Hotels near Lunugamvehera National Park, Kataragama

Peaceful surroundings in the countryside.

We had an exceptional stay at Tranquil Wild. The room was spotlessly clean, and the furniture was tastefully decorated. We were given a free room upgrade. The property's beautiful lake in front added to its charm. The Western and Sri Lankan food we enjoyed during our stay was outstanding. The owner of the property is very kind and personally ensures that guests are comfortable. She helped us book a Yala safari with a professional naturalist. We will definitely return. This property is a gem, and with the first-class service of the staff, there's no need to look further. We highly recommend staying at this property if you plan to visit Block 5 in Yala, as it is closer to Block 5.

The Warden’s House is worth a rare “10 out of 10” from me. The building is beautiful and tasteful - decorated authentically with Sri Lankan antiques and the most comfortable furniture on the terrace. All four rooms look out onto the pool and gardens, which back onto a beautiful river. It’s an incredibly peaceful and luxurious place to spend time before or after safaris and other excursions, especially as there are so few guests there. You often feel like you have the entire house to yourself. We chose the Warden’s House because we wanted to do safari in a quieter area of Yala (Block 5). We heard the main area (Block 1) is extremely busy and that it’s much harder to see animals like leopards. Even if they’re there, the number of vehicles can make it impossible to see them up close. We are so pleased with our decision! We did two safaris and saw three leopards, up close and personal! We saw many other beautiful animals and birds, but were ecstatic about the leopards. We also chose The Warden’s House because it’s a sister hotel of Galle Fort Hotel and Thotalagala, so we trusted the service would be exceptional. It didn’t disappoint - the food was some of the best we have had at any hotel and the service was incredible. We had breakfast and dinner in our own part of the garden every day, with candlelight and a fire in the evening. All our meals were included plus sundowners and food on the safaris. To give a glimpse of the service level - you are welcomed back from safaris with cold flannels and the entire garden is lit by candlelight from about 6pm for sundowners. The value for money is exceptional. If you are visiting Sri Lanka or Yala for a safari, we can’t recommend the Warden’s House highly enough, especially if you’re a fan of small luxury and authentic boutique hotels like we are.

Very friendly and helpful host. He organized two full day safaris for us - one in Block 5&6 and one in Block 1 of the Yala national park. They were both amazing and we could (besides elephants, monkeys, crocodiles,...) observe 4 leopards and even a mother with her cub! 😍 The huge tent with the veranda was just perfect. We could even observe several animals like peacocks and mungos directly from there. One evening the host's mum spontaneously cooked for us and we even got the dinner served to our veranda. Another evening he took us by car to a restaurant. So overall it was a great experience and I can only recommend this place.

I had a wonderful stay at this hotel. The room was very spacious and spotlessly clean, which made my stay extremely comfortable. Great location close to Yala Safari. However, the highlight of the entire experience was the owner. She was incredibly helpful, always ready to assist with anything I needed. I would definitely recommend this place:)

Staying here is a one of a kind experience! You’re constantly surrounded by the beautiful sounds of nature, and the scenery leaves you in awe. Given the location and set up, as expected we had some creatures in our room, but these were harmless and didn’t really bother us- take your insect repellent and use the provided mosquito net to sleep comfortably :) Hosts are incredibly welcoming and friendly. We highly recommend this place!