Yala National Park is the most visited and second largest national
park in Sri Lanka. The park consists of five blocks, two of which are
now open to the public, and also adjoining parks. The blocks have
individual names such as, Ruhuna National Park and Kumana National Park
or 'Yala East' for the adjoining area. It is situated in the southeast
region of the country, and lies in Southern Province and
Uva Province. The park covers 979 square kilometres and is located about
300 kilometres from Colombo. Yala was designated as a wildlife
sanctuary in 1900, and, along with Wilpattu was one of the first two
national parks in Sri Lanka, having been designated in 1938. The park is
best known for its variety of wild animals. It is important for the
conservation of Sri Lankan elephants, Sri Lankan leopards and aquatic
birds.
There are six national parks and three wildlife sanctuaries in the
vicinity of Yala. Among the largest is Lunugamvehera National Park. The
park is situated in the dry semi-arid climatic region and rain is
received mainly during the northeast monsoon. Yala hosts a variety of
ecosystems ranging from moist monsoon forests to freshwater and marine
wetlands
