Destinations
Colombo
Colombo is the commercial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. It is the financial Centre of the island and a tourist destination. Colombo is a busy and vibrant city with a mixture of modern life, colonial buildings, and monuments. Due to its large harbour and its strategic position along the East-West sea trade routes, Colombo was known to ancient traders 2,000 years ago. It was made the capital of the island when Sri Lanka was ceded to the British Empire in 1815.
Kandy
The Temple of the Tooth Relic (Sri Dalada Maligawa) is in the center of the city and was originally built by the Kandyan Kings between 1687 and 1707, in order to house and honor the sacred tooth relic. ‘Maligawa’ (Palace) literally translates to palace, and the temple is part of the palace complex. The entire complex is over three centuries old at least and has seen many a king’s rise and fall.
Galle
The southern city of Galle is most famously for Dutch Fort which is a fortification first built by the Portuguese on the South coast of Sri Lanka. The initial fortifications, which were built in the late 16th century, were quite basic. However, the fort underwent extensive modifications in the 17th century by the Dutch, making it one of the most important archaeological, architectural and historic monuments to illustrate the European influence in South East Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries.
Arugam Bay
Arugam Bay is situated about 320 km from Colombo and is the most popular surf spot. Arugam Bay has been the venue for many international surf competitions in Sri Lanka. It is also rated as one of the top ten surf destinations in the world. It has also hosted most of the international surfing competitions in Sri Lanka since 2004. It also hosted the So Sri Lanka Pro 2019.
Nuwara Eliya
Nuwara Eliya also known as little England is a city in the hill country of the Central Province, Sri Lanka. Its name means “city on the plain (table land)” or “city of light”. This is the most important location for tea production in Sri Lanka. The city is overlooked by Pidurutalagala, the tallest mountain in Sri Lanka. Nuwara Eliya is known for its temperate, cool climate. Nuwara Eliya was a hill country retreat where the British colonialists could immerse in their pastimes such as polo, golf, and cricket.
Yala
Yala National Park is the most visited and second largest national park in Sri Lanka, bordering the Indian Ocean. The park covers 979 square kilometers and is located about 300 kilometers from Colombo. Yala was designated as a wildlife sanctuary in 1900. The park is best known for its variety of wild animals. It is important for the conservation of Sri Lankan elephants, Sri Lankan leopards, and aquatic birds.
Anuradhapura
The city of Anuradhapura is situated 220 km away from Colombo in the north-central province of Sri Lanka on Malwathu Oya. Founded in the 6th century BC, it was the capital of Sri Lanka from the 4th century BC to the beginning of the 11th century AD and was the royal capital of almost 130 successive rulers. At its height, the city was home to over 10,000 Buddhist bhikkus with gigantic stupas ever built by man. Today this ancient capital of Sri Lanka has become sacred to the whole Buddhist world, with its surrounding monasteries covering an area of 40 sq kilometer and one of the world’s major archaeological sites.
Pasikuda
Pasikudah is a coastal resort town located ESE of Sri Lanka? This place is an exciting place not only for the tourists but some religious people who believe in Buddhism often visits this place. A lot of beautiful temples were also there for your religious ethics and practices. You would have visited a number of beaches in your life but would not have visited the famous Pasikuda beach a sight full of natural delights one could see in his life.
Kalpitiya
Kalpitiya is now developing as a tourist destination. It has a marine sanctuary with a diversity of habitats ranging from bar reefs, flat coastal plains, saltpans, mangroves swamps, salt marshes, and vast sand dune beaches. It provides nursing grounds for many species of fish and crustaceans. The coastal waters are also home to spinner, bottlenose, and Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins, whales, and sea turtles. Alankuda is a stretch of beach in Kalpitiya that is home to a number of beach hotels. The beach is a starting point for off-shore whale and dolphin watching in Kalpitiya and offers various water-related activities.
Ella
Ella is a small village in the highlands of Sri Lanka, which is filled with tea estates, mountains, waterfalls, and breath taking views.
It is a dream place for many trekkers with some of the best hikes the Island provides. This hidden village got vastly popular among tourists lately. Views of mist and clouds covering the summits of the mountain range and the morning sunrise in Ella are spectacular scenes to witness and capture. After a fresh hike in the morning, hit a waterfall, grab some tasty Sri Lankan foods from somewhere with a beer, rest for a while and go for a rail walk to the famous Nine Arch Bridge in the evening, you would surely love all experience. Ella rock, little Adams peak, nine arch bridges, and Ravana falls among favourite places in Ella.
Polonnaruwa
Poḷonnaruwa situated in North Central Province, Polonnaruwa remains as the royal ancient city of the Kingdom of Polonnaruwa. The second most ancient of Sri Lanka’s kingdoms, Polonnaruwa was first established by the Chola dynasty after their successful invasion of the country’s then-capital, Anuradhapura, in the 10th century. The Ancient City of Polonnaruwa has been declared a World Heritage Site.
Wilpattu National Park
Wilpattu National Park is located on the island of Sri Lanka. The unique feature of this park is the existence of “Willis” (natural lakes) – natural, sand-rimmed water basins or depressions that fill with rainwater. Located on the northwest coast lowland dry zone of Sri Lanka.
Sigiriya / The Lion rock
The Sinhalese king Kashyapa I (reigned 477–495) built a palace in the shape of a monumental lion on several acres of ground at the summit, intending it to be a safeguard against his enemies. However, the king was defeated in 495, and the palace fell into ruin. The site soon became a pilgrimage destination, however, and it is now a popular tourist spot. paintings of apsara’s (celestial singers and dancers). Sigiriya was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1982.
Dambulla / Cave Temple
The Buddhist temple complex of Dambulla consists of five cave temples carved under a very large overhanging rock. The temples were carved out over several centuries, but the oldest dates back to the 1st-century B.C.E. The temples include numerous carved statues of Buddha, and his faithful disciple Ananda, as well as Hindu deities.
The largest of the caves is known as the Maharaja Vihara Lena, or Cave of the Great Kings, so named because the cave contains the statues of two ancient, great Sri Lankan kings—Valagambahu and Nissankamalla. Fifty or so Buddha statues, including a life-sized granite one, are all contained inside the temple as is a small stupa surrounded by eleven seated Buddhas.
Trincomalee
Trincomalee District and major resort port city of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. Situated 237 kilometers northeast of Colombo, the city is built on a peninsula of the same name, which divides its inner and outer harboursTrincomale. The city is home to the famous Koneswaram temple from where it developed and earned its historic Tamil name Thirukonamalai. The town is home to other historical monuments such as the Bhadrakali Amman Temple, Trincomalee.