In the far northeast of Sri Lanka, Wilpattu is Sri Lanka’s largest national park, covering an amazing 130,000 hectares. The area was off-limits to tourists for nearly thirty years during the war, but re-opened again in 2009 and is fast regaining its popularity as a wildlife destination.

In addition to leopards, the park supports 30 species of mammal, including elephant, sloth bear, jackal, sambar deer, spotted deer, buffalo, mongoose and jackal. You won’t enjoy the same frequency of sightings as Yala –populations are more spread out, and less used to people. This is, rather, somewhere to come to savour wild, empty beaches, jungle and freshwater lakes – in short, a taste of proper tropical wilderness.