Slow Safaris by Nomad Trails-Sri Lanka, 221/B, Udawalawa (2026)

So,we focus on slow & ethical safaris in Udawalawe National Park 🐘 and Yala National Park (Block 5 & 6 only)🐯

Where wildlife leads, we follow…with respect 🌿🐒🐊🐛🐞 What if a safari wasn’t about racing to tick off a leopard or elephant, but about moving slowly enough to notice the soft rustle of leaves, the glint of a bee-eater’s wings, and the silence between things? At Nomad Trails, we try our bes

t offer something quieter. Something smaller. Something more human. We guide private, respectful safaris through Udawalawe National Park and the lesser-known Block 5 & 6 of Yala, parks we’ve chosen for their balance of beauty, space, and quiet. In Udawalawe, elephants roam freely across open grasslands, while water buffalo graze and birds fill the skies. In Yala Block 5 & 6, you might catch a glimpse of a leopard or sloth bear. But more importantly, you’ll find room to pause, observe, and feel. I personally guide most safaris myself. It’s always just one couple or family at a time, never rushed, never crowded. Unlike most jeeps that go in at 6AM or 3PM, we usually start around 10AM. That way, we enter after the morning crowd has left, and we’re out of the park before the evening rush begins. It gives us a much better chance of enjoying the landscape without being surrounded by dozens of vehicles. Still, to be completely honest with you, we won’t be the only jeep in the park and I don't claim to be. And I don’t think we need to be. But I’ll always do my best to choose a less crowded time period to go to the park, avoid the busiest spots, take the quieter tracks when possible, and find those moments where it truly feels like it’s just us and the wild. That’s my goal: to show you as much wildlife as possible while staying realistic, respectful, and kind to nature. Because it’s not about being completely alone. It’s about creating the kind of space where you can actually feel what you're seeing. That’s what I call a slow safari. And because actual wildlife is so real and never stages or never fully predicted and that's the beauty of it!! Now If you ever decide to do a safari with us, I want to say this with kindness. If your goal is a guaranteed leopard or elephant sighting, then maybe a zoo would be a better choice. Not because you're wrong to hope for those moments, but because the wild doesn’t work like that. And honestly, that’s what makes it so special. Some days, we see elephants within minutes. Other days, we wait for hours. Sometimes the leopards come close. Sometimes they don’t come at all. That part is never in our hands. But the more open-minded you are, the more rewarding the experience becomes. So, while most people keep their eyes fixed on the “big” animals, I believe the real joy is in everything else. The bee-eater flashing past in sunlight, a lizard clinging to a branch, the shadow of a raptor gliding silently overhead. These are not just background details. They are part of the same wild rhythm. And if we’re patient, truly patient, nature always has something to show us. Not on command. Not in a rush. But slowly, in its own time. That’s the kind of safari I believe in. So if you’re the kind of traveler who’s curious, calm, and understands that nothing in the wild is guaranteed, yet everything is possible, then maybe this is your kind of safari.

19/05/2026

𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐋𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐬 (𝐘𝐌𝟏𝟔)- 𝐓𝐡𝐞 “𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐘𝐚𝐥𝐚.”

One of the most recognized dominant male leopards associated with Yala National Park Block 1 and a leopard many wildlife photographers, researchers, and safari guides have followed closely over the years.

According to current leopard identification records, Lucas was first officially recorded in 2017 and is identified in Leopard Trails records as the “Pan Wala 22 Male.”

But honestly, numbers and identification codes alone never fully explain why certain leopards become unforgettable inside Yala.

Lucas was the kind of male that truly carried the presence of a dominant leopard.

Calm.
Powerful.
Extremely confident.

And one thing that always stood out about Lucas was how little he seemed to care about vehicles or crowds around him.

While many leopards instantly disappear into thick bush the second they hear jeeps approaching, Lucas often behaved completely differently. He would continue walking slowly through open terrain, rest beside safari tracks, scent mark trees, or simply sit quietly observing everything around him with almost complete confidence.

Even with multiple jeeps nearby, he often looked totally relaxed and unbothered.

Honestly, that calm confidence is one of the main reasons so many photographers became fascinated by him over the years.

Over time, Lucas became frequently associated with areas such as Digan Wala, Rakina Wala, Suduwelimulla, Yala Wewa, Thalgasmankada, Kotabenbe Wewa, Gonalambe Meda Para, Koma Wewa, and Parawala inside Yala Block 1.

And one detail that makes Lucas’s story even more interesting is his lineage.

