Hurulu Eco Park Safari Adventure

This is a beautiful national park, but the way elephant sightings are handled is extremely upsetting. Within just five minutes of entering the park, we counted around 50 jeeps surrounding only five elephants, effectively trapping them and completely ignoring their need for space. The elephants visibly looked disturbed, and it was heartbreaking to witness. There are clearly no enforced rules on how many vehicles can crowd wildlife, which turns what should be a respectful safari experience into chaos. Wildlife tourism should never come at the expense of the animals’ wellbeing. After we explained to our driver that we wanted to observe elephants from a distance and in their natural habitat, he did an excellent job. He took us away from the crowds, kept a respectful distance, and allowed us to enjoy watching the elephants calmly. This showed that a better experience is possible—if drivers and the park choose to prioritise it. Until stricter regulations are put in place to protect the animals, it’s hard to recommend this park despite its natural beauty.

We saw no wild life other than two groups of elephants, These were one group of three and another of five. The first group was surrounded by 20 jeeps, the second by such a large number of jeeps that I could not count them. In fact the most interesting aspect of the “safari” was watching the jeeps tussle for position round the poor elephants, with no regard for the elephants. But a long way to come and a high price to pay to watch jeeps In our two hours in the jeep we saw nothing else of interest So save your money was pass on the “attraction”

Great Experiences. Just last minute decided to visit , but my husband was not interested to Jungle safari. We have stayed at Amaya Lake , Dambulla . So I enjoyed the solo Jeep safari at the evening. Enjoyed the stunning sunset also.

No regard or respect for the beautiful wild elephants. Too many jeeps surrounding them and one even got between mother and baby the mother then went to attack our keep as a warning to stay away and ripped the side rain cover from the jeep. Had a much better experience at yala where driver have to stick to the road

Hi All!! I'm a tour guide in Sri Lanka so i did wild elephants watching safari on Hurulu eco park since 2010, it was a amazing experience i saw more than 30 elephants all times that I went there that's a minim - usually we have more then 7,000 elephants in that aria. so I would like to highly recommend this place for all tourists thanks

If you visited Yala before, don’t waste time nor money to visit Hurulo Eco Park: has very little fauna diversity but, above all, drivers/guides are completely disrespectful of the nature. After we spotted a herd of 6 elephants, suddenly it was surrounded by 15 vehicles, off track into the bush, getting close to the animals with complete disregard for the herd. After we saw vehicles stopped with people out of the vehicle. And our driver even asked if we wanted him to grab a snake. This is not a natural park. If the park authorities, tourism operators and drivers don’t uphold the values to support and preserve wildlife, then it will be a matter of time until they’re out of job…and Sri Lanka poorer in biodiversity and nature

We have been on Safari in a game park in South Africa and this was quite different. In SA there would only ever be two jeeps at any one site at a time. Here, whenever an elephant appears there will be 10+ vehicles jockeying for position to get the best view. That takes the edge off it a bit however it’s still a great experience. We got to see several elephants up close. Even with all the vehicles the animals were never surrounded, so they could head back into the bush if they had been disturbed by the attention. They didn’t appear upset at all. So it’s not the Serengeti but worth doing nonetheless.

Great park to get very close to elephants in the wild, had half day safari with the company in the photo, think $55 per person, so worth it, informative safe driver,got very close to many groups of elephants and also saw lots of other interesting birds and wildlife. Much better than seeing then chained in the orphanage for the tourists pleasure.

Great place to see elephants and enjoy the wild life. We have seen many elephants with kids plus there is a great spot to see the park from the rock.

We were recommended to go here as the more known Minneriya and Habarana parks were apparently flooded from rain. We had an amazing afternoon safari and saw several beards of elephants in sunset. Our driver took us to a rock inside the park for the sunset which is very nice if you have time.

We took part in an afternoon safari in the park. We saw a lot of elephants, both big and cubs. At the end of the tour we walked up a rock with panoramic views. Nice experience, not comparable to a safari in Africa, but still nice.

Great experience and great first for us. We have seen a good forty elephants, babies with their mothers, males, but also various birds, trees and flowers. At the 1st herd seen, there were about 10 cars and then it dispersed on various paths.

We felt like we were on a drive-hunt. They've seen some elephants. Where we then saw elephants with a baby elephant, more and more jeeps came racing and pushed the animals, was enough for us. The animals then ran back and forth in a bit of a panic and the jeeps continued to follow. We dropped out then!

An experience that will remain etched in our memories is certain! We met many elephants, single males and groups of females, babies including one who had just been born. The experience was magical, we are reassured to see that the driver leaves enough space around the animals. Only downside, a lot of Jeep (of which we are part) as soon as there is a grouping of elephants, not all are as attentive to the respect of the space of animals (they get very close and this can create a traffic jam. Not sure the animals like it). My advice: choose an experienced guide. Ours made us take small paths and we quickly separated from the other Jeep, which was very nice. The sunset was beautiful and we could still observe the elephants quietly.

Great safari, incredible pictures and very close to the elephants and family Great and unforgettable pictures ! Always happy and fully recommended if you are in Sri Lanka.

We were there with a guide who was arranged directly by the accommodation (Atea Resort)! That was a stroke of luck! He drove very attentively through the park and spotted elephants where other guides passed by. In total we certainly saw 20 elephants in the 3h, including a few baby elephants! Was a super nice tour of the park! Recommendation: Take LOTS of water with you when it's hot!

We wanted to see elephants on the loose, well we saw them! Private jeep of from our accommodation ( isanka lion lodge). Rs. 32,000 + Rs. 2,500 for the driver. We also saw elephants outside the park on the way back to our lodge. On the other hand, as soon as a group of elephants is spotted, it is the rush of jeeps! We must know, there are people!!!