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Minneriya National Park

Minneriya National Park is situated in the north-central plains of Sri Lanka, 20 kilometers from Polonnaruwa. Even though it is one of the smallest national parks in the country, covering just 8,889 hectares, it’s a paradise with many natural wonders. The park encompasses the beautiful Minneriya tank, built by King Mahasena (in 3rd century AD). This tank is an incredible place to observe the elephants that come to bathe and graze on the grasses as well as the huge flocks of birds (cormorants, painted storks, open-bills, Pelicans and many other species of waders) that come to fish in the shallow waters.

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Getting There

Main entrance of Minneriya National park is located facing Habarana – Polonnaruwa road (A11). From Colombo reach Habarana junction via Kurunegala, Dambulla (A1, A6), and take the right turn from Habarana towards Polonnaruwa. Drive 10 km towards Polonnaruwa to reach Minneriya National Park. Distance from Colombo is around 182km and total driving time will be around 4-5 hours.

Weather and Season

Best months to visit Minneriya are the dry months from June to September. Hundreds of elephants from the surrounding area are attracted to the drying Minneriya lake bed, which turns in to a lush green grass land, for food and water. Generally you can observe around five to ten herds of elephants, each with anything from twenty to fifty individuals of all age groups.

Attractions and activities

Elephants, elephants and a lot of them !. You can witness how dominant female guide and protect the family, young calves playing and exploring the surrounding under the close supervision of adults, young males fighting for dominance and if you are lucky, you may be able to see one or more majestic tuskers
Birds watching – A large number of birds gather in the park to feed on the fish that get trapped in drying water holes in the lake bed. Huge flocks of birds like cormorants, painted storks, open-bills, Pelicans can be seen.
Beautiful Landscape – The lake, lush green lake bed and the surrounding mountains create memorable landscapes enhanced by warm light during the late afternoons

Accommodation Options

There are many accommodation options in the area from star class hotels to basic eco lodges. There are NO camp sites or bungalows located inside Minneriya National Park

Search accommodation options in the area at Lakdasun forum accommodation options board

Notes, Tips and Special Remarks

Plan to spend at least 2-3 hours in the park. it’s better if you get a four-wheel drive to drive around. In dry season, a van will also be able to take you there. You can also hire a safari jeep from Habarana without much of a problem.
It’s best to start your safari around 3.30 p.m. Plan to be at the park entrance around 3.00 p.m. since it will take some time to buy tickets and get a tracker to guide your vehicle in side the park. You have to drive few kilometers from the park entrance to reach the lake bed where you can drive around to observe elephants and birds.

Image Gallery

Open bills in flight. Open bills can be seen in flocks of hundreds, searching for oysters in shallow waters of Minneriya lake.	Two bull elephants fighting for dominance. This fairly slow motion wrestling session can go for many minutes before one of the fighter’s give-up.

During the dry season, safari jeeps surrounded by elephants is a common sight at Minneriya	Even though elephants generally do not mind the safari action going around them, they sometimes can get a little angry and may chase vehicles away from them

As sun goes down, herds head towards water for a cool evening bath.	Breathtaking view of the Minneriya Lake, green lake bed and the blue sky

A family of elephants peacefully grazing. Calf here is about a year old and will always stay close to its mother	Indian Roller a colorful bird, which is a common sight at Minneriya

A flock of open bills flying from the lake to the nesting trees as sun goes down over Minneriya Lake	The young ones are playful and always want to explore the surrounding, but adults will make sure that they are kept in the centre of the herd as much as possible.

Tuskers are quite rare among Asian Elephants. Even though you can easily count hundreds of elephants in Minneriya, you will be very lucky if you see a tusker.	A land monitor looking for dung beetles under elephant dropping.