Sri Lanka has so much to show you that it can be tricky knowing where to begin if you are visiting the area for the first time. However it is worth bearing in mind that Sri Lanka is lucky enough to have lots of national parks. One of these is the Yala National Park.

This has the designation of being the most popular park in the whole of Sri Lanka. This is quite an accolade when you consider there is one other park that is larger than Yala, and it has plenty of other contenders for the title as well.

But let’s take this fact at face value and try and figure out why so many people head there each year. What does the Yala National Park have to offer to its many visitors?

You would expect any national park in any country to have a selection of animals and birds to show off. Yala is no different in this respect. But it does have a huge selection that is very diverse, and this no doubt attracts a lot of people to it. You can see elephants here for one thing, as there is a huge conservation effort in Sri Lanka from their point of view. The park is also a huge draw for anyone wanting to see leopards in the wild.

As you can probably tell, this isn’t the kind of park you would go wandering around in on foot. If you are going to see the park you need to make sure you take your place on a proper safari. This gives you the opportunity to get as close as possible to all the animals, without getting into any danger in the process. If you have never been on a safari before Sri Lanka may not be the place you immediately think of going to. But as you can see, the Yala National Park can definitely make this particular dream come true.

There are many areas of Sri Lanka that can boast a national park. But Yala is definitely at the top of the list – and it is easy to see why.