Yala National Park is the most visited and second largest national park in Sri Lanka. It is located in the southeast region of the country in the Southern Province and Uva Province about 300 km from Colombo. The park is best known for its variety of wild animals such as Sri Lankan elephants, Sri Lankan leopards, and aquatic birds.
There are six national parks and three wildlife sanctuaries in the vicinity of Yala. Yala is made of a variety of ecosystems ranging from moist monsoon forests to freshwater and marine wetlands. It is one of the 70 Important Bird Areas (IBAs) in Sri Lanka harboring 215 bird species including six endemic species of Sri Lanka. It has one of the highest leopard densities in the world.
Yala National Park has a variety of ecosystems including moist monsoon forests, dry monsoon forests, semi-deciduous forests, thorn forests, grasslands, marshes, marine wetlands, and sandy beaches