I will admit to having preconceptions about Yala National Park – and not all of them were positive. Situated on the south-east coast of Sri Lanka, the national park is the island’s premier safari spot, having been established in 1938 to rehabilitate the indigenous wildlife which was once the target of a colonial British hunting ground. In the 1970s the area opened to the public as a safari park, inviting guests to spot its coveted leopards, elusive elephants, wild water buffalo, sloths and deer. But it’s no secret that recent years have seen it fall victim to overtourism. 

I’d also fallen victim to a social media rabbit hole, which depicted Yala National Park as chaotic and therefore not exactly conducive to spotting an inconspicuous leopard, which is the main pull here. On my phone, streams of jeeps tooted horns to get through single-track roads, clamours of cars huddled around a lone bull elephant and there was, it seemed, little opportunity to see anything without another person or vehicle getting in your way. For a moment, it seemed like Yala National Park may have lost its magic – but then I checked into Hilton Yala. 

Opened in 2023, the 42-key hotel was both Hilton’s first safari property and its smallest resort. The limited keys were intentional – the safety precautions for any safari camp are as stringent as they are necessary, especially as this unfenced hotel encourages elephants, deer and leopards to roam free – but also nodded to Yala’s overtourism. 

Sandwiched between the park’s verdant jungle and sage-scented sand dunes, this five-star hotel is one of a handful of small, boutique properties within the park that purposefully house fewer rooms and, therefore, fewer guests in the hope of guaranteeing better experiences. However, an influx of home stays and unregulated B&Bs have brought a wave of larger groups and uncontrolled vehicles that don’t do the safari experience justice. To have a good experience here, you have to know who to book with. 

You’d be forgiven for thinking that with 14,000 hectares of orange sands, metamorphic rocks and lush, dense jungle, there would be enough room for everyone to enjoy a slice of Yala. But during Sri Lanka’s peak season it is not uncommon for more than 500 vehicles to enter the park in a single day, especially in Block 1 which is the most accessible. While vehicles must be registered and the park has rules around off-roading and speeding, they’re poorly enforced and the majority of these drivers have no safari guiding experience.

Sajith Withanage

For Hilton Yala’s head ranger, Sri Lankan native Sajith Withanage, it is a world away from his training in the plains of Africa – where studying to be a safari guide is held in the same esteem as a doctor. So, when Withanage came on board to launch Hilton’s safari offering, he wanted to ensure it was at the highest level possible and, as a result, all of his team are FGASA certified. 

Having such an experienced ranger at the helm of Hilton Yala has paid dividends. Safaris are divided into morning and afternoon game drives and group walking excursions, all of which are as seamless as they are exciting. I opt for a morning drive, which started at 5.30am – dawn and dusk offer better chances of spotting leopards – with piping hot coffee and freshly baked pastries in the lobby. Binoculars and lunch bento boxes are also packed into the jeep for the day ahead. The park itself is 10 minutes from the hotel and opens at 6am but, as we approached the entrance, the sheer number of vehicles lining up to enter became apparent. A big perk of booking with Hilton Yala is that the team organises your safari passes before arrival, meaning the hotel’s vehicles skip the queues and are ushered through the gates. 

Once in, Withanage and his team make a beeline for the less crowded corners of the park, where we spend uninterrupted hours weaving through Yala’s less trodden paths while spotting a leopard, elephants, mongooses, and a plethora of birds. I also got up close and personal with some crocodiles on our evening dune walk, where, under the careful supervision of Withanage, you can roam around the fringes of the national park and its lagoons before ending up at the beach, which separates Hilton Yala from the Indian Ocean. This Mars-like dune-scape is a sight to behold, offering panoramic vistas of the endless blue, dotted only by fishing huts which work on the waves beyond. 

Creating stellar safaris is Hilton Yala’s raison d’être and, with that thoroughly executed, it’s time to turn my attention to the hotel. At first glance, it is a behemoth of a property despite the lack of keys, centred around a main pavilion which is home to the all-day dining Dhira restaurant and lobby – both of which benefit from an elevated vantage point overlooking the sprawling resort. From there, the seven-acre resort gravitates towards the sea, with all accommodation designed to sit around a large tiered outdoor swimming pool but, importantly, not interrupting the elephant-made corridors through which four-legged locals wander. 

Most rooms also come with their own refreshing plunge pools or bubbling jacuzzis should you wish to hide away among the hotel’s bush. Ranging from family-style pool villas to top-floor hangouts perfect for couples, all accommodation is rendered in a dark, textural palette designed to bring the outside in. From sunlight-dappled gold accents to bare stone walls, and cushions imitating the colours of a peacock to elephant motifs, interiors nod to the location within Yala, while floor-to-ceiling windows open up to unfenced views that reaffirm your position in the middle of a national park. 

The aforementioned Dhira plays host to breakfast, lunch and dinner, offering an East meets West menu throughout the day. Morning highlights include ‘eggs on the beach’, featuring poached eggs on curry leaf toast topped with sea prawns, while lunch plates range from chilli chicken wings and cucumber feta salad, to island veggie pizzas and mushroom melt sandwiches. I opted for local flavours and was not disappointed by the signature butter chicken and Yala Curry Treat, featuring the five traditional five curries, rice, pappadums and accompaniments that are a mainstay on local menus throughout the island. 

Don’t miss an experience at Lanthaaruma, which is essentially a pop-up restaurant that moves around the perimeter of the hotel based on animal activity. During my stay, rangers guided me to a romantic beachside setting, where candles and lamps paved the way to a private table among the bush while the team set up bonfires in the distance. Here, I dined on fresh seafood cooked on the adjacent grill, such as sea prawns with sundried tomatoes and avocado and a seafood platter, including a huge lobster and tuna fillet paired with curried potatoes and fresh salads. This is a must during your stay at Hilton Yala – but go hungry. 

Dhira

Lanthaaruma

From 6pm-6am, guests are not permitted to walk around the resort unaccompanied in case of wildlife encounters, but chauffeured buggies are just a phone call away to transfer you to the restaurants and spa. As a result, your pedometer may struggle. Shock it back into life with a trip to the resort’s state-of-the-art gym, filled with Technogym equipment, or ditch it completely with a trip to the Asian-inspired spa which focuses on bringing your heart rate down instead of up. 

Treatments are divided into three menus: escape, enhancement and essential. The former focuses on Sri Lankan-inspired massages, such as the Ceylon Gem, whereby crystals are placed on pressure points and chakras and massaged over the body to release energy. For those travelling around the island as I was, having completed the southern coast and preparing for a pitstop in the highlands, prepare for the four-hour drive with a deep release massage; light pressure to warm up the muscles followed by deeper work into the tissue using firm and slow techniques to break up knots. Your back and shoulders will thank you for it. 

As Hilton’s first safari resort, its location was no doubt a gamble but one that has paid off. Yala’s safari experiences may not rival that of South Africa or Botswana, largely thanks to its unregulated nature, but what it lacks in rules it makes up for in luxury hotels – and Hilton Yala proves that. If you want to experience Yala at its best, you need a hotel that immerses itself in the national park but also takes it seriously. With expert rangers and memorable excursions, stand-out accommodation and exceptional dining experiences, this Hilton resort ticks all of the boxes. I should never have expected anything less… 

From £330 per night. 

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