As one of Asia’s fastest-growing tourist destinations, safari’s in Sri Lanka are becoming extremely popular and even crowded. Although these safaris are nowhere near as unethical as many animal-related tourist attractions in Asia they can sometimes be questionable. Here is a couple of tips to make sure you take part in the most ethical and wildlife-friendly Sri Lankan safari.

1. Try and Avoid the Big Parks

With the largest amount of leopards in any Sri Lankan park, Yala National Park is extremely popular which can sometimes mean that the safari’s that operate there are more interested in pleasing tourists than looking after animals welfare. Similarly, although not as crowded Yala, Udawaele, a park fantastic for spotting Elephants, is now increasingly popular and facing the same issues as Yala has. Instead, try and book a safari at a smaller or less well-known park such as Wilpattu the oldest but least developed after being closed for 15 years during the Sri Lankan civil war.

2. Use Zoom

Seeing animals in the wild is amazing but to ethically see them you need to stay as far as way as possible which means you will need a camera with quality zoom or a separate lense to make sure you can take great photos of the animals you see. This is particularly important if you choose to visit one of the less famous parks as wildlife visible there are not as used to safaris as ones in parks like Yala.

3. Research A Driver Beforehand

Even if you are a last-minute planner (guilty of that myself) it;’s a good idea to either ask for a recommendation from someone you trust or search the internet and read reviews of safari experiences before you book. Make sure to scan reviews for words like ethical or phrases like off the beaten track. I can personally recommend UP Travels & Tours-Excursions who picked me up from Tangalle and organised a great safari for me at Udawalawe, which avoided the crowds and was super knowledgeable about the animals in the park.

4. Chat to Your Driver

As different tourists want different safari experiences, it is essential to chat your driver both before and during your safari, even if you researched a good, ethical safari beforehand. Make sure they understand you don’t want them to take part in photo scrums and ask if they can avoid following the other Jeeps and instead go off the beaten track so to speak. Not only will you have a more ethical safari experience, but you may also be able to experience seeing animals in the wild with no one else around.

5. Don’t Feed the Animals

This tip might seem pretty obvious but avoid the stalls outside of the national parks, in particular at Udawalawe that sell food to feed the elephants. It creates a dependency on humans that elephants do not need and leads to elephants waiting around the entries to parks begging for food.