Asian Elephant Family in Gal Oya National Park

Gal Oya National Park – Nature Untouched

December 19th, 2014
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Asian elephant living peacefully in its natural habitat, Gal Oya Sri Lanka
Asian elephant living peacefully in its natural habitat

Man’s imprint on the world is undeniable. Skyscrapers reach for the heavens, cities sprawl and super highways splinter the earth.

 

Industry and technology are the driving force of change.

 

But the world isn’t just a canvas – a place to paint our ambition. It rotates. It breathes. It sustains itself in the most beautiful of balances.

 

Our planet is a wonder to behold. Yet there are fewer and fewer places on earth to experience true nature. To see the world for what it is.

 

Gal Oya National Park is one of those places. Lying in the south east of Sri Lanka just west of Ampara, Gal Oya National Park has evolved naturally, untouched by the hand of man for countless centuries. Over 25,000 hectares of lush evergreen forest and open savanas thrive alongside the Senanayake Samudra lake – Sri Lanka’s largest inland body of water. To complete the scene, the water’s surface is peppered with islands, a reminder of the terraferma rising from the depths.

 

There are no buildings. No traffic jams. No internet. It’s a place of tranquility, peacefully existing as everything changes around it.

 

Here nature is queen. And she is offering her bounty to you. At Gal Oya Lodge, we can organise a Sri Lanka safari unlike anything else you’ll find on this tear-dropped island. How? Gal Oya National Park is the only place in Sri Lanka where safaris can be conducted by boat – giving you a truly unique perspective of nature’s majesty and mystery.

 

As you set off over the placid waters of Senanayake Samudra lake, you’ll soon notice that Gal Oya National Park is teeming with life. It’s home to 32 species of mammal including the langur, toque macaque, leopard, sloth bear, wild boar, water buffalo and deer. What’s more, it’s estimated that almost 150 different species of bird grace the skies above, calling its many islands home.

 

However, there’s one resident that sparks the imagination like no other – the elephant. Majestic,wise and intelligent, these awe-inspiring mammals capture the hearts and minds of all those for look upon them.

 

Placid waters of Senanayake Samudra lake Sri Lanka
Placid waters of Senanayake Samudra lake

 

Gal Oya National Park is one of the best places in the world to witness the Asian elephant living peacefully in its natural habitat. As time shifted and society evolved, the elephant remained, carving out its niche and passing on knowledge from generation to generation.

 

On this Sri Lanka safari you should get to know the Asian elephant intimately. Imagine – you are taking in the gorgeous Sri Lanka wildlife, then suddenly an elephant appears out of a clearing. It moves slowly to the shoreline to take a drink, dipping its trunk into the water with diligence and dexterity. It’s a simple action. One of survival. And yet it speaks deeply to us – illustrating a harmony between animal and environment that is such a rarity. An image that stays in the consciousness forever.

 

Out of all the mammals in Gal Oya National Park, Elephants are the strongest swimmers. And they’ve claimed the leafy, green islands for their own. There are few sights in life more memorable than watching the Asian elephant swim from island to island. For a big creature, they move with such calm and purpose, emerging out the water to reveal their immense size. It’s really something you have to see for yourself.

 

Elephants are the strongest swimmers
Elephants are the strongest swimmers
Safaris in Sri Lanka can be conducted by boat
Safaris can be conducted by boat

 

A new world is waiting for you. And we can take you there.

 

It’s time to find your place in nature.

 

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