Tour Operator in Travel + Leisure's Best Awards 2024 & 2025

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Travel Specialist voted as Latin America A-List Travel Advisor 2025

Condé Nast Traveler A-List Awards

"Timbuktu can take relatively complex and slightly amorphous travel plans and transform them into a well-organized, perfectly tailored trip."

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