The Sanctuary Yala

We only managed one night at The Sanctuary, and really wished we had more time. They welcomed us with elephant-shaped coconuts, then served an amazing candlelit dinner beneath the stars. My husband and I are vegan, and there was loads of great food. Dinner was a multi-course meal by candle and lantern light, and breakfast was served up in our own tree house. They also provided reusable water bottles and safe drinking water, with no plastic used for the meals. Our Leopard tent felt more like a hotel room than a tent. It was spacious, with a four-poster bed, a sitting area and a full bathroom. There was air conditioning, though the breeze was so pleasant that we barely needed it, and plenty of outlets for charging our phones and camera batteries. Dinesh hosted us and guided our Yala Safari. He knows so much about the wildlife and is a talented wildlife photographer. Ask him about his leopard video! We didn’t spot leopards ourselves, but saw lots of other animals and had a great time in the national park. I’m sad we could fit just one night into our itinerary, and would love to return on another trip to Sri Lanka.

Dinesh was a glorious host, and The Sanctuary Yala became the highlight of our Sri Lanka trip. The tents are beautiful and roomy, more like boutique hotel rooms than tents. We ate like kings, with generous portions of incredible food. Dinner by lantern light and breakfast in a treehouse were both magical. A wonderful experience from beginning to end, and I can't recommend it enough.

Dinesh was friendly and knew his stuff, he really made the stay. We had the best food of our whole trip at Sanctuary. Can't wait to come back :)

A peaceful, beautiful place to stay.