Why you should visit Sri Lanka's Gal Oya National Park for a safari

In the heart of Sri Lanka is a rarely visited national park teeming with elephants, leopards and birds, says Richard Holledge
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Richard Holledge9 June 2017

A herd of elephants dawdles out of the jungle, shepherding its playful young towards the lake. It is a moment of delight and of awe — or rather, it should be. The way is blocked by a phalanx of safari jeeps, each one carrying camera-clicking tourists. The elephants ignore their admirers and plod on. The jeeps rev up and follow.

This is a familiar scene in Sri Lanka where the quest to see wildlife is as tempting as lounging on the beach and scrambling over ancient Buddhist temples. There are as many as 4,000 elephants on the island, about 1,000 leopards and more than 400 species of birds, but where to see them at their best? Many of the parks are blighted by queues of vehicles filling the air with diesel fumes and the impatient blasts of horns but it doesn’t have to be like that. Head for Gal Oya National Park, to the east of the island, where you can take a boat out on to the biggest man-made lake in Sri Lanka, Senanayake Samudraya, have a picnic on one of its islands and savour the sound of silence — apart from the birdsong which chirps, cheeps, hollers and coos like an orchestra warming up at full volume.

There were only the two of us — and a few fishermen gathering in nets — to watch as a small herd of red deer skipped back into the shadows of the jungle the moment it saw us. A crocodile glided by and there, out of the trees, elephants ambled down to the water’s edge to take a bath.

The fly-past of exotic birds is a delight, even to those who struggle to tell the difference between a sparrow and thrush. Here, eagles glare, herons forage and storks strut. Egrets? More than a few.

True, the animals are more elusive here than the popular parks such as Yala to the south-east, where even the leopards are used to the crowds, but this is more than compensated for by the serenity of the lake with mountains fading into the blue horizon.

How long can this idyll survive before the crowds come clicking their cameras? The east coast is being opened up with a new road from Kandy, and several hotel chains plan to move into the area but at the moment there is only one place to stay; Gal Oya Lodge, buried away in the jungle without even a sign on the main road to let you know it exists.

A bumpy drive up a dirt track and a great swirl of butterflies welcomes the weary traveller back to nature.

Poolside at Gal Oya Lodge

It was in that spirit of creating a sense of “exploration without having to explore” that took co-founder John Balmond and his professional partner on a quest to find the ideal site for a hotel which would harmonise with the surroundings. They spent a year living rough in the jungle, even bathing in the river, before building nine bungalows in the style of the circular rice stores that are typical of the area. They used local methods and materials from the jungle and solar heating for the water.

Despite their rustic appearance the bungalows are spacious and comfortable, with floor-to-ceiling windows and a terrace which looks out on the jungle and the looming mountains. There is a good-sized pool, essential in temperatures which rarely drop below 30 degrees, and a kitchen which uses produce from local farmers to create a flurry of flavours — Sri Lankan classics such as a chicken or river fish curry with enticing side dishes of beetroot, sweet onion and spicy coconut or hoppers, a rice flour pancake, with egg, dahl and onions. For the perfect start to the day, try a bowl of yoghurt-like buffalo milk curd drenched in kithul, a sort of treacle drawn from various palms.

Breakfast at the lodge

What makes Gal Oya special are not just the welcoming staff but the guides, who are qualified as naturalists and who also work on research projects about the animals that lurk around the lodge. They bring their knowledge and sharp eyes to the trips, whether on the five-hour boat safari (£100 for four) or jeep (four hours for £72 a couple) or on the simplest of outings such as a dawn walk along the lily-covered lake nearby.

It is also possible to follow a nature trail with the Veddhas — a tribe reputed to be descended from the aboriginal population of the island but struggling with the realities of the 21st century. They are only a few hundred left but continue to live in the most primitive of mud huts and still follow their traditional way of farming and hunting with bows and arrows.

The chief guides visitors through their small domain of forest and paddy fields and describes the medicinal qualities of the trees and plants around him, most of which are used in ayurvedic treatments. Getting there can be part of the adventure. One plan would be take the train from Colombo on a two-and-half to three hour trip to Kandy (grab a right-hand seat for the best views) and hire a driver for the three hours to the lodge.

Senanayake Samudraya

But beware. There is no TV or internet. Relax. It’s easy to forget those irritants of modern life, sit on the terrace, without another bungalow or person in sight, and wait for the birds to put on a show. Electric blue Sunbirds hover by the perfumed flowers of the frangipane bush, the Asian Paradise Fly Catcher flaunts its crimson tail feathers like a catwalk model, blink and you miss the yellow flash of the Oriole. And always, the call of peacocks echoing through the trees. Now that’s a Twitter storm.

Details

Prices for two in a one-bedroom bungalow, full board, £187. For the best weather and the most sightings of animals, go in April or September. A driver from Kandy costs £83 if booked though the lodge.

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