Photo credits

Thank you to the photographers whose work appears on this site. Photos from Unsplash are used under the Unsplash License. Photos from Wikimedia Commons are used under the Creative Commons licence shown and are credited on the image where they appear.

• Aerial of a road winding through green hills by Tomáš Malík · Unsplash License · source
• Aerial of hairpin bends through forest by Tomáš Malík · Unsplash License · source
• Aerial of Silent Beach, Tangalle by Yasintha Perera · Unsplash License · source
• Aerial of the Coconut Tree Hill cape, Mirissa by Siarhei Palishchuk · Unsplash License · source
• Aerial view of Sigiriya rock fortress above the forest by Dylan Shaw · Unsplash License · source
• Asian elephant herd with calves crossing water, Udawalawe NP by Shyaman Prasad · Unsplash License · source
• Asian elephant mother and calf at a waterhole, Yala NP by Sach · Unsplash License · source
• Asian elephant on a jungle track after rain, Sri Lanka by Udara Karunarathna · Unsplash License · source
• Bentota beach framed by a pandanus tree by Leonard Jayawardena · Unsplash License · source
• Bicycles and fishing boats at a Kalpitiya harbour by Anupa Uthsara · Unsplash License · source
• Black tuk-tuk on the coastal road by the sea by Zoshua Colah · Unsplash License · source
• Blue train crossing Nine Arch Bridge, Ella by Hendrik Cornelissen · Unsplash License · source
• Blue-tailed bee-eater on a twig (Udawalawe) by Simon Van Rompaey · Unsplash License · source
• Boat on a quiet east-coast beach in Sri Lanka by Sajeevan🍃 Balachandran · Unsplash License · source
• Boats moored on Negombo lagoon by Samithu Siriwardana · Unsplash License · source
• Chital herd grazing by a villu (lake), Wilpattu NP by Wenuri · CC BY-⁠SA 4.0 · source
• Colombo skyline with Lotus Tower by Zoshua Colah · Unsplash License · source
• Elephant beside a white safari jeep, Sri Lanka by Tom Paisley · Unsplash License · source
• Elephant family with safari jeeps behind, Udawalawe NP by Sachindra Chalaka · Unsplash License · source
• Fishing boat on Negombo beach at sunset by Florian Wehde · Unsplash License · source
• Galle Face Green and Port City at sunset, Colombo by Sajeevan🍃 Balachandran · Unsplash License · source
• Galle Fort lighthouse, ramparts and Meeran mosque by Rahul Singh Bhadoriya · Unsplash License · source
• Green safari jeep among boulders, Sri Lanka by Jura · Unsplash License · source
• Green sea turtle in sunlit shallows, Sri Lankan coast by Zoshua Colah · Unsplash License · source
• Green tuk-tuk on Pedlar Street, Galle Fort by Zoshua Colah · Unsplash License · source
• Hikkaduwa beach and turquoise sea by Shehan Seneviratne · Unsplash License · source
• Indian peafowl head portrait, Udawalawe NP by Shyaman Prasad · Unsplash License · source
• Kandy Lake with temple buildings and forested hills by Polina Kocheva · Unsplash License · source
• Line of safari jeeps on a red track, Yala NP by Dan arndt · CC BY-⁠SA 4.0 · source
• Mahindra safari jeep under a big tree in dry-zone scrub, Sri Lanka by Fergus So · Unsplash License · source
• Misty Lake Gregory with boats, Nuwara Eliya by Saaketh PVR · Unsplash License · source
• Misty tea terraces in the hill country by Anton Lecock · Unsplash License · source
• Mugger crocodile resting on a bank, Sri Lanka by Anupa Uthsara · Unsplash License · source
• Painted stork by the water (Udawalawe) by Egle Sidaraviciute · Unsplash License · source
• Painted stork feeding beside mugger crocodiles by Geoff Brooks · Unsplash License · source
• Palm-lined south-coast beach with stilt-fishing poles by Eirik Skarstein · Unsplash License · source
• Palms at Coconut Tree Hill, Mirissa by Dinuka Lankaloka · Unsplash License · source
• Path through the water gardens towards Sigiriya rock by Shashank Hudkar · Unsplash License · source
• Peacock displaying in grassland (Udawalawe) by Egle Sidaraviciute · Unsplash License · source
• Pigeon Island National Park beach, Trincomalee by Chiranmayu Medis · CC BY-⁠SA 4.0 · source
• Railway tracks leading to Lotus Tower, Colombo by Tharoushan Kandarajah · Unsplash License · source
• Ruwanwelisaya stupa across a tank, Anuradhapura by Roshan Kumara · Unsplash License · source
• Ruwanwelisaya stupa silhouetted at dusk, Anuradhapura by Chathura Anuradha Subasinghe · Unsplash License · source
• Spotted deer (chital) resting in foliage, Sri Lanka by Thisuka Weerasinghe · Unsplash License · source
• Sri Lankan leopard drinking at a waterhole, Wilpattu NP by Udara Karunarathna · Unsplash License · source
• Sri Lankan leopard on a Wilpattu red-soil track by Udara Karunarathna · Unsplash License · source
• Sri Lankan leopard walking across dry ground, Yala NP by Geoff Brooks · Unsplash License · source
• Sri Lankan leopard yawning on a rock, Yala NP by Tommaso Delton · Unsplash License · source
• Sri Lankan sloth bear (Melursus ursinus inornatus) male on a rock by Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-⁠SA 4.0 · source
• Sri Lankan sloth bear mother and cub crossing a red track, Wilpattu NP by Wenuri · CC BY-⁠SA 4.0 · source
• Sunset over the sea at Kalpitiya beach by Raiyans · CC BY-⁠SA 4.0 · source
• Surfer at Hiriketiya bay (near Tangalle) by Zoshua Colah · Unsplash License · source
• Tea hills of Nuwara Eliya by Juho S · Unsplash License · source
• Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, Kandy by Chathura Anuradha Subasinghe · Unsplash License · source
• Top-down view of boats and waves, Arugam Bay by Manuel Campana · Unsplash License · source
• Tuk-tuk parked by Galle Fort lighthouse by Matt Dany · Unsplash License · source
• Udawalawe reservoir with dead trees, birds and hills by Shamika Nayanajith · Unsplash License · source
• Unawatuna bay seen from the hillside by Kondephy · CC BY-⁠SA 4.0 · source
• View of Ella Rock and the valley from Little Adam's Peak by Tom Nicholson · Unsplash License · source
• Water buffalo wallowing in a lake (Udawalawe) by Egle Sidaraviciute · Unsplash License · source
• Whiskey Point beach near Arugam Bay by Kalana Jayatilake · CC BY-⁠SA 4.0 · source
• Wild elephant family at Minneriya NP (near Sigiriya) by Annya Rana · Unsplash License · source
• Wild tusker elephant walking a dirt track, Udawalawe NP by Matt Dany · Unsplash License · source
• Wilpattu villu with dry-zone scrub by HIROSHI DHANAPALA · CC BY-⁠SA 4.0 · source
• Yala grassland and lagoon with buffalo by Tom Nicholson · Unsplash License · source
• Yala landscape: lake, dead trees and Elephant Rock by Hector John Periquin · Unsplash License · source

Other credits

• Illustrations: drawn for Wild Ceylon.
• Map of Sri Lanka: based on Natural Earth (public domain).
• Icons: Lucide (ISC licence); WhatsApp glyph via Simple Icons (CC0).
• Drive times: based on OpenStreetMap data, calibrated against real journey times.