Tourists taking pictures in a jeep in Yala. [Photo by Ben Lerwill/China Daily]

Yala is a special place. Covering an area of almost one thousand square kilometers, the park is the most visited nature reserve in the country. Its landscapes include dense jungle, low wetland and open vistas of rocky outcrops. I was staying at Chena Huts, a new upmarket retreat situated in the buffer zone on the park outskirts. I had an inkling my stay would be memorable when I opened my curtains on the first morning and saw a peacock strolling around my plunge pool. Half an hour later, a wild boar wandered past while I was having breakfast. It was that kind of place.

The main appeal of being here, of course, was the chance to take two daily game drives. Each time we entered the park, different wildlife mini-dramas unfolded. There's a tendency in Yala for jeeps to cluster in the areas where leopards are most likely to appear, although frankly it rather takes the gloss off a safari when you're bumper to bumper with 15 other vehicles. At Sarath's recommendation our jeep instead made an effort to steer clear of the crowds.

It was a fine decision. One afternoon we found a secluded waterhole and looked on as storks stepped past crocodiles and buffalo lazed under ironwood trees. On another we came across an entire family of elephants, the youngest of them vigorously tearing branches and foliage from the bush. The next morning we watched a crested hawk-eagle devouring a fat monitor lizard, then rounded the corner to see two competing peacocks strutting around a lone peahen, tail-feathers raised with boastful importance. Each drive produced something new.