Bundala National Park, on Sri Lanka’s south coast between Hambantota and Tissamaharama, is the country’s first Ramsar wetland site and a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The park protects a 62-kilometre stretch of coast encompassing a chain of brackish lagoons, seasonal tanks, and coastal dunes that serve as critical habitat for resident and migratory waterbirds. Between September and March, tens of thousands of lesser flamingos, painted storks, pelicans, and shorebirds from as far as Siberia and northern Europe winter at Bundala’s shallow lagoons, making it the premier birdwatching destination on Sri Lanka’s south coast.
Jeep safaris through Bundala cover the network of bunds and tracks between the lagoons, where elephants moving seasonally between Yala and Bundala are commonly encountered. Mugger crocodiles, monitor lizards, and sea turtles on the coastal beach sections are regularly sighted. Bundala’s Ramsar designation was made in 1991, recognising the international significance of its wetland habitat, and it was declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 2005.
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