The quieter, wilder cousin of Yala — an hour and a half south along the coast, past Panama. Famous for the Kumana Villu bird sanctuary, a mangrove swamp that draws thousands of migrating waterbirds between April and July: painted storks, pelicans, spoonbills, ibis, herons.
There are also leopards, elephants, sloth bears and estuarine crocodiles in the park, and you'll usually see them without the traffic jams of jeeps you get in Yala. The landscape shifts constantly between forest, tank, lagoon and beach.
This is a full-day trip and best done early — we can arrange a jeep and a driver from the kitchen, with a packed lunch on request. Combines well with a stop at Okanda temple on the way in.