Wilpattu is Sri Lanka’s largest national park and arguably its most atmospheric, a vast, ancient wilderness of dense forest, open grassland, and the unique villus (natural sand-rimmed water basins) that define its landscape and concentrate its wildlife. Long closed during the conflict years, it has recovered with quiet authority. Visitor numbers remain low, leopard sightings are increasingly frequent, and the sense of undisturbed wilderness is unlike anything found in the more heavily visited parks of the south.