Lucas is identified as the offspring of Sage (YF24), a female leopard first officially recorded in 2015 and known in the records as the “Kotabandi Wewa 12 Female.”

Sage herself was a recognizable female inside Yala Block 1 and was frequently associated with areas such as Thalgasmankada, Parwala, Gonalambe Meda Para, Kotabendi Wewa, and Koma Wewa.

According to leopard identification records, Sage also had several distinctive physical features including a short tail and a visible injury to her right lower canine tooth, details that helped guides and researchers identify her more easily over the years.

Sadly, records later confirmed that Sage died in 2021 due to a venomous snake bite.

But despite her death, her lineage continued strongly inside Yala.

The records identify Sage as the mother of Lucas (YM16), Lance (YM17), and Nova (YF17), making her one of the females whose bloodline quietly shaped several well known leopards inside the park.

And honestly, when spending enough years following individual leopards in Yala, you slowly begin understanding that dominant males like Lucas are important for far more than just sightings or photography.

They shape territories.

Their presence influences how younger males move, where females raise cubs, which routes become active, and even how other leopards behave inside overlapping ranges.

Because inside Yala, dominance never stays permanent forever.

Older males slowly disappear.
Younger males begin testing boundaries.
And over time, the balance inside the park changes naturally again.

But for many visitors, photographers, and safari guides, Lucas still remains one of those rare leopards that truly became part of Yala’s story.

18/05/2026

Honestly… this was a hard one to watch.

The sound of the impact, the wounds, the way they kept pushing each other without stopping… for a moment you almost forget you’re watching nature and not some kind of battlefield.

Part of me wanted it to stop.

But at the same time… this is wildlife.

Raw, unfair sometimes, brutal sometimes… but real.

And no matter how difficult it is to watch, moments like this remind you that nature doesn’t work around our emotions.

16/05/2026

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐘𝐚𝐥𝐚 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐚𝐫𝐢 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭… 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞.

5 marine biologists.
One safari jeep.
And one of the most emotional leopard sightings I’ve had in a very long time.

What made this safari feel even more special honestly was the fact that this actually wasn’t our first safari together.

We had already done another safari in Yala with them about 2 days earlier. And even though that safari itself was genuinely beautiful, with crocodiles, deer, buffalo, monkeys, so much birdlife everywhere, somehow we were only lucky enough to see one elephant during the whole drive.

Now honestly for many travelers, especially first timers in Yala, that would probably feel disappointing. Because nowadays social media sometimes creates this feeling that every jeep entering the park is automatically seeing leopards and elephants every few minutes.

But what I really appreciated about this group was that they never looked at safari that way.

From the beginning they were enjoying everything around them. Animal behaviour, birds, ecosystems, small movements inside the forest, even conversations about how different species react to each other. You could feel they genuinely appreciated the wilderness itself, not just one famous animal.

So when they told me they wanted to try Yala one more time before leaving, honestly I really wanted this safari to work out for them.

Like I usually prefer doing, we avoided the busy main routes and slowly went deeper into the quieter sides of Yala.

Personally I’ve always enjoyed these areas much more. Not because sightings are guaranteed there, honestly sometimes it can even reduce your chances a little, but because once too many jeeps gather around sightings the whole atmosphere changes. Everybody starts rushing. Drivers start paying more attention to phones and radio calls than what’s naturally happening around them.

That morning though, for nearly the first 2 hours it was only us around that whole area.

And because the forest was so quiet, everybody inside the jeep slowly became more connected to what was happening around us too.

You could properly hear the forest.

Bird calls from different directions. Monkeys moving through branches. Dry leaves cracking somewhere inside bushes. Small little sounds you normally stop noticing once traffic inside the park increases.

Even the landscape itself felt beautiful that morning. Some areas very open and dry, then suddenly thick green forest again. Honestly it reminded me why I still enjoy these quieter routes so much even during safaris where leopards never appear.

And while driving slowly through those areas, wildlife just kept appearing naturally around us.

Deer moving carefully near tree lines. Huge crocodiles resting near the water. Water buffalo covered completely in mud. Land monitors crossing the road slowly without any concern about us being there. Palm squirrels running across branches above our heads.

Then overhead there were Brahminy Kites, Crested Serpent Eagles, White Bellied Sea Eagles, Painted Storks, Asian Woolly Necked Storks, hornbills, egrets, Lesser Whistling Ducks…

At one point we even saw a Black Naped Hare and an Indian Ruddy Mongoose too, which honestly made everybody inside the jeep very excited already.

