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Go a little bit wild on a Sri Lankan safari

An elephant is grazing on the succulent bulbs of reeds, tugged out of the marshy earth around a waterhole, utterly unconcerned by our presence.

We’ve bumped across rutted red tracks, detoured around defiant water buffaloes unwilling to give way to our jeep, spotted open-mouthed crocodiles sunbathing beside streams, and startled herds of skittish chital deer who bound off into the bush.

The trees too, are full of life, troupes of langur monkeys with sooty black faces argue in the canopy, and the birds trill in a seemingly co-ordinated chorus. There has been recent rain and water is everywhere; small billabongs blooming with lilac lilies, and ephemeral lakes, the celeste blue and cumulous white of the sky mirrored on their placid surface. 

It could almost be an African wildlife reserve, but this is Yala National Park on Sri Lanka’s southern coast, where the jungle meets the Indian Ocean. It’s one of 26 national parks in the country and is believed to be home to the world’s highest density of leopards.  

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The lodge offers luxury in the shape of a leopard’s paw print. Photo: Wild Coast Tented Lodge

I’m staying at Yala Wild Coast Tented Lodge, at the park’s border, a Relais & Chateaux property owned by the Fernando family, founders of Dilmah Ceylon Tea. It’s celebrated not only for its sumptuous safari-camp luxury, but sustainable ethos and a design aesthetic intended to complement rather than conquer the wild surrounds.

Accommodation is in 36 canvas cocoons, their shape mimicking the granite boulders that punctuate the landscape. Each is secluded from its neighbour and has a deck and private plunge pool. If you were to see the tents from above, you’d notice their arrangement forms the shape of a leopard’s paw print.

Inside are leather-slung chairs and a writing desk, a canopied four-poster bed, a freestanding copper bathtub, a teak tea cabinet, help-yourself mini-bar, and many other five-star amenities.  

Paths wind through the bush to the lodge’s hub facing the ocean, housing a bar, library and restaurant, winner of UNESCO’s Prix Versailles for World’s Best Restaurant Design in 2018. Open on all sides, it has a floor of finely crushed granite and a high vaulted ceiling that is a convex grid of woven bamboo, tiled on the outside with reclaimed teak. 

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The lodge features safari camp luxury, but with a sustainable edge. Photo: Wild Coast Tented Lodge

A daily game drive is included in the price of a stay, but it’s worth paying for a second to explore the park and wildlife early in the morning and the afternoon. 

The passion of my guide, Kasun, is as deep as his knowledge, his enthusiasm infectious. He’s fascinated by all of it: From the endemic birds to the Asian elephants he knows by name. I don’t spot a leopard on either of my safaris, but other guests strike it lucky, some having multiple encounters. 

In the late afternoon, drinks are served al fresco in classic safari fashion, with a bar set up on the bluff overlooking this particularly tempestuous stretch of the Indian Ocean. Guests lounge about on rocky outcrops padded by cushions, G&Ts in hand watching the sun sink and listening to the changes in sound as nature’s night shift takes over. 

Dinner can be taken out here, too. It’s impossibly romantic, with rows of lanterns lining a path to well-spaced tables for two, set beneath a clear, starry sky with a caressing sea breeze and the sound of the waves crashing onto the beach.

The extensive a la carte menu encompasses Western fare delivered with local flair as well as traditional Sri Lankan dishes – which I enjoy so much that I sign up for a cooking class. It is held at a table set up beneath the acacia trees, where a tall-toqued chef talks us through the spices and cooking techniques. My contribution is minimal – a bit of stirring, a little chopping, but I’m happy to take a large chunk of credit later as we sit down to a meal of fragrant curry and dhal accompanied by a cold beer. 

One afternoon I take a guided nature walk with Kasun. There is no fence between the park and the lodge, one of the reasons our walk back to our tents of an evening is always escorted, so I’m slightly unsettled by the possibility of running into a leopard or elephant.

While we see the scat of both, I’m secretly relieved not to encounter either while on foot, but I enjoy the view from the rock escarpment we climb and the long walk along the beach, littered with sea-polished cowrie shells.

Nothing can ever be guaranteed in terms of what you might see, of course, nature and wildlife both being capricious, but come with the right mindset and a stay in this beautiful untamed part of Sri Lanka is bound to exceed expectations.   

The writer was a guest of Relais & Chateaux’ Wild Coast Tented Lodge

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