Chundikulam National Park

Chundikulam lies at the eastern end of the Jaffna Lagoon, on the narrow strip of land that separates the lagoon from the Bay of Bengal. The area was a designated bird sanctuary from 1938; in 2015 the central core of the wetlands was upgraded to a national park, covering roughly twelve thousand hectares of lagoon, mangrove, scrub, and coastal dune.

The wetlands hold one of the most significant concentrations of waterbirds on the island. Greater flamingos arrive in numbers between November and March; painted storks, openbill storks, herons, egrets, ibis, and a long roster of waders work the shallow margins; pelicans and cormorants fish the open lagoon. On the dry land side, spotted deer and wild buffalo are commonly seen, and the area is part of the wider elephant range that runs across the Northern and Eastern provinces.

Visitor infrastructure is very limited. There are no formal accommodation options inside the park, no visitor centre of substance, and no marked walking trails. Most visitors who come here hire a Department of Wildlife Conservation jeep and a tracker–guide at the entrance gate near Chundikulam village; the half-day drive through the park's accessible tracks is the standard way to see it. Independent walking is not permitted in the core zone.

The best months for the park are November to March, when the migratory birds are present and the tracks are dry enough for jeeps. The drive in from Jaffna takes about two and a half hours through Pallai and Mullaitivu; from Kilinochchi side the access is shorter. A long day is realistic from a Jaffna villa, but an overnight in the area allows the early-morning hours that the wildlife is most active in.

This is one of the quieter national parks in Sri Lanka. The infrastructure that surrounds Yala or Wilpattu is not here, and that absence is most of what brings the people who do come.