WildlifePrivate, guided safaris

A good tracker makes the difference. At Yala, an experienced tracker can tell within half an hour whether a leopard is in the valley; at Minneriya, they read the herd's direction from the dust. We hire the tracker, not just the park permit.

The quieter parks reward the detour. Wilpattu is the largest of the parks and the least crowded, with leopards in wilder country and sloth bears when the palu fruit ripens. Udawalawe and its Elephant Transit Home offer near-guaranteed elephant sightings. In the dry months, elephants gather in the hundreds at Minneriya and Kaudulla. Gal Oya you tour by boat rather than by jeep, and Bundala, a Ramsar wetland, holds flamingos and waterbirds in numbers.

For birdwatchers, Sinharaja is the highlight: a UNESCO rainforest holding most of the island's endemic birds. Knuckles, Horton Plains and Wasgamuwa round out the range. Peacocks and junglefowl, the national bird, appear at almost every clearing.

Where you stay is part of the experience. We use small, well-built tented camps, privately serviced, with no more than two tents per group.