Sri Lanka punches well above its weight in wildlife. Despite being a small island, it has 26 national parks protecting leopards, elephants, sloth bears, blue whales, and hundreds of endemic bird species.
The most famous are Yala (highest leopard density in the world), Udawalawe (hundreds of elephants year-round), Wilpattu (Sri Lanka's largest and least crowded), Minneriya (the famous elephant Gathering), and Horton Plains (endemic cloud forest with World's End).
Others worth a visit include Bundala (a UNESCO biosphere reserve for birds), Gal Oya (swimming elephants), Maduru Oya, Wasgamuwa, Kaudulla, and Sinharaja rainforest.
