Yala National Park

Matt Munro/Lonely Planet

A man near a waterhole scours the landscape with binoculars in Yala National Park, Sri Lanka.

With trumpeting elephants, monkeys crashing through the trees, peacocks in their finest frocks and cunning leopards sliding like shadows through the undergrowth, Yala National Park (also known as Ruhunu) is The Jungle Book brought to glorious life. This vast region of dry woodland and open patches of grasslands is the big draw of this corner of Sri Lanka. For wildlife spotting, Yala is superb, though be aware it's an extremely popular park.

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