Best Time to see Leopards in Sri Lanka
Published on: July 15, 2021
Like the majority of big cats around the world, leopard sightings tend to increase in the hotter, drier months when only a few remaining water sources are available for the resident leopards. Not only does this allow wildlife photographers and guides to predict more accurately the daily movements of the leopards, but it also presents the rare opportunity to witness a leopard kill; as prey species such a grey langurs and spotted deer become less cautious due to their need to visit the water bodies on a regular basis. We therefore recommend organising your Yala Leopard Safari during the months of July and August into early September, or your Wilpattu national park safari in the months of May to early September. Both Yala national park and Wilpattu national park offer the best leopard safaris in Sri Lanka with Wilpattu having significantly less visitors.
Best time to visit Yala National Park: Avoid the heavy rains and park closures
When we are contacted by wildlife enthusiasts and wildlife photographers about organising a Sri Lanka safari, one national park is always on the ‘must visit list’. Yala national park is world famous for leopard sightings and any Sri Lanka wildlife holiday must include several days of safaris in this beautiful wildlife sanctuary on the east coast. However not many people are aware that Yala national park is often closed for the month of September and first 2 weeks of October and even fewer are aware of the reason why. So to understand this we first need to look at the Sri Lank weather over the course of a year.
Sri Lanka weather and how it affects your Yala leopard safari
When people hear that Sri Lanka is affecting by two different monsoons and these both impact different parts of the country, planning a Sri Lanka leopard safari suddenly appears more complicated. However if we look at the best time to visit Yala national park, or any other wildlife sanctuary you are interested in visiting, we can soon come up with the answers and a definite plan for when to travel to Sri Lanka.
January to March is the relative dry season, when most of the country sees plenty of sunshine and you are only likely to experience the odd heavy shower during the late afternoon and evening. This is also a very popular time for foreign tourists to visits Sri Lanka, so expect the most famous parks in Sri Lanka to be very busy.
By April the heat is starting to build in Sri Lanka and exactly as with India and tiger safaris there, this is a great month to see leopards in Sri Lanka. We then enter the south west monsoon during the months of May and June, but just as the name suggests this affects mainly that part of the island. So you may well get the odd heavy rain shower in Wilpattu national park and other Sri Lanka wildlife sanctuaries in the west, but Yala national park will stay relatively dry giving you full access to all the roads within the park and making your Sri Lanka safari more comfortable and great for photography.
The heat then returns in what is known as the inter-monsoon period which roughly covers the months of July to September. Due to the lack of water and the park not looking at its best, Yala is normally closed in September and the first 2 weeks of October – so by definition, this is not a good time to see leopards! Although the park soon re-opens as the north-east monsoon starts to build and provides life giving rains to many of Sri Lanka’s national parks.
Be smart with your Leopard Safari in Yala: Don’t go with the crowds
It is one thing to look at general weather patterns in Sri Lanka when planning your leopard safari to Yala national park, but you need to take your research to a whole new level if you want to experience the best possible Sri Lanka wildlife holiday. Let’s assume that you are in the enviable position to choose to travel to Sri Lanka whenever you want. We have already discussed the best time of year, but we now need to think about the best time of the week to visit Yala and how major festivals and weekends have a negative effects on the leopard viewing experience in Yala. Sadly until the park authorities in Sri Lanka introduce sensible vehicle limits in each zone (I hope this blog is now old and this has happened!); you are going to see significant increases in personal vehicles and local jeeps on the weekends and during national holidays like . You simply must avoid visiting Yala on the weekends and during festivals and if you do so you will have made the most important and smart decision to ensure you have the best possible experience during your Yala leopard safari.
Where to see Leopards in Sri Lanka: Yala is not the only gig in town
We have already spoken in detail about some of the issues you will face with your Leopard Safari in Yala given its huge popularity, so in the interests of sharing information and knowledge from our 22 years of organising Sri Lanka wildlife tours, it is our pleasure to introduce you to some other national parks in Sri Lanka where you can see leopard without the crowds.
A long time before Yala was famous for its charismatic leopards, there was Wilpattu national park on the opposite west coast of the island. This absolute gem of a national park is only 4 hours by car from Negombo international airport and many of our clients start their leopard safari in Sri Lanka the same day they arrive with an afternoon jeep safari in Wilpattu national park.
