Wildlife calendar

The best time to see Sri Lanka’s big wildlife events. Dates shift a little with the rains each year.

When	What	Where
July – October (peak August–September)	The Gathering: hundreds of elephants on the drying tank beds	Minneriya, Kaudulla
June – July	Sloth bears feeding on ripe palu fruit	Yala, Wilpattu
February – June	Best leopard viewing in the dry season	Yala, Wilpattu
December – April	Blue whales off the south coast	Mirissa
About March – August	Blue and sperm whales off the east coast	Trincomalee
November – April	Spinner dolphin pods	Kalpitiya
September – April	Migrant birds; flamingos on the lagoons	Bundala, Kalametiya, Mannar
April – July	Waterbird nesting colonies	Kumana
July – August	Kandy Esala Perahera with its ceremonial tuskers	Kandy
Around September – October	Parts of Yala close for the driest weeks	Yala