Photograph of Leopard

Leopard in Sri Lanka, by Steve Garvie.

SRI LANKA


Best Wildlife in Sri Lanka

Mammals
Blue Whale (mostly Dec-Apr), Asian Elephant, Asian Water Buffalo, (Tufted) Grey Langur, Purple-faced Leaf (Bear) Monkey, Toque Macaque, Indian Flying Fox, Sambar and Sri Lanka Giant Squirrel. Also a chance of Leopard, Sloth Bear (especially in June), (Red) Slender Loris, Sperm, Dwarf Sperm, False Killer and Bryde's Whales, and Bottlenose, Risso's, (Long-snouted) Spinner, Spotted and Striped Dolphins.

Birds
Indian Peafowl, Black-necked and Painted Storks, White-bellied Sea Eagle, Brown Fish Owl, Forest Wagtail (mostly Nov-Mar), Indian Pitta (mostly Nov-Mar), Pied Thrush (mostly Nov-Mar), Indian Blue Robin (mostly Nov-Mar), Kashmir Flycatcher (mostly Nov-Mar), over 30 endemics including Red-faced Malkoha, Sri Lanka Magpie, a junglefowl, Sri Lanka Scaly (White's) Thrush, Sri Lanka Whistling Thrush and a scimitar babbler, and 20 or so species shared with Southern India including Sri Lanka Frogmouth, Malabar Trogon and Malabar Pied Hornbill, as well as Spot-billed Pelican, Oriental Darter, Indian Pond Heron, Yellow Bittern, Black-headed Ibis, Eurasian Spoonbill, Lesser Adjutant, Brahminy Kite, Grey-headed Fish Eagle, Black and Rufous-bellied Eagles, Barred Buttonquail, Watercock, Great Thick-knee, Yellow-wattled Lapwing, Black-winged Stilt, Pheasant-tailed Jacana, Small Pratincole, Orange-breasted Green Pigeon, Plum-headed Parakeet, Chestnut-winged Cuckoo (mostly Nov-Mar), Blue-faced and Sirkeer Malkohas, Crested Treeswift, Alpine Swift, Brown-backed Needletail, (Black-backed) Dwarf, Pied, Stork-billed and White-throated Kingfishers, Blue-tailed, Chestnut-headed and Green Bee-eaters, Indian Roller, Hoopoe, Coppersmith Barbet, woodpeckers including White-naped, Ashy Woodswallow, Common Iora, Small Minivet, White-browed Fantail, Asian Paradise Flycatcher, Black-naped Monarch, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, Common Tailorbird, White-rumped Shama, Brahminy Starling, Golden-fronted Leafbird and Purple-rumped Sunbird. Also a chance of Greater Flamingo, Red-billed Tropicbird, Black-capped Kingfisher, Black and Cinnamon Bitterns, Bridled Tern and Brown Wood Owl.

Reptiles, Amphibians and Fish
Mugger Crocodile, very large Water Monitors, Manta Ray, flying fish, numerous coral reef fish, and Green, Leatherback and Olive Ridley Turtles (all three mostly Apr-Jun).

Invertebrates
Numerous butterflies including the very large Blue Mormon and Sri Lanka Tree Nymph.

Other Natural Wonders of Sri Lanka

'World's End' A sheer 1050 m (3445 ft) drop at the edge of the escarpment in Horton Plains NP near Nuwara Eliya.

Best Sites for Wildlife in Sri Lanka

Best Times for Wildlife in Sri Lanka

The peak time to visit is late March-early April when Blue Whales are usually present close inshore and some of the most spectacular birds which spend the northern winter on the island are usually still present, including Forest Wagtail, Indian Pitta, Pied Thrush, Indian Blue Robin and Kashmir Flycatcher, although these birds are usually present from November and Blue Whales normally from December. The monsoon usually lasts from May until September-October.

Recommended Books etc. for Sri Lanka

Bradt Travel Guide: Sri Lankan Wildlife by G de Silva Wijeyeratne. Bradt, 2007.

Field Guide to Indian Mammals by V Menon. Helm, 2009.

Field Guide to the Mammals of the Indian Subcontinent by K K Gurung and R Singh. Helm, 1998.

A Field Guide to the Birds of Sri Lanka by J Harrison and T Worfolk. OUP, 2011 (Second Edition).

Birds of Sri Lanka by D Warakagoda et al. Helm, due 2011.

Birds of the Indian Subcontinent by R Grimmett, and C and T Inskipp. Helm, due 2011.

A Field Guide to the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent by K Kazmierczak. Helm, 2008.

Pocket Guide to the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent by R Grimmett, and C and T Inskipp. Helm, 1999.

Butterflies of Sri Lanka by A and A Wikramanayake. Arittha Wikramanayake, 2006.

Trip Reports for Sri Lanka

Many trip reports, some for Sri Lanka, are posted on the websites listed here. On some of these websites some reports are independent and some are posted by tour companies who organize tours to Sri Lanka. These tour companies and others also post their own reports on their websites, which are listed under 'Some Organized Tours to Sri Lanka' below.

Local Guides and Tours in Sri Lanka

The costs of organized tours partly reflect the quality of the tour leaders. Some leaders are certainly better than others and many companies claim their leaders are the best but even the best rely at least to some extent on the exceptional skills of the local guides they employ. If you are travelling independently, employing such local guides will greatly increase your chances of seeing the wildlife you wish to see.

Accommodation in Sri Lanka

Some Organized Tours to Sri Lanka

There are many tour companies who organize tours to see mammals, birds, other wildlife and other natural wonders. The cost of these tours vary considerably according to such variables as the airlines used, the number of days the tours last, the number of sites visited, the number of people in the group (an important consideration if you wish to see such wildlife as rainforest mammals and birds), the number of tour leaders, the standard of accommodation and transport, and the percentage profit the company hopes to make. Generally, where the number of days tours last and the number of sites visited are similar, the cheapest tours are those that use the cheapest airlines, accommodation and local transport, that have the largest groups with the least number of leaders, and that make the least amount of profit. The most expensive tours tend to be those which are exceptionally long, use the most expensive accommodation (ridiculously lavish in some cases, even for single nights) and which make the most profit. Some tour costs partly reflect the quality of the tour leaders. Some leaders are certainly better than others and many companies claim their leaders are the best but even the best rely at least to some extent on the exceptional skills of the local guides they employ.

While tour companies organize tours with set itineraries many also organize custom tours for individuals and private groups who instead of taking a tour with a set itinerary want to follow their own itinerary to suit their own personal tastes, whether it be mammals, birds, other wildlife, other natural wonders or even man-made attractions, or a mixture of them all. Many organized tours with set itineraries are also fast-paced and target as many species as possible, whether they are mammals, birds or other wildlife or everything, which usually leaves little time to enjoy the best sites and individual species, but on a custom tour those taking part can specify the pace and the sites and species they wish to concentrate on. Custom tours also suit people who like to travel with people they already know, rather than with a group of strangers, and people with partners with different interests. Individuals and small groups will almost certainly have to pay more than the price of an organized tour with a set itinerary but a large group of friends may be able to travel for less than the price quoted for a set tour.

Tour companies who run organized tours or can arrange custom tours to Sri Lanka include the following.