Noel Rodrigo’s Leopard Safari Camp

Wild Coast Tented Lodge is located adjacent to the world famous Yala National Park, renowned for its dense leopard population. The luxury tented camp sits where the jungle meets a rugged, empty beach, overlooking the Indian Ocean. The use of arched fabric structures allows each of the 28 tents to take on the shape and colour of the rocks and boulders that lay scattered nearby, whilst a clever layout in the shape of a leopard’s paw print alludes to the area’s most famous resident.

The main buildings are made of bamboo and blend in with the distinctive rock formations of Yala. The uniquely shaped tents, called cocoons and urchins offer state-of-the art amenities including air-conditioning. The open-air bamboo-clad Ten Tuskers bar and dining pavilion wrap around the resort’s enormous free-form swimming pool. Guests can enjoy creative daily-changing menus of authentic Sri Lankan cuisine in the restaurant, as well as sundowner cocktails and picnics al fresco on the sand dunes, watching dusk settle over the Indian Ocean.

Kulu translates as untamed, a most fitting name for this authentic, ecologically minded safari camp.

The base camp has large custom made tents secured on raised wooden platforms, each with a small deck area for an evening drink, en suite bathroom and hot shower.

Expertly guided game drives on modified Land Cruisers, kayaking and jungle walks will let you really get a feel for this stunning region. The camp is ideally situated to explore the multiple sectors of Yala National Park, with the majority of safaris in Block 1. However, for guests staying three or more nights, full-day excursions into the far less frequented Blocks 3, 4, 5, and Lunugamvehera National Park can be arranged.

For truly tailor-made camping experiences, mobile safari options can be planned to suit specific requests in smaller, yet still comfortable tents. This is an adventurous option for groups looking to get entirely off the beaten path, and that Kulu’s mobile clients include world renowned nature documentary filmmakers is testament to their expertise.

To the southern edge of Yala National Park, the luxurious Chena Huts sit overlooking a beach where turtles lay eggs at night and elephants venture down from the jungle to play in the surf. It is bordered by forest and a saline lake home to ibises, painted storks and even flamingos.

There are just 14 thatched ‘huts’ set around the property, though calling these sweeping thatched pavilions – each with a living area, bedroom, freestanding bathtub and shaded outdoor deck with built-in 5m plunge pool – is an understatement.

The Basses restaurant takes its name from the nearby reefs and lighthouse and is suitably nautical in its theme. Private dining experiences can be organised, whether on the beach under the stars or by a camp fire surrounded by nature. There’s also a swimming pool with poolside bar concealed behind a waterfall and an Ayurveda spa in which to unwind.

As well as safaris into the Ruhuna block of Yala National Park, other nearby attractions include fabulous birding in Bundala National Park, and the Great and Little Basses reefs, off which blue and humpback whales congregate and dolphins frolic. Kataragama, an ancient forest shrine on the edge of Yala that attracts tens of thousands of Hindu and Buddhist pilgrims in July and August, is close by too.