And I think because the whole morning had been so peaceful until then, what happened afterward immediately caught everybody’s attention.

There was a group of Grey Langur monkeys sitting quietly on trees in front of us. At first nothing looked unusual about them at all. They were relaxed, grooming each other, moving around normally.

Then suddenly the entire mood changed.

Almost instantly they climbed higher into the trees and started staring toward one direction while making alarm calls to each other.

Now usually in Yala when monkeys react like that, there is a reason behind it. Especially because they often notice predators before we do from the ground.

So naturally everybody inside the jeep became quiet immediately.

Then maybe a minute or two later we also started hearing deer alarm calls deeper inside the forest.

And what became really interesting was the direction of both.

The monkeys seemed focused more toward around 12 o’clock from us while the deer calls came more from around 2 o’clock deeper inside the trees.

So at that point we stopped the jeep completely because moments like this are honestly a very important part of safari too. Sometimes tracking wildlife is less about randomly finding animals and more about quietly understanding behaviour and small signals happening around you.

So we waited there silently for some time.

But after waiting, nothing appeared.

Slowly the monkeys relaxed again and went back to normal life. The deer calls stopped too. And eventually we realised the leopard had probably already crossed through the area without us ever seeing it.

Honestly that happens much more often than people think. Sometimes the leopard sees you long before you ever know it was there.

So after some time we carried on again slowly, still checking shaded areas and bushes carefully while also stopping to watch elephant herds along the way, including some babies staying very close to their mothers.

But by then it was already getting close to 10AM and technically we were already late for breakfast.

And honestly this next part affected all of us a little.

During breakfast, some friends of my guests arrived there excitedly talking about how they had already seen leopards earlier that morning. But from what they described, it sounded like one of those sightings where maybe around 20 jeeps had crowded around the animal.

And yeah… they were definitely a little proud about it too 😅

Now to be fair, my guests already understood from the beginning that leopard sightings depend heavily on luck. I always explain that honestly because I never want people arriving in Yala expecting guarantees from nature.

Still, I could feel that small disappointment quietly sitting there afterward.

Because we were the ones trying to experience the safari slowly. Staying away from crowds, listening to alarm calls properly, reading behaviour instead of rushing from one radio message to another.

And somehow the leopard still happened somewhere else.

Wildlife can feel unfair like that sometimes honestly.

By this point the safari should already have been ending. But I remember walking to my driver and saying,

“Malli… I know the safari duration is already over already. But can we try one more round?”

At that stage it honestly wasn’t about timings anymore.

Because even though deep down I know wildlife doesn’t work on promises, and no matter how much effort you put into doing a safari the right way, nature still decides everything in the end, I still badly wanted to give my guests that chance of seeing a leopard.

Actually I still remember Jarrod and Alex telling me they were already very happy with the safari even if we never saw a leopard at all.

And honestly hearing that probably mattered even more to me.

Because at that moment I realised maybe thats the kind of travelers I personally enjoy guiding the most. The people who understand safari is bigger than one animal.

Still… I wanted to try one more time.

Not because I wanted to “deliver” something like a product, but because when you spend hours inside the forest together, quietly tracking, listening, observing, hoping… naturally you also become emotionally part of the experience yourself.

So while most jeeps were already slowly heading toward the exit gates, we went deeper inside the park once more.

And personally this is actually one of my favourite times in Yala sometimes because after the crowds start leaving, the forest slowly becomes calm again. You begin noticing movements much more clearly.

So we continued slowly through leopard territory again, checking under bushes carefully, watching shaded trees, scanning rocks and open clearings while everybody inside the jeep stayed unusually quiet now.

Then near this lake area we noticed another jeep behaving slightly differently. Not excited exactly. Just alert.

When we got closer, the driver quietly told us they had heard alarm calls nearby.

So again we waited.

And honestly moments like that are difficult to explain properly unless you’ve experienced them yourself because visually almost nothing is happening, but suddenly everybody inside the jeep becomes completely focused without even speaking much.

Then after maybe around 5 minutes, this huge male leopard walked straight out from the bushes.

And honestly for a second nobody even said a word.

He was massive.

Very calm. Very confident. Walking slowly near the lake edge like he completely owned that entire side of the forest.

I actually had not seen a male leopard myself for nearly 3 months before this, so even for me the feeling was special.

We watched him for nearly 20 minutes. Sniffing the ground, marking territory, slowly walking around the lake edge before disappearing back toward the bushes again.

