Wild Edge Panama - Kumana Safari Lodge

Safari Lodge in der Nähe zum Nationalpark Kumana. Samitha hat uns dort geführt, es war eine großartige Safari Tour. Die Unterkunft ist ganz auf die Safari ausgerichtet. Ausserordentlich freundliches Personal, wunderbares Essen (Reis und Curry). Sehr stille Umgebung, im Gegensatz zum nahen Arugambay.

Nous avons passé une nuit dans cet établissement et nous avons tellement aimé ! Nous avons été si bien accueillis par le personnel, l’endroit a un charme excpetionnel grâce à sa localisation à côté des champs du village mais aussi très proche du Park Kumana où nous avons réalisé notre Safari avec Samitha. Samitha est le meilleur guide que nous aurions pu souhaité, il est un vrai expert de la vie sauvage que vous retrouverez sur place. Nous avons passé la matinée avec lui à apprendre et à nous émerveiller, je vous le recommande à 100%!! Vous avez l’impression d’avoir le park entier rien que pour vous et les animaux & oiseaux sont majestueux. En bref, nous repartons avec des étoiles dans les yeux et de fabuleux souvenirs! Un grand merci Samitha et l’hôtel !!

The staff and the safari were excellent

Unfortunately it’s very remote , tuk tuk and cars are reluctant to pick you up and take you to arugam bay 25/30 mins away … and if they do turn up it costs double …

Incredible stay in Panama, we chose to stay for the eco-friendly safari. This was incredible, we did the guided one and saw so much wildlife without feeling as though it was at a detriment to the animals welfare. The room itself was also lovely. A great double bed, good mosquito net, aircon and fan both great. WiFi also good quality with a tasty dinner.

This was my second time staying here surrounded by beautiful nature and birds. The rooms are very comfortable and well appointed. The beds very comfortable and for being so far out the wifi was also really good! It is an amazing launching off point for going to Kumana National Park and the staff is very attentive but also let's you have your peace.

It has nice outdoor seating, and the curry was good. Staff very kind.

The rooms have fluorescent harsh lighting and no where to sit. Dirty shower curtain, ants in the rooms (we had no food in there).

We loved it. We had a lovely outlook. Very comfortable room. We didn't have time to eat there as we arrived very late, finding it hard to follow Google Maps which kept taking us down roads we were unable to access in our hire car! We had included breakfast which was delicious. I wish we had been able to afford spending 3 nights there as one night was not enough! We paid extra for the whole day safari and had Samitha who was amazing in making our day so enjoyable, my husband who would normally not last a whole day found it really interesting to learn about all the wildlife. The driver too was excellent. If we visited Sri Lanka again we would definitely set aside enough money to stay 3 nights. PS I haven't forgotten to send some photographs of the tarantula wasp and tarantula!

When we did finally arrive it would have been good to have been shown where to go for food etc. The next morning there was nobody at reception so we didn't know where to go.

Super staff and service

The bathrooms hot water showers were clumsy and fiddly

We chose Wild Edge Panama as we wanted to go to Kumana National Park and were lucky that Samitha was available to be our guide. Our day with Samitha was excellent, he is a conservationist and wildlife videographer for major international organisations and his knowledge is exceptional. We learnt so many interesting things through the day on all sorts of wildlife, butterflies, insects and birds, and we were lucky enough to get within 3 or 4 metres of a leopard thanks to Samitha's knowledge of the path that the leopard was likely to take. We also must mention our excellent jeep driver who expertly drove us around for 14 hours. It was a great day which we'll always remember. Wild Edge itself has all the facilities we needed, including a four-poster bed with a good mosquito net, and a very nice and helpful team. We very much enjoyed our stay there.

Location, helpful staff

Wat een bijzondere ervaring. Een om nooit te vergeten. Met dank aan de kookkunsten, gastvrijheid van het team en fijne waardevolle gesprekken met Samitha. Deze plek is een aanrader als je veel meer te weten wilt komen over de natuur in Sri Lanka.

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Good location to explore Kumana wildlife reserve. Clean and comfortable. Excellent staff and tasty food.

The location is amazing. This is a place for people who want a real authentic local experience and get away from the crowds. If you book your safari with them, you'll have a very exclusive experience with a knowledgeable, experienced team that knows all about wildlife.

The rooms were lovely - clean with comfortable beds mosquito nets, great aircon (it was hot), and good bathrooms. The location was great - being closer to Kumana National Park, and as well within walking distance to a lovely beach next to the lagoon, with a good beginner point break for surfing. Lovely natural location - much quieter than Arugam Bay. The naturalist owner was also our guide for a fantastic days safari - we saw all the wildlife we could wish far - including elusive leopards - but it was great to have real insights to all the wildlife around us from big to small. The food was really good too.

