Chundikulam National Park
A remote lagoon and wetland park at the eastern edge of the peninsula, a haven for flamingos, pelicans and thousands of migrant water birds between land and sea.
In Pachchilapalli, roughly an hour and a half from Jaffna town, a vast coastal wetland straddling the Jaffna Peninsula's edge holds one of northern Sri Lanka's richest concentrations of birdlife, its lagoon fringed by dense mangroves and seagrass beds. The area was first protected as a bird sanctuary as early as February 1938, one of the older conservation designations in the country, before being formally upgraded to full national park status in June 2015, brought under the administration of the Department of Wildlife Conservation.
Beyond its impressive bird population, black tailed godwits, black winged stilts, brown headed gulls and greater flamingos among the regularly recorded species, the park supports a genuinely diverse mix of larger wildlife too, deer, crocodiles, and even shy, rarely seen leopards and sloth bears moving through the surrounding scrub, animals reportedly still unaccustomed to human visitors given the area's long period of restricted access during the civil war. That war left a real mark on Chundikulam's more recent history, the Sri Lankan military establishing bases within the sanctuary and barring local fishermen and displaced residents from returning to the area for years, before eventually opening a holiday resort within the park's northern section in 2012, a use that's drawn ongoing calls from local political figures for the sanctuary's full demilitarization.
Today, birdwatching tours by boat remain the primary way to experience the park, gliding quietly through the lagoon's mangrove channels in search of the wide range of resident and migratory species that continue to make Chundikulam one of the more ecologically significant, if still politically complicated, wetlands anywhere in northern Sri Lanka.
At a glance
- Entry fee: Entry fee applies
- Opening hours: Daylight hours
- Time needed: Half day
- Best time: December to March, for migrant birds
Getting there
At the far eastern end of the peninsula near the Elephant Pass lagoon, a long drive from Jaffna.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does it cost to visit Chundikulam National Park?
- Entry fee applies.
- What are the opening hours at Chundikulam National Park?
- Daylight hours.
- How long should I spend at Chundikulam National Park?
- Plan for half day.
- When is the best time to visit Chundikulam National Park?
- December to March, for migrant birds.
- How do I get to Chundikulam National Park?
- At the far eastern end of the peninsula near the Elephant Pass lagoon, a long drive from Jaffna.