Minneriya National Park is located in north central province of Sri Lanka in close proximity to the world heritage sites of Sigiriya Fortress, Dambulla Rock Temple and picturesque Pidurangala rock. Also the park is located in between the Two ancient capitals, Anuradhapura and Polonnnaruwa.
The heart of national park is the ancient Minneriya tank and a large number of Sri Lankan elephants gather to the grass fields on the edges of the catchment area in the evenings. During the dry season the gathering of wild elephants could be as big as 300, which is believed to be the largest gathering of elephants in the world
Wasgamuwa and Kaudulla national parks are the other parks near Minneriya, and among these three parks, Minneriya is the dominant place for elephant gathering especially in dry season. It is also a prominent bird watching site in Sri Lanka.
The entrance of the park is situated 182 kms North from Colombo