The extent of this national park is about 8,889 hectares. During the dry season from July to October, water becomes scarce in this region which leads to over 300 wild elephants from all around the region to migrate to Minneriya National Park’s large Minneriya reservoir.
This event, referred to as ‘The Gathering’, is considered as one of the greatest wildlife spectacles in the world. In addition to wild elephants there are 160 species of birds, 09 amphibian species, 25 reptile species, 26 fish species and more than 78 butterfly species that have been found in this area.