Frequently asked questions

We pick you up around 05:30 so you're at the gate as it opens at 06:00, and the drive runs to about 10:00. The first hours after sunrise are when animals are most active and the light is at its best, which is why the early start is worth it.

Yes. The dusk half-day runs 14:00 to 18:00, with pickup in the early afternoon. There's also a full day, 06:00 to 18:00. Meals aren't included. Foreign and SAARC guests can add a packed breakfast and lunch per person when they book, or bring their own food and water.

Pickup and drop-off are included anywhere in the Tissamaharama area, which is where most visitors stay. Coming from further out, Ella, the south coast, Arugam Bay or anywhere else, add a transfer in the booking form and you'll see the price before you commit. See "Transfers to and from the park" below.

A half-day drive is roughly four hours inside the park. Routes change with conditions on the day, since your driver and tracker follow where animals are actually moving rather than a fixed circuit.

"Pick up from your stay" is one way. We collect you and bring you to the park, and after the safari you make your own way on, for example if a friend or your next hotel is collecting you. "Pick up and drop you back" is a round trip. We collect you, the driver waits while you're on safari, and we bring you back to the same place. Most guests staying in Ella, on the south coast or in Arugam Bay choose this. "Drop you somewhere else" is for travel days. We collect you, and after the safari take you on to your next stop with your bags.

Whether the car comes back with you. One way takes you in one direction only, from your stay to the park. A round trip takes you to the park and brings you back to where we picked you up, with the same car and driver waiting during your safari.

Because the driver waits for you instead of driving home empty and coming back again. A return trip usually costs about a third less than booking two one-way trips. For example, from Ella a return trip is priced at our set rate for the round trip, not double the one-way price.

Yes. Pickup and drop-off anywhere in the Tissamaharama area is already part of your safari, at no extra cost. You only need a transfer if you're coming from further away.

Choose "Other place (search)" and start typing your hotel or town. Pick it from the suggestions and the booking form works out an approximate price from the road distance. If you can't find it, keep what you typed and we'll confirm the price with you on WhatsApp.

For the towns in our list (Ella, Mirissa, Weligama, Tangalle, Galle and Arugam Bay), it's our set rate. For any other place, it's an estimate from the road distance. Our team confirms the final price with you on WhatsApp before your safari, so there are no surprises on the day.

Up to 4 people, children and under 6s included, plus your bags. For 5 or more, we send a second car and the price is per car.

Block I, entered through Palatupana. It holds one of the highest leopard densities recorded anywhere, which is also why it's the busiest. If you'd rather trade some of that density for space and quiet, Blocks IV and V through the Galge gate see a fraction of the vehicles.

No, and be wary of anyone who says otherwise. Yala is a wild, unfenced park, and what you see depends on the animals, the weather and luck. A second drive, ideally at a different time of day or in a different block, is the single best way to improve your odds.

Palatupana is our base gate and our standard rate. Katagamuwa and Galge each add our flat LKR 5,000 surcharge, which is already included in the total you see before booking, not added later at the gate.

Blocks I and II close every year for the dry-season drought closure, 14 September – 15 October. Blocks IV and V stay open throughout, so a visit during that window is still very much possible, just through the Galge gate instead.

Two options. The cozy jeep is a Mahindra or Tata with side-facing bench seating. The luxury jeep is a Mitsubishi or Toyota with forward-facing seats, at a surcharge. Both are open 4x4s built for park tracks, and both carry the same group of up to 6 people.

Yes by default. The rate is for the whole vehicle, whether there are two of you or 6. Foreign visitors entering at Palatupana can also choose ride share, a flat price per seat with a minimum of two people, if you'd rather split the cost with others.

Every safari runs with a licensed driver and an experienced tracker. The tracker is the person reading alarm calls and fresh prints while the driver handles the terrain, and it's the main reason a good operator finds animals a self-drive never would. Self-driving isn't permitted in Yala at all.

Village tour operators and their drivers and trackers, families who have worked these tracks for generations. The majority of what you pay goes to them rather than to a city office.

The jeep, the driver and tracker, fuel, hotel pickup within the Tissamaharama area, and the Department of Wildlife Conservation entry tickets and park fees for your group. There's nothing extra to pay at the gate.

Yes, and you don't have to ask. The booking form shows your park tickets and fees separately from the jeep rate as you fill it in, with the total updating live. A dawn half-day in Block I for two foreign adults in a cozy jeep currently comes to LKR 48,596, tickets included.

The Department of Wildlife Conservation sets entry rates by nationality: one rate for Sri Lankans, a reduced rate for SAARC nationals, and the standard foreign rate for everyone else. We charge whichever rate genuinely applies to your party, and a mixed group is priced as its separate parts.

Every traveller counted at the SAARC rate must carry a valid passport from a SAARC country and show it at the gate. Without it, DWC charges the standard foreign rate for that person and the difference is payable by the guest, so bring the passports.

Bank transfer or cash on arrival, with no card fees either way. There's no card gateway on this site, and payment is arranged with your assigned operator. A booking is confirmed once payment is made, at least two hours before your entrance time.

Once a booking is confirmed we can't refund it, and park tickets are non-refundable in every case. If we or the park cancel for a closure, weather or animal safety, we re-book you for another date free of charge. If your plans shift, message us as early as you can and we'll do what we can.

We take bookings up to 6 months ahead. Dawn drives in peak season fill first, so a week or two of notice is comfortable, though last-minute requests are often possible. Message us on WhatsApp if your dates are tight.

Children are welcome, and under-6s enter free. Be aware that the ride is several hours on rough tracks in an open vehicle, which is demanding for very young children and for anyone with a back or heart condition, or who is pregnant. Tell us beforehand and we'll talk it through honestly rather than have it be a surprise at pickup.

Photo ID or the passport matching your booking, a light jacket for the early start, sunglasses, sunscreen, water and a camera. Neutral colours help. Leave the drone at home, they aren't permitted in the park.

It's enough for a single drive, but the area rewards a longer stay: a second safari in a different block, plus Kirinda, Tissamaharama and Kataragama nearby. We wrote a full guide to that in the blog.