Gal Oya National Park

The one to choose if you would rather watch from the water. Gal Oya's safaris run by boat across the Senanayake Samudraya, the largest inland body of water in Sri Lanka, and the prize is elephants wading and swimming between its islands. It sits in the less-visited east, a drive inland from Arugam Bay, so the boats feel worlds away from the jeep queues further north. Swimming crossings are a matter of luck rather than a fixed show; lodges suggest May to August as the best window. Combine a morning boat trip with a land drive for the best chance of herds on the shore.