About
We built this on the edge of somewhere we already loved.
Wildcat is a small hostel on the boundary of Yala National Park, within 20 minutes of the Katagamuwa gate. It is open to the jungle on purpose, and run by people who were coming here long before there was anything to run.
Our story
Three friends, one place they loved.
It started the way a lot of good ideas do: three friends talking about a place they loved.
We've spent more than 30 years chasing the wild in and around Yala, sitting in jeeps at dawn waiting for a leopard to move, camera in hand, camping under open skies, tracking through the jungle just to see what we could find. Yala kept pulling us back. At some point the conversation stopped being "let's go to Yala" and became "why isn't there a place here that actually gets it?"
So we built one.
Who we are
Three founders, three different backgrounds.
Different careers, same obsession: getting the jungle right.
Founder
The gemologist
An eye trained to spot quality in the smallest detail, put to work on every corner of this build.
Founder
The cabin crew manager
Over 20 years in glamping, and a career spent making people feel looked after, wherever they are.
Founder
The lawyer
Made sure the dream had solid ground to stand on, from the land itself to the last detail of the build.
What we built
We didn't want another hotel with a view of the park. We wanted a jungle hostel that puts you inside the experience, safely, built overlooking a natural waterhole so the wildlife often comes to you. Over 50 varieties of birds have been spotted right on the property, you don't even need to leave for a safari to start your list.
- Elevated open dorms. Upper-floor, open-walled rooms with a roof overhead, built for safety and for that unfiltered, close-to-the-jungle feeling, looking straight out over Yala National Park. Every guest sleeps in their own four-poster bed with insect netting.
- An infinity pool to cool off after a hot morning safari, looking straight out over the waterhole.
- An open elevated deck to sit out under the stars at night, high above the ground and away from anything on four legs, or more.
- Campfires every night, for that real camping feeling.
- Camp-style lighting, kept low and warm on purpose, so it never disturbs the jungle's own peace.
- Flushing toilets and open-to-sky showers. Real comfort, with a view of the stars.
- A private villa in the jungle, sleeping four in full air-conditioned comfort, for guests who want the same experience behind four walls.
- A working kitchen serving the whole property, with staff quarters close enough to help, far enough to never intrude.
- Safaris organized by us, with known drivers, proper jeeps, and routes based on the latest wildlife sightings.
- Fans, not walls, for a cool night's sleep the way the jungle intends.
- High-speed Starlink, so you're never fully off the grid out here.
- Real Sri Lankan cooking, every meal.
- Through Gate 2 into Yala, so you skip the queues at the main entrance.
- 20 minutes from Sithulpawwa, the rock temple deep in the jungle, and from Kataragama, one of Sri Lanka's most visited pilgrimage towns.
Built to last
- A deep well with a solar-powered pump keeps water running year-round.
- Grid power backed by a generator, so an outage never leaves you in the dark.
- No plastic on the property, top to bottom.
- Steel decking, board, and canvas, built to sit lightly on the land it overlooks.
- Next up: solar hot water, and running the whole property on alternate power, so our footprint here keeps shrinking.
This place exists because three people who love the wild couldn't find what they wanted, so they built it. Every detail here, from the open dorms to the nightly campfire, comes from real nights spent in the jungle, not a brochure.
Come stay with people who've actually done this.
Ready when you are
Come and stay on the edge of it.
Message us and we will sort the beds and the safari in the same conversation. Or book through a platform if you would rather.