The meal options were sometimes a bit unclear, although all the food was plentiful and really great.

We loved the food, and the quiet surrounds where you could just hear the ocean at night. The rooms were comfortable and everyone was very attentive.

The drive in and out of the property through the village was a bit rough on our car and there was a scrappy and disheveled feeling to the place. The nearby beach didn’t feel super safe.

Had a great stay and guided safari tour in Kumana National Park. This was one of the highlights of my trip! Saw so many animals, including leopards, elephants, Sloth Bear, spotted Deer, and many more.

Wij keken erg uit naar ons 4-daags verblijf bij Wild Edge en het heeft onze verwachtingen overtroffen! We sliepen in 2 prachtige, comfortabele kamers in de tuin. Voor de kamers hadden we een heerlijke zitje met banken om op te loungen. In de kamers hangen zeer goed werkende airco's en de bedden zijn voorzien van goede klamboes. In het restaurant hebben ze mega ventilatoren om de hitte tegen te gaan. Zo kun je ondanks de hitte buiten een zeer comfortabel verblijf hebben. Het eten is fantastisch lekker! Iedere avond werd er weer een ander Sri Lankaans gerecht voor ons gemaakt. We konden de hoeveelheid gewoon niet op en de schalen bleven maar bijgevuld worden. Leuk om al die specialiteiten te kunnen proeven. En hier krijg je ook iedere avond een toetje. Wij kozen steeds voor lekker vanille ijs. Je kunt op televisies in het restaurant en bij de receptie de documentaires gemaakt door Samitha zien. Wat een prachtige beelden! Wij zijn een hele dag met Samitha op safari geweest naar Kumana NP. Dit is echt een aanrader! Ik kan wel zeggen dat dit het hoogtepunt van onze hele reis Sri Lanka was en zo denken onze kinderen er ook over. Door zijn ervaring in de natuur kan hij zoveel vertellen. Zijn scherpe oog ziet zelfs de kleinste dieren. Wij hebben onwijs genoten van deze dag. Ook zijn we nog een halve dag op safari geweest met de vaste chauffeur van Samitha genaamd Sanju. Dit was ook weer ontzettend leuk. Sanju heeft hetzelfde scherpe oog voor dieren en weet precies vanuit welke hoek je als natuurfotograaf de foto wilt nemen. Zeker voor natuurfotografen is een safari geboekt bij Wild Edge een must! Wat ik verder niet moet vergeten te noemen is het personeel van Wild Edge. Ze zijn allemaal zo vriendelijk! Het contact met Kanishka via de mail liep snel en soepel. Zo konden we makkelijk van tevoren al de safari's regelen. Wij hebben hier een top verblijf gehad en komen heel graag in de toekomst nog een keer terug.

Absoluut NIETS!!!

Skvělý a velmi vstřícný majitel, ochotný personál. Ubytování zajištuje safari v blízkém NP Kumana.

Safari:) Ein toller, ruhiger Ort.

Это было незабываемо. Персонал как в пятизвездочном отеле. Идеальная чистота. Прекрасные завтраки и ужины. (Повар великолепен). Тишина и покой, рай для интроверта. За отелем песчаные дюны и океан. Со скалы открывается шикарный вид, смотреть восход солнца, неповторимое зрелище. Сафари с Самисомэ (биологом и хозяином отеля) отдельное удовольствие. Показал и рассказал обо всех птицах и животных. Видели леопарда, слонов, кабана, оленей, варанов, уйму птиц и ещё много много кого. Не хотелось уезжать. Редко чувствуешь себя желанным гостем в отеле. Это был тот самый отель, где тебе рады. Благодарим. Очень понравилось. Абсолютно все.

Высота дверей низковата, для 180 роста…😝 и, одного полотенца на 3 ночи не хватает. Но это не принципиально. Я влюбилась в ваш отель.

Zalige ligging aan duin en verlaten strand / natuurgebied. Stijlvol gebouw. Komplete rust. Kraaknette kamers. Lekkere keuken. Eigenaar-uitbater is befaamd natuurfotograaf - natuurkundige. Goedlachs en met architecturale skills.

Great attention to detail. Superb service from kind attentive staff. Help with booking safaris and onward transport. The owner is a professional photographer and available for advice . Good breakfast and evening meals. Cold beer. Comfortable beds. Hot water. Good air conditioning, good wi fi. Very pretty grounds. All round good value .To be highly recommended.

It is walkable (400 meters) through sand dunes ,to a fantastic wild beach but it is not a swimmable beach. Much too rough .

