Memorable Journey from Kandy to Udawalawe

Traveling from Kandy to Udawalawe takes you from Sri Lanka’s cultural capital, home to the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, through cool hill-country scenery to one of the island’s best wildlife destinations. Starting in Kandy, surrounded by tea estates and misty mountains, the journey winds through highland tea country before descending toward the open plains of the south.

As you travel further, you’ll pass waterfalls, tea factories, and small hill-country towns, giving you a genuine taste of Sri Lanka’s central highlands beyond Kandy itself.

This route is ideal for travelers who want to combine a cultural and hill-country experience with an unforgettable wildlife adventure, since it leads directly to Udawalawe, a destination famous for its wildlife safaris and large herds of wild elephants.

By the time you reach Udawalawe, you’ll feel a complete shift from misty mountains to open grasslands, ready for a safari adventure that ranks among the best in Sri Lanka.

Prefer starting from a different hill-country town instead? See our Nuwara Eliya to Udawalawe route for another scenic way to reach the national park.