Lanka Sites

Minneriya National Park in Sri Lanka is situated in the north central plains , 20 kilometers from Polonnaruwa. Even though it is one of the smallest national parks in the country, covering just 8,889 hectares, it’s a paradise with many natural wonders. The park encompasses the beautiful Minneriya tank, built by King Mahasena (in 3rd century AD).

National Park is inhabited by a large number of mammals such as elephants and sambars, leopards, sloth bears and the purple faced leaf monkey.Visitors are also spot the endangered red lipped lizard and the Sri Lankan swamp crocodile in the reservoir. Minneriya tank is an incredible place to observe the elephants that come to bathe and graze on the grasses as well as the huge flocks of birds such as cormorants, painted storks, open-bills, Great White Pelican, Gray Herons and many other species of waders that come to fish in the shallow waters. Also, you can spot the Sri Lanka Jungle Fowl, Hanging Parrot and Brown capped Babbler.

Best months to visit Minneriya are the dry months from June to September. Hundreds of elephants from the surrounding area are attracted to the drying Minneriya lake bed, which turns in to a lush green grass land, for food and water. Generally you can observe around five to ten herds of elephants, each with anything from twenty to fifty individuals of all age groups.

Main entrance of Minneriya National park is located facing Habarana Polonnaruwa road (A11). From Colombo reach Habarana junction via Kurunegala, Dambulla (A1, A6), and take the right turn from Habarana towards Polonnaruwa. Drive 10 km towards Polonnaruwa to reach Minneriya National Park. Distance from Colombo is around 182km and total driving time will be around 4 to 5 hours.Trekkers are provided for the tourists. Four wheelers are also available for rental. Camping facilities is provided by the Sri Lankan Expedition Safari camp in the premises of the park.

Source: ECO TEAM (PVT) Limited , Lakdasun and AsiaRooms.com