Sri Lanka is getting increasingly popular as a tourist hot spot and one of the major tourists attractions is watching wildlife and marine life. Although a small country compared to most other countries Sri Lanka have more than 50 natures reserves and National parks. Sri Lanks ia also located in International Whaling associations protected zone and southern coast of Sri Lanka is very close to whale migration routes, making it the ideal place to watch Whales and other sea creatures. Elephants, Deer, Buffalo, Wild Boar, Monkeys, Crocodiles and Peacocks are common in most national parks and Black Bears and Leopard are found in some national parks. When it comes to marine life Dolphins, Blue Whales and Sperm whales are the most commonly sighted, but if you are willing to go diving in the coral reefs you can spot plenty more.

Many tourists especially love to watch Elephants, watching these majestic creatures in their natural habitat is a truly fulfilling experience. Although Elephants are found in most national parks in Sri Lanka, Udawalawe, Minneriya and Wasgamuwa national parks are best to see Elephants. If you want to see Elephants in a semi wild life condition and want to take part in activities like bottle feeding baby Elephants you can visit the Pinnawela Elephant orphanage as well. Leopard is another animal tourists love to watch but spotting them is much harder. Your best chance is in Yala and Vilpattu national parks and the best time to spot Leopards is during February and March, when its the dry season. If you are hoping to watch Leopards and Bears it is better if you can reserve a wild life bungalow inside one of those national parks, they are located close to places where these animals are often sighted. If all these fails then you can easily visit the national zoological gardens in Dehiwela, which is very close to the main city of Colombo. You can see all these animals and more in there.

Sri Lanka is fast becoming a popular destination for whale and dolphin watching. As mentioned above southern coast of Sri Lanka is very close to Whale migration paths so chances of spotting Whales are very high. Other than that because of the increase in tourism, commercial Whale watching tours are carried out now and some are even conducted by the Sri Lanka Navy. Sperm Whales, Blue Whales and Spinner Dolphins are the most commonly spotted large sea creatures. Dondra point is the most popular starting point for Whale watching tours but many other cities in southern coast have Whale and Dolphin watching tours. If you are a bit adventurous you can visit places like Hikkaduwa where there are coral reefs and you can explore marine life in more detail.