A few other jeeps eventually arrived afterward, but luckily it never became too chaotic and everybody still got to properly enjoy the sighting peacefully.

And honestly by that point everybody inside our jeep was just so happy.

I think earlier during breakfast, after their friends came talking about their leopard sighting, it got into all of our heads a little. I mean… we are all human right.

Especially me.

Because even though deep down I know wildlife doesn’t work on promises, and no matter how much better or more respectfully you do a safari than somebody else, nature still decides everything in the end.

Sometimes the forest simply doesn’t make you lucky.

And honestly life itself can feel unfair like that too sometimes. You can do everything slowly, respectfully, patiently… and still things may not happen the way you hoped.

I understand that very well as a guide.

But still, hearing those friends talking earlier definitely stayed inside my head afterward, even though my guests themselves were extremely understanding about the whole thing.

And maybe that day reminded me of something important too.

Even as a guide, sometimes I also carry hopes quietly inside my own head during safaris. I also feel disappointment sometimes. I also second guess decisions afterward wondering if I should have tried somewhere else earlier.

I think thats probably what makes wildlife feel so real in the first place.

Nothing is fully controlled.

Not by guides.
Not by experience.
Not by expensive cameras or famous parks.

Sometimes the forest gives you a moment. Sometimes it doesn’t.

But that day, after all the waiting and second guessing and hoping quietly inside the jeep, eventually the forest decided to show him to us 🐆

16/05/2026

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐘𝐚𝐥𝐚 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐚𝐫𝐢 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭… 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞.

5 marine biologists.
One safari jeep.
And one of the most emotional leopard sightings I’ve had in a very long time.

What made this safari feel even more special honestly was the fact that this actually wasn’t our first safari together.

We had already done another safari in Yala with them about 2 days earlier. And even though that safari itself was genuinely beautiful, with crocodiles, deer, buffalo, monkeys, so much birdlife everywhere, somehow we were only lucky enough to see one elephant during the whole drive.

Now honestly for many travelers, especially first timers in Yala, that would probably feel disappointing. Because nowadays social media sometimes creates this feeling that every jeep entering the park is automatically seeing leopards and elephants every few minutes.

But what I really appreciated about this group was that they never looked at safari that way.

From the beginning they were enjoying everything around them. Animal behaviour, birds, ecosystems, small movements inside the forest, even conversations about how different species react to each other. You could feel they genuinely appreciated the wilderness itself, not just one famous animal.

So when they told me they wanted to try Yala one more time before leaving, honestly I really wanted this safari to work out for them.

Like I usually prefer doing, we avoided the busy main routes and slowly went deeper into the quieter sides of Yala.

Personally I’ve always enjoyed these areas much more. Not because sightings are guaranteed there, honestly sometimes it can even reduce your chances a little, but because once too many jeeps gather around sightings the whole atmosphere changes. Everybody starts rushing. Drivers start paying more attention to phones and radio calls than what’s naturally happening around them.

That morning though, for nearly the first 2 hours it was only us around that whole area.

And because the forest was so quiet, everybody inside the jeep slowly became more connected to what was happening around us too.

You could properly hear the forest.

Bird calls from different directions. Monkeys moving through branches. Dry leaves cracking somewhere inside bushes. Small little sounds you normally stop noticing once traffic inside the park increases.

Even the landscape itself felt beautiful that morning. Some areas very open and dry, then suddenly thick green forest again. Honestly it reminded me why I still enjoy these quieter routes so much even during safaris where leopards never appear.

And while driving slowly through those areas, wildlife just kept appearing naturally around us.

Deer moving carefully near tree lines. Huge crocodiles resting near the water. Water buffalo covered completely in mud. Land monitors crossing the road slowly without any concern about us being there. Palm squirrels running across branches above our heads.

Then overhead there were Brahminy Kites, Crested Serpent Eagles, White Bellied Sea Eagles, Painted Storks, Asian Woolly Necked Storks, hornbills, egrets, Lesser Whistling Ducks…

At one point we even saw a Black Naped Hare and an Indian Ruddy Mongoose too, which honestly made everybody inside the jeep very excited already.

And I think because the whole morning had been so peaceful until then, what happened afterward immediately caught everybody’s attention.

There was a group of Grey Langur monkeys sitting quietly on trees in front of us. At first nothing looked unusual about them at all. They were relaxed, grooming each other, moving around normally.

Then suddenly the entire mood changed.

Almost instantly they climbed higher into the trees and started staring toward one direction while making alarm calls to each other.

