Formed after a reservoir was built in the 1960s; it holds Sri Lanka's only elephant orphanage run inside a national park
Area
308 km²
Declared in
1972
Region
South Asia
Climate
Tropical, Templado, Montañoso
Best time
December to March
Highlight
Formed after a reservoir was built in the 1960s; it holds Sri Lanka's only elephant orphanage run inside a national park
Declared in 1972 after a reservoir was built on the river Walawe through the 1960s, transforming the surrounding landscape into savanna favourable to large herbivores, Udawalawe today holds one of the most reliably watchable concentrations of Asian elephant on the whole continent, along with the Elephant Transit Home, an orphanage that rehabilitates orphaned or injured calves before gradually returning them to the park's wild herd.
Location
See on the interactive map3 dive sites within 300 km are also shown.
26 species documented in Udawalawe
At conservation risk:Elefante asiático,Sambar,Cocodrilo de las marismas,Gato pescador,Pangolín indio,Tortuga estrellada de la India
Endemic to Sri Lanka:Gallo de Lafayette
EndangeredElefante asiático
Elephas maximus
Least ConcernChacal dorado
Canis aureus
Least ConcernCiervo axis (chital)
Axis axis
Least ConcernJabalí
Sus scrofa
VulnerableSambar
Rusa unicolor
Near ThreatenedPelícano oriental
Pelecanus philippensis
Not EvaluatedBúfalo de agua
Bubalus bubalis
Búho pescador de Ceilán (búho pescador pardo)
Ketupa zeylonensis
Cecilia de Ceilán
Ichthyophis glutinosus
Cobra india
Naja naja
Cocodrilo de las marismas
Crocodylus palustris
Gallo de Lafayette
Gallus lafayettii
Flora and ecosystems
Ecosystems found in Sri Lanka, where Udawalawe lies.
Experiences in this park
Nearby dive sites
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Similar parks
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Yala
Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan leopard · Asian elephant
Diciembre a marzo
View parkMismo país: Sri Lanka
Minneriya
Sri Lanka
Asian elephant (up to 300 animals at The Gathering)
Diciembre a marzo
View parkMismo país: Sri Lanka
Llanuras de Horton
Sri Lanka
Sambar deer · the occasional Sri Lankan leopard
Diciembre a marzo
View parkMismo país: Sri Lanka
Kumana
Sri Lanka
Asian Elephant
Diciembre a marzo
View parkMismo país: Sri Lanka
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