Friendly, helpful staff. Excellent service.

Staff service levels were fantastic.

This is THE place to stay if you are interested in safaris within Kumana NP. We had an exceptional driver (as good an animal spotter as our guide!). We were lucky enough to have Sam as our guide. He is a BBC wildlife videographer and knew so much about the animals and their behaviours. It gave us the best chance of having so many great leopard/animal encounters. The food and hotel staff was also fantastic. If I come back to Sri Lanka I would skip Yala and come here for a few nights more. There is no mobile signal in Kumana to alert other drivers to where wildlife is so usually the leopard encounters are just yourself and no-one else. Just note - the national park is still about 45 min drive away from the hotel and Panama is a quiet place (more peaceful than Arugum Bay). Its def not a party place like Arugum bay. Safaris are from 5am until about 6.30pm. I would also recommend maybe bringing a neck buff and protection for expensive camera equipment (towel to cover). There is a lot of dust that kicks up off the road.

We had an amazing safari in Kumana reserve guided by Samitha, the owner of Wild Edge and also an experienced research biologist and wildlife photographer. As well as a great range of birds, we were lucky enough to see leopards, a sloth bear and other animals in a very memorable day. The accomodation is excellent, clean and comfortable and great food. There is a lovely quiet beach around 10 minutes walk from the property, but we did not have the time to explore much more locally.

Very quiet location, staff are kind and all the food was delicicous. I liked prawns curry, fish curry & Egg curry.

We booked this place in Panama in order to arrive earlier to visit the park in the morning instead we arrived later than the jeeps from Arugam Bay. So it was better to stay in Arugam Bay! The hotel is basic but much more expensive than other places where we stayed that were also much nicer : here rooms are basic, facility none , dinner and breakfast poor.

The worst was the charge on the bill! we paid with a credit card. They warned us that banks charge a lot . We replied our card does not charge us and we asked to pay in LKR. The bill was in LKR, the amount on the card machine display was in LKR. When my husband checked on our bank statement he found out that we had been charged more than expexted compared to the previous payments in Sri Lanka. We investigated and found out that the Wild Edge machine charged us in GBP and not in LKR! charging 16% more than our card! Wild Edge replied they were not aware, they thought the charge was applied by the customers bank and they charged in LKR.... I am very sorry but I cannot believe this: the wrong amount in GBP was on their bank statement, how it possible they never notice this? . We paid with that card for 3 weeks in Sri Lanka : hotel , museums... never happened elsewhere! We got eventually our money back... but it was unpleasant and it went on for 2 weeks.... I also involved Booking.com because they disappeared not keeping us updated nor replying to our last email.

This was a great find. The room was large and had a modern bathroom. The food was excellent. We had a great day long safari. The park is really beautiful and has a huge diversity of birds. (People who were staying at the same time and were keen birders counted 107 different bird species in one day.)

Easily the best accommodation close to Kumana for its location, very comfortable rooms and exceptional staff. We had the added pleasure of meeting the host Samitha who is one of Sri Lanka’s premier wildlife filmmakers. We will definitely return!

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Well designed accommodation with water features and airflow which made it comfortable sitting inside and out. Staff friendly and provided a good level of information and service. Meals were big, great variety, tasty and reasonably priced. Located in a small town with few tourists but easy access to Arugam Bay by tuktuk (with wild elephant spotting on the way). Comfortable room and beds, well equipped bathroom. Great wifi. Arranged a brilliant safari to the national park. Also arranged a late afternoon tuk tuk to the tank, where there are crocodiles and loads of birds (and another elephant). We liked it so much we extended by a night. One of our favourite stays in a month in Sri Lanka.

Some add ons to safari cost eg meals/delivery. Probably better to quote a higher price including everything.

Great staff, great food, comfortable room and great guides for safaris. Owner is super knowledgeable and passionate about animals and conservation. They are the best trackers in the park, but also just amazing people. We saw all the major animals during our 4 day stay here. Had a super good time staying here. 😊

Bed is a little small for someone 186cm. Everything else is amazing.

My stay at wild edge panama was perfect.The combination of a great location, excellent service,comfortable rooms and top notch amenities made it a memorable experience. I will definitely choose wild edge for my future visit to kumana national park.

I was given a very warm welcome by the owner of the property and the staff. Owner very knowledgeable about wildlife in Sri Lanka, gave me excellent advice to plan my trips. Nice setup, very comfortable bed, clean bathroom. Staff were very helpful and accommodating. Had tasty Sri Lankan meals prepared to my choice. All in all had a very pleasant stay. Thank you.

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