Now usually in Yala when monkeys react like that, there is a reason behind it. Especially because they often notice predators before we do from the ground.

So naturally everybody inside the jeep became quiet immediately.

Then maybe a minute or two later we also started hearing deer alarm calls deeper inside the forest.

And what became really interesting was the direction of both.

The monkeys seemed focused more toward around 12 o’clock from us while the deer calls came more from around 2 o’clock deeper inside the trees.

So at that point we stopped the jeep completely because moments like this are honestly a very important part of safari too. Sometimes tracking wildlife is less about randomly finding animals and more about quietly understanding behaviour and small signals happening around you.

So we waited there silently for some time.

But after waiting, nothing appeared.

Slowly the monkeys relaxed again and went back to normal life. The deer calls stopped too. And eventually we realised the leopard had probably already crossed through the area without us ever seeing it.

Honestly that happens much more often than people think. Sometimes the leopard sees you long before you ever know it was there.

So after some time we carried on again slowly, still checking shaded areas and bushes carefully while also stopping to watch elephant herds along the way, including some babies staying very close to their mothers.

But by then it was already getting close to 10AM and technically we were already late for breakfast.

And honestly this next part affected all of us a little.

During breakfast, some friends of my guests arrived there excitedly talking about how they had already seen leopards earlier that morning. But from what they described, it sounded like one of those sightings where maybe around 20 jeeps had crowded around the animal.

And yeah… they were definitely a little proud about it too 😅

Now to be fair, my guests already understood from the beginning that leopard sightings depend heavily on luck. I always explain that honestly because I never want people arriving in Yala expecting guarantees from nature.

Still, I could feel that small disappointment quietly sitting there afterward.

Because we were the ones trying to experience the safari slowly. Staying away from crowds, listening to alarm calls properly, reading behaviour instead of rushing from one radio message to another.

And somehow the leopard still happened somewhere else.

Wildlife can feel unfair like that sometimes honestly.

By this point the safari should already have been ending. But I remember walking to my driver and saying,

“Malli… I know the safari duration is already over already. But can we try one more round?”

At that stage it honestly wasn’t about timings anymore.

Because even though deep down I know wildlife doesn’t work on promises, and no matter how much effort you put into doing a safari the right way, nature still decides everything in the end, I still badly wanted to give my guests that chance of seeing a leopard.

Actually I still remember Jarrod and Alex telling me they were already very happy with the safari even if we never saw a leopard at all.

And honestly hearing that probably mattered even more to me.

Because at that moment I realised maybe thats the kind of travelers I personally enjoy guiding the most. The people who understand safari is bigger than one animal.

Still… I wanted to try one more time.

Not because I wanted to “deliver” something like a product, but because when you spend hours inside the forest together, quietly tracking, listening, observing, hoping… naturally you also become emotionally part of the experience yourself.

So while most jeeps were already slowly heading toward the exit gates, we went deeper inside the park once more.

And personally this is actually one of my favourite times in Yala sometimes because after the crowds start leaving, the forest slowly becomes calm again. You begin noticing movements much more clearly.

So we continued slowly through leopard territory again, checking under bushes carefully, watching shaded trees, scanning rocks and open clearings while everybody inside the jeep stayed unusually quiet now.

Then near this lake area we noticed another jeep behaving slightly differently. Not excited exactly. Just alert.

When we got closer, the driver quietly told us they had heard alarm calls nearby.

So again we waited.

And honestly moments like that are difficult to explain properly unless you’ve experienced them yourself because visually almost nothing is happening, but suddenly everybody inside the jeep becomes completely focused without even speaking much.

Then after maybe around 5 minutes, this huge male leopard walked straight out from the bushes.

And honestly for a second nobody even said a word.

He was massive.

Very calm. Very confident. Walking slowly near the lake edge like he completely owned that entire side of the forest.

I actually had not seen a male leopard myself for nearly 3 months before this, so even for me the feeling was special.

We watched him for nearly 20 minutes. Sniffing the ground, marking territory, slowly walking around the lake edge before disappearing back toward the bushes again.

A few other jeeps eventually arrived afterward, but luckily it never became too chaotic and everybody still got to properly enjoy the sighting peacefully.

And honestly by that point everybody inside our jeep was just so happy.

I think earlier during breakfast, after their friends came talking about their leopard sighting, it got into all of our heads a little. I mean… we are all human right.

Especially me.

Because even though deep down I know wildlife doesn’t work on promises, and no matter how much better or more respectfully you do a safari than somebody else, nature still decides everything in the end.