Wilpattu was the best place to see leopards back in the 80’s but the tragic civil war almost destroyed this park for ever and people moved their attention to Yala on the east coast. Thankfully the wildlife in Wilpattu survived and it is once again one of Sri Lanka’s best national parks and a great place to see leopards, wild elephants and sloth bears. We promote Wilpattu as part of our signature ‘4 wild cats of Sri Lanka’ safari and as well as leopards we have enjoyed great sightings of Sri Lanka fishing cat and jungle cat.
Sri Lankan Leopards: Can you really watch Leopards in the Mist?
Hortons Plains national park is one of the most popular local tourist attractions in the Sri Lanka Hill Country. Just 1 hour on typical twisty mountain road from the hill country capital, Nuwara Eliya. Thousands of tourists come here every week of the year to walk the famous trails and enjoy the stunning views. But what people did not realise until very recently, was that there was a thriving population of mountain leopards living within a few hundred metres of the crowds passing by.
Now I have used the word Mountain Leopard but to be clear these are still very much Sri Lankan leopard but with a thicker, shaggier coat to cope with the often sub zero temperartures and frosts found at well over 2000M altitude. There is a healthy population of Sambar Deer on Hortons Plains which you can see for yourself and they form the main prey base for the Mountain Leopard. However, Leopards are highly versatile, opportunistic hunters and they can also hunt Barking Deer endemic Purple-faced monkey as well as smaller animals such as rats, squirrels and Black-naped hare.
During our last visit to Hortons Plains we were delighted to meet with the Park Director; himself a keen photographer and very passionate about protecting the resident leopard population. He lived in a large bunglaow just a short distance from the main visitor centre and was lucky enough to photograph the female leopard with two cubs on several occasions. Unfortunately in Asia, Park Directors come and go on a regular basis and there is rarely a long term management plan for the protection of a habitat and to ensure the diversity within that area stays strong.
Where to see Leopards in Sri Lanka: Have you not yet heard about a Kumana national park safari?
Well we have and what was formly know as East Yala national park and often considered as just a place to go and photograph birds has become one of the best places to see leopards in Sri Lanka. The other huge advantage of a Kumana national park safari is that so few vehicles are seen here as the accommodation options on the east of Yala national park are very limited.
When we visited in April 2022 during the fuel crisis we stayed with Sri Lankan friends in one of the beautifully situated forest bungalows. For those of you who have visited Corbett national park for an India tiger safari the setup is very similar. Fairly basic rooms with ceiling fans and simple ensuite toilets but with your own cook, driver and naturalist, you can have on of the best leopard safaris experiences in Sri Lanka. THe other options is full support camping safaris in Kumana national park which is what we will be organising in 2025 as part of a small group Sri Lanka wildlife holiday visiting the east, north and west of the island over 3 weeks duration.
Check out our budget Sri Lanka wildife trip here and you soon can be walking with the leopards of Kumana national park
Best time to photograph leopards in Yala national park?
In this respect we can say that the leopard safari experience in Sri Lanka, is no different from India or Africa. Although due to the fact that the leopards in Sri Lanka are the dominant big cat, they exhibit more diurnal behaviour compared to some of the leopards found in India’s national parks. Nevertheless if you want great light for photography and to catch a leopard returning for a ‘night patrol’ or about to start one, then first thing in the morning and the last hour of the afternoon leopard safari are the optimum times. Enter the park with optimism and a joyful heart and you never know what luck you will have.
Not only is photography more challenging in the rain I noticed during my last visit to both Yala national park and Kumana national park that the leopards were less inclined to walk their terrotories after very heavy rains. I am not talking about a quick heavy shower, but rather several days of heavy rains so the vehicele tracks themselves are flooded in areas and of course the leopards use these tracks as well to walk along. So not only is it more difficult to see the tracks when they are under water the leopards were sheltering in the worst of the weather. We actually found a young male leopard in a large hollow of the tree (great spot my our guide!) and he was very happy to stay there while we photographed him in the fading light.
To conclude it is important to look at several important factors when organising your Sri Lanka leopard safari and deciding on the best time to see Leopards in Sri Lanka. It is more important to spend several days at the best places to see leopards than be too concerned about a little rain, as in this beautiful tropical country there is always the chance of a heavy shower but it usually passes quickly.
A leopard safari at Wilpattu national park will be less hectic than Yala national park, but you may well not see as many leopards out in the open, as the forest is a little denser in Wilpattu compared to Yala. That said, both parks with private naturalists and longer stays can give you a dream Sri Lanka wildlife holiday with the chance to see the Big 3 of Leopard, Elephant and Sloth Bear. Why not get in touch with Wildlife Trails and let us create a bespoke Sri Lanka wildlife tour that will live long in the memory.
