The closest park to us, and where the elephants go when the tanks at Minneriya and Kaudulla have dried back. Dry-zone forest rather than open grassland.
Hurulu is part of a much larger biosphere reserve, and the section open to visitors is a stretch of dry evergreen forest threaded with tracks. It is the nearest of the three parks to the guest house — you can be at the gate in twenty minutes.
Because it holds cover and water later into the dry season, Hurulu tends to come into its own from around September, when the grazing elsewhere is finished. Herds move through in numbers, and the setting — thin forest rather than open shoreline — makes for closer, more intimate sightings than the wide views at Minneriya.
It is also the quietest of the three. On a weekday afternoon you may share the park with only a handful of other vehicles.
