Gal Oya National Park

Gal Oya National park is a Sri Lankan wildlife sanctuary established in 1954. It serves as the main catchment area for the Senanayake Samudraya, the largest reservoir in Sri Lanka. The Gal Oya river was dammed to make this reservoir, and the areas teeming wildlife were moved to this park to be looked after in safety.

This Sri Lankan national park has a diverse terrain, ranging from 30 meters to 900 meters above sea level. The North Eastern monsoon season sees buckets of rain here with about 66 inches of average annual rainfall. An alternative method of accessing the park is by crossing the reservoir by boat, undoubtedly more exciting than driving through the gates of this beautiful national park in Sri Lanka.

There is an island in the middle of the reservoir called Bird Island, which is home to nesting birds. More than 150 species of birds have been recorded at Gal Oya National Park, making it a bird watcher’s paradise. Make sure you bring your heavy camera and zoom lenses to this wonderful national park to capture all the Sri Lankan birds at the height of their beauty.

32 terrestrial mammals are recorded in the park. These include the Sri Lankan elephant (Gal Oya has herds which can be seen all year round), water buffalo, sambar deer, Sri Lankan leopard, toque monkey, wildboar, and axis deer. Gal Oya is certainly a national park teeming with exciting wildlife for your viewing pleasure.

The park also contains several important sites of historical value. The Dhigavapi stupa, situated within the park, is visited by thousands of pilgrims annually. The stupa was built on the 2nd century BC supposedly on the site where the Buddha was supposed to have meditated on his visit to Sri Lanka. The park is also an important site for the history of indigenous peoples, and has an important cave near which there are ancient inscriptions to be found.

In Gal Oya you can find forest, shrub but also both low and high grassland, making its landscape one of the most beautiful in Sri Lanka. Being located in the East Coast, the park is best accessed whilst you visit the eastern part of Sri Lanka, an exotic landscape dotted with jungles, mountains, sites of historical importance and beautiful beaches. There are plenty of places to stay such as Karpaha Sands, Uga Bay By Uga Escapes (14 miles away), Maalu Maalu Resort and Spa (23 miles away), Ananthaya Resort and Spa (21 miles away), Sun Aqua Pasikuda (21 miles away)

and Amaya Beach (19 miles away).