A dry-zone national park around an ancient reservoir, famous for 'The Gathering', when hundreds of wild elephants converge on the drying lakebed.

Overview

Minneriya National Park protects the forest and grassland around the 3rd-century Minneriya reservoir, west of Polonnaruwa. Between the dry-season months it hosts one of Asia's great wildlife spectacles: as the water recedes, herds of wild Asian elephants, sometimes several hundred at once, gather on the exposed grassy lakebed to feed and bathe, an event known as 'The Gathering'. Jeep safaris also turn up spotted deer, sambar, wild buffalo, crocodiles, macaques and an abundance of water birds, and the park is designated an Important Bird Area.

History

The Minneriya reservoir was built in the 3rd century CE by King Mahasena and has watered the surrounding plains ever since. The area was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1938 and upgraded to a national park in 1997 to protect the elephant population and the tank's catchment. It is managed by the Department of Wildlife Conservation.