No driving allowed between 12 noon – 2 pm. It is not allowed to  drive safari jeeps in Block 1 of Yala National Park from 12 noon to 2 pm.  We will spend this 2-hours break in the national park.  At a beach location on the south coast.  Here it is allowed to get down from the jeep.  A picnic lunch is served at this coastal location.

Annual closure during the drought period in September /  October. It can be expected that Block 1 of Yala is closed for safari during a period starting 1^st September.  The duration of the closure is normally about six weeks.  Although decided and announced from year to year, it’s almost a certainty that the Department of Wildlife Conservation will declare this closure from 1^st September.  The closure is declared to the public in August a few weeks prior to the closure date.  The reason and argument for the closure is to offer the wildlife a holiday from safari traffic during the peak drought period. 

Yala National Park Block 5 is still open for safari, while Block 1 is closed. During the time Yala Block 1 is closed, safari tours take place in Yala Block 5 as a preferred alternative. The entrance into Yala Block 5 is in Galge – in the Buttala area. Not far from Tree Tops Jungle Lodge, our camp location is a 35-40 minute drive to Yala Wildlife Department office, where safari permits and tickets are issued.