Yala is most popular for its Wildlife Sactuary, which is known as the Ruhunu National Park.
The Yala Wildlife Park is abundant with many species of wildlife ranging from Elephant, Leopard, Wild Buffalo, Spotted Deer, Sambur, Crocodile and Wild Boar to Birds, Lizards, Jackal, Peacock, and many different species.
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A Safari at Yala can be a full day affair if you are up to driving all day along dusty tracks, through open plains, forest scrubs, shady groves, rocky outcrops, lagoons, grassy plains, beaches and waterholes.
The most interesting part of the safari is the old fashioned open sided landrover like jeeps that can carry around 6 persons along with a tracker.
Getting yourself a good tracker and experienced jeep driver, will not only get you to where the animals haunt, but get you a really up close look at these beauties of nature.
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The true wildlife and nature enthusiast may want to spend some time here in the Yala village area and opt for camping.
There are no organized campsites, but there are some camping options around Yala village.
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Time your visit to stay at Yala village during one of the seasons or festivities and book a short programme to make the best of staying in a Yala Hotel.----------------------------------------------------------------------
Yala Village is a part of the ancient southern kingdom and has many archeological sites to visit, from Buddhist temples, to ruin palaces and forest monasteries. Yala Village is also just off Kiridna – an ancient harbour with a lot of significant history dating back to the times of the Ramayana epic.
Tissamaharama, Situlpauwwa, Kataragama, Kirinda, are some interesting sites to visit around Yala Village.
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In the vicinity of the Yala Village are five lakes famous for birds and is an ornithologist’s paradise. Base yourself in Yala Village and cover a lot of ground in the surrounding areas.