Udawalawe National Park
Grassland and scrub on the border of Uva and Sabaragamuwa, set aside in 1972 as a refuge for animals displaced by the reservoir on the Walawe River. It covers some 30,800 hectares and is one of the surest places on the island to see wild elephants.
- Where
- Udawalawe, Sabaragamuwa, Sri Lanka
- Grade
- Local gem
- Worth
- 10 points collected on site
- Coordinates
- 6.4383, 80.8885
Get the Udawalawe National Park stamp
Open LOQAH when you are at Udawalawe National Park. It checks where you are once, at that moment, and the stamp is yours: confirmed on site in gold and struck with the date. It goes into your Sabaragamuwa volume with your photos and a note.
Near Udawalawe National Park
Buduruvagala 35 km
Seven figures carved in the 10th century into one rock face in the forest near Wellawaya. The giant standing Buddha still carries traces of its stucco robe and orange paint, and beside it stand Mahayana figures thought to be Avalokitesvara and his consort Tara.
Diyaluma Falls 36 km
The second highest waterfall in Sri Lanka, falling 220 metres from a cliff near Koslanda on the Colombo to Badulla road. The water is the Punagala Oya, and above the main drop it runs through a chain of natural rock pools where people swim.
Haputale 37 km
A hill town at 1,431 metres on the ridge that marks the edge of the Uva basin, ringed by cloud forest and tea estates. Its altitude keeps it cooler than the land around it, and from the pass the view opens out across the southern plains of the island.
Bambarakanda Falls 38 km
The tallest waterfall in Sri Lanka, a 263 metre drop of the Kuda Oya, a tributary of the Walawe River. It falls through a forest of pine trees near Kalupahana, about 5 km off the A4 highway.
Mulkirigala Raja Maha Vihara 39 km
An ancient Buddhist temple built up the sides of a 205 metre natural rock, ringed by four smaller rocks. Stairs climb past a series of cave shrines with reclining Buddhas and murals to the stupa at the summit.
Ussangoda National Park 39 km
A patch of high ground by the sea near Ambalantota, a national park and archaeological site in the southern turtle nesting zone. Unlike the land around it, its flat top is covered only in grass and a few pockets of dwarf forest, over strikingly red soil.
Horton Plains National Park 41 km
A high plateau of grassland and cloud forest at 2,100 to 2,300 metres, made a national park in 1988 and rich in species found nowhere else. Walkers cross it to Baker's Falls and to World's End, where the plateau drops away in a sheer cliff.
Bundala National Park 45 km
A coastal park of lagoons and scrub that is an important winter home for migratory water birds, with 197 species recorded and flocks of greater flamingos the highlight. In 1991 it became Sri Lanka's first Ramsar wetland, and in 2005 a UNESCO biosphere reserve.
More hidden gems in Sabaragamuwa
Questions
Where is Udawalawe National Park?
Udawalawe National Park is in Udawalawe, Sabaragamuwa, Sri Lanka. The nearest other LOQAH stamps are Buduruvagala (35 km), Diyaluma Falls (36 km), Haputale (37 km).
How do I get the Udawalawe National Park stamp?
Open LOQAH when you are at Udawalawe National Park and get its stamp. The app checks where you are once, at that moment, and the stamp goes into your Sabaragamuwa volume, confirmed on site, with the date.
I have been to Udawalawe National Park before. Can I still have the stamp?
Yes. Add it from Earlier trips in your Sabaragamuwa volume, with the date if you know it, or import your Google Timeline and LOQAH matches the places you were.
Collect your first stamp.
LOQAH is free on iPhone and Android, in India and 20 more countries, with more countries on the way. Stand at a place, collect its stamp, and keep every trip in a passport that grows.