Where To Go On Holiday In Sri Lanka
The capital Colombo is home to many great attractions including the Gangaramaya Temple with its impressive tiers of Buddha statues and a zoo, all easily accessible via a tuk-tuk taxi. Also close by is the beach resort of Beruwala where you can enjoy a day’s downtime.
The south of the country is famed for its Yala National Park, an important conservation park for the Sri Lankan Elephant and home to highest concentration of leopards in the world, and its plentiful beach resorts, namely Hikkaduwa, Tangalle and Bentota where surfing and snorkelling are possible. Particularly noteworthy is Unawatuna which also has a turtle hatchery.
The inland villages of Ella and Haputale provide a fascinating insight into tea production with many tea plantations open to the public, and when you’re done the nearby Rawana Ella Falls provide a perfect spot for a dip to cool off.
Trincomalee in the north-eastern part of the country is a great place to enjoy the country’s enviable beaches, and a snorkelling trip to Pigeon Island is a must when in the area, and dolphin and whale watching is also possible.
No visit to Sri Lanka would be complete without a visit to the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Kandy, in the centre of the country where star attractions include the Temple of the Tooth Relic, the Bahirawakanda temple and the Pinnewala Elephant Orphanage. Also in the area is the imposing 200 metre high red stone fortress in Sigiriya and the city of Dambulla with its fascinating cave temple, and for the energetic the Knuckles Mountain Range for hiking.
Anuradhapura is a great place to see a number of scared sites, including the Bodhi Tree Temple and the Ruwanwelisaya, and the ancient UNESCO city of Polonnaruwa is also worth a visit to see its palaces and temples too.