Yala National Park is located on the south-east coast of the island of Sri Lanka and is the oldest nature reserve in the country.

The jeep safaris start very early in the morning. A network of trails about 40 kilometres long leads through the smaller west part of the protected zone which consists of almost 1,300 square kilometres.

About 215 species of birds can be found here during the year. In addition to the birdlife, there are also 32 species of mammals that can be observed here. Two rivers feed these forests with water and also form small lakes and pools there, where herds of water buffalo feel at home.

The area of today's national park was already inhabited by Buddhist monks in the 2nd century BC. It was in the domain of the Ruhuna kingdom. Ruhuna was the name of a kingdom in Sri Lankan antiquity, which has left its mark to this day, for example through an ingenious irrigation system with reservoirs.

The entrance to the eastern part of the park is located on the disputed territorybetween Tamils and Singhalese and is therefore closed most of the time.