When You Can Come -

When You Can Come

Your calendar, your pace. There is always something wild to see.

Four Weeks to Six Months

Some journeys deserve more than a weekend. Volunteers stay a minimum of four weeks and up to six months, and you can extend if the place gets under your skin, which it often does. A month gives you time to learn the trails, recognize the birdcalls and be greeted by name in the village. Longer stays let you follow a project from first field notes to results shared with the community. Choose the length that suits your studies, sabbatical or career break.

Plan Three Months Ahead

We ask for about three months’ notice. This lets us match you with the right project, prepare your homestay and plan around the season you arrive in. Planning a research placement or a university term? Reach out earlier. Early enquiries get first choice of start dates and projects.

A Wildlife Calendar for the Dry Zone

Every season brings a different spectacle within reach of our base:

June to September: wild elephants gather at the Minneriya reservoir as the dry season shrinks the water. Numbers typically peak in August and September.
October to December: the herds move on to Kaudulla National Park as the tanks fill.
November to April: migratory birds arrive from the north. Wasgamuwa’s elephants along the Mahaweli River are often best seen in this period.
May to July: the waterbird colonies at Kumana, in the far east, are at their peak.

Flexible Start Dates

We have no fixed intakes. Tell us when you are free and we will shape your programme around it, whether you come alone, with a partner or with a student group.

Elephants by the hundreds gather at Minneriya each dry season, in what is widely regarded as the largest gathering of Asian elephants on Earth.

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