Udawalawe National Park Safari with Elephant Transit Home Visit

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Sri Lanka

3 to 4 hours (approx.)
Pickup offered
Group discounts
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

Overview

Sri Lanka’s Udawalawe National Park is best known for having a huge elephant population, but you’re also likely to spot water buffalo, mongoose, eagles and peacocks. Keep an eye out for the elusive leopards too. The Elephant Transit Home is one of the largest animal sanctuaries on the island, where young elephants are cared for before being released back into the park.

Guaranteed sightings of baby elephants at the sanctuary
Observe the young elephants at feeding time
Take a jeep safari in a park with one of the largest elephant populations
All entrance fees and taxes included

What's Included

Driver/guide
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Transportation in a Safari Jeep (maximum of 6 passengers per jeep)

Entrance Fees

Meeting and Pickup

You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Meeting point

Hotel Niwahana
36, Ekamuthugama, Sevanagala, Udawalawe 70190, Sri Lanka
We will pick you up from your hotel in Udawalawa or you can come to Hotel Niwahana Udawalawa to start the tour.

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Itinerary

Udawalawe National Park

3 hours • Admission Ticket Not Included

Elephant Transit Home (ETH)

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible

Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 99 travelers

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Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Reviews

4.3

based on 26 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Udawalawe itself was magic. Touring with this company was not.

Julia_T, Nov 2025

Udawalawe itself was magic. Touring with this company was not. They didn’t confirm my booking until I escalated through Viator because they never responded to my WhatsApp message asking if the tour was confirmed. They also gave me the wrong pickup time (I was told 6:30am, but the driver arrived at 6:00am and was confused why I wasn’t ready), so I ended up rushing out the door. They failed to mention that although the park accepts card, your driver pays the entrance fee in cash for the whole vehicle — meaning you must bring the park fee in cash. They also never informed my driver that my tour included a visit to the Udawalawe Transit Home, so he was completely surprised when I asked about seeing the orphaned elephants. The guide they hired inside the park was a dud: he shared almost no information, had to be prompted, and what he did offer was either obvious or incorrect. I ended up spotting more wildlife than he did. The upsides? My driver (his name started with an M) was genuinely lovely and really helpful, especially when I was sorting out payment. And we did see plenty of elephants throughout the morning, though my sense is that’s simply the nature of Udawalawe rather than anything creditable to the company.

Baby elephant

Harith_K, Apr 2024

Baby elephant running for milk , must see place in srilanka, better if you go on November-December..

Superb Tour

Andrew_R, Feb 2024

Great safari!! We saw many Elephants so close! Our guide was super nice and did a great job spotting the animals. He also took brilliant photos!

Recommended safari’s

Teena_D, Jan 2024

Fabulous morning safari plus visit to Elephant Transit home. Friendly driver Pradeep who turned up on time and was very knowledgeable about the wildlife. We managed to see loads of elephants and birds. Comfortable jeep. Great value for money