Wilpattu and the Minneriya gathering, Sri Lanka's other safaris

Ask most people where to go on safari in Sri Lanka and they will say Yala, and for good reason: its leopards are famous. But Yala's popularity means company, and a leopard sighting there can draw a queue of jeeps within minutes. Two other places offer something different. Wilpattu, on the north-west coast, is bigger and quieter, and Minneriya, in the middle of the cultural triangle, puts on one of the great elephant spectacles in Asia. Both fit neatly into a tour of the ancient cities.

Wilpattu, the lakes in the forest

At about 1,300 square kilometres, Wilpattu is the largest of Sri Lanka's national parks, stretching inland from the coast north of Puttalam. It is a different landscape from Yala's open scrub. Dense dry forest is broken by villus, shallow natural lakes rimmed with white sand that fill with rain, and the animals come to them to drink. The park's name is usually explained as the land of lakes.

Its recent history is part of its character. Wilpattu lay close to the front line of the civil war, and it was closed to visitors from 1988 to 2003. Even now, only part of it is open, and the tracks are sandy and slow. That is the point. There are far fewer vehicles than in Yala, and long stretches of a drive pass without another jeep in sight.

The leopards are here in good numbers; a camera survey in 2018 counted more than a hundred. The forest makes them harder to find than on Yala's rocks, and a sighting is a matter of patience and a guide who knows where they drink, but a leopard at the edge of a villu, with no engines running nearby, is worth the wait. Sloth bears, spotted deer, elephants, mugger crocodiles and a great many birds share the park.

Wilpattu sits conveniently between the airport at Negombo and the ancient city of Anuradhapura, so tours that start on the west coast often stop for an afternoon or morning drive on the way north.

G Adventures' Journeys: Discover Sri Lanka, eleven nights, includes a drive in Wilpattu, as well as Anuradhapura, Sigiriya, Kandy, the hill country and Udawalawe.

Minneriya and the gathering

Minneriya is a small park, built around a big reservoir. The Minneriya tank was made by King Mahasen in the third century, one of the great irrigation works that fed the ancient kingdoms of the dry zone, and it still waters the paddy fields around it.

In the wet season the reservoir is full, and the elephants are scattered through the surrounding forest. But in the dry months, from about July to October, the water draws back and leaves wide meadows of fresh grass along its shores. As water elsewhere dries up, elephants come out of the forest to graze and drink in the evening, in family groups that join together until there may be a few hundred in view at once. Sri Lankans call it the Gathering, and it is usually at its height in August and September.

It is a sociable sight: matriarchs leading their families down to the water, calves sheltering between their mothers' legs, young males sparring, and the whole crowd moving across the grass as the light goes. Minneriya's neighbour, Kaudulla, has its own reservoir and its own herds, and through the season the elephants move between the two. Jeep drivers keep track of where they are grazing, and take you to whichever park they are in that day.

The jeeps gather too, especially in the peak weeks, and a good driver keeps a respectful distance and never blocks the herds' way to the water. Afternoon drives are the norm, since the elephants come out to the water late in the day.

Making the most of them

Most first trips to Sri Lanka are planned for the dry season on the west and south coasts, from December to March. Wilpattu suits that well. The gathering is a summer event, which suits a route through the cultural triangle and the east coast, the parts of the island that are dry in the southwest monsoon.

Whichever park you visit, bring binoculars, a hat, water and patience. Animals are never guaranteed, and the best drives are often the quiet ones, spent watching a herd by the water rather than racing after a rumour. If a driver gets too close to an animal, or starts chasing a sighting, it is fine to ask them to stop and hang back.

Explore Worldwide's Sri Lanka in Depth, fourteen nights, includes Wilpattu, Minneriya and Kaudulla, and Udawalawe further south, along with the ancient cities, Kandy and the hill country. Just You's Sri Lanka, Pearl of the Indian Ocean, thirteen nights for solo travellers, includes Minneriya on its way through the cultural triangle.