Sometimes the forest simply doesn’t make you lucky.

And honestly life itself can feel unfair like that too sometimes. You can do everything slowly, respectfully, patiently… and still things may not happen the way you hoped.

I understand that very well as a guide.

But still, hearing those friends talking earlier definitely stayed inside my head afterward, even though my guests themselves were extremely understanding about the whole thing.

And maybe that day reminded me of something important too.

Even as a guide, sometimes I also carry hopes quietly inside my own head during safaris. I also feel disappointment sometimes. I also second guess decisions afterward wondering if I should have tried somewhere else earlier.

I think thats probably what makes wildlife feel so real in the first place.

Nothing is fully controlled.

Not by guides.
Not by experience.
Not by expensive cameras or famous parks.

Sometimes the forest gives you a moment. Sometimes it doesn’t.

But that day, after all the waiting and second guessing and hoping quietly inside the jeep, eventually the forest decided to show him to us 🐆

12/05/2026

“𝐖𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐚 𝐥𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐘𝐚𝐥𝐚.”

Usually for many people that sentence alone is enough to call the safari disappointing.

And honestly I can understand why too because when people think about Yala, naturally leopards become the main thing in their heads before they even enter the park. Social media also pushes this feeling a lot now. Everything becomes leopard leopard leopard.

But with Alejandra & Diego, the safari somehow never felt like that from the beginning.

They came to Sri Lanka from Colombia to attend the Shark International Conference, and both of them are biologists, so to be honest before meeting them I had this small pressure in my own head already.

I kept thinking these are proper science people. Meanwhile everything I know mostly comes from spending time in nature, reading when I can, watching documentaries since I was young, being obsessed with David Attenborough stuff honestly, and then slowly learning by actually being inside these parks over the years.

So because of that, at first I was wondering a little what kind of safari they would actually enjoy and whether my slower style would even suit them.

But after some time in the jeep I started realizing they were exactly the kind of travelers who notice small things.

And honestly thats the kind of safaris we do, and to be fair some people dont really enjoy it. So we are not for everybody.

Because personally I was never a big fan of treating safari like some kind of race. Of course if a leopard appears everybody gets excited including me. Im human too.

But at the same time, if you spend the whole safari rushing from sighting to sighting, sometimes you completely miss everything else happening around you.

So naturally the whole day became very slow paced.

Stopping for birds.
Stopping for behaviour.
Stopping because the light looked beautiful for 10 seconds.
Sometimes even stopping because the forest suddenly became very quiet and felt different.

And once you slow down like that, little by little the park starts giving you things you normally would just drive past.

Their first wild elephants.

That part was honestly quite emotional to watch because you could clearly feel it wasnt just “seeing an animal” for them. There’s something very different about seeing elephants freely walking in the wild for the first time. Especially when you grew up knowing them mostly from documentaries or books.

Then later while quietly sitting near the water, we watched crocodiles catching fish.

And somewhere later in the safari came one of the moments I personally will probably remember for long time. A jackal eating a hare maybe around 10 meters from our jeep.

Very calm scene.
No chaos. No twenty jeeps fighting for position. Only us.

Just quietly watching nature do its thing.

And honestly thats also why I always say wildlife can be interesting even on days when the “main sightings” dont happen.

Because funny enough even after not seeing a leopard, we still somehow ended up seeing a sloth bear which actually is considered rarer than leopards in Sri Lanka in many ways.

But this is also why wildlife is interesting all the time. Nature doesnt really care what people came hoping to see.

One day Yala can feel empty.

Another day it suddenly gives you something extremely rare when you least expect it.

Somewhere during the safari I also learned another important thing.

Colombian people really cannot handle Sri Lankan spices.

I prepared lunch for them myself and honestly I thought I already reduced the spice level a lot. Like alot alot by our standards.

But this is the problem with us Sri Lankans I think. We grow up eating spices from such a young age that our understanding of “mild” becomes completely broken.

Sometimes we genuinely think something is barely spicy while tourists are quietly suffering trying to survive it.

So while I was joking with them about it during lunch, honestly deep down I felt bad because I always want guests to feel comfortable and looked after properly.

And maybe thats also why this safari stayed in my head afterwards.

Not because it was some perfect textbook safari day.

It actually wasnt.

We didnt see the one animal most people come to Yala hoping for.

But somehow the day still felt full.

And from my experience, those are usually the safaris people remember longest anyway.

Address

221/B
Udawalawa
70190

Website

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