Leopard Nest Yala

For wildlife travellers who seek luxury glamping experience, Leopard nest is a unique campsite that returns the true essence of an ultimate glamping experience with elegance, romance and adventure. We bring the conceptual design of nests in to luxury lodging and create a unique glamping experience in Yala National Park.

Whilst minimizing the environmental footprints, we make the difference in the wild and provide authentic wild experience with large tents and tree houses that are unique in design and exclusive in comfort.

The jewel in Sri Lanka’s wildlife crown, with a memorable showcase of the island’s rich fauna, which offers an unrivaled opportunity. Serene stays with the richest and most varied collection of wildlife in the country, to have the most unforgettable experiences.

Yala is Sri Lanka’s most famous national park. Forming a total area of 1268 sq km of scrub, light forest, grassy plains and brackish lagoons, it’s very rich in wildlife and you’re virtually certain to encounter elephants, crocodiles, buffaloes and monkeys and many more. Yala National Park that consists of five blocks which is the most visited.

About us
Glamour camping, known as glamping, is becoming a growing trend in Sri Lanka by allowing people to stay connected to nature with the comforts of home.

As part of the Beyond Escapes team, we make the difference in the wild with experienced naturalists, expert cooks and comfortable safari vehicles to give an unforgettable glamping experience with luxury comfort.

Our Ethical Standards

• Establishing core values and working to develop a culture of respect, trust and honest communication represents a vital part of operations.
• The actions and behaviors of management, and other senior staff, help steer toward proper and accepted practices.
• The ethical standards of individuals in the business are an important consideration.
• Worthy of trust, demonstrate fidelity and loyalty to clients and institutions by friendship in adversity, support and devotion to duty.

Camping Tents
Leopards nest camping offer guests the best experience in wildlife and nature sited at the heart of yala. A refined way of Tented Villas defining the concept of rustic luxury camping. Settled in the course of both comfort and nature’s sanctuary, with extended space and individual tents to choose from.

The Tree Nest
Overlooking the green forest with a distance view of the Indian Ocean, The Tree Nest provides a unique experience to the guests.

This unit consist with one double room and open deck that gives an enormous opportunity to enjoy the nature whilst enjoying the comfort of a tree house nest at an elevation of 22 feet above the ground level.

The Jungle Nest
Surrounded by thick bushes with a shade of a large tree, The Jungle Nest provides a real jungle glamping experience to the guests. This unit consist with a large bed room with enough space to include an extra bed and a large deck to enjoy the glimpse of wildlife.

Luxury Tent
Overlooking some beautiful landscapes and thick bushes, Luxury Tent provides a comfortable luxury glamping experience to the guests. This unit consists with a large bed room and a large deck enabling the clients to enjoy the surrounding environment whilst reading a book from the Library.

Candle lit dinner
Candle lit table surrounded by fire torches and lanterns creates an atmosphere for a romantic dining experience in the jungle or at your terrace. Dining under the stars will be an unforgettable experience together with an authentic western and Sri Lankan cuisines with wine and beer.

Jungle BBQ Dinner
Fire up the Barbie and grill with skill. We have recipes of making very special barbecue for the night illuminated by the fire torches and lanterns. Dining in a special outdoor location under the stars will create an atmosphere for an unforgettable evening with wine and beer.

Beach BBQ Dinner
You will be taken by a Safari jeep to a private beach where will experience a memorable evening with sea food barbecue dinner with chilled wine and beer. With the sounds of waves and songs of birds, you will unwind for an unforgettable evening on the beach.

Lakeside Breakfast
You will be taken to the Nimalawa lake where you can experience a tasty breakfast with beautiful natural surroundings. With the sounds of breeze and songs of birds, you will unwind for a memorable breakfast with Sri Lankan cuisine.

Dine on a rock
Dine on a top of rock surrounded by beautiful nature creations will be a great start for the day. Whilst enjoying the natural beauty in the surrounded environment, you will enjoy a special breakfast with Sri Lankan cuisines.

Lunch at a Village house
You will be taken to a village house where you can engage with making Sri Lankan food with a family. You will start your lunch experience with the visit to the market for buying vegetables and meet items for your lunch.

Cooking with the local family and enjoying authentic Sri Lankan lunch will be an unforgettable experience that gives you a chance to share the lifestyle of the village people in Sri Lanka.

Library
Our Small Library is a database of photographs and information collected from various animal and plant species. We have got collection of wildlife books that are related to Yala National Park and Sri Lankan Wildlife conservation.

The main aim of this effort is to spread and share the knowledge of biodiversity of marine and terrestrial flora and fauna and simultaneously to raise public awareness towards the conservation of numerous rare species that live for centuries in Yala National park and other wildlife sanctuaries in Sri Lanka.

