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We offer holidays to the four corners of the globe. If you want specialist advise please phone our travel team and we will be happy to help.
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- Destinations
- Asia
- Sri Lanka
- Matara
- Yala National Park
Yala National Park
Elephants are the most often-spotted inhabitants of the vast
Yala National Park in the southeast of Sri Lanka, east of Matara,
but they share the reserve with 130 different species of birds and
other creatures like sambhur, spotted deer, sloths, crocodiles,
monkeys, wild boar and porcupines. There is also a large
concentration of leopards in this, the country's oldest protected
area. Most of the reserve is open parkland, but it also contains
jungle, beaches, lakes and rivers. Areas of the park were badly
damaged by the 2004 tsunami, but most parts are open to the public.
The park is somewhat remote, the nearest town being Tissa, and is
situated about 190 miles (305km) from Colombo. Yala is also dotted
with a number of fascinating archaeological sites, like the Magul
Maha Vihara ruins, dating from the 1st century BC.
Information & Facts
Language
Most people speak Sinhala, which is the national and
official language. Tamil is also spoken, and English is spoken at
most tourist establishments.
Money
The unit of currency is the Sri Lanka Rupee (LKR), which is
divided into 100 cents. Major credit cards are widely accepted, and
travellers cheques in US Dollars are recommended. ATMs are becoming
more common, but outside the main cities they are unlikely to
accept international cards. Credit cards should be used with
caution due to the potential for fraud. Foreign currency can be
exchanged at bureaux de change, banks and hotels, but exchanging
cash is more expensive than exchanging travellers cheques. Banks
are closed on Sundays.
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