Meet your experienced Safari Jeep game driver at your hotel from 1 p.m. to 3.30 p.m. for your 2.5–3 hour jeep safari tour of Minneriya National Park.
Minneriya Jeep Safari
Description
Tour Summary:
Meet your experienced driver in Minneriya National Park at 6 a.m. or 3 p.m. for your 2.5-3 hour jeep safari tour; also meet at 6 a.m. or 12.30 p.m. for the half-day safari tour; and at 6 a.m. for the full-day safari tour.
Experience “The Gathering,” a name given to the elephants that assemble on the banks of the Minneriya Reservoir during the dry season. According to wildlife authorities, the Minneriya gathering is the largest grouping of wild Asian elephants at any given time.
View the famous elephants as they graze on the grass growing on the tank bed. Perhaps you’ll spot any of the park’s diverse wildlife, including leopards, sloth bears, deer, wild buffalo, wild pigs, grey langurs, purple-faced leaf monkeys, porcupines, and assorted birds.
At the end of the safari, head back to your hotel or starting point. Depending on your hotel’s location, visit the photo stop for the standing big Buddha at Giritale and the sunset at Minneriya Tank for free.
When your tour is complete, your vehicle will return you to your hotel or original departure point.
Meet your experienced Safari Jeep game driver at your hotel from 6 a.m. to 8.30 am for your 2.5–3 hour jeep safari tour of Minneriya National Park.
Meet your experienced Safari Jeep game driver at your hotel at 6 a.m. or 1.30 p.m. for your 3.5–4 hour jeep safari tour of Minneriya National Park.
Meet your experienced Safari Jeep driver at your hotel from 6 a.m. to 8.30 a.m. for a full-day safari in two parks. You will observe both Minneriya and Kaudulla or Hurulu park.
Jungle Corridor of Minneriya
A wildlife corridor, habitat corridor, or green corridor is a habitat area that connects wildlife populations separated by human activities or structures like roads, residential areas, farm lands, development, or logging, typically in national parks or nature reserves. Wildlife populations can move between separate protected areas thanks to corridors, facilitating genetic diversity and reestablishing population fluctuations caused by natural disasters.
The primary objective of establishing habitat corridors is to increase biodiversity, which is in danger as a result of land fragmentation caused by human activity, which leads to population instability and the extinction of numerous plant and animal species. Because isolation is somewhat limited, these population fluctuations can be greatly reduced by reconnecting the fragments. The Minneriya wildlife corridor is the only one of its kind in Sri Lanka. Its primary goal is to reduce human-elephant conflict caused by the region’s high elephant population density. It enables wildlife, primarily elephants, to migrate between the parks by connecting the Minneriya national park to the Kaudulla, Hurulu Eco park and Wasgamuwa national parks.
Minneriya Elephant Tours During the dry months of July and September, many elephants migrate to the Minneriya national park because the relatively larger Minneriya tank can support more elephants than the water sources in the other two parks. During the rainy season, however, the elephants migrate back to the other two parks to get some breathing room from other herds because the relatively smaller tanks in the Wasgamuwa, Kaudulla, and Hurulu Eco Park parks are now able to support them. During the dry season, huge herds of elephants, sometimes as many as 350, congregate within a few square kilometers of the Minneriya tank. During the dry season, elephants are less likely to enter the nearby villages and farms in search of food and water because of this.
Best period for visit Minneriya National Park
Around the year, you can see some elephants, other animals, and birds. The best time to see the elephants gather is from July to September.
Minneriya Safari Include:
- Professional Safari Jeep driver
- Minneriya Park Entrance Tickets
- Jeep entry fee
- Driver entry fee
- Minneriya Park Service fee – $10
- Minneriya Park VAT Tax – 15%
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
Minneriya Safari Exclude:
- Food and drink
- Gratuities (optional)
- Park Ranger / Driver Tip (* Recommend)
Departure Time Comments:
- Times are subject to change due to local traffic conditions.
- Hotel pickups commence may prior to this time as per your hotel location. You must contact us verify your exact pickup time.
- Hotel pickups commence approximately 30 – 60 minutes prior to this time
Departure Location Name:
> Free Pickup & drop off – Hotels within the following areas in Habarana city area & Minneriya. (Habarana, Minneriya, Giritale)
> For hotels in Sigiriya, Polonnaruwa, Dambulla & Kandalama can pickup and drop off with a additional fee. Please contact us with your hotel name and address.
Additional fee for hotels outside of Free pickup area: (Per total booking)
Sigiriya Hotels – USD 7
Dambulla Hotels – USD 10
Inamaluwa Hotels – USD 7
Kandalama Hotels – USD 15
Polonnaruwa Hotels – USD 15
Directions to Minneriya Safari Departure Location:
# Minneriya Park’s inside car park.
# Near ‘Acme Grand Hotel’ – Habarana.
# Infront of ‘ Gunners Club’ (P & S Restaurant) – Minneriya’
# Opposite ‘EKHO Sigiriya Hotel’ – Sigiriya (Main Road)
Return Location:
Returns to original departure point
Is Minneriya Safari Suitable for children?
Yes, children will love the spectacle of the gathering herds, often with many baby elephants
What to wear or bring along for Minneriya Safari?
Light cool clothing, a cap / Hat, sunscreen, drinking water and a camera
Important to know about Minneriya Safari:
Guests are not permitted to get off the jeep and walk around the park. Please do not smoke & take alcoholic drinks inside the park and dispose of litter responsibly. Do not feed any of the animals
Additional Tour Information:
- For Same day & Next day bookings, Please you must contact us by Call or SMS / WhatsApp / Viber with mention exact pickup Location to +94776487757
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not recommended for pregnant women
- Not recommended for participants with heart complaints or other serious medical condition
- Child below 5 Years are Free of charge. / Child above 11 years apply for Adult ticket.
- Please include your Mobile / Local contact number & Hotel pickup details at the booking
- At some season there is less number of elephants can see in Minneriya National Park, so as that time we change the tour for ‘Kaudulla National Park jeep safari’ or ‘Eco park jeep safari’ as an Alternative Tour option without additional fee for given you the better Safari experience.