Udawalawa, in Sri Lanka's south-central sector, is the area that most resembles an African game park. Leopards, buffalo, deer and sloth bears keep them company along with mongooses, bandicoots, foxes, water monitor lizards and crocodiles. This 30,821 hectares park is one of the best places to see Raptors and year round park with Elephants seen any time of the year. Bird watching is best during the Northern hemisphere winter (October to March) when the migrant birds can be seen in the park.

Unlike other parks, Udawalawa does not have a seasonal variation in elephant numbers and it is easy to encounter a few of them at any time of the year. Morning and evenings are the best time to visit the park and late evenings give the best lighting for photography with amazing sun sets.

​Other mammals that can be seen include Wild boar, Spotted Deer, Barking Deer, Jackal, Sambar, Water Buffalo, Black-naped Hare, the endemic Toque Macaque and Gray Langurs. You can also see Leopard and some of the other smaller cats like Fishing cat & Jungle cat.