Yala Block 1 has the highest density of wild leopards per square kilometre anywhere on earth. Pre-dawn private jeep entry, a dedicated wildlife tracker and the full early-morning arc of the park. Leopards, wild elephants, sloth bears, mugger crocodiles, painted storks and flamingos in the coastal lagoon. None of it is guaranteed – which is the whole point, and the honest version of what makes it extraordinary.