Borrowing a book from the library and reading it will add something to your wildlife knowledge when you are spending your leisure time in a hammock.

Jeep Safaris
Jeep Safaris with Leopard Nest is not just a normal jeep safari. It gives you a memorable ride through the jungle avoiding the roads that other jeeps are taking.

Our well experienced naturalists / camp manager will accompany you during each ride to make sure that you get the maximum out of the half day or full day you spend in the national park. We are located just 6 kms away from the main entrance of Yala National Park and 22kms away from Bundala National Park.

Nature trails
Surrounded by thick forest with a pathway access to Nimalawa Lake, Leopard Nest has got the capacity to offer variety of wildlife experiences just steps away from the campsite.

We provide comprehensive guided nature trails to see the beauty of wildlife. You will explore many species of birds, land monitors, black napped hare, wild boar, deer, palm Squirrels, giant squirrels and butterflies.

Visit to Chena Farms
Chena farmers usually begin cultivation of chena during the final days of the dry season (In the month of October). This meant that once trees and vines are cut down in preparation, the dry bark and leaves (a consequence of the harsh sun) will be burnt.

It takes at least two to three days for the area to burn completely. Farmers would make sure to look for and chase away hidden animals before the area is set on fire.

Once the ground preparation is done, they start cultivating vegetable expecting the rain fall. If you stay at the Leopard Nest between 15th October to 30th April, you will be able to do a guided tour to a Chena farm and enjoy the experience.

Curd Making Process in a Village house
Early in the morning you will be driven to Tissamaharama village which is the most famous village for curd making in Sri Lanka. Along with the farmers, you may participate to lead the cows to the lake or their shelters and engage in the task of milking the cows.

This may be your once in a life time experience to drink fresh milk on the spot too! Next, you can help the farmers to take milk pots to their houses to make curd in the traditional way. Once you are done with the process, you will be able to taste fresh curd with honey that is not available anywhere in the world.

Lake Fishing tours
Go fishing in local style at a Lake closer to Leopard Nest. This is a 2 hours fishing experience in a scenic lake with all fishing gears. Test your skills with the locals and enjoy local refreshments tea and sweet meats.

Cooking Demonstration at the campsite
Whilst enjoying the pleasure of wildlife, you may get a chance to participate to a cooking demonstration in the campsite with our chef. Making a fish curry or vegetable in Sri Lankan style will be very much interesting. Don’t miss this opportunity during your stay at the campsite.

Half Day at a Village house with Lunch
Folks in Sri Lankan Villagers are very hospitable people. They love to treat the guests. Most often, they never let you go without offering a tea.

Spending lively half day with a family and enjoying their day to day activities including, farming, shopping and cooking will be a lifetime experience to any tourist. You will taste the best Sri Lankan cuisine with the fresh spices, vegetable and fish.

Temple Tours
We are surrounded by many historical temples including, Tissamaharama, Sithulpawwa, Kirinda, and Katharagama. Doing a tour to these temples will be very much worth to learn rituals, beliefs and cultural elements of southern Sri Lanka. You will be amazed by some of the architectures and paintings in these historical temples.

Night Drive in Yala Buffer-Zone
Night drive in Yala National park buffer- zone will let you experience night time behavior of animals through the buffer zone. This 2-hours night drive will be a thrilling experience for you to see behaviors of different kind of animals in the buffer zone.

Wine on the Rock
You will be taken to enjoy wine to a flat rocky area where you can enjoy your wine while watching beautiful endemic and migrant birds fly through the wild. This evening session of wine tasting with leopard nest team will be an unforgettable experience at Leopard Nest Luxury campsite.

Sustainability Practices
Our Concept
We have cultivated 500 trees in the land as our first step and continue to educate people in the surrounding area about the importance of the national park and make them involve in protecting it.

These five hundred trees were purchased from a local planting supplier in Tissamaharama and Yala to get the trees that are suitable for the climate conditions in the area.

We will continue to train our staff and educate them for protecting and maintaining a perfect environment in the campsite for eco tourists and make them… more

Our Practices
We have environmentally-friendly practices initiated by the company for the purposes of becoming a more sustainable organization.

We aim to reduce our environmental footprint through initiatives that cut down on waste, poor environmental stewardship and unethical environmental practices that offer a reduced level of sustainability within company practices.

We aim to generate suitable economic returns through effective coordination of social and environment sustainability programmes.

“Life of Nesting Birds” Programme.
Leopard Nest Launched the “Life of Nesting Birds” Programme to educate the community about the importance of preserving the bird nests. This programme is run through digital and social media campaigns targeting the young generation both locally and internationally.

