Ridiyagama Safari Park was established on 28th May 2016 in the Ridiyagama area in Ambalantota, Hambantota District in the Southern Province. Construction of the park commenced in 2008 under the guidance of the National Department of Zoology, Sri Lanka. The estimated cost of the safari park and project, built for tourism, is 1.6 billion Sri Lankan rupees.
The specialty of this place is that when the animals are free, people go to see them in a caged car. You can reach this park by going about 17 km from Ambalantota town on Ridiyagama road or by turning off at Padalangala junction on Embilipitiya Nonagama road and going on Suriyawewa road and turning at Viharagala junction for about 4 km.
About 500 acres of land has been set aside for this park and it is proposed to set up 13 zones for different species of animals. At present work has been completed on three animal zones of about 200 acres. These animal zones are the African Lion Zone, which covers an area of about 35 acres, the Herbivore Zone, which covers about 80 acres, and the 54 – acre Asian Elephant Zone. Work is currently underway on four more zones for Bengali tigers, Australian kangaroos, Sri Lankan leopards, and bears. At present, about 200 animals belonging to 22 species. The park is equipped with air-conditioned safety buses carrying about 20 visitors at a time and safety vehicles of your choice.
The first to be found here is the African Lion Zone. Then meet the herbivorous animal zone. There you will find spotted deer, deer as well as zebras, camels, dwarf hippopotamuses, Arabian oryx, guanaco, blackbuck, and ostrich that are not found in the common forests of Sri Lanka. Finally enters the region of Asian elephants. It takes about an hour and a half to visit all these regions. Along the way, a guiding safari officer informs the tourists about the animals that live in each of these areas. Also, Ridiyagama is the only safari park in Sri Lanka that has been created according to such a new concept. Therefore, this is a safari park that attracts local and foreign tourists.
