Silent Bungalow

Silent bungalow have their own jeeps and can take your directly to Udawalawe National Park Safari with the owner’s son as driver and guide. Dushal was incredible at pointing out mongoose, lizards, birds, and sharing facts about elephants. I’d recommend asking if you can leave for the safari to arrive at gates opening as it seems lots of animals are less active in the middle of the day. The dinner provided at 7.30pm by the owner was sensational and was well needed after a day of travel. The owner genuinely made me feel welcome! There’s also a beautiful cat (cats) that wanders the premises If you arrive late in the evening, stay one night, and do an early morning safari (3 hours, 4 hours, or half day), you’ll have an amazing time.

These comments aren’t a reflection on Silent Bungalow itself but more a suggestion to align with expectations Unfortunately, I was the only guest at the bungalow for two nights. While this isn’t the fault of the owner, there really was not much to do at the Bungalow nor was it very easy to get into the village to eat meals or look around. The village was also fairly deserted as it was the low season (May) - another reason to limit your time here. In all fairness, the accommodation (basic bed, fan, bathroom) is close to what you’re paying for. However any mobile data or wifi connection is non existent. The bungalow is about a 20 minute walk from Ret Junction (close to where the Elephant transit home is located). I’m not sure what the solution here is but just note that Silent Bungalow isn’t suitable for anyone wanting to spend time in Udawalawa itself. Even the owner himself, Sudath, didn’t really suggest anything to do around the town. Was also unfortunately locked into the property at 5.30am when I wanted to go watch the sunrise. This isn’t so much a budget oasis in the jungle but rather a budget friendly stopover for your safari trip.

Hosted by a very friendly and welcoming family, we felt right at home at this lovely place. Cooking class was fun, educational and we ended with delicious food! Safari to nearby park was great as well.

Good location for Udawalawe national park. This is a family run basic, low cost guesthouse, you can pay extra to eat at the accommodation and it was pretty good Sri Lankan food. They also offer their own safari package and the safari guide was very knowledgeable.

The accommodation could really do with being upgraded.

Sudath and his family were so welcoming. He arranged our transport to and from Silent Bungalow, as well as the safaris and a cookery lesson. The food was excellent. The safaris were fantastic - Vishal was very knowledgeable and excellent at spotting the wildlife - from large bull elephants to little peahen chicks. We had as much time as we wanted in any spot to really watch the animals. We were never rushed and at some points, we felt that we were the only ones in the whole park.

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