We also conduct education programmes for the people who live close to the wild sanctuaries. We talk about protecting trees, shrubberies, grasslands and other ecosystems that provide healthy environment for nesting birds.

Cultivation Programme
We have cultivated 500 trees in the land as our first step and continue to educate people in the surrounding area about the importance of the national park and make them involve in protecting it.

These five hundred trees were purchased from a local planting supplier in Tissamaharama and Yala to get the trees that are suitable for the climate conditions in the area.

We will continue to train our staff and educate them for protecting and maintaining a perfect environment in the campsite for eco tourists and make them involve in cultivating more trees.

Community Development Programme
We have developed the Leopard Nest campsite as a Community based tourism project that gives different experiences to the tourists whilst giving more opportunities to the local community to provide authentic services such as village tours, paduru parties and farming experiences.

We have selected all our suppliers from Tissamaharama area to give some of the benefits and incentives for their effort in protecting the environment.

The Yala Park
Yala is Sri Lanka’s most famous national park. Forming a total area of 1268 sq km of scrub, light forest, grassy plains and brackish lagoons, it’s very rich in wildlife and you’re virtually certain to encounter elephants, crocodiles, buffaloes and monkeys and many more.

The National Park consists with five blocks Leopard Nest is located just 6 kilometers away from the Palatupana entrance of block 1. Yala Block 1 has an extraordinary variety of landscape shapes. This is the most visited area in the national park as it contains the highest density of leopards.

Block 1
Yala Block 1 has an extraordinary variety of landscape shapes. This is the most visited area in the national park as it contains the highest density of leopards. The Block 1 Palatupane gate is the main entrance into Yala.

This is the area where leopards are frequently observed and they have an ideal habitat with a landscape full of rocky outcrops, many lakes and because of easy access to waterholes the population of animals is denser here. The large herds of spotted deer are the main prey of leopards.

Historically this is the most used safari area of Yala and this part of life for the animals have made them habituated to safari vehicle; a fact that makes sightings much easier because animals are not fleeing as they would in other wild areas where safari vehicles are uncommon.

Block 2
Yala Block 2 has large areas of open grassland. For this reason, it is an ideal place to observe wild animals and especially leopards. However, unlike Yala Block 1, Block 2 cannot be visited on half-day safaris and without special permission. In addition, the slopes are much more difficult to navigate than in the much-frequented Block 1.

Block 3
Block 3 of Yala National Park can be described as a beautiful wilderness with hardly any visitors. An ideal safari area for those who prefer a private nature experience but it must be stressed that wildlife sightings tend to be much less here than in block 1.

There is no dense concentration of wild animal due to dry conditions and other factors. One factor that makes wildlife watching more difficult is that animals are not used to the safari traffic, they will hide or flee.

During the month of September block 1 is closed for visitors by enabling the flora and fauna a time of rehabilitation, without any interruption. However, as the block 3 is open, visitors can do the safaris in block 3.

With the access from the Galge entrance, this is simply a protected wilderness and ideal safari area for those who prefer a private nature experience. Wildlife sightings tend to be less here than in block 1 as animals are not used to the safari traffic.

Block 4
Block 4 of Yala National Park can be described as a beautiful wilderness with hardly any visitors. An ideal safari area for those who prefer a private nature experience but it must be stressed that wildlife sightings tend to be much less here than in block 1.

There is no dense concentration of wild animal due to dry conditions and other factors. One factor that makes wildlife watching more difficult is that animals are not used to the safari traffic, they will hide or flee.

Block 5
Block 5 of Yala National Park can be described as a beautiful wilderness with hardly any visitors. An ideal safari area for those who prefer a private nature experience but it must be stressed that wildlife sightings tend to be much less here than in block 1.

There is no dense concentration of wild animal due to dry conditions and other factors. One factor that makes wildlife watching more difficult is that animals are not used to the safari traffic, they will hide or flee.

Bird
Yala is one of the 70 Important Bird Areas (IBAs) in Sri Lanka.Of 215 bird species of the park, six are endemic to Sri Lanka. They are Sri Lanka grey hornbill, Sri Lanka junglefowl, Sri Lanka wood pigeon, crimson-fronted barbet, black-capped bulbul, and brown-capped babbler.

Sloth Bear
The distinctly shaped sloth bear with its black shaggy coat and heavy build is often spotted in Yala National Park. Found exclusively in the Indian Subcontinent, the sloth bear has evolved from the Eurasian Brown.

Fishing Cat
The fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus) is a medium-sized wild cat of South and Southeast Asia. Which are increasingly being settled, degraded and converted.

Leopard
The Sri Lankan leopard (Panthera pardus kotiya) is a leopard subspecies native to Sri Lanka. Classified as Endangered by IUCN, the population is believed to be declining due to numerous threats.